Livin_cincy Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 (edited) Question about the Lee Factory Crimp Die. So if you pass your cartridge thru a FCD: Do you find they do not pass your case gage ? If so, which brand of case gauge ? Do you find they do pass the infamous 'plunk test' ? I find they all plunk test. I don't own a case gauge. Edited February 11, 2017 by Livin_cincy Something strange with the spacing... I cannot fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewood Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 (edited) 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 February 11, 2017 by firewood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikerJon Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 I use my seating die to seat the bullet, and use the fcd to apply the crimp. I just like having them in separate steps. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louu Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bandw1dth Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bandw1dth Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Question about the Lee Factory Crimp Die. So if you pass your cartridge thru a FCD: Do you find they do not pass your case gage ? If so, which brand of case gauge ? 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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