Lee Factory crimp die.....

[spurgon]

Is this item as usefull in cast bullet reloading as it is for copper jacketed bullet

reloading?

thanks in advance

spurgon

[pumpguy]

I use one in every one of my cast boolit loads. I especially like it for my lever loads. I get more consistent velocities when I use one, too.

[mtgrs737]

IMHO Yes!

[38 Super Auto]

I use Lee FC die for auto reloads. It helps eliminate feed jams for me. I had some rounds that would not pass in my Dillon gage, but would filt the barrel OK. I did not want to risk having feed jams for a match, so I started using the Lee FCD.

There was a good point made earlier regarding a .44mag load. The die was sizing the bullet down 2 mils. That's probably not typical, but could be a leading issue, depending on your groove diameter.

[VTDW]

Is this item as usefull in cast bullet reloading as it is for copper jacketed bullet

reloading?

thanks in advance

spurgon

Absolutely!!!

Dave

[Bob Jones]

To me it depends on the cartridge. I love the FCD dies for bottleneck cartridges, but have quit using them for the auto cartridges, 9mm, 40 and .45. Here's the reason. They don't actually "crimp" the cartridge, the "crimp" in those calibers is actually just the case tension from resizing holding the boolit in the case. The Lee dies are more like sizing dies in those calibers, which means that they can resize the case after it is loaded. Lead doesn't have the spring-back that copper does, and they can reduce the diameter of the lead boolit inside the case while the case itself springs back to a larger diameter, reducing the case tension holding the boolit in the case and increasing the possibility of setback in the magazine.

You could adjust them carefully so that they can be used as case gages in effect, so that they would only hit the sides of cartridges that are too large to fit your chamber, I can see the reasoning behind that, but I do suggest caution in using them with lead in any cartridge that normally just has a taper crimp on it.

[Adam10mm]

The Lee FCD does crimp the case but also post sizes the round. If you are looking for just a crimp die, get a Redding profile crimp die.

[utk]

The Lee FCD does crimp the case but also post sizes the round. If you are looking for just a crimp die, get a Redding profile crimp die.


Or get a Dillon crimp die...

[Adam10mm]

Dillon dies are overpriced.

[utk]

I paid $19.45 for my Dillon 38/357 crimper. It will last my lifetime. Not overpriced IMHO...

[Single Shot]

I use the Lee FCD on all my loads. It stopped the feeding problems for a cast SWC in 45acp.

[Poohgyrr]

I had a batch of .40 S&W rounds loaded that chambered fine in Hi Powers & S&W's, but at least 3 or4 rounds (out of 15 round mags) failed to feed in 6 different Glocks... (I was using Western Nevada 175 gr LSWC's; their cast have always done fine for me.)

I don't know why, but running that batch through a FCD ended my problem.........

[Adam10mm]

The FCD is half of that.

[Ricochet]

I'm a big fan of the FCD, including the Carbide Factory Crimp Die for the pistol rounds.

[eka]

I use one for my 45 ACP and .38 Special loads. I had a heck of a time trying to get the .45 to feed until I went to one. I found about five percent of my .38 loads wouldn't go into the cylinder without it. I haven't found that I needed it for anything else yet. The only thing I'm a little cautious about in using it in a rifle is that it sizes the bullet somewhat with the carbide ring. When I get a boolit to fit just right, I don't want to size it any unless there is a problem otherwise. So, I only use them if the circumstances call for it.

Keith

[Forester]

I would not load another lead boolit in .45ACP if you took away my FCD. I am sold on them for most auto and revolver rounds.

I have one for 45-70 as well but am not as convinced that it makes any difference and it is not usable if the load is very compressed. I have not tested one vs. the other directly so I can not say for certain how necessary I think it is in a rifle.

[Dale53]

I use the Lee FCD on all of my handgun loads.

Dale53

[PatMarlin]

Got one in every caliber.. :mrgreen:

[mtgrs737]

I like the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die for my handgun reloading, and the Lee Factory Crimp Die for my rifle reloads. The Lee CFCD will post size and crimp the loaded round and the Lee FCD will crimp only.

I was having a hard time getting my 9mm Luger reloads to pass a loaded cartridge gauge because of a slight bulge near the base (because the sizing die didn't size down that far) the Lee CFCD took the bulge out. After running the loads through the Lee CFCD all rounds passed the gauge! My hat is off to Lee for their inovative products!

[utk]

I was having a hard time getting my 9mm Luger reloads to pass a loaded cartridge gauge because of a slight bulge near the base (because the sizing die didn't size down that far) the Lee CFCD took the bulge out. After running the loads through the Lee CFCD all rounds passed the gauge! My hat is off to Lee for their inovative products!

Very innovative of LEE to create a die to fix shortcomings of their own sizing die design!

[Lloyd Smale]

I used to use them more but now do most of my handgun loading on a square deal. What they are real slick for is seating cast bullets for rifles when the overal lenght using the crimp grove is to long for feeding. They will hold bullets in place crimping up on the nose of the bullet. real handy with rounds like the 444 and 4570 in marlins.

[osage]

I picked up a CFCD for 45acp after having problems with oversized plated & commercial bullets. Now that I cast and size my own I have less need for it. But any round that does not pass the case gauge check goes thru the CFCD. I have a rifle FCD's that I bought for reloading ball in Garands and M14S. I have not used it for boolits yet.

[Dale53]

utk;
I have sizing dies of most of the major manufacturers. Most tend to "leave a bulge" in a number of different auto pistol cartridges. When I was shooting IPSC in the seventies and early eighties, I would have LOVED to have had a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Make no mistake, this is an excellent ennovation.

It is kind of a "loaded cartridge gauge" and final crimp die all rolled into one. This saves another operation. I shot 75,000 .45 ACP's by actual count in five years and I assure you, reducing my operation by one on each and every loaded round is a BIG move in the right direction.

Lee's dies are excellent quality (I have them in many calibers) and it is because of Lee's pricing structure that you can buy the dies of the brands you prefer at a reasonable price.

Of course, if you see no practical use for the Lee FCD just don't buy it...

Dale53

[38 Super Auto]

There are not a lot of sizing die that will deal with a bulge near the case head - from being fired in glocks or rigs with unsupported barrels.

People recommend the EGW sizing die to get a true full length resize. Others say that this die is made by Lee

[DLCTEX]

_1 for rifle and pistol FCD's. Dale

[Ed Barrett]

Here is a little thing I found handy. I bought a rifle in 8X50R with a set of dies but the dies were hand made and didn't crimp. I found the Lee 8MM mauser FCD worked fine if I held the cartridge upside down and crimped it. It worked so well I made a little adjustable jig to hold cartridges upside down to crimp them. If you have a Lee FCD in 30-06 you crimp about any .30 caliber cartridge with it. This also holds true for any other distinct bullet diameter. I have a proclivity for less than common calibers and this little trick has helped me several times.

[Nueces]

Boy, Ed, thanks for that gem. I can use the idea to crimp my 33 WCFs with the 338 die, until the custom FCD arrives.

Mark

[swampsavage]

Many thanks Ed Barrett...I have had trouble with my Lee FCD in 7.62X54R as the new Norma brass is .022 undersize lengthwise. I never thought of turning them upside down. Once they are fired a few times they should extrude enough but in the interim I'll use your idea. Reason I check in here and hope I can "pay it forward" if a good idea pops into the aged brain cells.

[EMC45]

I know this is in another thread, but I just got around to cutting my Lee FCD Carbides. I took a Dremmel and a cutoff wheel (actually about 6 cutoff wheels) I cut right in line wth the top of the lettering of the caliber stamping in the die body. I cut until I hit the Carbide ring. The wheel wouldn't cut that so I then put the die body in my vise jaws up to the cut line and closed them. I heard the carbide crack and it all fell out of the bottom. I did 9MM, 38/357, and my 45 ACP. I had a bit of carbide still wanting to hang on in the 9MM die so I gave it a sharp rap with a punch and hammer and everything fell out. Squared up the bottoms with a file and radiused the edges and they all look pretty. I did not like the idea of sizing down my cast bullets while loading them. So I have a 4 die set for the 45,38/357 and the 9MM. Very cool.:-D

[Stevejet]

And other companies sizing die shortcomings!

[Dale53]

Shaking my head in wonder...

Dale53

[mtgrs737]

utk,

The 9mm luger case is tiny when compared to most other commonly reloaded cartridges. The 9mm also operates at a fairly high pressure so in poorly supported chamber designs a bulge near the base can form. Most reloading dies that have much of a mouth radius won't take out this bulge completely and I have four different manufacturers dies on my bench (RCBS, Hornady, Redding, Lee). None of the sizers would remove the bulge on the worst of the cases. The Lee CFCD did the job and taper crimped the loaded cartridge during the last station and solved the problem that no other company was able to do. My heart felt thanks to Lee for their attention to our needs as reloaders and for keeping the cost of equipment down, we are all better off because of them. :castmine:

[utk]

The only thing I have against the LEE Pistol FCD is that it can size down a slightly oversize lead boolit. The brass springs back but the lead doesn't, resulting in less boolit grip from the brass. Or even a loose boolit. This can also happen with thick case walls.

Therefore I prefer a regular crimp die in the last station. That suits MY situation.

[PatMarlin]

The only thing I have against the LEE Pistol FCD is that it can size down a slightly oversize lead boolit. The brass springs back but the lead doesn't, resulting in less boolit grip from the brass. Or even a loose boolit. This can also happen with thick case walls.

Therefore I prefer a regular crimp die in the last station. That suits MY situation.

Wow you must really crimp hard. I've never had that happen, and never needed that hard of a crimp to hold. I beleive they mention sumpthin' about not needing to, or watching over crimp.

I crimp, then turn the case bout' 1/3 and crimp again.

[utk]

No no no no no Pat,

I don't crimp "more than most" but it is the carbide sizing ring that squeezes the boolit down in diameter!

Urban

[PatMarlin]

I haven't used it in small caliber pistols. I use some really oversized boolits in 45 colt, where the brass is all bulged out and it still can't get it to do what yours is doing.

And it does it even with the boolit sitting positioned about like this pic?

[utk]

Sorry Pat, got lost now.... That pic is a Rifle FCD, what do you mean?

I used to use a Lee pistol FCD for crimping swaged .38 HBWC in my Classic Turret. When adding a turret for .357Mag I found those boolits slightly larger, large enough to be slightly "kissed" by the sizing ring.
Then I decided to buy a Dillon crimper instead. I was in the position of choosing between another FCD or a Dillon, and here in Sweden they are about the same, pricewise. And when I already had a high shipping cost to consider, I ordered two crimpers and now have them installed on both the .38 spec and .356 Mag turrets.

And one, now "unemployed" Lee FCD...

Urban

[utk]

I must add that I have read a few reports of boolits coming loose after using a Lee FCD, and since I never have had any problems with bulged cases or the like, I haven't had any reason to use them.

Urban

[hedgehorn]

The FCD is half of that.

Freek,
I cant find them that cheap. I do like them though I use them with all my loads except the 44 mag.

[lovedogs]

I've had good success using the FCD for rifles but wish they'd make a FCD in pistol calibers, also... one that wouldn't size but crimp only. That'd work well in guns with overly large bores that we wouldn't want to have sized down.

[Stevejet]

I use both, the Lee Factory Crimp Die (rifle, collet) and the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die (handgun). The rifle for uniformity of bullet tensioning and powder ignition, the handgun for ensured chambering of .45 ACP and .38 Super.

[Ohio Rusty]

I haven't ordered my .380 dies yet. 10Ring shooters supply seems to have the best price on the dies. Unfortunately, the .380 doesn't come with the taper crimp FCD like all the other autoloader 4 die sets. I'll have to order it separately. The other FCD die I'm going to order is the roll crimp .38/.357 die. I've come across some info that the hard seating and crimping of a lead boolet can crush slightly or compress the hollowpoint nose deforming the look of the hollowpoint. If I seat and crimp in two separate operations, that should prevent any deformation to the nose of the hollowpoint. It's a .150 gr. SWCHP Lee mould cast straight WW's, not water hardened. I'm seeking maximum expansion from the HP bullet.
I just have to wait until the tax refund comes in and I can get my new dies to play with. The next tank of fuel oil in two weeks will be $500+ dollars. That kinda eats up all my fun-gun money .....
Ohio Rusty ><>
Psalms 27:1-3/Psalms 91:9-11 (AMP)

[jlchucker]

I use the Lee factory crimp die for all of my reloads, including those for rimless cases used in bolt action rifles, like 30-06, 243, etc. When loading the latter type, I don't put in a hard crimp--just set the die to bump the neck a bit. It tends to center the bullet in the case. This die is indispensible when loading rounds like the 35 Remington, with it's funky little case shoulder that is all too easy to collapse while crimping with a seating die. I've never had a problem in any rifle or handgun cartridge that has been crimped with the Lee FCD.

[ForneyRider]

I use the Lee FCD that came with Lee deluxe pistol set in 45ACP.

It taper crimps, aka post-seat sizes, to .469-.471. I have been using 230gr FMJ and 230gr JHP.

I had cycling issues with my reloads until I used it.

Lee has roll crimping dies as well.

I roll crimp cannelured bullets in rifle cartridges for my family. It's a cosmetic thing for me, as well as saving me hours of discussion with them. I use the RCBS dies for that.

The Lee deluxe rifle set has a dead-length seater die that doesn't offer crimp. There is no crimp die in the set. It has a full-length sizer, neck sizer, and bullet seater die.

[dukers65]

i use the lee factory crimp and taper crimp dis. also got a redding profile crimp die.
the redding is new to me so i am still experimenting. dan