3 Die vs. 4 die pistol set

[Ohio Rusty]

I have been looking at the Lee carbide dies. The 4 die set has a factory crimp die included. Since the case headspaces on the edge of the shell, does the factory crimp make your finished boolets 'better'? The 3 die set seats and crimps in one operation. Why is the crimping of the 4th die any better than the crimping of the die in the 3 die set? I'm not sure of the differences in crimping between the two as they both do the same thing. The bullets soon to be reloaded are .380 ACP with straight WW cast 95 grain bullets. I just need to get the dies but I'm not sure which set to spend the money on. (BTW ...I've never reloaded for an auto pistol cartridge before)
Thanx .... looking forward to the info.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[22cf45]

Ohio Rusty
Is the 4th die a taper crimp die?
Phil

[armoredman]

Factory Crimp Die. Also includes a carbide sizing ring, so the finished product is absolutely at factory dimensions. I use an FCD in every caliber, works great. It won't touch every case, because they may be inside tolerances, but I use it for the crimp, and the slimming of the occaisional fat cartridge.

[Lloyd Smale]

seating seperatley is allways prefered. If you seat and crimp in the same operation you are smashing the top of the crimp grove into the edge of the case. On some bullets its tough to get a proper crimp like that. Its not as important on rounds that are taper crimped but most of them go into semi autos and the lee crimp die helps there to. Giving the round a final size that will help insure reliable functioning. I did some testing on the 475 linebaugh years ago with crimping seperate crimping with the lee factory die and crimping with the hornady crimp die. I dont remember the exact outcome in group sizes but the ones crimped with the crimp dies shot substaintialy better then the ones crmiped with the seating die. If i remember right it was about a toss up as to which die i used between the two though.

[22cf45]

I agree with Lloyd Smale that a separate seating/crimping operation is much more desireable than doing it in one operation. Also, I prefer taper crimping over roll crimping particurally n semi auto's that headspace on the case mouth.
Phil

[454PB]

Just remember that the Lee FCD will also resize the boolit if it is oversize or the brass is thicker than average.

[Swagerman]

The Lee 4-die set is very innovative in its design features. Have both the .44 spl./magnum and .45 Colt die sets...really like them.

Seating the bullet seperate from crimping is the best way to go.

Jim

[Ohio Rusty]

Thanx for the input all !!! That makes my decision of which set to buy much easier.
Looks like it will definitely be the 4 die set.
I appreciate your taking the time to share your experiences.
Ohio Rusty

[Jim]

Aaah, Lee dies. The love/hate syndrome. I use Lee exclusively and am very happy with their performance.
Concerning the 4th die, I use the factory crimp on revolver calibers and the taper crimp on auto calibers.

[Dale53]

I am a fan of the Lee Factory CRimp dies.
I wish that they were available when I was shooting IPSC. There are no alibis with IPSC, and when using auto pistols, having the certainty of proper dimensions (that the factory crimp die provides during normal reloading) would have been a BIG plus.

I have them in every caliber that I reload, including .32 H&R Magnum. Just to give you an example, I load .32's for four different revolvers (two different brands made years apart). One of them has slightly smaller chamber diameters (only about .001" difference but it is enough to fail to easily chamber an occasional round). This can be a PITA. Using the Lee Factory Crimp Die I can load .313" diameter bullets and if I run into an occasional thick case, the FCD solves the problem (rather, it never becomes a problem).

I load with a Dillon 550B when I run quantity. Using 4 dies does not cost a time penalty. However, when you use a turret press, there is a time penalty paid when using a fourth die. That doesn't bother me as I am willing to "pay the penalty" for the assurance of easy chambering of ALL rounds.

Dale53

[Adam10mm]

I have Lee dies for 380, 10mm, 357 magnum, 45 Auto, 223, 45/70 and the FCD for each of them along with the FCD for 7mm-08 and the 375 H&H magnum. Will be getting a FCD for 50AE too. For me, the FCD is mandatory.

[doc25]

Buy the four die set and you won't have to worry about what you missed. I use the four die set for .357 mag and 9mm, I use a 3 die set for .38 spec. If you're using progressive you won't notice the difference so get the four die set.

[EMC45]

OOORRRRRRR you can load the .380 with a set of 9MM and 223 dies like I have been experimenting with lately. I size the lubed .380 case with the 223 sizer then flare, seat, and crimp with the 9MM dies. It works great! Feed, function, and fire just right. Slow? Yes. Dangerous? Not even close.

[klw]

I like to use one die to seat the bullet and a second to crimp it. But that is just because I'm something of a mechanical cluck. Easier for me to adjust the two dies separately than to get one die to do two jobs.

[Sundogg1911]

I really like the FCD's I like to seat and crimp in 2 different stages. It seems to help my accuracy too.