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LEE Factory Crimp Die


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Question about the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

So if you pass your cartridge thru a FCD:

  1. Do you find they do not pass your case gage ?
    • If so, which brand of case gauge ?
  2. Do you find they do pass the infamous 'plunk test' ?

 

I find they all plunk test.

I don't own a case gauge.

Edited by Livin_cincy
Something strange with the spacing... I cannot fix it.
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There are lots of reasons that a finished cartridge will not case gage. The particular die you speak of is no guarantee that your ammo is dimensioned correctly. Used incorrectly it can make matters worse. What is it exactly that you are trying to accomplish?

 

ON EDIT: In my humble opinion a case gage is more important than the fcd.

Edited by firewood
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With a properly adjusted FCD (barely crimps the case mouth back to straight) I find that my reject rate for my shockbottle case gague is around one round per thousand.

 

999 out of 1,000 run through the gun flawlessly. As long as you don't have a flipped or a high primer, or a similar issue.

 

I still gauge my match ammo, but rejects are very rare.

 

With Redding and Dillon and similar crimp dies, they were more common. Seating a bullet means shoving it down into the case, and sometimes the walls bulge just slightly.

 

Many will tell you the FCD is a band-aid you don't need or will cause accuracy problems. But if you learn to adjust it properly so it isn't swaging the bullet nor crimping into it, it works great.

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I agree with Jon and MM. 

 

Myself,  I have never owned a pistol case gauge or bothered with the plunk test and I have never had a problem over four years of reloading. I don't see myself ever going without a Lee Factory Crimp Die! 

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I agree with Jon and MM. 

 

Myself,  I have never owned a pistol case gauge or bothered with the plunk test and I have never had a problem over four years of reloading. I don't see myself ever going without a Lee Factory Crimp Die! 


I couldn't imagine doing any kind of pistol reloading with the plunk test.
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Question about the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

So if you pass your cartridge thru a FCD:

  1. Do you find they do not pass your case gage ?
    • If so, which brand of case gauge ?
  2. Do you find they do pass the infamous 'plunk test' ?
 

I find they all plunk test.

I don't own a case gauge.


Your handgun barrel is the best case gauge you'll ever own. I too use the Lee FCD, in station five of my press. As with my rifle rounds, I prefer to seat and crimp in separate steps.
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5 minutes ago, bandw1dth said:


Your handgun barrel is the best case gauge you'll ever own.

This ^^

My wife's PPQ has the tightest chamber I've ever dealt with.  A case gauge will not guarantee that the round will fit that pistol.

 

Bob

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