by crbutler on Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:48 pm
You seem to have already decided this for yourself.
Regarding rifles... to me, bolt, semi auto, or double gun, it's your use that determines crimping, not the platform.
Pretty much anything with substantial recoil needs crimping if you are worrying about absolute reliability. As I said, I have seen black hills .223 ammo put the bullet into the case with some non crimped stuff using an AR. I also have some select fire weapons, and anything going in them is crimped. I have done side by side comparisons of crimp or no crimp. Crimping is an extra step, so if you don't need it, don't do it.
As Rip said, some bullets, it doesn't make a difference with. Bulk FMJ .224 bullets show more dispersal than the crimp gives. Also, while I have only seen it in magnum handguns and in my .470 NE, some times a stiff crimp makes the ammo more accurate than without crimping (supposedly it makes for more uniform ignition.)
Prairie dog ammo I let neck tension deal with it.
Deer hunting, since I refuse to bust them at extended range, 1MOA is plenty accurate, and crimped loads with the bullets I use meet that requirement.
African and out of state/country hunting is all crimped. Some very heavily.
3 gun ammo I crimp.
PRS ammo is not.
Essentially, if my uses require absolute reliability, its crimped. I don't shoot high power or benchrest, and while playing the smallest group game can be rewarding in its own right, for my uses sub moa is good enough, and even with crimping I make that standard.
I don't mic each case, and really am not going to spend the money to acquire neck dies for the multitude of cartridges I reload. Unless you are going to neck turn, your statements about neck tension are a bit too inflexible.
I understand you can go down that road if you are looking for the last increment in accuracy, but I can't shoot that well except with a formal bench rest, and since I have tried comparisons without finding too much difference, it's pointless to me to worry about the minute gains in accuracy vs. the proven increase in reliability. When it makes a difference in my hunting or match scores as far as not crimping, I will reevaluate my plan.