lee n. field
New member
There sure is a lot of hooey that one can read on forums.
Lee Factory Crimp Die - Any advantage
- Thread starter kwm1971
- Start date
There sure is a lot of hooey that one can read on forums.
I do like the carbide factory crimp die for most of my pistols. Some have said the post sizing feature will cause springback of the brass and not of the bullet and the bullet will loosen, but I have seen no evidence that it is a situation that is a problem.
Having said that, when I bought my Lee dies for .40 S&W I did not order the set with the factory crimp die by accident. It has not seemed to affect my .40 reloads, they work just as well as the calibers that I use the FCD. But then over the years my reloading for taper crimp has become just a smoothing out of the flare, and not much crimp.
Have not tried the crimp die for rifles, do not see any reason to crimp my rifle reloads, thanks to BartB.
David
Having said that, when I bought my Lee dies for .40 S&W I did not order the set with the factory crimp die by accident. It has not seemed to affect my .40 reloads, they work just as well as the calibers that I use the FCD. But then over the years my reloading for taper crimp has become just a smoothing out of the flare, and not much crimp.
Have not tried the crimp die for rifles, do not see any reason to crimp my rifle reloads, thanks to BartB.
David
chris in va
New member
I'm all ears.
Sky Master
New member
Don't believe their statement about not buckling a case. I have buckled .357 cases when I adjusted the crimp too much.
A pause for the COZ
New member
LEE does make a collet crimp die for the 357 magnum. I have one and use it exclusively for 357 mag. Has no carbide ring ether.
BillSussman
New member
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I wanted to make a comment on how I started using the Lee FCD. All my 9mm brass is range pick up and at first I never used the Lee FCD. For some reason Remington brass tends to bulge from seating the bullet but it still fired fine in all my guns. I picked up a Beretta 92FS and for some reason every now and then I would get round that wouldn't seat into the chamber properly, when this happened it was always a Remington case that was slightly bulged from the seated bullet. Anyways, I started using the Lee FCD which flattened out the bulge caused by the seated bullet and I never had an issue with that Beretta or any other 9mm again.
Bill,
It was probably the bullet being a little oversized that cause the issue, and the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die can size it down through the brass.
All the carbide sizing dies for pistol cartridges have a fixed diameter sizing ring (except the expensive Redding two-ring sizing dies). So, unless you use the old steel dies or the Redding die, you have a single diameter ring squeezing the case down all the way and not replicating the original taper in the case design. This is main cause of the bulge that mirrors the location of the base of the bullet. I see it in all carbide resized 45 Auto, regardless of case brand. R-P brass can show it more sharply in 45 Auto because the neck portion of the R-P case is extra thin in that chambering. The same may be true in the 9 mm (I don't have any 9 mm Parabellum guns, so I don't know from experience).
It was probably the bullet being a little oversized that cause the issue, and the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die can size it down through the brass.
All the carbide sizing dies for pistol cartridges have a fixed diameter sizing ring (except the expensive Redding two-ring sizing dies). So, unless you use the old steel dies or the Redding die, you have a single diameter ring squeezing the case down all the way and not replicating the original taper in the case design. This is main cause of the bulge that mirrors the location of the base of the bullet. I see it in all carbide resized 45 Auto, regardless of case brand. R-P brass can show it more sharply in 45 Auto because the neck portion of the R-P case is extra thin in that chambering. The same may be true in the 9 mm (I don't have any 9 mm Parabellum guns, so I don't know from experience).
603Country
New member
I run all cast bullet 357 reloads through a Lee FCD. My occasional chambering problems are gone. It does seem like I am resizing a few cast bullets through the case walls.
BillSussman
New member
Yea the Lee FCD gives revolver rounds a good roll crimp. I use the collet style crimp die for 500 S&W though. It really gives a heavy roll crimp!
The bulge that's caused by the base of the bullet is what is corrected by the die with the sizing ring in it. I don't see why it's called a factory crimp die, the .45 and 9mm have normal taper crimps just like any other taper crimp die, The sizing ring does help me as some of the rounds have a bulge and don't drop freely into my 625 chambers. They work in all my semis even with the bulges. Some of the cast bullets I use are .4525 to e.453, some brass is thicker and make the ammo to large for the revolver. .451 bullets wouldn't need the sizing ring.
The FCD should never be used for deliberately sizing bullets in finished rounds. When bullets are known to be oversized, they should be sized to standard before use, possibly coated with Alox, while the wax ring should still be intact. I have sized some coated bullets by .001 and did not see the coating being stripped.
It doesn't matter what diameter the gun "likes". What matters is the diameter anticipated in the die design or else the case wall thickness, which can vary by head stamp and affecting the net ID of the sized case and then bullet tension.
It doesn't matter what diameter the gun "likes". What matters is the diameter anticipated in the die design or else the case wall thickness, which can vary by head stamp and affecting the net ID of the sized case and then bullet tension.
An old zombie topic but as I read thru it again it raised this thought and question, and have heard and read many of the statements before regarding this die. But here goes.
The statement, to find the problem with the load always strikes me.
I have a 45acp Witness that is much the same as the CZ 45acp which are known to have very tight spec barrels in them. Mine to the point that I had terrible trouble getting it to reliably cycle and chamber reloaded ammunition. These reloads were well within spec and posed no problem for any other gun I loaded them into. None what so ever!
After months of fighting this and posting on every forum I could it was finally suggested in a way I had to take seriously, by a mod on the CZ forum, to try a Lee Carbide FCD. I did that and the chambering problem vanished instantly.
This poses the question, Do you then use this cheap $30.00 die solution to remedy the problem or do you take this perfectly fine pistol barrel and send it out to be altered so that it will chamber reloads?
The statement, to find the problem with the load always strikes me.
I have a 45acp Witness that is much the same as the CZ 45acp which are known to have very tight spec barrels in them. Mine to the point that I had terrible trouble getting it to reliably cycle and chamber reloaded ammunition. These reloads were well within spec and posed no problem for any other gun I loaded them into. None what so ever!
After months of fighting this and posting on every forum I could it was finally suggested in a way I had to take seriously, by a mod on the CZ forum, to try a Lee Carbide FCD. I did that and the chambering problem vanished instantly.
This poses the question, Do you then use this cheap $30.00 die solution to remedy the problem or do you take this perfectly fine pistol barrel and send it out to be altered so that it will chamber reloads?
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603Country
New member
Any problems I had, which were a few 357 reloads that were hard to chamber in my Python, were eliminated by use of the FCD. It’s interesting and a bit puzzling why some folks just hate the whole idea of the Lee FCD.
As for resizing the bullet, I suppose that I am resizing a rare few with the FCD. Works for me. If it cost twice as much, I’d still want one.
As for resizing the bullet, I suppose that I am resizing a rare few with the FCD. Works for me. If it cost twice as much, I’d still want one.
straight-shooter
New member
After use with a FCD and cast bullets, pull a bullet and measure. I had a problem with the FCD resizing the cast bullet thus making it useless for my bore diameter. Jacketed bullets were not a problem.
I will go on to say that I am using this Lee FCD in the instance I outlined and still believe that I can create fantastically performing ammunition for all my other pistols with just using a normal everyday Carbide 3 die set.
Which also BTW is exactly the number of positions are on my Lee Pro1000 press which I load all other high volume loads on. And to clarify myself, for me high volume is 500 which I know there are those that 500 isn't even worth starting on.
Which also BTW is exactly the number of positions are on my Lee Pro1000 press which I load all other high volume loads on. And to clarify myself, for me high volume is 500 which I know there are those that 500 isn't even worth starting on.