HappySniper & TNFrank: Thank you :)

@Bocadan: just a cautionary note: too little crimp results in ammo whose bullets can reseat when loose or even in the magazine,resulting in overlength rounds (magazine jams, failure to feed, failure to return to battery or firing out of battery) while underlength rounds will cause overpressure inside the chamber when firing.

BUT by and large, less crimp is better than too much crimp, as this can result in a catastrophic chamber detonation.

If you are doing a taper crimp, simply measure the crimp (outside case diameter at the crimp) of factory ammo and adjust your crimping dieto the exact diameter. With roll crimps, it is a little trickier.

A good rule of thumb (yeah, been doing this so long, the TLAR method works for me...."That Looks About Right" ) and all i do is visually inspect the first couple of finished rounds. Before seating, the case mouth is chamfered and deburred, and when done loading, the edge of the case mouth should not appear totally straight but have a slight cant inwards to the bullet....it is not digging into the bullet (due to the material removed in chamfering and deburring) but instead uses the interior diameter to grip the bullet firmly. Confusing, I know. Maybe TN can describe this better, I know he knows what I am talking about.

In a nutshell: too little crimp will give you headaches maybe, but too much crimp can blow up the gun.

Go slow with calibrating your gear, and you will enjoy many years (and save many dollars!!!) with your new hobby!

Enjoy and shoot safe!