Opinions on the Lee factory crimp dies.

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I don't have a use for them. I don't even own one. In over 4 decades of loading I have never found a need for them. it's always best to fix the problem that's causing the problem instead of covering it up.

In some cases with rifle calibers that have very short necks I can see a use for them if ones need to crimp.
 
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I use the FCD on pistol calibers so I seat and crimp in separate steps. I could get a taper crimp die that does not size, OR I could knock out the carbide sizing ring from the FCD, but I don't have sizing issues from the FCD with my chosen bullets/calibers. Good to have choices!

Preparing popcorn!
 
You may have “gotten along without it” for 35 years, but perhaps it could help you produce better loads now. I would argue that tech has improved in 35 years and the Lee die is an improvement worth considering. Read my post above for my 300WM loads. The one factor I changed to finalize the loads was the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

Well, I'm still not missing anything... and that's just me and how and what I load. I don't crimp cartridges going into my Savage bolt gun, my Savage rotary magazine lever-actions, and accuracy ammunition for my semi-autos... proper neck tension does the work there. I roll crimp those cartridges that are going into tube feed lever-actions... where absolute accuracy is not paramount. I taper crimp some semi-auto ammo (my 'blasting' ammo) where, again, accuracy isn't paramount. That is not to say my cartridge are inaccurate... however.

Discussion isn't very useful unless making the distinction between FCDs that have a post sizing ring and those that don't. Lee still calls them "factory crimp". Also we shouldn't be referriing to the dies as all cartridges having a roll crimp. They don't.

See... I wasn't even aware there was two styles of the FCD. My experience is with the collet-style crimp die...
 
I crimp several handgun and rifle calibers. I either buy a extras set of dies and use the extra sester die as a crimp die. Most of the time it is cheaper to just buy a Lee Crimp Die off of E-Bay and be done with it.
I use the Hornady Lock n Load system. Which makes switching out dies a snap. With easy die instalation & removal I find I reload more often.
I got tired of re-adjusting the seater dies to crimp after seating the bullets.
It works for me so that's the way it goes here.
 
I use mine all the time in 9mm with plated/jacketed bullets.
Shooting matches I need to make sure everything fits, so FCD and case guage, the 9mm stuff.
I use it most of the time when doing .357 and 45 ACP rounds

If I am loading lead/coated bullets I prefer not to use it.
 
the most controversial piece of reloading equipment.

There's certainly some dislike & some misunderstanding of the FCD.
As far as I've seen it's generally related to the post sizing carbide ring. The dimensions are sometimes a tad undersized, we're talking .001-.003", and sometimes a little oversized - which will generally have no contact with the loaded round at all. Loading jacketed , it's kind of a non- issue. But a good portion of handloaders use cast and that can be a problem. It's an inexpensive die and as such aren't ultra precise .

I've written good equipment off because of an imperfection in one specific example , so I get it. Another reason I may have a good opinion of the FCD is that i am not loading any cartridges that headspace on the case mouth, I don't have need for a taper crimp. If I'm not mistaken the pistol FCD is a roll crimp, that's how I would describe it. The collect style FCD is something else, it's the version I really like. I specifically like it for full power 45-70 rounds that are going to be in a tubular magazine. There's a lot of inertia there with bullets often well over 400 grains and recoil can be a stout. Sometimes I use rcbs dies for 45-70 but I'll still follow up with the FCD. I haven't had any bullet setback loading with the rcbs dies but I trust the lee crimp above all others. The rcbs dies are nice but don't produce cartridges any better than the lee dies, if anyone can tell a difference (besides the crimp) then they're smarter than I am.

Everyone's got to do what they feel is best, I'll stick with the FCD and the guys who dislike them would likely feel the same way regardless of tolerances and die design. It's just one of those things.
 
I use the Factory Crimp Die on all my reloads, both hand gun and rifle. For handguns I use a Lee Classic Cast Turret press and use the FCD in the 4th station.
 
I use the LFC in .357

Years ago i used it on 9mm when i started loading heavy bullets but when i switched back to 127 grain bullet i also switched back to dillon dies ... much easier in a XL650
 
I have a LFC die for each caliber I reload - handgun and rifle.

That being said, I don't always use them, or use them selectively. The reason is that the FCD for handgun rounds slightly reduces the bullet diameter in some cases. So, for handgun rounds, I crimp using the crimp ring in the seater die. I pass the rounds through an ammo checker as a final step. If, for any reason, a round doesn't fit flush in the ammo checker, then I run it through the FCD which often corrects the issue.

For rifle rounds, my FCDs are all collet type. Since I load rifle rounds for target shooting only, I simply don't see the need to crimp rifle rounds at all, and so I stopped crimping rifle rounds for target use.

Bayou52
 
Discussing the Lee FCD is like asking which oil to use in your vehicle. I like using them and they work, others won't touch them. To each their own, go with what works for your guns and reloads.

One word of caution when using the Lee FCD with plated bullets, you can cut through the plating if you are over crimping. I have found that a heavy crimp with the FCD is not needed and actually effects accuracy negatively in my pistols. I only use the rifle FCD with 223 ammo that I reload for range/blasting use (bullets with groove).
 
I only use the collet type. The carbide roll crimp one is ok if you take the carbide ring out

The carbide sizer is a crutch for not doing one or all of the other steps properly.
 
I like them (for pistol - I no longer crimp rifle cartridges).

Basically, people who shoot bare lead bullets have a lot of problems with them because the post-sizing ring can end up squeezing down the bullet that they wanted to be oversized in the first place. Those of us who shoot jacketed or plated or coated bullets are much less likely to have that problem, and enjoy them as separate crimp dies with a built in QC for knocking out the odd bulge from a bullet that didn't get started straight.

A common misconception is that they are something other than a taper crimp or roll crimp die. In semi-auto calibers, they are a taper crimp die (with a post-sizing ring). In revolver calibers, they are a roll crimp dies (with a post sizing ring). They're just a regular crimp die that also includes a post-sizing ring... they don't apply some other type of crimp (except for the collet crimp in rifle cartridges).
 
They're just a regular crimp die that also includes a post-sizing ring

Until today, I wasn't aware of the sizer ring, so I guess that's why I never understood all the boohaha over the FCD. I guess that's what I can't wrap my head around... for years I've read or been told, and experience has proven, the less you distort a bullet, the better your (potential) accuracy will be. Roll crimping a .45ACP bullet until it looks like an hour-glass, even taper crimping an SMK to be fired out of a rifle for accuracy is a no-no, but here we are, claiming post-sizing a bullet to any degree translates to better accuracy. Welllll.... OK, then.
 
. it's always best to fix the problem that's causing the problem instead of covering it up.

Completely agree with the caveat that even though a problem exists it is not always 100% a result of poor ammo craftsmanship, practices or procedures.
More and more today we are seeing pistols being released with very small tight chambers or next to no leade in the barrels. I have one of those finicky guns. In this case there really is only two options. 1. Send the gun back or out for alteration. 2. Load using the Lee Carbide FCD.

In my case I chose option two as this pistol is now 28 years old so there is no sending it back and also as it is 28 years old I too do not feel the need to send it out for alterations. Who knows, the previous owner may never have fired a single reload thru this gun in it's entire existence. I don't know because I do not know the original owner.
 
Got a new Colt Cobra target and the chambers were so tight I had to get one of these dies.
After some research I discovered John Taffin is a big fan of these dies.
What do you folks think?
I tried them on ammo for my model 52. While it made the ammo prettier, I found that if anything, the ammo might have shot a little more accurately without using it. But that might have been my imagination. Not any real difference if any.

in my security six there was a difference. The fcd created ammo noticably less accurate.

At least for the bullet and powder I was using.
 
Until today, I wasn't aware of the sizer ring, so I guess that's why I never understood all the boohaha over the FCD. I guess that's what I can't wrap my head around... for years I've read or been told, and experience has proven, the less you distort a bullet, the better your (potential) accuracy will be. Roll crimping a .45ACP bullet until it looks like an hour-glass, even taper crimping an SMK to be fired out of a rifle for accuracy is a no-no, but here we are, claiming post-sizing a bullet to any degree translates to better accuracy. Welllll.... OK, then.

You may have misunderstood. The post-sizer ring is not the same size as the sizing die ring - it's looser. For a cartridge that will fit a tight sizing die after the bullet is seated, the post-sizing ring does nothing. It doesn't move the metal, because the metal fits within it. It's only for the fatter-than-spec cartridges that it does anything. If you want a fatter-than-spec round (because you need an oversized bullet for your gun's bore, for instance), then knocking it back to in-spec is a problem.
 
I don't feel like sparring with any Lee Haters this morning so I'll just share my experiences. I have been using Lee products quite successfully since 1969. About 10-12 years ago I bought a Lee FCD for handguns, just out of curiosity. I used it two or three times, it ruined my carefully sized rounds, caused leading in my cast reloads, and accuracy dropped with jacketed bullets. I drove out the carbide ring, but the resulting crimp was just so-so (inferior to all my after market crimping dies). My FCD now resides in a landfill somewhere in So. Oregon. I have never heard of a revolver with chambers so tight a round must be resized as a final step, and I have never had a semi-auto round need resizing to chamber correctly...

I didn't measure the carbide ring as I had no problems with my handloads OD, and I just adjusted my dies so my ammo would chamber and fire without using a band aid to hide my poor reloads (32 ACP, 380 ACP, 9mm [three guns], 38 Special [3 guns], 357 Magnum, 44 Special, 44 Magnum [4 handguns], 45 ACP [3 guns] and 45 Colt). The Lee FCD for rifles is a totally different animal. I own 3 and use them often (44 Mag., .223 and 30-06)...
 
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I bought my first one to use in station 4 on my 550 for .38 Special. I now have a few others and I use them to CRIMP. I don't use them to fix problems because I'm a bad reloader. I just use them to CRIMP. They work great.
I understand not using them with oversize cast bullets, but for normal size bullets they work fine. I get that people have reloaded for decades without them and do not and never will have a need for them and that's great. That doesn't mean people who use them are bad reloaders.
 
You may have misunderstood. The post-sizer ring is not the same size as the sizing die ring - it's looser. For a cartridge that will fit a tight sizing die after the bullet is seated, the post-sizing ring does nothing. It doesn't move the metal, because the metal fits within it. It's only for the fatter-than-spec cartridges that it does anything. If you want a fatter-than-spec round (because you need an oversized bullet for your gun's bore, for instance), then knocking it back to in-spec is a problem.
Which is a good idea in theory, assuming the die is in spec, and gamers love them to make sure a fat round here or there doesn't sneak through and bite them in the butt in a match. I can see that use. Some just gauge after loading. Some do both.
 
I drove out the carbide ring, but the resulting crimp was just so-so (inferior to all my after market crimping dies).
Yep, without the ring to help center the body of the round a crimp doesn't work as well. One is better off with a Lee $13 crimp only die.
 
Which is a good idea in theory, assuming the die is in spec, and gamers love them to make sure a fat round here or there doesn't sneak through and bite them in the butt in a match. I can see that use. Some just gauge after loading. Some do both.

I do both. I don't think the post-sizing ring does anything on 99.9+% of my rounds. But it also doesn't fix the rim dings and bottom-of-web-expansion that causes the occasional case gauge failure, either.

I like crimping in a separate step from seating. FCD dies are the crimp dies I have. So I use them. They've never caused me any difficulty or problems.
 
You may have misunderstood. The post-sizer ring is not the same size as the sizing die ring - it's looser. For a cartridge that will fit a tight sizing die after the bullet is seated, the post-sizing ring does nothing. It doesn't move the metal, because the metal fits within it. It's only for the fatter-than-spec cartridges that it does anything. If you want a fatter-than-spec round (because you need an oversized bullet for your gun's bore, for instance), then knocking it back to in-spec is a problem.

No, I didn't expect it to hammer it like a standard sizer die... I got that. I see what you are saying now... if the cartridge is relatively in spec, it does nothing.
 
I tried several FCD in rifle calibers and found that like my standard dies if I applied a crimp my accuracy suffered. Now the only rifle FCD I use is for 30-30 and 32 SPL (same die).
For handguns I own a bunch of FCD that after trying those as well, did nothing to help so much either. But they did post size my ammo made with some lead bullets and made those rounds less accurate.

The bottom line is I encourage you to try an example of a Lee FCD and determine for yourself if investing in more is a good idea. They might work better for you than I found them to work. YMMV
 
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