Desert Dog
AH enthusiast
I crimp for 300 win mag up, and do not crimp any of the lessor recoiling rounds. My Redding bushing dies provide plenty of neck tension, but I crimp the bigger recoiling rounds for piece of mind (I have seen loads from a very experienced loader set back on 338 mag during a bear hunt).
Only use the Lee FCD to do the crimping on bottlenose loads. I have tried the rest and they are crappy and inconsistent. Use a light crimp, where the crimp is barely visible, and you are set. Be mindful that a crimp usually increases pressure and MV, so start with milder loads when working with a crimp. I also wipe the edge of the case where it meets the bullet to remove any small shavings that may be present from seating the bullet; this will provide a very consistent surface for the crimp die to work on.
Living in California, I have been loading and using Barnes bullets for many years (because of the lead ban). There are several tricks to getting them to shoot perfectly, and I have grown to prefer them over any lead bullets.
Ironically, to achieve the proper bullet jump, all of my TSX/TTSX/LRX loads seem to be seated just bellow the first groove from the top. You ABSOLUTELY can crimp anywhere you want on a Barnes copper bullet, they state this in all of their literature. The grooves on the Barnes bullets are NOT cannelures, and in fact are almost too large to be utilized as one unless you crimp very aggressively (which will cause other problems). The grooves on the Barnes are so large because they are actually designed as "friction reducers" rather than cannelures, in order to make these long bullets function better and foul barrels less.
Just set your OAL to ogive where your rifle like it, them experiment with a light FCD crimp. Don't worry about where the grooves end up.
Only use the Lee FCD to do the crimping on bottlenose loads. I have tried the rest and they are crappy and inconsistent. Use a light crimp, where the crimp is barely visible, and you are set. Be mindful that a crimp usually increases pressure and MV, so start with milder loads when working with a crimp. I also wipe the edge of the case where it meets the bullet to remove any small shavings that may be present from seating the bullet; this will provide a very consistent surface for the crimp die to work on.
Living in California, I have been loading and using Barnes bullets for many years (because of the lead ban). There are several tricks to getting them to shoot perfectly, and I have grown to prefer them over any lead bullets.
Ironically, to achieve the proper bullet jump, all of my TSX/TTSX/LRX loads seem to be seated just bellow the first groove from the top. You ABSOLUTELY can crimp anywhere you want on a Barnes copper bullet, they state this in all of their literature. The grooves on the Barnes bullets are NOT cannelures, and in fact are almost too large to be utilized as one unless you crimp very aggressively (which will cause other problems). The grooves on the Barnes are so large because they are actually designed as "friction reducers" rather than cannelures, in order to make these long bullets function better and foul barrels less.
Just set your OAL to ogive where your rifle like it, them experiment with a light FCD crimp. Don't worry about where the grooves end up.
