Crimping 9mm?

[Jal5]

Just started loading for 9mm. What kind of crimp is needed on bullets with no cannelure like Speer 115 gr TMJ? I think the light taper crimp is the right one for use in 9mm semi auto pistols?  Just picked up the dies a Pacific-Hornady durachrome 3 die set- how do I tell what kind of crimp the seater die makes? Or do I need to find a separate crimp die? thanks.

Joe

[Luckyducker]

I think the Pacific dies you have use a taper crimp in the seating die, but am not positive.  If I were you I would get a LEE Precision Factory Crimp Die and crimp as a seperate procedure.  Also, with either the taper crimp or the FCD you can crimp without the presence of a crimp groove for semi-auto pistol use.

[Graybeard]

So far as I know all brands of dies have the correct taper crimp in their 9mm dies even Lee should have. Since the round headspaces on the case mouth it must not be crimped any other way.

[Jal5]

Thanks Bill that is what I thought, and I will try out a dummy round tonite with them and see how they crimp.

joe

[Jal5]

I experimented on a dummy round and it does taper crimp.

When crimping for this round you have to watch the measurement at the case mouth closely right? If it gets crimped smaller than the specs does that mean you have the die body turned too far down? Thanks.

Joe

[stimpylu32]

Joe

Not sure what you mean by smaller , if its smaller in Dia. at the case mouth , as in too much crimp , then yes you need to back the crimp off just a bit .

If your seating and crimping in the same step , you will need to turn the seater in the same amount as you turned the die out , so you will keep the bullet seated to the same COL.

stimpy

[Jal5]

Stimpy- yes I meant if it gets smaller dia. at the mouth of the case. I cannot remember now what the dimensions of the cartridge are supposed to be, but .377-378 at the mouth after crimping seems to be right. My dummy round measures slightly smaller than that several thousandths smaller if I remember right but I don't have it here now to look at.  So I will back off the die and see how close I can get to that 377-378 measurement. Right now I am seating and crimping separately, it gets too confusing for me to do them simultaneously!

Joe

[Autorim]

Seat and crimp in separate operations and you will have few problems. You can mike the finished round at the case neck to keep it within specs. You have not made reference to OAL which can be critical in the 9mm.

Follow your loading manual for OAL with the bullet you are using. I suggest loading dummy rounds and checking them for fit in the magazine, chambering and ejection in the intended firearm. If you can eject the dummy cartridges, the fired case should extract and eject with a powder charge that is sufficient to push the slide to full lock. With the 9mm or any auto, I load some to check for function before loading a lot more.

[Jal5]

Thanks Autorim those were good suggestions. I did make up a dummy round and it cycled fine through the pistol. I don't have it in front of me, but I think it was 1.137 OAL. This is for a P38 I am restoring so I plan to go with a light load for the Speer manual for the 115gr TMJ bullet.

Joe