Lee FCD for 32-20 on a 550?

[pull the trigger]

Hi all. I'm wanting to load 32-20 on my 550 with cast boolits. I want to crimp on the last hole. Any pointers before I buy the die? I see it's the same die for 30 carbine, is it roomy inside right to the crimp portion? Thanks

[farmbif]

I dont know what brand dies your using but rcbs dies, and possibly other brands, have roll crimp on seating die and when set up properly the brass is so thin it roll crimps very easily

[Bent Ramrod]

I haven’t tried Starline brass in .32-20, having scrounged mine back when the cartridge was obsolescent, but much of the later production from Remington and Winchester at that time were of different lengths, and all of them were shorter than the standard length. Consequently, unless I trimmed all this stuff to the length of the shortest shell in the box, and reset the seating/roll crimping die for the given box I was working with, the crimps would be inconsistent. The crimps that were “not enough” were much less troublesome than the ones that were “too much,” in that a bulge would be formed below the crimp in the thin brass. The bulge did not have to be noticeable by eye to keep the round from chambering, especially in a single action revolver. The rounds that didn’t fit needed partial re-resizing in the sizing die, partially screwed into the press with the decapper removed, the shell tried for fit in the gun and the die screwed in incrementally until fit was achieved. A big waste of time, and not without its hazards.

The Lee die uses a four-leafed spring collet, which pinches the mouth of the case from the side, rather than pressing it down, like a roll crimper does. The pinch is self-limiting, as the leaves can only move together so far until they stop. Consequently, setting the die to stop on the longest shell will allow at least a reasonable crimp on the shorter shells, and no bulge.

So setting up like this on your progressive should work pretty well on untrimmed case lengths, and very well if your .32-20 shells are all the same length. I find the Lee Factory Crimp dies indispensable for the old rifle/pistol cartridges line the .32-20 and .44-40. I haven’t needed it on the .38-40, but I think it’s because the old Colt chambers let the shoulder blow forward, so the extra room in the chamber handles any bulge that may be there. Or maybe that caliber has all the shells the right length. I’m pretty lazy; I generally don’t do any measuring or ancillary data-gathering unless there is a problem.

[megasupermagnum]

I have never loaded those calibers, but I have a Lee collet crimp die for every caliber I do load, except for taper crimp ones like 45 acp. The dies are roomy for the most part. I've never ran into an issue. I modified the die you are looking at to crimp 327 federal. All I did was shorten the collet bottom some. Using pin gauges, it appears a .316" passes. I load .314" bullets exclusively. Bullet length doesn't matter, as it is open on the top. I could crimp a 4" long bullet with one if I wanted. I can take a picture of mine if it would help, but you will be fine. It is the best crimp die you can buy.

[pull the trigger]

Awesome, thanks for the info and the measurements, really appreciate it!!

[Glwenzl]

I’d have to look when I get home but I am pretty sure that I use the LFCD on my 32-20. I just don’t remember anything special about it like recently I needed to use a 218 bee LFCD for a 221 FB

[Kraschenbirn]

I Do use the Starline brass in my .32-20s and have found that I don't need to crimp at all for my Cimarron (Uberti) Low-Wall. After sizing, cases are expanded/flared using a .312 NOE tool and seating .314 boolits removes the flare quite nicely. Might not work so well in a lever action but no problem in a single-shot or revolver.

Bill

[bobthenailer]

In my 550 i use a cut down Lee taper crimp die for the 7.62x39 for the 32/20 or 30/20 with cast

[pull the trigger]

That's a good idea, and I will measure my little mandrel in the sizer too, the one in the 32-20 is way too small at .305, thanks!!