Duck Hunting Chat

Would surely be appreciative of link to any info on use of Gaep Crimp Finishers i.e,drill press speed,time of contact with hull,pressure etc. I am new to them but have heard they put on a nice consistent finish....waiting for back order so good time to have it somewhat figured out I hope.
It has been quite awhile since I’ve been on the site but believe I saw a post that stated “ The late,great BT Justice”...hopefully I am mistaken but if not would be thankful for any info on his passing....had a lot of respect for and learned some crafty things from him.Thanks,Ken.

Every time I reference Joe I give him that respect - The Late Great BT Justice.

Joe died earlier this year - apparently from a prolonged illness. He was always willing to help guys on this forum and gave away data he spent a fortune to develop and collect. He is missed.

As for the Gaep, you can use a drill, but you really need a drill press. You set it at the finished length of your hull and apply the finisher. I use a higher speed, with a shot of WD-40 every few hulls to keep it well lubed. I just apply quick but steady pressure and it cleans up crimps nicely. There are different one, the #4 seems best for steel reloading. Be advised that it will increase your pressures - so guys like 3200 recommend dropping powder charge 1 to 1.5 grains.

Hope this helps.

I think Joe's passing has really impacted this forum. Waaay fewer threads this year. He was a big part of my daily forum enjoyment, more than I knew at the time.

Dave in AZ wrote:I think Joe's passing has really impacted this forum. Waaay fewer threads this year. He was a big part of my daily forum enjoyment, more than I knew at the time.

Couldn't agree more. How's goes that song??? Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you got till it's gone......

RIP BT

I agree with you Fellas Bt was the MAN , so enjoyable to read his comments and so willing to help any way he could !
I had several discussions with Joe about the Gaep tool and as most of you know , he wasn't all that impressed with it !
I would stand my ground as to how much it helped my loads and his reply would be , show me why . Not only having
the Best Looking loads in the marsh I also , after many 10 shot averaging groups , showed the consistency I was getting
over NOT using the Gaep tool . I used it on my 10 ga and my 12 ga Waterfowl loads as will as one for my specialty clay
target loads . By using these Gaep'ed loads on Pigeons I could see , how much more effective they made these loads !
It's not how fast you can load a load but with a SD as low as 20 fps , consistency is the name of the game !

To the OP , I use 920 RPM's on my drill press along with (just a quick squirt) of Rem Oil on my fingers , with touching
the Gaep Tool slightly to lube the tool as it's a (2) step downward motion , enough initial pressure to start the crimp
then a second surge to finish by going to the STOP Gauge , which has been set to +or- factory length ! I say that because
I group my hulls ( FGM or Cheddites) for Lengths , I want them to be as close to the same as posible , makes the crimp ,
Wad pressure the same !

Plus Joe could usually "rile up" the crowd in one way or another to get people posting. He was just a really good guy. I agree it definitely impacted this section.

New hulls and auto the Gaep tool is a must for me. I agree with 3200 man on the constancy of the load using the Gaep tool.

No more than 900 rpm is recomend for all italian Crimpers OMV , gaep , Cortini & Pizzotti ( C&P ) Colvini, etc etc
and you can use ordinairy mineral motor oil to lubricate, and give it a quick short stroke dont hang on the handle, doing
that will hardened the plastic in the rim and that will raise pressure for sure. I have understand "hull life " is a big thing over here and if you hang on the handle you will loose hull life by allot. i load new hulls the italian way and reload once fired hulls in 12 & 16 ga using a wad setting tool from OMV.IT but if i go for a large amount of reloads i use my PW 375C but ALL of my loads include reloads go thru a crimper , i started 2010 with a gaep T3 followed by a T2 special, but today i use OMV tools and preferly the omv SP12-2 who is fantastic and also omv SP16-2 OMV.IT make all his tools and presses in the house, i think they ship world wide not only in europe.

http://www.omv.it/

I use a wax candle for lube. Rub a little on top of the shell. It depends on the hull, STS, AA hulls I don’t bother using the Gaep tool.
Some hulls round better, Rio hulls take a good roll. You can over due it, and cause tube shoot offs with a auto. For me the worst was the paper base hull Top gun, or Estate hulls.

I generally use Dillon spray lube. I believe it is just lanolin and alcohol. It works good and does not leave old that can get on my duck hunting clothes.