Is Crimping Needed

[Stumps13]

I am loading 30-06 ammo for a semi auto Remington and I am wondering is crimping needed?
TNX
Stumps13

 

[contender]

Yes.

 

[mattsbox99]

The only crimping I would do is the Lee Factory Crimp. If you try with other dies you will most likely crush the shoulder. The 30-06 has plenty of case neck tension that you will most likely not need to crimp though. Take your calipers to the range when you shoot and make sure the bullets don't move when you shoot or chamber a round.

 

[8emem]

I asked this crimping question to a couple of members at my gun club who shoot regional/national competitions with the AR-15/.223. They said that crimping is not necessary and they do not do it. According to them, the most important things are to make sure that your sizing die provides the correct neck tension so the bullets don't move, and trim the cases so that they are a few thousandths short of the lands and grooves in the barrel. They replace barrels every 2-3 thousand rounds and measure the chamber for the exact case length they use with each barrel. Once this is achieved, they say don't mess with the case mouth.

 

[contender]

Ok, I'll go a bit further.
IF you have an expander of the proper size to allow for neck tension, it is a good thing. And that method is used by match shooters & accuracy buffs. However,, the recoil of the 30-06 is more than the .223, and it can cause the bullet to move under recoil. And a semi-auto can have a feeding issue that COULD cause a jam if bullets are not held properly.
Most semi 30-06's I know of are hunting rifles, and you do not want to miss a good shot at an animal due to malfunctioning ammo. I would use a crimp. And realize as well, most factory ammo is crimped.

 

[GP100man]

I`m with contender, the 06 has more recoil & heavier bullets ,perfect set up for bullet movement !!

Just too much to go wrong ,especially in auto .

And if ya rifle likes a slower powder the crimp may actually help lower ESs by having more consistent burns.

 

[M'BOGO]

Agree with contender and mattsbox99's recommendation of crimping and the Lee FCD die. The 30-06 generates a lot of recoil compared to the 5.56, which in an AR platform is almost non-existant.

Not familar with Remington auto's, but as a rule auto's can be violent to ammo during chambering. Adding the insurance of a crimp could keep a slug from being pushed deeper into a case if it is chambered repeatedly during the course of the hunting season, and thus raising chamber pressure.

 

[mike7mm08]

In addition to crimping I would suggest a small base sizing die. It will size your brass to absolute minimum spec. Clean chamber properly sized brass and a good crimp equal a reliable semiauto. Remingtons have a reputation of being finicky so I would do everything to put the odds in your favor.

 

[powder smoke]

Personally I do not crimp bottle neck rifle cartridges, not saying right or wrong just saying ps

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I've gone thru all the "crimp vs no crimp" arguments over the years, and have settled on a method to tell which approach to take that works for me:

I try to duplicate factory ammo. The factory knows more about loading ammo than I ever will. Did they crimp this caliber when they made theirs? If so, I will do mine that way, too.

Using that as a guide, so far I find myself crimping everything I load! And highly recommend the Lee Factory Crimp dies.

Rick C

 

[Rodfac]

I'd run a test if I were you...and I might add, that in loading for a half dozen M1 Garands over the years, I've never needed to crimp any ammunition, nor resorted to the use of small base reloading dies..my dies were Lee and RCBS. I have no experience with the Remington Semi-Auto's however.

As to the test recommended above: I'd load an entire magazine of your own reloaded ammunition, then fire the entire magazine except for the last round. Remove that round and measure its final overall length, noting that after being subjected to the recoil of the preceding rounds in the magazine and to its own chambering. Compare that length to its length as you loaded it fresh from the press. If there is no difference, you're good to go. Doing this for several magazines should tell you all that you need to know.

You might note too, that without a crimping groove in the proper location, an crimping effort you impart is actually deforming the bullet. Generally not a good idea from an accuracy standpoint.

The American Rifleman's "Dope Bag" once recommended testing for the necessity of a crimp by pushing the loaded round against your workbench or other suitable surface with a pushing force of 40 lbs. If the bullet did not move with that amount of force, they considered it safe for a semi-automatic action rifle.

Rod

 

[BGVFD1502]

My son and I discussed this last night while reloading .243 last night. He got done setting the last and asked the question. While we didn't I explained that it was a bolt action but if we was loading .223 we would of crimped due to we might set a bullet to deep when the round chambered. I am no expert by no means and we learn something every time we reload and read the wisdom that is projected here.
We did do push test every ten cases, measure OAL and weighed each load. He did have one that set really deep, so it was put in the proper disposal jug. Probably could of gotten bullet out but didn't.

 

[mattsbox99]

This is also why its important to anneal case necks every 4-6 reloads too. Annealing brings the case neck back to its 'as new' soft state and assures you will have proper tension to hold the bullet.

I agree with Rodfac in that I have loaded for Garands for quite a while and never crimped those. Its not out of the question, but the only crimping that should be done on bottle neck rifle cases is done with the Lee FCD. The Garand doesn't let the cartridges move so the only time that they are exposed to potentially having the bullet shoved back in the case is when the cartridge is chambered.