Lee Collet Crimp Die versus conventional roll crimp .44 mag

According to the instructions, all Lee dies that can crimp do so with what they call a modified roll crimp.

They do not make a taper crimp at all, so if it's a roll crimp you need, any Lee will do.

One nice thing with the FCD is case length isn't as critical as with a roll crimp so you don't have to trim to length every time. One other thing in my mind is there is less working of the brass around the mouth of the case. Your not rolling it over then straightening it back out again. Your just squeezing the brass into the bullet. Might make for less neck splits. They are nice to have. I use one for my 30-30s, .22 Hornet and .223. JMHO

As far as crimp go i am familiar with the lee stuff. Taper, roll, and factory. I factory crimp my revolver, my 9 and my 40. Love the lee factory crimp die. Don't crimp it too hard or it will roll in on the top of the case. Best wishes.

I have very limited experience in loading 44mag and I never tried this die. I know that 44 mag brass is thick and getting a good roll crimp can be more difficult without buldging the case, but it can be done. I can see where it would be more forgiving since its not putting downward pressure on the case, but that pressure has to go somewhere. This die puts the applied crimp pressure on the shell holder or shell plate if using a progressive press, Single stage press is fine and not an issue. My LNL progressive acts a little funny when I use the lee collet crimp die in 223 rem, I get a wider variance of OAL due to the carrier flexing.

John C said:

fifty;

Thanks for the reply.

Reading a bit more, it looks like these dies are made to put a very firm crimp on the case. Regular crimps are moving down while crimping the case, increasing the likelihood of buckling the case while a heavy crimp is applied. Apparently, with these collet crimp dies, there's no risk of that.

I'm wondering, is it worth it?

Thanks,

-John

Click to expand...

The Lee seating die has unsupported walls, meaning the case is supported at the base, and at the mouth where it's being crimped, and no support along the case length. You need to set the crimp up very carefully or risk bulging the case.

Lee invented the factory crimp die to fix the problem caused with it's regular seating die.

I use Hornady, RCBS and Redding seating dies, and I keep no factory crimp dies at all.

All my bullet seaters seat and crimp in one step with no problem, and on some revolver die setups I choose to seat and then use a separate taper crimp die.

fiftybmg said:

The Lee seating die has unsupported walls, meaning the case is supported at the base, and at the mouth where it's being crimped, and no support along the case length. You need to set the crimp up very carefully or risk bulging the case.

Lee invented the factory crimp die to fix the problem caused with it's regular seating die.

I use Hornady, RCBS and Redding seating dies, and I keep no factory crimp dies at all.

All my bullet seaters seat and crimp in one step with no problem, and on some revolver die setups I choose to seat and then use a separate taper crimp die.

Click to expand...

I don't think lee had to fix anything. They came up with a separate crimp operation so the the reloader does not have to worry about buckling a case dues to inconsistent trim lengths. Thanks lee.
Best wishes
PS Lee does make a taper crimp die. I have one for shotshell loading.

John C said:

fifty;

Thanks for the reply.

Reading a bit more, it looks like these dies are made to put a very firm crimp on the case. Regular crimps are moving down while crimping the case, increasing the likelihood of buckling the case while a heavy crimp is applied. Apparently, with these collet crimp dies, there's no risk of that.

I'm wondering, is it worth it?

Thanks,

-John

Click to expand...

well, kinda..
you can still buckle a case with it..

don't ask, just trust me on that one..
it does take a little more doing, but it is possible..

Gotta be one of those they make because people ask for it.

If people got the one I got in my lee set, I know why.

I do still use the lee carbide sizer and decapper- the "unbreakable" slide stem on that die has saved me numerous times with range pickup brass. I use a new style lyman seater, and an old style lyman expander.

FWIW-I have all the world available at my bench : old and new Lyman, RCBS, and Hornady. Lee by far makes the worst seat and crimp die of the bunch.

I have used the Lee factory crimp dies since the 1990's for rifle reloading. In my experience their utility depends on the type of bullet you are reloading. The seater/roll crimp dies work perfectly fine with cast bullets. Cast bullets are soft so small discrepancies in case length/seating depth aren't really much of an issue as the bullet will give a bit while the case mouth turns into the crimp groove. The Lee FCD probably won't show much improvement over it.

However for jacketed bullets the FCD dies work substantially better. Jacketed bullets, especially those with shallow or no cannelure, are not so forgiving. When the adjustments are off, we end up with no crimp, some crimp, or buckled cases with a roll crimp die.

Since you already are using a separate step for crimping, it won't add any time your reloading process and $25 is certainly a reasonable one time expenditure for our hobby. Give it a try and you will probably be happy with the result.