[ezypikns]

Are Lee die sets the only ones which crimp brass after seating the bullet? This would be for .45 ACP. Do RCBS die sets also have the crimpimg capability, or do you need a special crimp die?

[Black Snowman]

Most all seating dies also crimp and a seperate crimping die isn't nessisary. The Lee Carbide Crimp Dies re-size the brass after loading as well as let you do a crimp in a seperate stage.

I have some of the Carbide Crimp Dies and they were deforming the bullets on my loads hurting the accuracy so I backed them off so I was just using the carbide ring to apply the correct ammount of taper crimp and this seems to give me the best accuracy and brass life.

Hope that helps.

[stans]

Most manufacturers seating dies will also crimp, unless you back out the die body a couple of turns. Most also offer separate crimp only dies for those of us who prefer to crimp separately.

[Gunrunner]

I use the Lee die set for 9mm. I found better results to seat the bullet, with the die backed out of the press a turn or two. After all the bullets are loaded I adjust the die down to the correct heighth for crimping and run the cases through. This is with lead bullets and JHPs. Back when I loaded FMJ I did the seating and crimping in one step. I don't load those anymore per it's lots easier to just buy fmj ammo.

[Swamprabbit]

For rifle rounds, the only ones I crimp are .308 loads for my FAL. For these, I use the standard RCBS seating die adjusted for crimping.

On handgun rounds, I use a separate Lee taper crimp die for my .45 ACP cast bullet loads but use the taper crimp RCBS seating die for jacketed loads. It seems that the cast bullets just don't work well trying to seat and taper crimp them in one step. For revolver rounds, I roll crimp using the seating die.

[HSMITH]

Seating and crimping in two steps is nice, especially with roll crimped rounds. I have found that it gives slightly more consistent ammunition.

The Lee Factory Crimp die will probably be recommended by a lot of guys. It works OK as long as you are not relying on it to cover up loading mistakes. The Redding Profile crimp die is THE BEST crimp die made, and well worth the extra cost over the Lee FCD, I recommend you buy one if you are looking to seat and crimp in two steps.

[stans]

I agree on the Redding Profile crimp for revolvers. I have an RCBS roll crimp die for 357 Magnum and it works well. I am using a Redding Profile crimp for 44 Magnum. The Profile crimp seems to be a combination of a taper crimp with a roll at the very end of case mouth. It sure holds the bullets in place under recoil! I tried to use a kinetic puller to remove a 240 grain bullet from a dummy round I made, took forever for it to budge!

For semi-auto pistols, I always use a taper crimp die. Also, if you are using plated bullets, taper crimp them as a roll crimp can cause the case mouth to puncture and tear the plating. I find this is a down side to using plated bullets in revolvers.

[Gunrunner]

I'm gonna throw another vote in here for the Redding Profile crimp on revolver loads. Been using one for years for my 44s and it works GREAT!

[Quantrill]

I use and am happy with the Lee Crimping Die for cast bullet loads in the 30-06 and the 44-40. Some folks offered the advice that 44-40 brass is thinner than most and would not stand up to the crimping die, but I found this not to be the case and the 44-40 reloads come out just fine. Quantrill