Peregrine Plainsmaster [VLR4 & VLR5] bullets are manufactured with a single crimping groove and bullet geometry is such that the full cartridge length will be reached when the bullet is seated at crimping groove depth. Please note that the VLR and VRG bullet families are mostly not sensitive to jump and the bullet nose will take up all the available magazine length. A crimp groove is square at the front to prevent bullet push-in and this can also used as a reference for seating. Plainsmaster [VLR4 & VLR5] bullets feature a single crimping groove. This crimping groove is usually compliant with SAAMI specifications to also accommodate crimping for factory produced ammunition. As a rule of thumb we do not recommend crimping when hand loading bolt action rifles in 9.3mm calibre and smaller. Big Bore [375H&H and bigger] rifles require crimping due to excessive recoil. For most VLR4 and VLR5 Plainsmaster type bullets, seating such that the case mouth is in the middle of the first ring usually correspond to magazine length. See first three items in the illustration. Please note that it is beneficial to seat the bullet longer out “if” there is room to extend cartridge overall length [COL] inside the magazine. Not all rifles are the same.
For VRG2 and VRG3 Bushmaster bullets there may be more than one crimping groove. Any of the crimping grooves can be used. See the item far right in the illustration. Due to the shape of the VRG3 bullet some rifles may prefer a different groove near or far to facilitate smooth and fast feeding from the magazine.
It is important to use the same seating arrangement [COL] when switching between expanding and non expanding bullets of the same family e.g. VLR4 and VLR5 or VRG2 and VRG3. The graphic illustration is just a recommendation as the re-loader may want to adapt the seating depth to personal preference for various reasons. Also note that reload data on our website suggest seating depths for each load that may be slightly different than the general guideline above.
In general it is advisable that 375 and bigger calibre’s require crimping to prevent the bullet from being knocked deeper into the case due to recoil. It is also recommended to perform a neck crimp regardless of the calibre size if the ammo will be fired from semi automatic or fully automatic rifles. A crimping groove can be identified by one face that is perpendicular to the case mouth. The rest of the grooves are slanted to allow smooth entry into the case neck.
Note: Full sizing / Neck sizing may be slightly different with monolithic bullets than with lead-core bullets. The bullets may sit loosely in the case when following normal case resizing procedures or neck sizing. This is not due to our bullets being under size. To obtain a smaller final neck size / case mouth (also for thin walled cases) it may be a good idea to remove the de-capping pin and then repeat the resizing procedure.
Excessive annealing can be obtained with modern induction annealing machines such that the case neck is extremely soft and left with very little elasticity. This may work well with bullets with a smooth and even bearing surface but it is not really successful for multi-cannelure bearing surfaces. Try to avoid annealing at extremely high localised temperatures.
Disclaimer: The above is only provided as a guide. Reloading is dangerous and for the skilled person only. Always follow safe reloading practises. Peregrine Bullets may not be held responsible for any reloading suggestions or guidelines provided. Always start with a reduced load for safety reasons.
