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Thinking of reloading birdshot for practical shotgun but have questions

A roll crimp is best for semi autos and I want to use fired star crimped hulls so is it possible and easy to reuse and put a good roll crimp on star crimped cases ?

What is the best press to use to get to the "crimp" stage ?

Is it good to use an "auto" indexing press and take shell out at final stage of crimp and put in to roll press ?

I suppose the main important question is can I roll crimp a used star crimp hull ?

Only run pumps with reloads, only ever done star crimps.
The important thing is to have a TAPER profile on the case to allow smooth feeding.

I'd avoid progressive presses...though don't discount them if you get offered one cheap.

MEC single stage or a basic Pacific single stage, or similar, will do to start with.
Top single stage is the Ponsness Warren 375C Du-O-Matic...best MEC single stage is the Sizemaster

I've reloaded star crimped shells with a roll crimp the trick is to shorten it somewhat and using something to soften out the crumples.
This can be done with a conical drill piece which friction softens the top of the cartridge without too much pressure you should get the crumples smooth enough.

Old fold crimped shells will have a tatty edge which I can't ever get to roll well so cut that off. Basically take a shell and cut it back to the closest smaller length.

This can get you a little more use out of cartridges. There's no guarantee you'll get them to cycle happily in a semi (is there ever?!) you might even find that star crimp with a taper works better than your roll crimp + taper!

As saddler says the taper is what matters not the crimp.

saddler wrote:Only run pumps with reloads, only ever done star crimps.
The important thing is to have a TAPER profile on the case to allow smooth feeding.

I'd avoid progressive presses...though don't discount them if you get offered one cheap.

MEC single stage or a basic Pacific single stage, or similar, will do to start with.
Top single stage is the Ponsness Warren 375C Du-O-Matic...best MEC single stage is the Sizemaster

+1.

Roll crimping seems an arse ache to me, compared to star crimping on my MEC (though I did f*** it up on the second batch....)

zanes wrote: Roll crimping seems an arse ache to me, compared to star crimping on my MEC (though I did f*** it up on the second batch....)

Roll crimp is a PTA to get down but once you're setup it's a dream.

I can roll crimp (near enough) ANY load, if I can't give me a pare of scissors and I'll make it so I can (given a long enough cart)!

My fold crimps (Lee LoadAll II) only work if I make a cartridge designed to be star crimped.