Cannelure Tool and 230s

[TacoTaco]

Good tip, thx. I'll post up some pics of my first attempt at using the Cannelure tool for the experts to judge. I've never done this before, so I'm sure there will be a bit of trial and error. I'm going to use a factory cannelured bullet as a reference for depth.

[gunnut]

This is it. http://www.ch4d.com/catalog/bullet/12000
$68 + shipping
Should do the trick!
I will be getting one. Unless someone has a better idea.

[Hoot]

Wow, it sure looks like the design was well thought out. WRT the line wandering, which I am quite adept at doing with a tubing cutter. You'd think all they had to do was limit the bullet's ability to drift forward and back within the jig and it would be a one pass solution. I'm assuming the jig allows you to position where on the bullet you want the cannelure to be, not just the middle? Dang! Now you got me interested as well. Do post some pictures of how they turn out.

Hoot

[TacoTaco]

UPDATE: Received the CH4D Tool today. Here's my first stab at it, with a 300gr XTP Mag in the middle for comparison. So far I'm pretty happy with it. Once I get my 45/70 crimp die reworked, I'll post up some more pics and run a few tests. Standby!

[wildcatter]

UPDATE: Received the CH4D Tool today. Here's my first stab at it, with a 300gr XTP Mag in the middle for comparison. So far I'm pretty happy with it. Once I get my 45/70 crimp die reworked, I'll post up some more pics and run a few tests. Standby!

Ya did good boss.

Let the OAL regulate where you want the cannelure to be at and then adjust the lsc to that mark.

Remember, you want the lsc to be somewhat narrower than the cannelure width. The lee fcd crimp is .100" wide and is way to wide for that bullet groove of yours. So if the cannelure is say .050" wide, make your side crimp something like .020-.040" wide. Mine is .020", but any width, withing reason, is exceptable, provided its narrower than the cannelure width..

..t

[Hoot]

Nice job!
Have you found the results to be consistent and reproducible so far? Also,does it cause a ridge to bulge above the average side height on either side of the cannelure, from displacing copper? If you elect to go with a stab type crimp, what WC said is sage advise. If the FCD collet bite is wider than the cannelure, it'll ride up on the flat surface on either side of the cannelure valley. If I were going to go through the trouble of applying cannelures, it would be to breath some popularity back into the taper crimp as IMHO, a cannelure really enhances the taper crimps effectiveness. I'll find that graphic demonstrating the mouth and cannelure depth, buried somewhere in the postings here.

Found it! Link Here

Like WC said, hopefully, the bullet will be long enough that when you seat it to max COL that fits inside the magazine, you will still have A) at least half the caliber diameter seating depth (more is better) and then you can B) apply the cannelure so that it's almost buried beneath the mouth so that as much taper crimp as possible will catch it. Sometimes a compromise has to be made though. If the bullet is short as is sometimes the case with the 230 FMJs, it's hard to load them to 2.26 COL and still have .26 seated inside the case. There, you have to decide whether the additional powder capacity of the longer COL does not compromise the alignment of the bullet from too little insertion depth, not to mention loss of contact area between the bullet and the case, regardless of whether you put a cannelure to work or not. Heavier FMJs are usually longer, so it's not as much of a challenge. I'm planning on doings a shallow stab crimp but applied multiple times down the case, to get good tension without creating scars on the inside that won't iron out from the pressure of firing it.

Hoot

[TacoTaco]

Tim--Thanks for the tip on crimp width. A buddy of mine has a lathe, so he's going to turn down the 45/70 die for me. I could do it with a dremel (like in the write up on this site), but I figure if I have a lathe it'll come out a little bit neater.

Hoot- I haven't checked it for consistency/repeatability yet. The only bullets I've crimped so far are the ones in the picture. (I've got a 4.5 month old baby....she regulates my free time quite well.) I think I'll try the 250 FTX's first with the Hornady Taper Crimp. I've got reams of data with my current load, I'll be interested to see what happens when I take the same load, cannelure the bullets, and crimp with the Hornady. I'll keep everyone posted.

[TacoTaco]

Ok all, here is the latest on my little experiment: The left bullet is an untouched 250gr FTX, the right is a cannelured 250gr FTX, and the center is a loaded round. The round is my standard load for FTX's: 38.0gr Lil Gun, 2.235 COL, no flare. The differences between this load and my normal load is the cannelure and a crimp using the Hornady crimp die, a step I normally don't do. I made two different loadings of this round, one with a moderate crimp and one with a heavy crimp. Hopefully tomorrow I can fire these and let everyone know how they compare to my standard, non-cannelured/crimped load.

Oh, and FYI: Having never done this before, I basically "winged it" when I determined the location of the cannelure. I loaded a dummy round to the proper COL, and marked the case mouth/bullet interface with a sharpie. I then pulled the bullet, and used the black line as a reference to set up the height of the cannelure on the cannelure tool. Seems to have worked, for now anyway.

More updates to follow.

[Hoot]

That looks very promising Taco. You should see an increase in velocity with a heavy taper crimp laid into that cannelure. As part of an experiment for the range tomorrow, I crimped one load step of five 300 gr Hornady XTP Mag bullets and I taper crimped to .473 with little effort on the lever. I usually go .474 into a cannelure on a .452 bullet, but this experiment involves one last hurrah with AA1680 and any retentivity I can add is a plus with that slowpoke. Lil Gun can always use more retention. Sounds like your winging it is spot on. I look forward to reading your results.

Hoot

[wildcatter]

That looks very promising Taco. You should see an increase in velocity with a heavy taper crimp laid into that cannelure. As part of an experiment for the range tomorrow, I crimped one load step of five 300 gr Hornady XTP Mag bullets and I taper crimped to .473 with little effort on the lever. I usually go .474 into a cannelure on a .452 bullet, but this experiment involves one last hurrah with AA1680 and any retentivity I can add is a plus with that slowpoke. Lil Gun can always use more retention. Sounds like your winging it is spot on. I look forward to reading your results.

Hoot

Hoot,

A suggestion here.

If the 1680 doesn't take off, with the heavier tapper crimp, take another five with you, using your improved tapper crimp AND the side crimp. Shoot'em both and you'll have a side-by-side comparison. If the powder doesn't light up then, 1680 will be relegated to 325's and heavier.

The Gunny just did this, with the LM project, and its what was needed to get 296 to finally take-off and the results were quite startling..

..t