
If you want to crimp, your bullets have to have a cannelure which is an indentation around the bullet. Any decent reloading manual will tell you exactly how to do this. You said that you reload 38 special, any wadcutter lead bullet will have a cannelure so you probably already know about this. In most bolt action and magazine fed rifles this is not necessary, semi autos or tube fed rifles or hard kicking rifles usualy will require a crimp.