Setting a Crimp with the Hornady Rifle Steating/Crimping Die

[Argentum]

Anyone out there have any tips on setting a crimp with the Hornady rifle die, specifically the Hornady Custom Grade for .30-06SPRG? The die is a combination seating and crimp. This is the first time I've tried to apply a crimp to .30-06 rounds and either I'm doing something very wrong or I'm not understanding the type of crimp the die applies.

I'm loading with Speer Grand Slam bullets. I'm seating the bullet down until the edge of the neck is right about in the middle of the cannelure. However when I try to screw the die down to apply the crimp, nothing seems to happen to the neck at all other than perhaps some very mild overall constriction of the neck Once I screw it in far enough - and it's really not that far at all - the neck starts to compress and bulge. Even doing that however, there's no appreciable roll crimp being applied at all.

Anyone have these dies and know how to set the crimp right? I've look around online and can't seem to find any good advice.

[Farbmeister]

You MUST trim your cases if you want to crimp. Did you? If your cases are not all the same length, then they will hit different parts of the crimper. I don't recall roll crimps for rifle cartridges... I though you taper crimped FMJ rounds. and roll crimped lead.

Get a Lee Factory Crimp. Really.

[Steve in PA]

You've backed the seating stem out while you try and set the crimp, correct?

I use RCBS dies, but the method would be the same. Adjust for seating depth, then back out the seating stem so that there is no contact with the bullet.

Slowly adjust the die until you get the desired crimp, then tighten down the locking ring. Screw the seating stem down until you feel it seat on the bullet, then lock that down.

Of course you would need to trim all your brass to the same length.

[41 Redhawk]

I have actually gone to doing it in 2 steps. I seat all the bullets to the desired depth. Then I back out the seater stem and screw the die body down until the I get the desired crimp and then crimp them all. Oh, and as said above, all the cases needed to be very close to the same length.

[Argentum]

You MUST trim your cases if you want to crimp. Did you? If your cases are not all the same length, then they will hit different parts of the crimper.

Of course you would need to trim all your brass to the same length.

Yes, they're all trimmed to the Lyman's specified trim-to length.

You've backed the seating stem out while you try and set the crimp, correct?

Yep. I'm seating the bullet to the depth of where the cannelure hits, backing it all the way back out to the top, and then screwing the die further into the press to (try to) apply the crimp.

I have actually gone to doing it in 2 steps.

Are you using the Hornady dies specifically? Is the roll observable if so? That's what I don't get - even when the case gets crushed there's no real observable roll to the end of the neck. Maybe I have a defective die somehow...

[41 Redhawk]

Ah, I see where your question is coming from. Your die will not do a roll crimp. It will be a taper crimp and will look like the case mouth is smooched in flatter against the bullet and into the cannelure. Roll crimps are used on revolver cartridges while auto pistol and rifle cartridges tend to be taper crimps.

[Argentum]

That would be it, and now is entirely obvious... When I was reading Hornady's info on the dies, I thought they were all roll-crimp unless they specifically said taper. But that just applies to the pistol dies. Thanks for clearing that up!