Roll Crimping

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by Ed Blake

When you say reduce a pattern, you mean the shot pattern opens up with an overshot card under a fold crimp?

It depends on what you use for an overshot card. if it's tough enough to hold together it can disrupt the pattern and create a spreader load. Always best to pattern something like that so you know for sure what it's doing.

[Cory Rams]

Will do I think I’m also gonna load some up today with the hulls cut a little longer so I put a nitro card between the charge and plastic shot cup. Then I might try a card board OS card over the top.


It’s my normal 100 grain charge of FG with 1 5/8 oz of shot I use for turkey. Instead of using a half-inch nitro card I eliminated it and added a BPI tough wad that I slit all four pedals down to the base and then I trimmed the wad down to 1.458 inches. I also removed about 13 grains of shot and added back in 13 grains of original buffer just trying to tighten up my load pattern because I’m not really impressed with anything I’ve gotten so far tight enough for what I would call a good turkey hunting load past 25 yards.
I will pattern halfway decent 40 yards but I figured a plastic shot. Cuff and buffer might be the answer.

I don’t have a way to fold crimp so roll crimping is my only option currently.

I’ll be curious to see which one patterns better. From what I’ve read those plastic OS cards are supposed to shatter when firing and just blow out of the way I guess I’ll find out the pattern board will tell me all.

[Cory Rams]

Got a little fancy with my load today. I loaded up a few to try with my normal hundred grain charge of FG and a 15/8oz load. Instead of using a half inch nitro card. I ended up using an 8th inch thick nitro card that I split down from a quarter inch nitro card. I didn’t use the BPI tough wad cut down to 1.458 inches and slit all four pedals to the base. Took about eight #5 pellets out and added the weight back in with BPI original buffer. He did put a thin piece of question wide inside the shot cup and then I added one to the top of it to keep the buffer from coming out. I also put a cardboard over the top and roll crimped it. Hopefully it tightens up my load with the buffer and plastic shot cup. Anyways, here’s a picture of my role crimps they turned out really nice. Using Winchester hulls i’m guessing a rebranded Chedite. They are super soft and started bulging just above the brass so I have to watch it when I roll crimp them. Loaded up at 3 1/2 inch the same hall a half an hour later and basically crushed the top of the hall so I had to pull it and start over with a fresh hull. Never had that happen before roll crimping I’m wondering if I just didn’t have enough lube in my four pin roller???

[Stan Hoover]

Here ya go Rick!

[Rick Roemer]

Thank you Stan!

[Laurence Frank]

I have done only a little roll crimping, some 12's but mostly short tens, using antique hand cranked 3 pin roll crimpers. I don't have any loaded ones on hand to photograph but they look okay to me. Can anyone tell me how the results of an antique crimper compare to using a modern unit in a hand drill or drill press?

Thanks.

[edgarspencer]

I have accumulated many of the old, hand crank crimpers over the years, and have possibly the only 28ga hand roller I've ever seen, on loan.
The quality of the crimp varies to some degree, but a high quality tool, such as the Bridgeport Gun Implement, will roll as well, if not better that a tool in the drill press.
You'll have to take my word, but my BGI 12 is faster than the drill press. I'll load up 25 or 50 or whatever, set them in a wooden block, and then do all the crimping at once. The tool holds the shell, and it takes no more than 4-5 turns of the crank, and ejects the crimped shell. Everything else I do, I have to clamp them in the Ballistic Products vise, come down with the quill, and warm up the lip, then crimp.

[Rick Roemer]

Can you roll plastic as well as paper with the old hand crank type? I am sure they were meant for paper.

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Rick Roemer

Can you roll plastic as well as paper with the old hand crank type? I am sure they were meant for paper.

Yes, the old tools roll plastic just fine. You can’t roll a plastic hull that was previously Star crimped and expect to get a nice looking shell, but trimming once fired 23/4” shells to 21/2” will give a nice appearance. I found re-rolling plastic not worth the bother ad they get pretty deformed when fired. Goes without saying, don’t load BP in plastic roll crimped. They get pretty nasty.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Edgar, that’s pretty slick!