[mattri]

Marlin 336 in 30-30 shoots best with bullets seated out to where the crimp hits just below the cannelure. The rounds are not out of spec and cycle fine. Any reason to not do this?

 

[Hank in Arkansas]

I don't see that as a problem, as long as the bullets are firmly held in the neck. Take a loaded round and put the bullet against the side of the loading bench. Give it a firm push by hand; if it stays put, you should be "good to go". I frequently crimp rifle bullets that don't have a cannelure, for my AR10 in .308Win. I just make sure that they pass my "push test", and I also make sure that my crimp is not so firm as to seriously deform the bullet. A little crimp goes a long way.

 

[papajohn]

As long as you have good neck tension, you should be fine. The Lee FCD would be a good idea, if you have one. If not, it might be time to pony up for one. 8)

 

[mattri]

Sorrry to not be clearer in the original post.

I'm using a Lee FCD, the crimp is just like it should be. The bullet just sits high enough out of the case that the case is cripmed into the bullet just bellow the cannelure ring. The loads cycle from the magazine and shoot very well.

 

[lostapiarist]

Hmmm thanks for the posts this is something I have been wondering about as well. A lot of times seems the cannelure just isn't low enough.

 

[DWB]

Different rifles - different throats. Each barrel is kind of a rule unto itself.

Not to mention that cannelure placement on some bullets of the same brand and weight (like Remington componenet bullets, in particular) vary from bullet to bullet.

 

[papajohn]

Something else to consider is that if you have a bullet with no cannelure (crimping groove) you can apply one yourself where you want it to be. Corbin and C-H both make tools for such..........

http://www.corbins.com/hct-1.htm

http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,5515.html

 

[Sensai]

+1 for the Lee factory Crimp Die. Collet type dies have an advantage over linear swaging crimp dies when you don't have a cannelure. They don't produce that bulge behind the crimp. Sometimes you can wind up with less neck tension on the bullet with a hard conventional crimp, than with no crimp at all. Worth looking at, anyway!

 

[mattri]

Using the Lee dies. Things look ok so I'm going to keep crimping where I'm at, will post if anything new develops.

 

[Hank in Arkansas]

I'd like to second the comment by Sensai, about the advantage of a collet type crimp die. I do like the Lee Factory Crimp die. I have experienced two problems when using a taper crimp on 5.56mm (.223Rem) and 7.62mm (.308Win). First, if too much crimp is applied, the neck can bulge out and cause feeding problems if the rifle has a tight throat. Second, as Sensai said, this can also result is less bullet tension than if the crimp was omitted altogether. I've actually encountered a situation where the bullet could be spun by hand in the loaded case, held in place only by the crimp, with all case neck tension removed by the bulge in the neck area.

I know, someone is going to say "you're not doing it right". My answer is that I've loaded many thousands of rounds of 5.56mm and 7.62mm for gas operated semiautos, and that's given me an opportunity to see just about everything EXCEPT any serious problem. Rounds that don't meet muster get broken down and reloaded. I do think the Lee FCD is the neatest thing since sliced bread. And I've tried just about every brand of die available.