Is anyone Sizing their Boolits with a Lee Factory Crimp die?

[pdgraham]

I found out today how easy it is to size a 9mm cast bullet down to .354 with the Lee Factory Crimp Die, of course the bullets tumbled..

It’s real easy to adjust the Lee Factory Crimp Die down too far on lead boolits..

Is anyone not sizing their Cast Boolits to the desired diameter and letting the Lee Factory Crimp take care of it in the crimp stage?

I’ve got an RCBS 9mm 115 mold that casts fairly consistantly in the .357-.358 area.

Would I be doing things “Wrong” if I ran these .357-.358 size 9mm boolits through a .357 sizing die just for the purpose of lubing, and then setting my crimp stage up so that the Lee Factory Crimp squeezes it down that last .001..???..

Or

Am I bamboozling myself into thinking that I can get by with anything other than sizing the 9mms to 356 and making sure that the Lee Factory Crimp doesn’t squeeze them down an extra .001 or .002..??..

Any comments??

[35remington]

If the bullet is somewhat oversized in the 9mm case, the LFC die sizes it as it passes the carbide ring at the bottom of the die (not in the crimping stage as the press ram tops out). In a worst case scenario, this loosens the grip of the case on the bullet as the springback of the brass case and lead bullet differ.

Loosening the grip of the case on a 9mm bullet is a big no-no. You are running the risk of telescoping the bullet into the case and greatly increasing pressures when the bullet nose hits the feedramp. Shoving the bullet into the case greatly increases pressure in the small 9mm case.

Size the bullet first to ensure the LFC die does not reduce it further upon entering the die. Avoid excessive lead bullet sizing in the LFC die. It is best with jacketed bullets of normal 9mm diameter. If you find that oversized bullets give best cast bullet accuracy in your 9mm, avoid the LFC die altogether and seat and crimp with another die.

[pdgraham]

Thanks 35remington....

That answers that... I'm sizing to .356 and crimping with a dillion die...

[slughammer]

I think you need to measure your Lee 9mm FCD. Being a tapered round, the carbide ring should NOT be touching the case mouth. (This is the only FCD that I will use on pistol ammo).

The carbide ring is for resizing a bulge in the web area.

I think you have your crimp set TOO much. Set the die to remove the bell and little more.

Nothing wrong with .356-357 or .358, as long as they chamber AND check for set back.

A. Make up a dummy round and chamber it from the mag several times.

B. Check your loaded rounds by pressing them against the edge of the bench as hard as possible with your fingers.

[Ricochet]

A 7mm Rem Mag Factory Crimp Die can be used to crimp gas checks on the base of unsized .30 caliber boolits. (The standard external neck diameter of the 7mm is .308".) You have to back it off till it's just beginning to crimp, not the full constriction. Hold the boolit in the top of the die so the gas check is in the collet.

[slughammer]

A 7mm Rem Mag Factory Crimp Die can be used to crimp gas checks on the base of unsized .30 caliber boolits. (The standard external neck diameter of the 7mm is .308".) You have to back it off till it's just beginning to crimp, not the full constriction. Hold the boolit in the top of the die so the gas check is in the collet.

A 30-06 FCD can also be used to crimp on 30 cal checks. Just the opposite of the 7mm die, you tighten it down to full constriction.

FYI- the typical pistola Carbide FCD is not a collet type die, they have a carbide ring to "resize" your out of shape rounds. I only use one in 9mm, because the carbide ring is larger than the mouth of the loaded round. (And only to take care of possible Glocked 9mm brass that gets into my supply).

[35remington]

An unfortunate effect of the Lee FCD is that it sizes anything oversized, whether it be web or the case holding an oversized bullet. The area around the bullet is the spot where you don't want any sizing to occur after the bullet is in the case. This can happen if the bullet is oversized.

I ain't knocking the Lee die, as I have several, and it works well on a progressive. You've just got to beware of overly sizing lead bullets when they're already in the case.

It's pretty easy to determine if any sizing is occurring as the front of the case enters the die. If it's sizing the area where the bullet is in the case because the bullet is oversized, then discontinue use of the die with oversized lead bullets. As long as bullet diameter is reasonably close to the regular jacketed diameter, you may be okay. A few whacks with a bullet puller, FCD vs. regular die, will tell you how much pull you've got-this is another way of testing bullet pull, as slughammer suggested.

[pdgraham]

Well.. I've got about 200 rounds of 9mm to pull.. they sized down to .354 and less......

I had the die cranked way down... :groner:

I can probabaly still use the die but I have to back it way off...