You want your bullet to have the least amount of jump and still fit in the chamber. On most of my guns, this usually means the first piece of brass and the first bullet are used to set the dies for the press, and tailor the ammo for the gun. In this case, I would seat the bullet, and adjust length to the nearest cannelure allowing the round to chamber and function in the gun.
Second comment made in the posts above were regarding crimp. Someone said you can seat a bullet to any length you like and not crimp it. I will not dispute this as it is likely true. (You can do most anything you want with your own press and components.) However, I will state with fact, if you do not crimp a load that should be crimped, you are not securing the accuracy potential of the load nor of the gun you are shooting. Most handgun loads rely on taper crimp, roll crimp, or both to obtain optimal ignition and bullet acceleration. Just like launching a jet off an aircraft carrier, if you don't get the acceleration at the right time, it just might not work right.
Please don't take this wrong. There are some handgun loads that do not require a crimp. I shoot a 7mm Super mag in a T/C. It has a 1/10" neck. No crimp. The neck basically holds the bullet in place to center it in the barrel. If you use the right combination of primer, powder, and bullet, you get excellent accuracy and a relatively clean barrel. Use the wrong powder or primer, and you get messy bore and shotgun patterns.
I know of
NO .44 mag load that does not require a crimp. Most powders used in .44 mag cases rely on that crimp to hold the bullet in place until the powder has started to ignite. On a good load, the powder ignition is usually near 100% before the base of the bullet leaves the case. On some not-so-good loads, the ignition does not accel to 100% and with revolvers, you get little bits of unburned powder spitting between the barrel and cylinder gap.
I shot my SBH .44 4 5/8" barrel about 30 shots two weeks ago. Two cylinders (I only load 5) were fired at a 6" gong at 200 yards. I hit it 2/5 first time and 3/5 second time. This load was averaging 4 shots of 5 under an inch at 25 yards off the bench. I seat bullet, taper crimp, then roll crimp into crimp groove on the bullet. I did leave black marks on my sand bag, but had no cutting into the bag. Cylinder is nearly clean, as is the barrel. I could have easliy shot another 50 rounds and not had unsightly smoke marks on my stainless finish.
My little gun is not only accurate due to the load, but also stays a little cleaner. There are advantages to crimping the bullets in place over an above preventing bullet movement from recoil.
Your gun, your call. Consequences of not crimping loads for a Smith 29 would become aparent faster than I typed this message.
Shoot straight and keep 'em on the target.
Steve
