Lee Factory Crimp Die

[brown3345]

Hey people,

I was wondering if any of you out there has had any luck with the Lee Factory Crimp Die when reloading? And if so, how was your case life when using this product?

[SMJayman]

In what caliber? I've used it extensively in 9mm, case life didn't seem to be affected. (like 10+ loadings on a gentle target load.)

[Don Robison]

I've been using one for .44mag and haven't noticed a case life problem. I load them in the middle upper range.

[brown3345]

In what caliber? I've used it extensively in 9mm, case life didn't seem to be affected. (like 10+ loadings on a gentle target load.)

I was thinking 5.56/.223 and also for my 348 win mag. 5.56 just because there is a lot of bouncing around with a 30 rd mag, might not be nessassary. But my Winchester 346 Model 71 is a real problem. If I load up the tubular mag shoot and reload before it's empty I can end up shoving the bullet all the way into the case!

But, like I said for the 5.56, it's mainly for just peice of mind.

[SMJayman]

The Lee FCD doesn't seem to exact any more wear and tear on .223 than any other crimp die. I have used the FCD and a Redding crimp die both for .223. If I were you I'd definitely crimp anything that was going to be used in a tube fed mag....

[markm]

No problems here. You can dial exactly how much crimp you want with the FCD.

My brass is in the recycle can long before any issues would ever come up from the Crimp die.

[jmart]

No effect on case life, whether using a straight-walled FCD or a bottle-necked FCD.

And the design of the die is significantly different between the two. Bottlenecked cases get just the case mouth crimped by a four-fingered collet. It's like their Collet Neck Sizer, except it only contacts the case mouth as opposed to the entire neck.

Straight-walled cases employ either a taper crimp or roll crimp to the case mouth (no collet), along with a post-crimp resizing of the case via a carbide sizing ring. This resizing occurs on the downstroke, and it's purpose is to iron out any case bulges that might have been induced from the crimping operation at the top of the stroke.

If you are reloading cast or swaged lead bullets, and you've taken pains to ensure bullet diameter fits your chamber mouths precisely (e.g., you're reloading for a revolver and are making sure the bullet diameter matches your largest chamber mouth), then avoid the FCD since you'll end up resizing the bullet along the way. You are better off using a dedicated seater and a dedicated roll or taper crimper. If you are using for jacketed bullets, then it doesn't matter as much.

[Ring]

i use it on 223 and 3006 and works great

[brown3345]

i use it on 223 and 3006 and works great


Just got the crimp dies (223 & .348) from Midway and will give them a try Sunday.

[achildofthesky]

Howdy all first post here...


I use the LFCD on 44mag, 30-06, 280 & 45-70 and will do the same when I finally get my first (yes, I am an AR noob) AR and start loading .223/5.56.

With the exception of the 45-70 the FCD's work great and I use a pretty heavy crimp, especially for the 44 and 45-70 rounds as they are used in lever guns and are fairly stout loads. I have had 0 problems with case life, even using crap brass like Amerc with heavy loads and that lot of Amerc is on it's 9th loading...

The 30-06 was 1x fired brass, FL resized/trimmed/FCD'ed & loaded with mid power 165gr loads and examined. No problems at all with any cases.

The 45-70 FCD die is a smidge longer due to being designed for a 457WW magnum, a proprietary round that is simply 1/10th of an inch longer than a normal spec 45-70... In this case the FCD doesn't appreciably add tension to the crimp, even when used to heavy settings...

Long story short... I think the Lee FCD rocks and adds a bit of security in holding the bullet in place with out adding any appreciable wear or lose of case life.

Be safe

Patty

[docholliday]

I have one for Rem. 7 mag but haven't used it yet. Even though most bolt guns may not need a crimp on the bullet, it is peace of mind if nothing else.

[brown3345]

I got some crimp dies from Miway and found that they work well! Just have to make sure that you don't crimp to hard or you can deform the bullet. Not a bad tool to have!