Taper Crimp - Hornady dies

[LCFD#22]

I use Hornady dies exclusively. The 9mm,.40 &.45 auto come with a roll crimp in the bullet seating die. I read in the little book that comes with each die set that I could ease down the die and produce what was essentially a taper crimp. Now what I get is a slight taper crimp but it seems to work for me. Does anyone else do this or did anyone buy an extra die? I figured we had a discussion on crimp recently and started to think about it. Not sure if I should just pony up the extra cash or keep going the way I am. They'll work great for the revolver ammo I'm about to start reloading.
I guess my question is really how important is it to have a true taper crimp and not just a slight taper crimp. I can see and feel a difference when I adjust the die down into the position I like. Thoughts?

[rayikeo2]

A slight taper crimp is all you need as long as it removes the bell that you put into the case to help seat the bullets. You can tell if it is enough by using your calipers and measure the case mouth right at the point the bullet enters. If it is returned to factuary deminsions on diameter or up to .002 less than factory. (no more than .002 up to book listed size ( book = your reloading manual) and no larger than the book lists the diameter as. I would give you exact measurements but my reloading manual is not at my desk and I an not sure which or the 3 calibers you are referring to. Look in your manusl for dimensions.

[Mercmar]

I've never used any Hornady dies, but would be surprised if they provided roll crimp dies for straightwall semi-auto handgun reloading. Could be that they're telling you that their taper crimp die will roll crimp, if screwed down far enough??

[LCFD#22]

Hornady lists on their internet site that those calibers listed will roll crimp. Part of the seating die. I have tried it and it does roll crimp. I have not talked with anyone at Hornady about this though. That's why they sell a separate die for taper crimp in those calibers. I've looked it up and found some other guys writing about this on other forums. One actually spoke to a rep and they said it is a "roll crimp" the reason being they had a hell of a time with trying to incorporate a taper crimp in with the seating die. Like what Rayikeo was saying that's about what I'm doing with the roll crimp to produce a taper crimp. My first few .40's I tried loading with out just to see. I started to have failure to feed issues. Put a slight taper on them and it went away. Thanks for the response fellas. I always like getting some insight from others that know more than I do.

[fredj338]

Originally Posted by LCFD#22

One actually spoke to a rep and they said it is a "roll crimp" the reason being they had a hell of a time with trying to incorporate a taper crimp in with the seating die. Like what Rayikeo was saying that's about what I'm doing with the roll crimp to produce a taper crimp. My first few .40's I tried loading with out just to see. I started to have failure to feed issues. Put a slight taper on them and it went away. Thanks for the response fellas. I always like getting some insight from others that know more than I do.

I find that hard to believe as everyone els has been doing taper crimp in a seating die for decades. It is more diff w/ lead bullets to seat & crimp in one step, but I still do it w/ some calibers on a ss press. For a progressive, you have the extra stn & adding a separate crimp die works a bit better for most.

[LCFD#22]

update, I see that midway is now carrying Hornady dies that do a taper crimp. Was not available when I bought my dies just a few months ago. I would have gone that route. Now I'm going to spend an extra $22 for 3 setups. Damn it my timing sucks.

[Sheldon]

The roll crimp will work, just not as forgiving of variations in the brass length as the taper crimp would be. If you brass is pretty consistant you will be ok. If you set the roll crimp to just remove the belling on the case mouth of a particular casing, the longer cases will go beyond that and start to roll into the bullet. How much will vary with the length variation.

[LCFD#22]

Thank you Sheldon, I never gave that a thought. Should have though, makes perfect sense. I had already decided to just keep going the way I have been. I have not noticed any differences in any of my reloads so far. I'll keep it in mind though.