How is one assured of the correct crimp on a jacketed bullet with no cannelure?

Question

The crimp on a bullet with a cannelure can be measured with a caliper but, not on a jacketed bullet, in my experience. The jacket will not yield, perceptibly, when applying the crimp. This is important when the cartridge head spaces on the case mouth. Improper crimp can cause pressure problems but, if you understand the question you already know that.
Thanks,
George

Answer 1

Take a loaded round and push the point of the bullet against a hard object like a piece of wood. If the bullet does not move with moderate pressure the crimp is good. Over crimping is bad, so start with a crimp you think might not be quite enough, and always use a taper crimp. If the bullet moves, use your bullet puller to remove the bullet and start with another sized case and keep checking until it is right.
I've found Glocks to be particularly sensitive to crimping problems, but I still love my Glocks...

Answer 2

Minor taper crimps on autoloader cartridges have always made me a little nervous, too. You obviously can't roll-crimp, and there's probably a scientific way to measure and explain, but I just set the die for a minimal crimp and as long as the bullet isn't backing up in the case, I leave the die setting alone..

Answer 3

by the PSI that is applied to the round jacketed or not