Lee 38/357 J2?

[nagantguy]

I found a die so marked in a box with some experimental rounds I was working on long ago; like we all do trying to make super accurate hollow base wadd cutters any how I think this is a lee factory crimp die but a quick google-Fu search didn't turn up any matches niether did a fast look through the lee web site , I did being a clever fellow note that most FDC dies sold by lee have a letter/number suffix so am I correct of way off? Also this forgotten box of top secret prototype ammo was being worked on long before I was a proper initiate in the world of casting; before I found this board and regularly used FDC pistol dies with my early cast boolits but I don't remember using them on full wad cutter loads in the past? There was a small piece of paper labeled notes in said box, powder, primer weight of boolit and gun used to work up the load and some group measurements; it was promising and some where I got side tracked because a few rounds were loaded with hollow base pointing out; at the time late 1990s I probably thought I'd invented the concept

[JimB..]

LFC will have a carbine ring for sizing and an internal sleeve that slides for crimping. Every one I have seen is marked at the bottom of the die, well, on the side but below the threads if that makes sense. I don’t understand the coded markings on Lee dies.

[nagantguy]

I don't understand the markings either I'm pretty sure it is fdc but it look just slightly different inside , not like more current fdc's maybe it's been modified some some wild experimenter

[JimB..]

I have two styles, the newer one looks like the current seating dies with the knurled aluminum cap, the older style is open at the top. At least I assume that both are types of FCD.

I don’t use then, just ended up with a bunch from an estate.

[Guesser]

J2 is a date code. You should be able to determine the die usage by looking at it and it's internals.

[mdi]

A Lee FCD (or at least all that I've seen) is a post crimping sizing die with a carbide ring at the mouth and a floating, adjustable crimp sleeve. A standard crimp die has an ID bored with a "step" in it and no moving parts...