[Mike Irwin]

Do they taper crimp, roll crimp, or what? Having a tough time figuring it out.

[ialevy]

They taper crimp on auto cases and roll crimp on revolver cases.

[Mike Irwin]

Thank you!

[STORMIN29]

Is the Lee factory crimp die any better than say a die from Dillon? The way
they seem to be advertised, the other companies dies aren't as good.

[mtnbkr]

The only crimp die I see people recommending over the Lee crimp dies is the Redding profile crimp die. For the money and the kind of shooting I do, I'll stick with the less expensive Lees.

Chris

[Mike Irwin]

Does anyone make taper crimp dies for .38 Spl.?

Most of my .38 Spl. loads aren't all that hot, and I like taper crimping a little more than roll crimping as it doesn't word the case mouth nearly as much.

[Jim Watson]

The Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die resizes the loaded round as well as crimping the case mouth. It is a big help for loading commercial cast bullets, especially in autopistol calibers. I have one in .38 Special but seldom use it. My .38s chamber freely without it.

You can get a taper crimp for .38 Special. Might be good for plated bullets, but I like a roll crimp into the crimp groove or cannelure of a standard cast or jacketed bullet. I don't worry about overworking the brass, I want the bullet to stay put.

[Mike Irwin]

"It is a big help for loading commercial cast bullets, especially in autopistol calibers."

BINGO.

NBC bullets in .45 ACP drive me freaking insane.

[Desert Eagle]

Besides making a good crimp the most important thing Lee's Factory Crimp Die does is post size the casing after the bullet seating has made bulges in it.

DE

[Omni]

Mike,

Lee makes taper crimp dies for 38/.357 and .44 Spl/Mag. They are less than $10. I use them for light loads with plated bullets without crimp groove. The affordable prices of Lee dies makes it easy to play with different crimps.

John

[Arub]

If you follow the instuctions (a novelty for us men?) on set up of the roll crimp die, you can control the amount of crimp you use from light (1/4 turn after contact with case mouth) to heavy (full turn after contact with case mouth). I generally use a light crimp of all caliber loaded to help extend the life of the brass.

[444]

Not that this means a whole lot, but I crimp my .38 Special cases pretty hard no matter what load I am using. And, over the last year or so I have been shooting a lot of .38s, and a fair amount for the 20 years prior to that. I almost never lose a case. I have brass that I am sure is 20 years old and who knows how many loadings I have gotten out of it ? Lately I have been going through between 500 and 1000 rounds of .38 Speical a month and case life doesn't seem to be a big issue dispite the crimp.

[Mike Irwin]

Arub,

Yep, I know how work the roll crimp.


444,

When I used to roll crimp regularly, I'd lose between 3 and 5% of my cases to mouth splits on a regular basis.

Didn't matter which manufacturer.

[SASS#23149]

Mike Irwin
were you using nickel plated brass for your reloading? the only time I have neck or case splits is with NP stuff......or REALLLY old brass brass

[Mike Irwin]

Nickel AND brass.

Both, but mostly brass.

Nickeled brass will split a LOT sooner than straight brass.

[Mike Kerr]

Good replies on this thread. I think Lee Dies are a great value. They produce good ammunition at a reasonable cost. In fact most basic Lee products are good buys IMO. However, when you consider progressive presses- Dillon rules.

Regards,

[Poodleshooter]

I'm switching almost entirely to Lee FCD's for my pistols. After my Glock 30 started choking on 230gr Star,Valiant and NBC cast lead, I bought the .45ACP die,which solved that problem. I just picked up the .357 die to try to get rid of the irritating velocity variations in my previously roll crimped .357 ammo. I can never quite get those trim lengths exact on .357.
My experience has been all positive.