LEE factory crimp for 500 S&W Magnum?

[rr4406pak]

Does anyone know if LEE make one of their factory crimp dies for the 500 S&W Magnum?
If not, why?
Thanks!

[475/480]

They will NOT , the carbide sleeve will not fit inside the die,I asked them a long time ago.
If I remember correctly they can fit it in there bigger die series.

Sean

[rr4406pak]

Guess what?
I emailed LEE about this and received the following response:




Yes we do offer a Factory Crimp die for the 500 S&W Magnum and it would be a custom order. It would be available in the Rifle Type Steel Factory Crimp Die (collet type) and you would need to send a bullet seated in an empty case and it is $25.00 plus $4.00 for shipping and handling. Our address is Lee Precision 4275 Hwy U Hartford Wi 53027.



WOO HOO!
I'm going to order one up as soon as I get paid!:mrgreen:

[Porterhouse]

I have one of those.
But the fact is, they don’t work nearly as good as their regular crimp die. I’ve tried many crimp dies for S&W500 and found regular Lee and RCBS work best.

[happy7]

I highly recommend the RCBS(Correction Redding, not RCBS) Profile crimp die. I have one and have been very pleased with it. I like it so much I am thinking of replacing some of my Lee FCDs in other calibers with this. The only drawback is it's price. It runs $25 at midway. And they never come up on EvilBAY, at least not in 500.

Oh, and I had read where lee said on their website that they couldn't make the FCD for the 500 due to the fact that the carbide ring would be too thin. I always wondered why Lee could make a Carbide sizing die for the 500 but not the factory crimp die. I guess they figured out how to do it now.

[Firebird]

The Profile crimp die is from Redding (http://www.reddingreloading.com/pages/crimpdies.html), not RCBS. It's not listed for the 500 Linebaugh in their catalog, but maybe they would make it as a custom die.

[happy7]

Sorry I meant to type Redding. I hate it when my mind substitutes words for me. Thanks for the correction. However, they do make a Profile Crimp Die for the 500 S&W. I don't know about the 500 Linebaugh but I thought this conversation was about the Smith and Wesson cartridge.

[rr4406pak]

Why does everybody rave about the LEE Factory Crimp dies for just about every other caliber but not for the 500 S&W?
What's the difference?

[Firebird]

Happy7, you're right, it is about he 500 S&W. I guess when I see 500 I still think Linebaugh automatically. I just wish that Redding would make their Pro die sets for the Linebaugh calibers since they are available for the 500 S&W & 480 Ruger.

rr4406pk - I prefer Pontiacs but the old Mopar iron was pretty nice too.
Lee has two totally different crimp die designs and call them both the "Factory Crimp Die", so there are different reasons why people like them. The collet design crimp die is mostly used for rifle calibers and is well liked because you can put a lot of "squeeze" on the case neck mouth without any vertical pressure that tends to bulge the rest of the case neck and remove the neck tension from the bullet. The pistol cartridge design incorporates a carbide sizing ring that some people like to think of as a fail safe to make sure their cartridges will chamber properly, but can be used to "over-crimp" a case; bulging the case neck so that you end up with little to no neck tension holding onto the bullet.