Lee 9mm 4-die set questions

[Photog]

I use the Lee 4 die sets in my Hornady LNL AP, the Dillon 650 is hardly ever used. The lee dies are little short for the Dillon setup anyways.
In Position One, I use a sizer/decapper with Squirrel Daddy pins. in Position 2 I use a Powder Through flaring die or a universal flaring die. Then Hornady Powder drop station. Then Lee Bullet seating die with VERY Little crimp, this is a taper crimp delivered in the usual seating die.
Then I almost always do a full crimp using a FCD. Its not really a taper crimp or roll crimp - the FCD delivers a crimp by squeezing the case mouth after it is inserted all the way into the die, and is more adjustable than taper crimps that also seat the boolit. Doing this make the seating and crimping 2 seperate actions, and preserves the straightness of the case mouth. Works better for me. I learned this while loading major .40 in lead using a special "U" die (under-size made by Lee - something the other mfgs don't do). the U Die prevents the bullet from seating properly when its also getting crimped - but removing the crimp from the seating action works great.
A good mechanic will try different tools and pick the one they like. As an electrician I have some Klein stuff, but not everything they make is great. As a bike mechanic I used plenty of Park Tools, but plenty of other brands (Campy, VAR, even Pedros) make stuff that works better. I don't need a full set of Snap Ons to rebuild an engine either - heck I hardly use the combo wrench anymore. And unless it strips a nut, I'll use whatever wrench gets the job done. I've tried RCBS and Dillon dies, and they don't work any better than Lee dies, they just have a few different features. I kinda standardized on Lee because I'm used to them and they work fine. But then again there is a LNL AP bolted to the inside bench while the XL650 is out in the garage and never used because the primer system and configure-ability is superior on the Hornady. I value those things over the pure speed of the Dillon (when it works).

[gloob]

Then Lee Bullet seating die with VERY Little crimp, this is a taper crimp delivered in the usual seating die.
Then I almost always do a full crimp using a FCD. Its not really a taper crimp or roll crimp - the FCD delivers a crimp by squeezing the case mouth after it is inserted all the way into the die, and is more adjustable than taper crimps that also seat the boolit. Doing this make the seating and crimping 2 seperate actions, and preserves the straightness of the case mouth.

I agree 100% that taper crimping in a separate step after seating will improve your consistency, a bit. But I don't think the Lee pistol FCDs are significantly better at doing this than a regular taper crimp die.

The rifle FCDs apply a collet crimp to the case mouth acting the way you describe. The case shoulder pushes on the die, and this causes the collet to close and perform the crimp. A pistol FCD looks like a normal taper crimp die to me, except there's a carbide ring at the mouth to do the extra function of squishing down the entire cartridge if you use large cast boolits and/or thick brass.

If you don't want the post-sizing ring effect and you just want the taper crimp in a separate die from the seater, at a cheap combined cost, you can knock out that carbide ring, and it will taper crimp just the same.

The carbide ring shouldn't really do anything too good or bad, if your brass is consistent and you shoot jacketed or cast that is only 1 thous over. If the cartridges are so fat that they get post-sized, the ring should make them chamber in most guns. And it's probably not a major safety issue, because the case behind the bullet should still prevent it from setting back. But the cast bullet will be squished a bit smaller, and neck tension will be reduced. It probably would be better for your accuracy if you removed these rounds and figured out how to avoid that problem before it happens. E.g., sizing your bullets so they're more consistent in size, before you seat them. Or sorting out thicker oddball headstamps.

For pistol, the people who would benefit from FCD are the ones who want to crank out high volume ammo that functions and goes bang without jamming. Because they don't want to take the time to do gauge/chamber checks or sort brass. Strange to hear someone advocating it for accuracy reasons.

[Sam Sackett]

Hoodat, while you are ordering, go ahead and order the Lee Pro disc powder measure. Those things are amazingly consistent, especially with finer grain powders like Bullseye and HP38/231. Plus the last I checked they cost less than $50. Titan Reloading is the prime distributor for Lee Precision and usually has the best prices.

Sam Sackett

[deces]

Since the Lee pro 6000, Lee has been going heavy on product development. There is a newly designed bullet feeder that will be out in a month or so and supposedly Lee will be introducing a new M style die to their catalog.

[45_Colt]

The rifle FCDs apply a collet crimp to the case mouth acting the way you describe. The case shoulder pushes on the die, and this causes the collet to close and perform the crimp. A pistol FCD looks like a normal taper crimp die to me, except there's a carbide ring at the mouth to do the extra function of squishing down the entire cartridge if you use large cast boolits and/or thick brass.

The collet style FCD, is activated by pressure from the shell holder. The die is squeezed between the outer threaded portion and the shell holder or ram. Not on the shoulder of the case.

Note that there are also collet style FCDs available for some pistol/revolver cartridges. Have been using ones for the .357 SIG and .45 Colt.

45_Colt

[slickracer]

I have reloaded MANY 9mm cartridges using the LEE 4 die set. Never a problem. I have the LEE powder dispense mounted to the press, and more or less hanging over the powder through die. A funnel completes the set up.

I also use the factory crimp die for every caliber I reload. Wouldn't be without it.

I like the LEE products. Some folks don't and will run down the LEE every chance they get.

Another Lee fan here, I’ve had nothing but success with their products.