Titan ReloadingWidenersLee PrecisionInline Fabrication
RotoMetals2RepackboxMidSouth Shooters SupplyReloading Everything
Load Data

View Poll Results: Do you use the Lee factory Crimp Die when loading pistol cartridges withcast bullets

Voters
871. You may not vote on this poll
  • Yes, I use the FCD for all my handgun cartridge loadings when using cast bullets.

    574 65.90%
  • No, I never use this die as it swages down my cast bullets

    297 34.10%
Page 4 of 20 FirstFirst 1234567891011121314 ... LastLast
Results 61 to 80 of 394

Thread: Lee Factory Crimp die for Handgun Cartridges and Cast Bullets

  1. #61
    Boolit Grand Master

    mdi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So. Orygun
    Posts
    7,239
    I wonder, how many of those that voted yes, they use the FCD with lead boolits, have pulled a bullet and measured it after using the FCD?
    My Anchor is holding fast!

  2. #62
    Boolit Master
    thegreatdane's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    DFW, TX
    Posts
    578
    I have. No change. Otherwise, I wouldn't use it at all.
    scrap, smelt, cast, lube, load, shoot. repeat.

  3. #63
    Boolit Master
    LUBEDUDE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    East Texas
    Posts
    2,678
    I guess I'm too dumb to know what I am doing right.

    I love my Lee FCD's. And they are the only Lee products I use.

    And Yes, I have pulled my bullets looking for swaging and they mic'd true. I did so after being alarmed on another forum.

    I use :
    357/38 - goes in .358, comes out .358

    45 Colt - goes in .452, comes out .452

    45 ACP - goes in .452 comes out .452

    32 mag - goes in .313 comes out .313

    Haven't tried the 9mm yet or the 45-70 yet.

    Good Luck!

  4. #64
    Boolit Master
    LUBEDUDE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    East Texas
    Posts
    2,678
    Quote Originally Posted by 35remington View Post

    The use of the FCD is as a sort of half substitute for a gauge, in that it sizes the case, but does not tell if the rim is bent or peened, if the bullet is seated too long, etc.
    And -

    Someone said earlier that if a round comes out of a FCD, then it does not need to be gauged.

    I beg to differ, the FCD does Too good of a job. Cases that have ruptures will come out sized perfect and still go through a gauge.

    You still have to do a visual!

  5. #65
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Europe
    Posts
    30
    I voted yes - I have been using the Lee FCD for .45 ACP, .357 Mag and 9 mm Luger.

  6. #66
    Boolit Master Sonnypie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Saugus, in the State of Socialist Republic of California.
    Posts
    1,226
    Quote Originally Posted by robertbank View Post
    My experince has been this die straightens out the bulge on handgun cartridge cases but in so doing swages down my cast bullets. I would be interested to learn of your experience.

    Take Care

    Bob
    My experience has been that it is relative to adjustment, but I use mine for rifle ammo and Lyman #2 alloy (16 BHN). It does stop when the collet is closed. But I snuck up on my setting for mine.

    Maybe your alloy is a tad soft to allow satisfactory results for you? My 45 ACP boolits are softer than my rifle boolits (11.8 - 12.1 BHN). They work fine for me. But they get a taper crimp from the seating die. I have no need to change that. (As in getting a FCD specifically for it.) I get a nice lethal center mass grouping at 10 yards. Plenty tight for self defense firearm.

    And we need to remember that most of this stuff is designed around jacketed bullet reloading. Not cast boolits. So we are kind of like red headed step children.
    We have to adjust and adapt because we are not worthy of them changing things for us.
    Maybe the FCD just isn't the right tool for your load?
    God Bless America!

    Sittin here watchin the world go round and round...
    Much like a turd in a flushing toilet.

    Shoot for the eyes.
    If they are crawlin away, shoot for the key hole.

    NRA Life Member
    CRPA Life Member

    Magnificent!
    The basic flaw with Science is man.

  7. #67
    Boolit Master DaveInFloweryBranchGA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    2,701
    Quote Originally Posted by Doc Highwall View Post
    I just read all of the above posts and now I will give my opinion on the LEE FCD. Remember when progressive presses first came out and loading straight wall cases like 38/357 would catch on the mouth of the die and the solution was to put a larger radius on the dies so that the very bottom of the case was not sized as much. Well the LEE FCD can catch this and because there is a bullet already seated at the previous operation and the bullet will help guide the round into the LEE FCD. As far as accuracy is concerned a die that roll crimps is dependent on case length where a longer case will get a greater crimp and a short case will get almost nothing and we all know how much we all love to trim cases to less then .001" tolerance especially on our plinking ammo. The LEE FCD is not dependent on case length and yes you can crimp a bullet that has no crimp but I would not do it. The 7/8-14 thread pitch of our dies makes die adjustment critical. Example 1 inch divided by 14 = .07142" travel per one full turn on the die, let us round this to .072" per one full turn on the die. That means .036" for 1/2 turn, .018" for 1/4 turn, .009" for 1/8 turn and .0045" for 1/16 of a turn. That is why your seating die stem usually has a 32 pitch thread or .03125" per full turn and the micrometer bench-rest dies have a 40 pitch or .025" per full turn like regular 0-1" micrometers. It all comes down to using the right tool for the right job AND ADJUSTING it correctly. Don't be afraid to use a magnifying glass and measuring tools when setting up your dies and understand the little bit of math to help your self out. Hopefully this will help you get more out of all your dies and not just the LEE FCD.
    This is some of the best advice on adjusting dies I've read in a long time. It shows that dies are tools and understanding how the tools work and what measurements/math are required to get the most out of the tools.

    Thank you for posting it.

    As to the FCD, I use it on all of the auto pistol rounds I reload. I do this for several reasons:

    1. I'm lazy and I can more easily adjust seating and crimping if I separate the process. I know I could do this with other dies, but....go to 2.

    2. I can buy the complete Lee die sets with FCD for less than the cost of most other brands. Once I've polished them inside one time to get the rough machining marks out, they run smoothly in a progressive. There are probably smoother dies out there, but these get the job done and are affordable, which allows me to buy other reloading goodies.

    3. If I do have bulged cases, etc., they deal with that for me and I don't have to worry about it. Reliability in an auto loader is a priority for me, more so than ultimate accuracy. That said, my home made ammo shoots accurate enough for me in a RIA 1911 Commander style model that I've taken money from several buddies who thought their (put your favorite 1911 name here) was the best shooting gun around. It's not only the ammo, it's the gun they're shot out of. Matching ammo to a gun is part of the equation.

    Finally, I think if one hasn't tried a tool, one should reserve judgement and not attack it or praise the tool. For instance, I haven't used a FCD on revolver or rifle, so I have no idea how it works there and am not qualified to speak to that question.

    Just my .02,

    Dave

  8. #68
    Moderator Emeritus robertbank's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Terrace, B.C. Canada
    Posts
    5,245
    Quote Originally Posted by Sonnypie View Post
    My experience has been that it is relative to adjustment, but I use mine for rifle ammo and Lyman #2 alloy (16 BHN). It does stop when the collet is closed. But I snuck up on my setting for mine.

    Maybe your alloy is a tad soft to allow satisfactory results for you? My 45 ACP boolits are softer than my rifle boolits (11.8 - 12.1 BHN). They work fine for me. But they get a taper crimp from the seating die. I have no need to change that. (As in getting a FCD specifically for it.) I get a nice lethal center mass grouping at 10 yards. Plenty tight for self defense firearm.

    And we need to remember that most of this stuff is designed around jacketed bullet reloading. Not cast boolits. So we are kind of like red headed step children.
    We have to adjust and adapt because we are not worthy of them changing things for us.
    Maybe the FCD just isn't the right tool for your load?
    The Lee FCD for rifle is completely different than the die for handgun cartridges and works differently. The pistol version removes the bulge created by, for example a .452 lead boolit. In removing the bulge it swages down the boolit from my experience. The depth of the bulge has to go somewhere.

    I use the rifle version exclusively but quit using the handgun version after I pulled a bullet and noticed the swaging and loss of diameter of the lead bullet.

    Take Care

    Bob
    Its been months since I bought the book, "How to scam people online". It still has not arrived yet!

    "If the human population held hands around the equator, a significant portion of them would drown"

  9. #69
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    2,139
    I use it for 9mm. I don't know if I am swaging the boolit down any or not, I've never checked. In one outing, I will shoot several hundred rounds in my xd9. No noticeable leading, there was a greasy layer of soot everywhere inside, but no failures and no leading and it's very accurate. I'm not looking this horse in the mouth.

  10. #70
    Boolit Grand Master

    MtGun44's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    eastern Kansas- suburb of KC
    Posts
    15,023
    Why is it easier to adkust than a regular taper crimp die?

    Bill
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  11. #71
    Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Hagerstown, MD
    Posts
    421
    Quote Originally Posted by GP100man View Post
    for autos ,yes ,for revolvers ,no .

    For sd/hd rounds each rnd. gets tested in each chamber !!

    I guess I`m old fashioned , I trimm handgun brass .

    Or at least try to keep a consistent length .

    Shortcuts usually bite me in the hiney or cost me $$ !!!
    I too trim all my handgun brass.

  12. #72
    Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Hagerstown, MD
    Posts
    421
    Quote Originally Posted by robertbank View Post
    The Lee FCD for rifle is completely different than the die for handgun cartridges and works differently. The pistol version removes the bulge created by, for example a .452 lead boolit. In removing the bulge it swages down the boolit from my experience. The depth of the bulge has to go somewhere.

    I use the rifle version exclusively but quit using the handgun version after I pulled a bullet and noticed the swaging and loss of diameter of the lead bullet.

    Take Care

    Bob
    I have a Hornaday taper crimp die for 9MM Luger. It too swages down the bullet. I have a FCD for my 7MM Rem. Mag & I like it.

  13. #73
    Boolit Buddy jeff423's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    St. Charles County, MO
    Posts
    213
    I load flush seated .38 wad cutters and its roll crimp is better than Redding's "profile" crimp which starts out as a taper crimp and then rolls.

    Jeff

  14. #74
    Boolit Master

    Reload3006's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    West Plains, Mo.
    Posts
    1,582
    the Lee FCD has its place and I use it from time to time but IMO its more snake oil than anything else it makes crimping for me a lot easier in some circumstances but not all and I dont agree with Lee that it improves accuracy. JMO its kind of like a trip to the bowling alley or golf course some one shoots a good score it has to be the clubs shoes etc never that maybe it was just a good day or a good load or etc.

  15. #75
    Boolit Master
    LUBEDUDE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    East Texas
    Posts
    2,678
    I use the Lee FCD not for accuracy or snake oil, but for improved feeding and chambering.

    In competition you have to take those problems out of the equation. And the Lee dies have been very successful for me.

  16. #76
    Boolit Master
    jimkim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Dodge Co. GA. Between the Ocmulgee and Little Ocmulgee rivers.
    Posts
    1,341
    Quote Originally Posted by zxcvbob View Post
    I've thought about using one with the crimper backed all the way out as a sizing die for .45 Colt, so it won't size the cases *quite* as small as a normal sizing die.
    I bought some RCBS 32 acp dies that turned out to be steel instead of carbide. I started using the crimping die body to size. It works well. I load 32 acp, and 32 SW Long with this set now.

    US Govt mantra: If it's moving tax it. If it's still moving regulate it. If it stops moving subsidize it

  17. #77
    Boolit Master Josh Smith's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Wabash, IN
    Posts
    581
    Hello,

    I used to, but not any longer. My loads just seem to be more precise without it.

    Regards,

    Josh

  18. #78
    Boolit Buddy oldgeezershooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Az.
    Posts
    230
    I have just the opposite results, mine are more consistent and cycle better using the FCD.

  19. #79
    Boolit Master

    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Mtn West
    Posts
    2,188
    I never use them for any handgun loads. The Lee FCD, handgun type, just doesn't work well for me. For revolver I use the regular roll crimp shoulder on the seater die. For semi-auto handgun I use a taper crimp die. ANY type of crimping die requires special attention to adjustment and consistent case length.

    For heavy, magnum Jbullet rifle loads that must perform and do the job, I use the Lee FCD, rifle type, exclusively- a very good tool for that purpose.

  20. #80
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    493
    Just votd No. Swages the bullet. If dies are set correctly the FCD is a waste of money and accomplishes nothing!

Page 4 of 20 FirstFirst 1234567891011121314 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check