Is crimping a bullet necessary?

Hard-kicking revolvers, for example, require crimping to prevent the bullets from being pulled out of the case under recoil. Rifles having tubular magazines, such as the Winchester Model 94, also require bullets to be firmly crimped to prevent their being forced back into the case under recoil.

What is the difference between a cartridge casing and bullet?

As nouns the difference between cartridge and bullet is that cartridge is (firearms) the package consisting of the bullet, primer, and casing containing gunpowder; a round of ammunition () while bullet is a projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed.

Why does a bullet leave the barrel of the gun?

From shooter to target the bullet is dropping after it noses over at apogee, the highest point of the bullet arc. We fire upwards at an angle to compensate for bullet drop, this arc stretches out from the muzzle forming an upward angle of departure.

Are bullet casings hot after fired?

Yes, when you fire a round the spent cartridge is extremely hot. Hot enough to leave a permanent burn scar on a person if it falls in their shirt. Shotshells are often made of plastic and are warm but not hot as plastic is a better insulator than metal.

Can you over crimp?

If you crimp too much, you’ll get a round that won’t chamber or won’t shoot accurately. I have a sample that was over-crimped into a jacketed . 45 ACP 230-grain roundnose, and when the case couldn’t be crimped any more (the hard bullet stopped inward progress) the case then buckled.

What does a crimp look like?

Crimp beads are shaped like a hollow round bead and come in a variety of sizes and metals. To secure them to jewelry wire, flatten the crimp bead with a pair of flat or chain nose pliers. The flattened bead grips the jewelry wire.

Do bullets travel faster than the speed of sound?

When bullets fly through the air, they do so at amazing speeds. The fastest bullets travel more than 2,600 feet per second. That’s equivalent to over 1,800 miles per hour. To put that in perspective, it’s amazing to realize that bullets travel over twice the speed of sound!

What are the basics of crimping a bullet?

Here, we’re going to stick to the basics of crimping. Cartridges like 9mm and .45 ACP use a taper crimp. Most semi-automatic cartridges use taper crimping. That’s the process we just defined of restoring the case mouth to the proper diameter. With a taper crimp, nothing is done to try to force the brass into the bullet.

How does roll crimping work on bottleneck cartridges?

The edge of the cartridge case “digs” into a groove in the bullet, helping to prevent forward or backward movement. You can use roll crimping on cartridges that headspace on the rim or shoulder of a bottleneck cartridge case because the cartridge case mouth edge is not relevant to proper headspacing.

Why do different calibers have different crimps?

Different calibers use different means of controlling headspace, and that impacts that type of crimp that can be used. Straight wall pistol cartridges like 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP use the edge of the cartridge case mouth to control headspace.

Why don’t we use roll crimps on rimless pistols?

Because almost all of our popular rimless pistol cases — think 9mm Luger, .40 S&W and .45 ACP — use a good, square case mouth for headspacing, a roll crimp wouldn’t be a good idea, and the taper crimp is more than adequate to keep the bullets where you seat them during the violent cycling of the action.