Should You Crimp Your Ammunition?

Applying a crimp to ammunition is an often debated subject. Some individuals believe crimping ammunition is not necessary, while others believe it can help further maintain consistency and accuracy. While crimping can be advantageous in some situations, it may not be necessary for all applications. Here, we’re diving into crimping dies and helping you determine if they’re right for your needs.

How Does a Crimping Die Work?

Crimping dies secure the bullet within the cartridge case by applying pressure around the case mouth. The crimping die has a precisely sized ring, or collet, at the bottom that matches the bullet diameter. As the ram is raised, the case mouth is forced into this ring, which causes the case mouth to be slightly squeezed inwards. The amount of crimp is controlled by how far the die is tightened down. More turns will create a tighter, heavier crimp.

Who Uses Crimping Dies?

While crimping dies are not exactly necessary to all ammunition operations, they’re still used for many different applications. These include:

Ammunition reloaders: Hobbyists, competitive shooters, and hunters are some of the biggest users of crimping dies. These individuals use crimping dies to fine-tune the performance of their cartridges, helping to maintain consistency and accuracy.
Commercial ammunition manufacturers: Crimping dies are often used as part of the production process to ensure bullets are securely seated in the cases, which provides consistent performance and reliability.

Are Crimping Dies Necessary?

The crimping process ensures that the bullet is firmly held in place within the cartridge case, which prevents it from moving forward or backward. Consistent crimping can lead to improved accuracy and consistency in bullet performance. However, it’s not exactly necessary in all cases.

For example, most rifle ammunition does not need to be crimped, as the neck tension alone is usually enough to retain the bullet. Crimping will be more common for high-recoiling cartridges, such as magnum rifle rounds or rounds fired from semi-automatic firearms. Lower recoil rounds will generally not require a crimp. For ammunition reloaders, crimping bullets may be a matter of personal preference. When it comes to factory ammunition, manufacturers tend to use crimps selectively. They’re typically reserved for high recoil rounds that need to keep the bullet firmly in place. However, manufacturers may avoid crimps on precision ammunition where accuracy is paramount.

Turn to Pivot Precision for Custom Crimping Dies

For ammunition manufacturers, high-quality crimping dies are crucial for consistent products. If you’re in need of crimping dies for your operation, turn to the experts at Pivot Precision. As a leading tooling manufacturer, we have a history of high-quality tooling production for businesses in the ammunition and firearm spaces. We’ll get to know your business, understanding your needs so we can create tooling that’s up to your exact specifications. What’s more, we maintain an ISO 9001:2015 to hold us to the highest standards in manufacturing excellence.

As a privately owned tooling supplier, our workforce sustains a culture of meeting challenging specifications, delivering the highest quality tooling and maintaining customer satisfaction standards. And, with a location near airports and interstates, we’re uniquely positioned for quick delivery on international and domestic shipments.

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Want to learn more about what we can do for you? Reach out to our team for an initial consultation.

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