July 10, 2026, 08:00 PM
flesheatingvirus.44Mag Crimp/Seating Evaluation
Still getting the feel for .44Mag reloading. Tightest crimp is on the left, lightest on the right. A 200 grain JHP is on top so you can see the height of the cannelure. I tried to seat so that the case mouth was approximately in the middle of it. I’m getting some conflicting information on whether the cannelure is to aid crimping or is ONLY to help attach the jacket to the lead, therefore you should ignore it when seating/crimping.
This is using a Lee factory crimp die. You can see that the jacket has been deformed in the first two crimps, but is fairly straight in the third, lighter crimp.
Thoughts on the crimp level? COAL is 1.59”, thought I feel like I could go a hair deeper so that only the top third of the cannelure is showing.
I will be acquiring some 200gr or less Hi-Tek coated lead bullets with an actual crimp groove for light target loads in the near future.