DucksBucks

In pistol shell reloading what is the difference in roll and taper crimp. The plan is to reload 45 ACP from a Lyman press.

NE Hunter

I can't fully explain the diference to you but I do know that the taper crimp is recomended for the .45 ACP

GringoHunter

I load 44 mag for a desert eagle and 2 revolvers. I experimented with both the taper and roll crimps. The taper crimp is for bullets with no cannelure (Groove). The roll crimp is for bullets WITH the cannelure. The powders I use require a firm crimp to work correctly, I use W296, H110 & AA#9. The roll crimp rolls the case edge into the cannelure. The taper crimp squeezes the case against the bullet. Trying to taper crimp to firmly can distort or damage the bullet jacket, also case length variations cause inconsistant crimps. The main goal when crimping is uniformity, it takes practice. Both crimps seem to work equally well for me as long as in each batch the crimp is as close to the same as possible. Hope this helps, good luck.

Gringo Hunter

halcon

Gringo I use the taper crimp on my 44mags and use them in a lever action rifle . I wondered about the recoil being a problem with the taper but so far it never has been. You must have set it pretty tight to start distorting the bullet .

Deleted User

[Deleted by Admins]

aunsaber

I also taper crimp on the ones that headspace off the front of the case, it the right way but I roll crimp everything else. Especially with slow burning pistol powders.
Even though a lot of people say I don't need to crimp for my bolt actions I still do. I have found I get better results with a good crimp and neck tension is not as important. There is a reason the factories all do it.

James B

As someone else said be sure to taper crimp any case that headspaces on the case mouth. I have become a believer in the Lee factory crimp for all of my loads. I seem to get more uniform Chronograph reading with those dies.