# To crimp or not... and a little more...



## omegax (Oct 25, 2006)

I'm the very proud owner of a DPMS LR-260 that I built up from a stripped lower. Now, I'm reloading. The manual suggests crimping for military style actions, but I have a hard time finding premium 6.5mm bullets with a cannelure. Do I _really_ need to crimp?

I've been shopping around for other bullets, and I see the Hornady SSTs have a cannelure, but it's hard to find loads for 129 grain bullets. What's the rule of thumb on oddball weights? I see that 120 grain loads use more powder than 140s. If I kept it under the max for 140, I should be pretty safe, right?


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

I have a LR-260 and I have loaded 123 amax and 140 smks. I just start with low book and move up slowly. I don't crimp. I have measured before and after chambering a number of times, it hasn't moved yet.

You don't need a canelure to crimp.


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