I am using the Lee 4 die sets. I have read over and over how great the FCD is for auto pistol rounds. I think the saying goes "Once you use an FCD, you'll never go back to seating/crimping in one step." Then in the next post, I read that taper crimping an auto round is only to ensure proper feeding. That if the cartridge chambers, it's unnecessary. So which is it? (BTW, I tried to pull a 9mm bullet that was completely uncrimped, and gave up after 5 good whacks, so I'm starting to lean towards the latter view, myself.)
So here's the issue. When I run my 9mm and .45 cartridges through the FCD per instructions, the diameter of the mouth doesn't change on 95% of the rounds. They are in spec, already. Only the occasional longer brass with a larger bell seems to get any benefit. So I tried using the seating die to crimp, and the ammo looks the same to me. So I guess I'm just asking why the big hoopla over FCD's, particularly with semi-auto rounds?
So here's the issue. When I run my 9mm and .45 cartridges through the FCD per instructions, the diameter of the mouth doesn't change on 95% of the rounds. They are in spec, already. Only the occasional longer brass with a larger bell seems to get any benefit. So I tried using the seating die to crimp, and the ammo looks the same to me. So I guess I'm just asking why the big hoopla over FCD's, particularly with semi-auto rounds?
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