I ordered bullets for a 475 Linebaugh
I ordered bullets for a 475 Linebaugh. Anyone who has loaded this round knows that a cannelure, or crimp groove, is required for revolver rounds. Reeds knows it, too. That's why they only show smashed up, mushroomed bullets on their site. I bought them from Gun Broker where they only show loaded rounds. Reeds won't show just the plain bullet because you'd see that they have no cannelure. I received the bullets and immediately asked (via email) about it. Reeds replied by saying "If you use the Hornady or Lee crimp die you'll be all set. We do not cannelure our bullets as there is no need with a crimp die." For the record, and for anyone who has just started reloading, if there is no crimp groove (cannelure), do NOT try to roll crimp a bullet. You end up mashing a crimp into the bullet and disforming it, which will cause unusual pressure spikes, inconsistent neck tension, and inaccurate rounds. Sure...it CAN be done. But read any of the reputable reloading manuals, or watch some videos, and you'll see it is highly advised to NOT do it. You can taper crimp bullets. But a taper crimp is insufficient to retain bullets in the shell in a revolver with recoil like the 475 Linebaugh. Once I read their reply, I knew I was dealing with ignorance, so I just let it go. I sent the Reeds bullets to Hawk Bullets and paid to have a cannelure pressed into the bullets (Hawk is a great company, by the way). When I first shot the Reeds bullets, even with the cannelure, I had two rounds in the first cylinder jump the crimp and bind up my pistol. I finally removed the rounds, pulled the bullets, and measured them. One was .471, and the other was .4725. My pistol requires .475 from a jacketed bullet, and .476 for a cast bullet. So, I measured all 100 bullets from Reeds and found 11 that were unusable, being way too small to even try to load. Several were on the edge of useable, but I'll just increase the crimp and hope for the best. At more than a dollar a round, I'm not happy. But I marked it up to tuition cost... learning who the good companies are and who not to deal with. Once I've shot all the shootable bullets, I won't order from Reeds again. And don't let their "Disabled Veteran Owned and Veteran Operated" claim affect you. I'm an Army veteran of 32 years with multiple wartime combat deployments. It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with quality service.








