Rnlinebacker Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Thanks for all the helpful info. I tried the suggestions here and have come to believe it’s a concentric issue and crimp. The bullets gauge perfect upside down up to the end of the case. I ordered a Lee Factory crimp die and also a new seating die, the Redding competition micro. I was using the Hornady seater/taper crimp die, but only using it as a seating die. I don’t know how to explain it, but the case only goes in so far then gets stuck on the sleeve of the die. I believe the case is then being crushed a little by the die when the seating is being done. See pic below. That’s why I’m biting the bullet and getting a new seating die, and the LFC die was only a couple bucks so why not try it. The Hornady die had 2 seating stems. I was using the one with concave tip. I tried the flat ended stem but that didn’t seem to help the concentric issue.good choice J. I myself use all Lee dies and recently bought the Redding competition seating die in 9mm & 40. No more issues for me since thenSent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
858 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 55 minutes ago, JMPhotog said: Thanks for all the helpful info. I tried the suggestions here and have come to believe it’s a concentric issue and crimp. The bullets gauge perfect upside down up to the end of the case. I ordered a Lee Factory crimp die and also a new seating die, the Redding competition micro. I was using the Hornady seater/taper crimp die, but only using it as a seating die. I don’t know how to explain it, but the case only goes in so far then gets stuck on the sleeve of the die. I believe the case is then being crushed a little by the die when the seating is being done. See pic below. That’s why I’m biting the bullet and getting a new seating die, and the LFC die was only a couple bucks so why not try it. The Hornady die had 2 seating stems. I was using the one with concave tip. I tried the flat ended stem but that didn’t seem to help the concentric issue. That looks like you have too much case flare and the case is interfering inside the seating die. I had the same problem when trying to load .401 bullets. To prevent bullet shaving I had to use too much flare. Switching to .400 allowed me to use less flare. The Redding seating die is even more sensitive to the case flare because the barrel of the die is tighter than other brands. You do have a concentricity issue, how you resolve it seams to be the question. I'm not familiar with the LnL press or Hornady dies but I'd probably order some sample bullet packs and see what fits your setup and gun. I only shoot .400 and .355 bullets now, oversized bullets just cause too many problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMPhotog Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 I just ordered a 250 sample pack of Blue 180 gr .400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I use all Hornady dies except for the Lee Factory Carbide Crimp die, and the Mr. Bulletfeeder expander/funnel. The Lee FCD reduced the number of rounds that would no drop fully into my Shockbottle case gauge to one or two per hundred. The ones that failed usually had a burr on the rim from a very sharp extractor. Filing the burr off allowed them to drop fully in. You should be using .400" bullets. If you use larger, the Lee FCD will swage the portion of the bullet inside the case to .400". That may or may not affect accuracy. The Mr. Bulletfeeder expander/funnel (make sure you ask for one for Hornady) is a two step expander. The top portion expands the case to .400" or .401". The lower section is standard. This allows the bullet to be inserted into the case vertically, where it remains when the shell plate rotates. You should use no, or a microscopic bell with this expander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furrly Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 3 hours ago, JMPhotog said: I just ordered a 250 sample pack of Blue 180 gr .400. best decision you will make Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyScuba Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I've never found the Lee FCD to swage lead bullets and I've measured. I use the FCD and if the bullet isn't straight it won't make it so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvincent Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I used to use the Bayou 180 TCG, thousands of thousands. Switched to blue bullets simply for the price. Loaded to 1.180”. Use a Dillon size die, MBF powder funnel, Redding completion seater die, Lee FCD. This setup just works. Never case gauge at all, ever. The ammo is perfect. I would fly across the country for nationals and not even think twice whether my ammo will work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAP Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I went through the joyful frustration of concentricity problems the OP is going through. I tried different diameter Bullets (.401 vs .400). Bought the Lee FCD adjusting the crimp until I was completely frustrated ready to give up. Then in a last ditch effort I tried the Redding competition die and Redding taper crimp die. My 8% - 10% gage failure rate dropped to less then 2%. And most of those would still pass chamber check with the barrel. Every once in awhile I would get a few pieces of brass that no matter what they weren’t going to work. Those pieces of brass went into the trash. When I started shooting 9mm in Carry Optics I bought a Redding competition die and taper crimp die to use from the start. No sense in reinventing the wheel.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrb Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 After reading all of these type post in the last couple of days and just starting to a reload on a 650 for .40 I ordered a Redding Double Ring Sizing Die. I figured I would try this before going the push through step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncie21 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 My secret sauce is the Lee FCD and a sprinkle of patience. I have 2 Dillon 650 tool heads dedicated to .40 (one for competition and the other load development) one has Dillon dies with Lee FCD the other is all Lee (except powder die). Both crank out ammo that passes my Dillon case gauge and plunk/spin in my CZs. Most of the rounds will not sit flush in the Hundo, however I've verified enough rounds to know how high is too high and won't work in my pistols. I've loaded many thousands of coated bullets (BBI, Bayou, Galant, others) with this setup and no issues, all on mixed head stamp range brass for the most part; I save 1x brass for major matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrb Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I also went with the Lee FCD, watched a video from Atlas las night that got me reading about this topic. Decided to make some changes before I have some of the problems I have read about. So when I get thes rest of my Dillon parts I need and these pieces should be good to go. Seems like I learn something everyday about this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncie21 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 One thing about Lee FCD that people get confused with is that there's a different design FCD for pistol and rifle calibers; both are marketed as Factory Crimp Dies by Lee, however the design is completely different. The rifle FCD design can definitely swage a bullet if set too tight. The pistol caliber FCD would need to be grossly mis-adjusted (could be wrong but have 5 of them) to swage a bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdinga Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 My experience with loading the .40 on my 550 was painful evolution. Got a free pair of RCBS dies so I ordered a . 40 conversion and set up. Quickly learned the RCBS factory sizer created some problems and the seating die a few more. Worse than your rounds look. Ordered a Dillon set of dies and a Redding Competition Seating Die. Sizing issues and crooked seating issues went away. Set my crimp die to barely straighten the bell from seating. All those old problems solved loading for 7 different .40's. My experience with the Lee FCD is it does more harm than good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyScuba Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I use a Redding seating die, lee u sizing & lee fcd dies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMPhotog Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 So I got my new dies yesterday. Got a Redding competition seating die and trying a Lee FCD. Problem seems to be gone. In fact when I ran the previous rounds that wouldn’t chamber back through the LFCD, they chamber checked perfect. I’ll still probably use them for practice ammo. That was with my current Bayou .401 Bullets. Then I tried my sample pack of Blue bullets .400. I didn’t have to bell as much. They all chamber checked perfect. I loaded 50, gonna try and go test and chrono them tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAP Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 This is great news! Did you use the seating with or without the spring?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMPhotog Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 RAP, with the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAP Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Cool, thanks. When I get a chance I want to do a small test to see if it makes a difference.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessesmith121 Posted April 22, 2019 Share Posted April 22, 2019 To get rid of the bulge I take the guts out of a Lee Factory Crimp Die then press any failed rounds through the crimp die. This will smooth those babies right out. I push through with a 40 case with an upside down 9mm de primed case in the 40 case. works like a charm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrb Posted April 22, 2019 Share Posted April 22, 2019 I switched to Redding dies big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsu96 Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 22 hours ago, jessesmith121 said: To get rid of the bulge I take the guts out of a Lee Factory Crimp Die then press any failed rounds through the crimp die. This will smooth those babies right out. I push through with a 40 case with an upside down 9mm de primed case in the 40 case. works like a charm This, except I run all my .40 through the Lee FCD on a separate press before I load them. I also had a "pusher" made out of a bolt and a .40 cartridge (and liberal amounts of JB Weld) that slides into the shell holder on that same separate press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessesmith121 Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 13 minutes ago, dsu96 said: This, except I run all my .40 through the Lee FCD on a separate press before I load them. I also had a "pusher" made out of a bolt and a .40 cartridge (and liberal amounts of JB Weld) that slides into the shell holder on that same separate press. Yeah , I have a rock crusher single stage. So it just stays set up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAustin316 Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) I use the GRX just to make it easier when I use the Lee U die in my progressive. Edited May 14, 2019 by JAustin316 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessesmith121 Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 I have a rock crusher single stage as well.. I have a LFCD set up in there, with the top taken off. Anything that doesn't pass case gauge gets pushed trough the LFCD. No welding up of anything. I took a 40 case and then set a deprimed 9mm case inside of the 40 case. This gives you the ability to push a bulged loaded round through the LFCD with nothing touching the primer. works like a charm every time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 If you push through or roll size the brass before reloading it then you don't even need to use the U Die. I use standard dillon dies in my press with roll sized brass and have zero case gauge issues due to deformed brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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