PatJones Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I've decided to try playing with short brass. I've trimmed some remington brass to .900 and I've modified an expender die to work with the short brass. The bullets I intend to use do not have a crimp groove so I need a die that applies a taper crimp. What are you guys using? 9mm or 38 super dies? The bullets are lead, sized .358. I load single stage, so I would prefer to seat and crimp in the same die. I see there are Lee factory crip dies available. I have not been able to locate an RCBS seater die. Midway has a Hornady 9mm/38 super New Dimension bullet seater available, but Midway claims it applies a roll crimp. That sounds like it was cut/pasted from another product description, but would the .358 bullets cause me troubles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I'm not sure what the best solution is, but here is a thread that talks about the 38 mid and seating and crimping issues. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=181024 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Phil Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I started using a 9mm taper crimp die because so many bullets don't have a crimp groove. I adjusted a little at a time till the crimp would just hold the bullet, and tested by shooting 5 of 6 rounds, and reloading to shoot 5 more. 10 rounds without any bullet pull seemed like good crimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolverJockey Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I think it kinda depends on the bullets. I use a .38 Super taper crimp die with my .38 Super, and have two friends shooting mids crimped with a 9mm crimp die. So far my loads are much more accurate and consistent < 3" at 75' and around 9fps total deviation for 16 round strings. Not sure how much or that has to do with crimp. Since a lot of 9mm dies have base sizing rings, I wonder if the bullets are staying the proper size as the sizig ring, bullet base and beginning of the case web come together. Fwiw, I am shooting the same 158g LRN sized to .3565 in my 627 Super and Glock 9mm each load at around 850fps and the accuracy is outstanding. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatJones Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 I shoot a 627. I trimmed some brass to .900 and tried the same LRN bullets I shoot in my full length brass but ~1 of 8 bullets keyholed. Occasionally 2 out of 8 keyholed, so it doesn't appear to one particular chamber in the revolver. The crimp groove is so far forward that the base of the bullet is into the case web. I assume this is causing the base of the bullet to distort. I shot some reloads in the same brass that were loaded by my buddy Jim and the keyholes went away. He uses a 38 super style bullet, sized .358, that doesn't get into the web. These 160 grain bullets from Bayou Bullets do not have a crimp groove and I assume they need a taper crimp. Taper crimping for a revo is new to me, thus the question above. Jim uses a Lee FCD to crimp in his Dillon, I was just hoping to complete my loads in 3 pases through the single stage press. I like the taper crimp on the seater die in my RCBS set for .45 acp. I did find a RCBS seater die in .38 super for sale today, has anyone used one of these with trimmed .38s? I've had concerns about post sizing my ammunition with the Lee FCD. Could someone measure the inside diameter of the carbide sizing ring on their 38 super FCD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 The crimp groove is so far forward that the base of the bullet is into the case web. I assume this is causing the base of the bullet to distort. The bullet having a crimp groove doesn't mean it's best to seat it to crimp it there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ede Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 .38 Mids and SC I size in 38 spl and crimp with Lee 9mm factory crimp die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 The crimp groove is so far forward that the base of the bullet is into the case web. I assume this is causing the base of the bullet to distort.The bullet having a crimp groove doesn't mean it's best to seat it to crimp it there... That's right. I'm using MG 142s in short colt brass, and I completely ignore the cannelure. If you seat them too deep, they get all bulgy and sticky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Z Sr Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I trim to .810" with Fed and Rem brass, and crimp the crap out of Berrys 158's with a Dillon 9MM taper crimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimwax Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Pat, I'll pull mine apart and let you know the measurements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBorland Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I tried crimping with a 9mm taper crimp die, but it seemed like it was crimping the bullet just ahead of the case mouth. Made sense to me at the time, since a 9mm bullet is a wee bit smaller than a .38 bullet. I switched to a 9mm Lee Factory Crimp Die and replaced the 9mm collet with a .38 collet. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleytech Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I use a Lee 38 Special FCD body with a 9mm FCD internal crimp bushing for 38 Mid Colt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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