That is the question.  Also, if to crimp: taper or roll?

We are, of course, discussing the new-to-me Mini-14 (circa 1983) that I will be picking up this Friday.

Ruger's owner's manual says for reloaders to only use cannelured bullets and to crimp them securely.  (They then follow that up with the fact that they specifically do not recommend the use of reloaded, handloaded or remanufactured ammunition.)

So, taper crimp or roll crimp?  I'm thinking Roll Crimp.

Is the Garand-style action of the Mini-14 that much more vigorous when compared to an AR-15?

I guess I always assumed that the crimping into the cannelure groove procedure was applying a roll crimp.  I know what the taper crimp looks like on my semi-auto pistol rounds, and what happens to my .38s and .357s and rifle rounds is definitely different, so I assumed that was a roll crimp.

If it isn't, then just what is a roll crimp?

And if I may interject on a somewhat-related topic, can/how do you crimp .223/5.56 with non-cannelured bullets?  I do have the Lee FCD, but find myself with a bunch of Speer spitzers (55 gn) with no cannelure.  I have AR and Mini-14, but also have bolt and Handi-Rifle in .223; should I reserve these bullets for the latter?
Thx.

You can still use the FCD to put a taper crimp on these bullets.  I have read/been told that if you crank too far down on the die and put too much of a taper on it, that you may pierce the bullet jacket by pushing the case neck though it.

I put what I think is a moderate to moderate plus crimp on my non-cannelured bullets, and have had no problems ever with semi-autos and bullet setback.

Non-cannelured bullets can still be roll crimped, but just lightly.  To find out how much crimp a particular slug can take, you'll have to sacrifice a few of them.  Go with a light crimp, then pull the bullet and check jacket condition.  Continue increasing crimp and checking the jacket until you have satisfactory crimp, or the jacket is damaged.

Most bulk FMJ type bullets will handle a firm crimp just fine.  Where you run into trouble is with thin skinned varmint slugs.