102gr 9mm getting stuck in the seating die...Should I get a FCD for 9mm? Frustrated

[Stopsign32v]

Good grief it was one of those just walk away moments. All I wanted to do was seat the 102gr 9mm Lee 356-102-1R to 1.070 and see how those went in the barrel for my pistol. So I flared the cases to where the boolits would drop in, went to set up the Lee seating die per the instructions. Used a 9mm Winchester case and screwed it in until I couldn't and then set the bullet seating depth. What I think happened was it was crimping before seating. Anyways the boolit got stuck in the die each time. It was hot in the building and what should have been 5 minutes turned into 30 minutes of frustration and I walked away getting no where.

I've never had much luck with the seating AND crimping die and this leads me to the question as to if I should just use it as a seating die and get a Lee 9mm FCD? Or should I try and make this way work? Right now $27 for less frustration looks good.

[Sig]

I only seat & crimp J words in the same step. I use a separate taper crimp die for lead projectiles after seating in 9mm. Never had the need for a FCD.

[megasupermagnum]

Well, that's not what Lee's instructions say to do, but it's not too far off from what I do. You can definitely seat and crimp at the same time, but it takes some back and forth trial and error to get good results. A lot of us, myself included, just seat and crimp separately. It's an extra step, but it works every time.

[Stopsign32v]

I just grabbed a 9mm FCD. I have a spot for it on my press anyways so I'll utilize it for that. Cheap money for less time fooling with the crimp/seating die IMO.

[mdi]

Hmmm. Don't find out why, just get a FCD? A couple thoughts; Have you measured the bullet? Also when setting the die, run the die down until it touches an empty case then back the die off a turn or two then set the seating depth. Seat all bullets then readjust the die to just deflare (back off the seating stem) or get a plain taper crimp die to just deflare the case...

[243winxb]

I am sure Lee has the answers--- https://support.leeprecision.net/en/knowledgebase

[Stopsign32v]

I am sure Lee has the answers--- https://support.leeprecision.net/en/knowledgebase

I do too...Sizing outside of seating.

[243winxb]

Now we proceed to the Bullet Seating Die. A bullet is placed on top of the cartridge case and the ram is raised to seat the bullet. The die is adjusted in the press frame to achieve the crimp desired. Bullet depth is adjusted by turning in the adjusting knob on top of the die. Both operations are preformed simultaneously so it may take a couple of tries to get things where you want.

To set the die:

1. Back off the lock ring and back off the bullet depth adjusting screw 3 turns.
2. Place a loaded round in the shell holder. Screw the die down until you feel it contact the cartridge. Tighten the lock ring. This should provide a light crimp.
3. With the ram still raised up, screw down the bullet seating adjusting knob until you again feel resistance. This should set the bullet at close to the proper depth.
4. Adjust the bullet depth by turning the adjusting knob on top of the die. Adjusting the die height changes the bullet depth.

From Mr. Lee himself.

[metricmonkeywrench]

I think you set your die too low and the bullet is catching up in the area above the “crimp” zone.

For setting up my tapered case dies (autoloaders mostly) and as I understand the directions, I back off a bit on where the the crimp is set and seat a bullet to the desired OALon a dummy round. Usually the die locking ring is not cinched for this part. I then back off the seat stem way out and slowly work the die in to the desired case neck crimp dimensions (.380 at the case mouth for 9mm). Once that is set and locked down then the seat stem can be run back down to the OAL. A couple tweaks of the crimp or seat stem may be necessary when seating for real.

Any taper crimp die is adjusted by just running it down til you get the the desired crimp at the case mouth.

I keep the dummy rounds around to quickly readjust the seat stem for the various bullets, and generally the crimp stays the same.

It’s just one of those things hard to write but easy enough to do.

[fredj338]

I just dont see how a bullet gets stuck in the die. Screw the die down until it just touches the case mouth. Screw the seating stem down until it seats the bullet. It isnt pulling the bullet out. Then if you want to seat & crimp at the same time, back the stem out, screw the die down until you get the crimp, then screw the stem down to touch the seated bullet. Done.

[Dusty Bannister]

Examine the fit of the seating stem and the 1R nose of the bullet. Commonly used bullets for 9MM are 2R, TC, or perhaps some SWC where the stem does not really contact on the ogive of the nose.

[Stopsign32v]

I think you set your die too low and the bullet is catching up in the area above the “crimp” zone.

I think you're right