Want a Lee factory roll crimp or taper die?

[Bull Nutria]

I reload for 38 sp and 44mag. have had problems with inconsistent crimps with my standard Herters Dies. Lee offers subject in taper or roll crimp models. i shoot a ruger security six and and LCR in 38 and a 44mag Handi rifle.

do i want the taper or roll crimp model? will these crimp dies assist with making a better reload? or are these dies unnecessary for good reloads.

what are ypour opinions of these factory crimp dies?


Bull

 

[rcmodel]

Your Herter dies will work just fine, but you have to have uniform case length to get it.
That may mean trimming all of them to the same length.

Lee offers the FCD die in the suitable crimp style for each caliber.

For revolvers, that would be a roll-crimp.
For auto's that would be a taper crimp.

rc

 

[Walkalong]

Yep, on all counts.

 

[mtrmn]

In my experience, the Lee FCD will be a little LESS sensitive to small differences in case length. I recommend them highly. The FCD is activated by the shell holder pushing up against the bottom of the crimping collet, not by how far the shell enters the die. You can adjust it for light or heavy crimp.

 

[Bull Nutria]

thanks fellas, I appreciate the advice!

Bull

 

[EddieNFL]

In my experience, the Lee FCD will be a little LESS sensitive to small differences in case length.

That's because they're a bastardization (combo size/crimp). They work, but can create their own problems if the loader isn't doing everything right.

 

[Striker Fired]

And you have to watch out for resizing the bullets(mostly with lead),you can start out with .360 bullets and after running through the FCD end up with .358-.359 bullets,depends on wall thickness of brass.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Cases must be nearly exact in length in order to achieve consistent seating and crimps!

Measure some cases and try a long one and a short one and see the difference in seating and crimping, you will be sold on the fact that case-trimming should be part of case preparation!

For those who say they never trim cases, at what length do you discard your cases? Ever?

I am anal when it comes to reloading. I either trim every case or use my calipers to measure every case to be sure it is within certain specs I have. Those cases needing trimming get tossed into one bucket and the others that don't into another bucket.

 

[Striker Fired]

I seperated a pile of 45ACP Federal H/S cases by length, all were "in spec"but some were at the longest of spec others were almost too short for spec, ,I kept each group plus or minus .0015 and loaded up a small batch of same length then another group with a mixture of all the groups.When I loaded them I set the crimp for the mid range and a normal .469 size and never adjusted it from there.The same length groups all shot about 1/2" tighter goups than the mixed loads(I could feel a distinct difference when crimping because of the different lengths).I found out that particular load preferred a good tight crimp(the longest group shot best)so I trimmed 500 of those cases to the same length, even though they ended up at the bottom of the length specs.This way my crimp is the same on all rounds.
When loading on my progressive, that feel is gone, so I am trimming all my "batches" the same length when I first get the brass,then don't have to touch them again.

 

[Walkalong]

The FCD is activated by the shell holder pushing up against the bottom of the crimping collet, not by how far the shell enters the die.

You must be thinking of the FCD collet rifle neck die, which is activated by the shel holder or plate.

The way the FCD crimp die for pistols is made you can adjust the shell holder to hit against the bottom of the die, but you still have to adjust the top for the amount of crimp. The shell holder does not "activate" anything, it simply pushes the case up into the die where it contacts the crimper piece, which must be adjusted for the amount of crimp, whether the shell holder is touching the die or not.

But yes, it can be a little less sensitive to case length because the crimper part is separated by an o-ring which has some flex.

You can still get the best, most consistent crimps by trimming your brass, regardless of what crimper you use. If you use a normal crimper, you won't have to worry about the potential problems of the FCD.

 

[gamestalker]

I'm constantly being hassled by critics because I trim all of my brass regardless of what it's for, it gets trimmed after being fired. Some argue that it's a waste of time, but in that same regard I think an awful lot of time is spent trying diagnos problems with crimps by those that don't trim. I learned early on from my first reloading manual, Speer #10 1979 that brass should be trimmed to same lengths period!! So in retrospect, I don't ever have to worry about problems the result of a crimp, or for that matter, any unexplained issues. Why? Because I stick to the traditional and proven methods as layed out by the reloading experts, Speer, Sierra, Hogdon, Hornady and so on. 30 + years and never had one single mis-fire or problem related to the reloading process.

I load for some magnum cartridges, and since I'm a big fan of H110/296 I can't get away with light crimps or inconsistent crimps, or the results will be a locked up revolver.

 

[Asherdan]

For those of you loading lead and having an issue with the carbide ring on the standard FCD squeezing them down there's a couple of options. If you call Lee they'll hone the ring out a couple of thousandths for you or you can go for a steel body collet type FCD in some pistol calibers and skip the carbide ring completely.

Or check case length and trim regularly.