question for reloaders
 

I was told that you can take unfired factory ammunition and put them in a lee factory crimp die and improve the accuracy by 50%.
My question is can you do this with steel and brass or just brass?

Re: question for reloaders
 

I shoot with men who are nearing or in their 60's. They've been mentoring me for 11 years in shooting and reloading.
Never have I heard them say any such thing. They've discussed how in the National Guard and civilian competition they'd pull the bullets, dump the powder, reload with a different powder charge, and put the same bullet back on top. Maybe change the seating depth and that's it. The purpose was to get more accuracy.

Sounds like someone is exaggerating to you.

Re: question for reloaders
 

Sorry, but that sounds like a lot of bovine excrement. Accuracy depends on a lot of things, not just the bullet crimp. Recrimping the ammo might give you a nice consistent bullet release force from the case, but would do nothing to address:
- powder load variations
- bullet weight variations
- primer flash hole variations
- case mouth thickness uniformity
- bullet seating depth variations
- cartridge (bullet seating) concentricity
- and a whole lot more I don't even know about

I like the Lee factory crimp die - it allows me to crimp bullets in place without taking the chance of collapsing case shoulders (like I still sometimes do with older style dies). I've never seen it as a way of "accurizing" factory ammo.

Re: question for reloaders
 

From the Lee Precision website: http://www.leeprecision.com/html/cat...ies-crimp.html

"Lee Factory Crimp Die:

*Crimps the bullet in place more firmly than any other tool.
*It is impossible to buckle the case as with regular roll crimp dies.
*Trim length is not critical.
*Tests demonstrate that even bullets which have no cannelure will shoot more accurately if crimped in place with the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

Factory ammunition is often more accurate and better able to withstand rough handling because the bullet is firmly crimped in place. A firm crimp improves accuracy because pressure must build to a higher level before the bullet begins to move. This higher start pressure insures a more uniform pressure curve and less velocity variation. Even powder selection is less critical.

Until now, handloaders seated the bullet to touch the rifling to achieve similar results. This is not always possible nor desirable. The Lee Factory Crimp Die is included at no extra charge with Lee PaceSetter Dies. It's just another added value that only Lee Dies offer."

I personally have never used them, so I cannot confirm their claims...SC

Re: question for reloaders
 

Factory ammunition is often more accurate and better able to withstand rough handling because the bullet is firmly crimped in place. A firm crimp improves accuracy because pressure must build to a higher level before the bullet begins to move.

I think Lee is saying that factory ammo is all ready crimped.

Re: question for reloaders
 

thanks, this guy at work was talking about making the factory better.
thanks for the comments guys!