lee dies
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Black Snowman
Member
Taper crimp. In fact, all brands of .45 ACP dies should ship with a taper crimp die.
P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
In fact - any rimless cartridge should only be given a taper crimp - tho with rifle that may be more like a four point ''cinch''!!! The prerequisite is that the case mouth can headspace with straight case pistol ammo - in rifle the bottleneck will be the ref point.
Roll crimps are for most part only for long parallel cases, usually for revo's and rimmed ... like 38/357, .44, .45 Colt etc.
Roll crimps are for most part only for long parallel cases, usually for revo's and rimmed ... like 38/357, .44, .45 Colt etc.
The Bushmaster
Member
How you say?? My Lee 3 die set is taper crimp only If I set it too much it looks just like a bad LFC die. How old are your .45 ACP dies. Mine were purchased in 1990... 
BluesBear
member
If that were true then neither crimp would be satisfactory.
The Lee bullet seating die will remove the flare from the case mouth but will only perform either a taper crimp or a roll crimp. Straightening the mouth flare is not the same as crimping.
BluesBear
member
Slight is right.
I have a set of Lee Carbide Dies in .45 sitting on my desk this very moment that I am looking to dispose of becaue they won't crimp worth a damn. I think this must be what those idiots at A-MERC use to almost crimp their ammo.
I'll probably get rid of my .38/.357 Lee dies also and be done with them.
After all of these years I should have know better than to buy just because it's cheap.
I'll stick to my Redding crimp dies.
I have a set of Lee Carbide Dies in .45 sitting on my desk this very moment that I am looking to dispose of becaue they won't crimp worth a damn. I think this must be what those idiots at A-MERC use to almost crimp their ammo.
I'll probably get rid of my .38/.357 Lee dies also and be done with them.
After all of these years I should have know better than to buy just because it's cheap.
I'll stick to my Redding crimp dies.
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Everything I've ever read about .45ACP crimp says take it down to .470. My LEE FCD will go to .472 - period - that's the most crimp I can ever get regardless of the brass or bullet used.
But you know what .472 works - for me at least. I've never gotten any set back and I function check my carry gun at least once a week and often twice. The bullet that comes out of the chamber gets to be the top round in the mag so it goes back into the chamber. Since I only fire my carry gun (Sig P220) about once a month that's a minimum of 4 and sometimes 8 chamberings on that top round. The OAL stays at 1.2 right where it was when it was first reloaded.
That once a month firing is at least 50 rounds and usually 100 or more. I get good grouping and accuracy so for me at least that .472 light crimp works. YMMV...
The Bushmaster
Member
Oh Drat...I guess I'm in trouble again. All I have is Lee dies and they don't give me any trouble at all. Except I am a little unhappy with the .38 Special resizer which I plan to solve here soon. Waiting for tax return. I have been using the same Lee dies for about 20 years. They have never given me any reason to replace them with new ones or a different manufacturer. My press is a Lee turret.
P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
Don't feel left out Bushmaster!! I have all Lee - well, just a few other makes of dies here and there to be honest - but my Lee set-up has done now for some quarter century and more and covers many, many calibers too.
I added a second turret, plus Challenger single station and also a cheapo single station - which is used just for priming and non-stress operations. I also invested in extra turrets so as to leave die sets all set up and ready to go for quick change-overs. There is no die I can think of that has let me down - and I have added many FCD's in more recent years too.
I added a second turret, plus Challenger single station and also a cheapo single station - which is used just for priming and non-stress operations. I also invested in extra turrets so as to leave die sets all set up and ready to go for quick change-overs. There is no die I can think of that has let me down - and I have added many FCD's in more recent years too.
The Bushmaster
Member
Yup. Same here. I think I can solve the .38 crisiss with a Lee FCD also. If not I may do some research and find a die that will taper the .38 Special just a little. Not unlike the .357 die. All of my dies are set up on individual turret adaptors. Change caliber...Change adaptor. Of course you already know this.
trickyasafox
Member
are lee FCD universal or caliber specific, i've never heard of em before this conversation. . .
P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
FCD's are cal specific - tho of course with examples like .45 LC - they will serve for .454 Casull - etc. Similarly as you'd expect .38/.357.
Just a case of adjusting - to suit case length.
Just a case of adjusting - to suit case length.
The Bushmaster
Member
P95carry is right. More information to clarify...It takes a Lee FCD to do .30-30 and another to do .30-06. And so on......Some will do more then one cartridge caliber.
armoredman
Member
You wanna get rid of Lee 45 and 357/38 dies....hmmm all my Lee dies work quite well, and just got in my new Lee 7.62x54R set yesterday. Yes, the Lee dies in 9mm will give a roll crimp if adjusted incorrectly - found that out the hard way with my first ever loads - oops.
My brother just got a 1911 45ACP, and was wondering if I could get dies for my press..... Got a price in mind for them? Still in good shape?
My brother just got a 1911 45ACP, and was wondering if I could get dies for my press.....
Got a price in mind for them? Still in good shape?- Status
