Why Roll Crimp Your Loads?
Handloaders sometimes rely on a star-crimp when they really could have made a better load with a roll crimp. Factory ammunition is almost always fold crimped because assembly is dictated by the needs of efficient, high-speed mechanization. As a handloader crafting each load, you have a choice and opportunity to build loads for a performance objective.
Roll crimped shells give you improved performance for almost every load type. Roll crimps provide consistent closure resistance, delivering ultra-consistent chamber pressures, which shooters know improves long-range accuracy. Large pellets, such as buckshot, heavy payloads and custom hull lengths are just a sampling of other specific reasons to have a roll crimping tool available.
Roll crimped loads are easy to make - once you have the right tools. Roll crimps are applied with a special machined bit which, through a combination of heat and pressure, folds the last 1/4" of a hull inward and down - until the leading edge contacts an overshot card sitting on top of the payload.
Once complete, you have a water-resistant seal that will not shift or allow even the smallest pellets or buffer to dribble out. The ultra-consistent chamber pressures mentioned earlier are much less susceptible, also, to changing weather conditions.
Roll crimping links: | Overshot card wads | Hull Vise | Advantages IV (Includes detailed section about roll crimped loads) |