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View Full Version : Problem with Lee FCD and .357 cast bullets



randy_68
01-16-2013, 10:38 AM
It seems I read somewhere that the Lee FCD will shear or resize unsized cast bullets when trying to crimp because of it's tight tolerances or design.. I loaded up some .357 150gr SWC that measure .360 out of the mold and found that when I try and crimp them with the FCD it pushes them farther into the case and it looks like it was shearing some lead off the sides. I know they should probably be sized in a .358 sizer first but I don't have one yet. The only probelm I see so far is that it makes the over all length a little shorter and it causes the bullet to seat all the way to the top of the crimp groove or maybe a hair past it.
I did shoot some in my 1894CS and they shot great but I was wondering if I should invest in a .358 sizer and use that before loading any more. Do you guys think it would be ok to shoot these or should I pull the bullets and start over? I have about 25 more loaded.

Willbird
01-16-2013, 10:49 AM
I think you can shoot them just fine. But I really do not like the whole idea of sizing bullets after they are seated in the ctg case. It is called "post sizing" and I really do not like it a bit :-).

Bill

TJF1
01-16-2013, 11:25 AM
All you have to do is take punch and drive out
the bottom carbide ring out of the die then it wiil crimp only
terry

rsrocket1
01-16-2013, 12:00 PM
Did you get the FCD as part of the 4 die Deluxe set? If so, you can use the seating die to crimp your cartridges. It takes an additional step to adjust both the crimp and the seating depth, but it works fine. Most other company seat dies also crimp. If your cases are not already shaving the lead as you seat, the crimping action of the die should not do so either so long as your bullets have the crimp groove tapered from base to nose. I do that with my 38/.357 die and get no shaving on my oversized 358-158-RF when I seat/crimp them.

randy_68
01-16-2013, 12:08 PM
. Yes this was the 4 die set from Lee.
The cases were not shaving as I did expand them just enough to seat the bullet. It appears that it is the carbide ring that is the problem so I will try using the seating die and see what happens.
Thanks

1bluehorse
01-16-2013, 12:24 PM
My wife has 2 Cimmeron 357mags and neither will chamber a .360 bullet. I have to size them no larger than .358....the Lee crimp die that came with my set measures .376 at the carbide ring, with brass at a nominal thickness of .11 (.22 total) even the .358 sized bullet would be .04 over the dia of the die. Problem?? maybe, I know I can take the .360 sized bullets that won't chamber, run them through the crimp die and they'll chamber, so something is being "squeezed". If I had a way to do it, I would take the carbide sizer part of the die out to .380 and that would be about perfect. for now I'll use the seater crimp die, with no issues by the way....

joec
01-16-2013, 01:08 PM
I had a similar problem with my 45 Colt and cast bullets so I went with a collet type die made by Lee just like their rifle dies use. I got mine through Ranch Dog but Lee also has them but not sure if they are custom or not.

mdi
01-16-2013, 01:12 PM
Ditch the FCD and separate the seating/crimping into two steps, no need to "post size". Less problems with trying to crimp a bullet while it is being seated.

captaint
01-16-2013, 01:18 PM
In my experience, we have a seater die, which seats the boolit to the "correct depth for your gun". Then we have, a roll crimp die, which applies a roll crimp, hopefully in the crimp groove. We also have a taper crimp die, which just kisses the case mouth and reduces the case mouth diameter enough to hold the boolit. These are separate operation dies, none of which should be squeezing the boolit diameter. Now - then we have a Lee Factory Crimp Die - which reduces the case mouth diameter AND reduces the loaded round diameter, down as far as the base of the boolit. It is the factory crimp die that will swage our boolits diameter down in the process. I have sucessfully used the FCD - but I had to be very careful not to run the loaded round any further up into that die than was absolutely necessary to get the round to pass the plunk test in my barrels. I no longer use the FCD because I got a set of Lyman dies with an actual taper crimp die in the set. If everything else is correct, we don't need a FCD. Just size your boolits to a diameter that will chamber in your gun and pass the plunk test after you have taper crimped your round. No need to swage the top half of your loaded round - any maybe your already correctly sized boolit. This can, and does cause leading from "boolit too small" condition. Just my experience. enjoy Mike

Willbird
01-16-2013, 01:42 PM
In my experience, we have a seater die, which seats the boolit to the "correct depth for your gun". Then we have, a roll crimp die, which applies a roll crimp, hopefully in the crimp groove. We also have a taper crimp die, which just kisses the case mouth and reduces the case mouth diameter enough to hold the boolit. These are separate operation dies, none of which should be squeezing the boolit diameter. Now - then we have a Lee Factory Crimp Die - which reduces the case mouth diameter AND reduces the loaded round diameter, down as far as the base of the boolit. It is the factory crimp die that will swage our boolits diameter down in the process. I have sucessfully used the FCD - but I had to be very careful not to run the loaded round any further up into that die than was absolutely necessary to get the round to pass the plunk test in my barrels. I no longer use the FCD because I got a set of Lyman dies with an actual taper crimp die in the set. If everything else is correct, we don't need a FCD. Just size your boolits to a diameter that will chamber in your gun and pass the plunk test after you have taper crimped your round. No need to swage the top half of your loaded round - any maybe your already correctly sized boolit. This can, and does cause leading from "boolit too small" condition. Just my experience. enjoy Mike

And the whole reason it is a bad idea IMHO is because the brass case springs back, and the lead and other metals alloy bullet does not at all (pure lead) or not as much (tougher alloys). This can change the bullet tension in the case necks if you try to size the whole assembly instead of just sizing the bullet as you should to begin with if need be.

MtGun44
01-16-2013, 11:05 PM
+1 on willbird. Add to the fact that you should directly control your size and
NOT in the case, so this is a bad idea.

Bill

randy_68
01-17-2013, 09:53 AM
I figured as much, so on my next order I will be getting a .358 sizer.
Thanks for the replies