Hey guys,

I am thinking about getting a 375 win or 45-70 barrel for my encore. I plan on loading for whatever one I get. I am an experienced reloader, but have never reloaded straightwall rifle shells before. Do they need to be crimped like pistol cartridges? How much crimp do these need if loading for a single shot rifle? Any help would be great!

thanks,
vanbuzen9

For the Encore [single shot] crimping is not necessary, and in fact may not be desired. Shoot some of both and pick the most accurate! MV

As stated, you do not need to crimp for your singleshot Encore.

Loading straight walled rifle cases is similar to loading handgun cases - you will get three dies in the box with one being the belling, or flaring die for the case mouth. The mouth must have a slight bell to it for bullet seating purposes. The bullet seating die will reduce the bell back to straight wall dimensions. The trick is to bell only enough to allow the bullet to be seated, but not gross enough that will cause difficulty in using the seating die. Start small and enlarge the bell in tiny increments until by trial and error you establish that which is necessary.

The Lyman "M" die is a great one for loading straight walled cases with bullets, either cast or jacketed. Nice addition to your reloading die setup.

Lyman also offers a Taper Crimp die that can be adjusted incrementally to remove the "bell" from the case mouth. I use this type die for my cast bullet loads in 40-70 SS, 45-70, and 45 LC.

Sometimes the cartridge is hard to chamber if there is a little too much bell on the case mouth.

This may help you. I would suggest you crimp all straight wall cartridge loads. It is most likely how the cartridge was loaded when the load data was generated. The crimp will aid in getting consistent pressure.

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/49

Flashhole is right. Go with the crimp.
I get great accuracy with my Marlin 45/70 Guide gun.
Naturally, all of my loads are crimped.
It is the way the 45/70 was meant to be loaded.
It doesn't take much longer to make a nice crimp. If you do what the guys suggested on crimping, you will have a very consistent and accurate reload.

Eric

Big plus with the crimping is you can set your sizer for minimum sizing and still have reliable bullet seating. The idea that it is a straight walled case is true in a sense but they do taper and sometimes the sizing can give you a lot of problems when seeking accuracy.

I always full length resize my 45-70 but I think I'll try what you suggest above.