Lee factory crimp on 9mm

[7mmb]

1/2 turn down on the FCD in 9mm and 45 Auto works for me. I load X-Treme plated for both. I haven't pulled bullets to see if the FCD is sizing them down (which I highly doubt since they are sized to .355 and .451) but they sure are accurate.

 

[LiveLife]

John Lee, president of Lee Precision emailed me years back when we had THR discussions on the FCD and the bulge buster kits that use the FCD (No bulge buster kit for 9mm as it is a tapered case and cannot be push-through resized with FCD).

He stated the FCD was meant to be used with jacketed diameter bullets to bring out-of-spec finished rounds to SAAMI specs to work with any SAAMI spec chambers. (IMO, FCD is a good tool to fix rounds and the original intent by the maker for straight walled semi-auto pistol calibers). But using FCD with oversized bullets was not the intent of the FCD as post sizing would reduce bullet diameter.

And if bullet diameter is reduced, brass spring back could reduce neck tension and increase bullet setback which would increase chamber pressure.

To all those using FCD, make some rounds WITHOUT the FCD and see what the finished round dimensions are and whether they will pass the chamber gauge.

If they pass, then you are good to go.

If they fail but pass the barrel, then you are still good to go for YOUR pistol.

If they don't pass the barrel, then you got some work to do or you can keep things as they are, it's a free country ... carry on but I would check the finished rounds for bullet setback by feeding/chambering rounds from the magazine. If the slide slamming the bullet nose on the feed ramp does not decrease the OAL/COL significantly, you are good to go.

If you measure significant OAL/COL reduction, you got issues that need to be addressed - we do see threads with "Funny thing happened at the range today" titles from time to time.

Be safe, especially if you are reloading at near max/max charges.

 

[ATLDave]

You need to taper crimp (to remove the bell) at some point. You can either do it in one step with the seater die, or independently.

I've loaded thousands of 9mm rounds with a Lee FCD. It works fine. And having seating and crimping as two separate operations means that set up is less finicky.

When you're setting crimp, be sure to use either a SAAMI-spec case gauge or your barrel (your tightest-chambered barrel with shortest lede/throat if you're loading for multiple guns) to make sure your round will chamber.

 

[Toprudder]

... (No bulge buster kit for 9mm as it is a tapered case and cannot be push-through resized with FCD).

Actually, you can bulge-bust 9mm Luger by using the 9mm Mak FCD.

 

[LiveLife]

Dang, learn something new everyday on THR!

Actually, I don't bulge bust anything as if I can't resize the case with resizing die twice (case rotated 90 degrees), I will toss it in the recycle bin.

And brass from my 9/40/45 barrels do not overly expand (even from 9mm carbines with near max/max loads).

 

[mdi]

My first couple of weeks reloading I could not have produced a decent round of 9mm ammo without the FCD. As time passed a funny thing happened, I learned to properly use and adjust my dies so that the FCD became unnecessary. Loading on a single stage press this saves me a whole bunch of handle pulls.

Do what you need to do to make reloading safe and enjoyable for yourself.

I agree! I have loaded thousands of 45 ACP rounds over the last 17 years, and several thousand 9mm rounds in the last 12 years (and revolver ammo since 1969). I have never had a use for an FCD. If a round won't chamber, I'll find out why and fix the problem. My only use for a taper crimp die for semi-autos is as a "deflaring tool", as my components are the right size, and my dies are adjusted correctly. I did try a Lee FCD, but it now resides in a land fill somewhere in Southern Oregon...

If one believes his ammo is better from using an FCD, then he should use it. If one's ammo doesn't chamber correctly I'd say find out why and fix it...

 

[LiveLife]

I am not knocking the FCD. I believe it is a good tool to fix out-of-spec/out-of-round ammo or as a finishing die to ensure reliability with any SAAMI spec chamber.

But what did reloaders do to successfully produce SAAMI spec ammo before FCD?

I wonder if Todd Jarret, Jerry Miculek, Dave Sevigny, Max Michel, or other match shooters (even Hickok45 when he shot matches) rely on the FCD to produce accurate match loads? My guess is no. None of the local match shooters and regional shooters I shot with ever used FCD for their match loads.

And if one HAS to use the FCD for rounds to work with semi-auto pistols, I wonder why.

 

[alexcue]

Actually, you can bulge-bust 9mm Luger by using the 9mm Mak FCD.

beat me to it... any round that doesn't gauge properly goes into the 9mm Mak FCD with the bulge buster. They all gauge after that and have had no chambering issues since then.

 

[Blue68f100]

I am not knocking the FCD. I believe it is a good tool to fix out-of-spec/out-of-round ammo or as a finishing die to ensure reliability with any SAAMI spec chamber.

But what did reloaders do to successfully produce SAAMI spec ammo before FCD?

I wonder if Todd Jarret, Jerry Miculek, Dave Sevigny, Max Michel, or other match shooters (even Hickok45 when he shot matches) rely on the FCD to produce accurate match loads? My guess is no. None of the local match shooters and regional shooters I shot with ever used FCD for their match loads.

And if one HAS to use the FCD for rounds to work with semi-auto pistols, I wonder why.

BDS,

I totally agree. I started hand loading 40 yrs ago when there was no internet. If something didn't work you had to figure out what you did wrong. I had no mentor when I started. Need to learn how to setup the dies properly from the start. Fast forward 40 yrs I still don't own a LFCD. See NO need for one.

 

[mdi]

Gosh fellers, bds and Blue, didn't you know all those bizillion of rounds reloaded before the FCD (45 ACP for about 100 years) were "wrong"?