Collet vs FCD?

[hawkeye1]

I’ve been trying to read up on Lee collet crimp die vs the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Are they the same or two separate dies? It seems not everyone is a fan of the FCD, so heard of this collet crimp. I googled collet die and it seemed almost interchangeable. Anyone used both? What is the difference? Which is preferred?

[45_Colt]

There is a big difference between the two. The factory crimp die (FCD), has a carbide ring in the lower portion of the die. It will resize the cartridge, including the bullet if need be. This is so it will fit darn near any chamber.

The crimp portion will be a taper for autos, or a roll for revolver cartridges.

That lower carbide ring is what turns folks off from the Lee FCD. It can squeeze down the boolit too much. Which can result in inaccuracy and leading. In which some folks have knocked out the carbide ring and just use the crimp portion of the die.

Which allows for seating of the boolit in one stage, then crimping in the next. Eliminating the seat/crimp together which can scrape slivers of lead off the boolit.

Now, the Lee collet crimp die doesn't have the carbide ring. It has nothing more then a collet closing portion at the top. It is to crimp the brass into either a cannelure or into a crimp groove. First released for rifle rounds, they are also being made for some pistol & revolver rounds.

They are good to have for rounds that get pumped through a semi-auto. Or a revolver that has a lot of recoil. As crimping into a cannelure or groove prevents the bullet/boolits from either set-back or set-forward.

45_Colt

[Larry Gibson]

The Lee collet crimp die is a collet, the handgun factory crimp die is not. 45 Colt gives an excellent description of the Lee factory Crimp die which is for handgun cartridges.

The Lee Factory Crimp collet die is for use with rifle cartridges. The cartridge in the shell holder is pushed up into the die where the case mouth enters the crimping (closing if you will) part of the collet. The shell holder pushes up on the collet, the collet jaws are then forced closed which applies a crimp by squeezing the case mouth closed into the bullet, a crimp groove or a canular ring in the bullet.

I use both.

I use the FCD as 45 Colt described with my 9mm and 45 ACP to ensure reliable chambering in tight/match chambered semi autos. I don't load oversize bullets in those so the FCD's carbide ring poses no problem. I use the FCD on cartridges already loaded on a progressive press. Those rounds normally chamber in most all handguns but I have 2 handguns with tight/match chambers that they sometimes won't fully seat in. The FCD solves the problem.

I use the Lee collet FCD most often on numerous cartridges requiring a crimp, especially if using jacketed bullets. For example; on the 45-70 and 30-30; if cast bullets are used I use a roll crimp into the crimp grove with a standard seating die often during seating the bullet. If a cannelure jacketed bullet is used I seat the bullet so the case mouth covers 3/4 of the cannelure and then use the FCD to apply the crimp into the cannelure. I can also use the FCD to crimp the case mouth into a bullet, jacketed or cast, if seated so the case mouth doesn't line up with the cannelure or crimp groove.

[Tall]

The Lee collet crimp die is a collet, the handgun factory crimp die is not. 45 Colt gives an excellent description of the Lee factory Crimp die which is for handgun cartridges.

The Lee Factory Crimp collet die is for use with rifle cartridges. The cartridge in the shell holder is pushed up into the die where the case mouth enters the crimping (closing if you will) part of the collet. The shell holder pushes up on the collet, the collet jaws are then forced closed which applies a crimp by squeezing the case mouth closed into the bullet, a crimp groove or a canular ring in the bullet.

I use both.

I use the FCD as 45 Colt described with my 9mm and 45 ACP to ensure reliable chambering in tight/match chambered semi autos. I don't load oversize bullets in those so the FCD's carbide ring poses no problem. I use the FCD on cartridges already loaded on a progressive press. Those rounds normally chamber in most all handguns but I have 2 handguns with tight/match chambers that they sometimes won't fully seat in. The FCD solves the problem.

I use the Lee collet FCD most often on numerous cartridges requiring a crimp, especially if using jacketed bullets. For example; on the 45-70 and 30-30; if cast bullets are used I use a roll crimp into the crimp grove with a standard seating die often during seating the bullet. If a cannelure jacketed bullet is used I seat the bullet so the case mouth covers 3/4 of the cannelure and then use the FCD to apply the crimp into the cannelure. I can also use the FCD to crimp the case mouth into a bullet, jacketed or cast, if seated so the case mouth doesn't line up with the cannelure or crimp groove.

I find the Lee FCD can sometimes be a collet (32 WCF for example) and sometimes not (38 Special / 357 Magnum for example). Both are useful if you know how to adjust them. They are quite different.

[mdi]

I agree with 45 Colt and Mr. Gibson. I have never had a need for post crimping resizing any handload, but out of curiosity I bought am FCD. I was reloading a lot of 44 Magnums at that time and got one for the Magnum. It turned out to be a crimp die with a "floating" (?) crimp stem and a carbide sizing ring. The actual crimp was OK/so-so but the sizing portion sized down my handloads about .002"-.003"+ (all my handloads chambered freely in 3 revolvers, one Contender, one Carbine). It now resides in a landfill somewhere in So, Oregon. I also have and use Lee's collet crimp dies for 3 cartridges and results are pretty good. I lost count at about 80 different cartridges for the collet crimp die, and most were bottle neck, rifle style, with a few for handgun. straight sided cartridges. I'm not a fan of the Carbide Factory Crimp die mainly I have never had a need for a post crimping sizing die as all my handloads chamber easily (if not In find out why and remedy the problem.).

[justindad]

The collet style crimper is just about indispensable for .357 Sig, but you have to be careful to not over crimp. If you over crimp with the collet style, the brass just below the crimp area can flare outwards (poison effect) causing a loss of neck tension.
*
I was using the FCD for .45 ACP for a tight chambered pistol, but I am testing to see if that is no longer needed since I made some other die changes. If you are straightening or resizing after the crimp, then you will lose accuracy (may not be a measurable difference).

[AntiqueSledMan]

Gentlemen,

You are confusing the "Lee Factory Crimp Die" with the "Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die".
Two completely different Dies.

AntiqueSledMan.

[justindad]

Gentlemen,

You are confusing the "Lee Factory Crimp Die" with the "Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die".
Two completely different Dies.

AntiqueSledMan.

If you’re going to say that, you should clarify the difference.

[Mike Kerr]

Trying to clarify this statement further could be a lengthy process. The Lee Collet die is most often seen on rifle cartridges (notice I said Collet die). Most who speak of the Lee FCD or Factory crimp die are refering to Lee's die which has a carbide ring and is utilized on certain handgun cartridges. Some rifle die sets may refer to a "collet" style die as a Factory Crimp die as a pure marketing term.

[AntiqueSledMan]

Well, here you go.

Correction: the LEE "Carbide Factory Crimp Die" does not seat the bullet,
It just crimps the seated bullet and resizes on the exit stroke.

AntiqueSledMan.

[shooter bob]

Lee has collet crimp dies for some not all pistol calibers . 357 mag 44 mag for sure I have both. They work great . I believe Doug guy had a few posts about them.i really like them for bullets with a crimp groove.

[shooter bob]

Titan reloading has collet crimp dies 357 mag-357 sig- 44 mag-45 colt- 460 s&w-500s&w. I’m not sure if this is all lee make’s but that’s what I seen on titan. Check them out for better details.

[Tall]

Well, here you go.

Correction: the LEE "Carbide Factory Crimp Die" does not seat the bullet,
It just crimps the seated bullet and resizes on the exit stroke.

AntiqueSledMan.

Exactly. What I was saying.

[jetinteriorguy]

Titan reloading has collet crimp dies 357 mag-357 sig- 44 mag-45 colt- 460 s&w-500s&w. I’m not sure if this is all lee make’s but that’s what I seen on titan. Check them out for better details.

You can request custom dies for a fairly reasonable fee and a reasonable lead time. That’s how I got them for my.41mag.