Lee Factory Crimp Die

[George D]

Hi Mickster,

It's not a good idea to use the same die to seat and crimp. Leads to projectile shaving.

I use LFCD's for roll crimping 38 spec and 44 mag rounds for use in my revolvers and for taper crimping 38 spec wadcutter and 45ACP rounds.

The die does detract slightly from press smoothness but I have found the resulting loads to be excellent.

[Mickster]

Looks like the .40 Lee FCD is working pretty good. I backed off the taper crimp in station 3 on my 550 so it would only seat the bullet. Put the LFCD in station 4 and adjusted it so that it put a mild crimp, half a turn per the instructions, on the case. Out of 200 rounds only 1 didn't pass the case guage test where as before 8-10 out of 200 wouldn't make it. It hardly affects press operation at all. It's a keeper.

[Tree Rat]

Taper Crimp station 3?

TR

[Bill Schwab]

TR,

He had a Lee die in station 3 of his 550 that was seating and crimping.  He backed off the die so it's only seating.

[sgrc1]

I shoot mixed brass in my .40 Schumann barrel, and often get bulged cases that don´t feed into the chamber. From all I have been reading I guess a good call is replace the Sizing die with a EGW resizing die that will resize lower on the brass - this will take care of the bulge some of the cases have. The other good option is to change the crimp die with the Lee FCD, this will take care of the problem in case the EGW resizing die missed a case. I reload on a Dillon 650 by the way.

I have the Lee web address but can somebody advice where to order the EGW resizing die?

Thanks

Sergio

[n2299]

... can somebody advice where to order the EGW resizing die?

Here you go:

http://www.egw-guns.com/parts/parts_dies.htm

[Mistral404]

I have a professional reloader (reseller of remanufactured ammunication) load for me. I shoot a .40 Edge. He roll sizes all the brass, loads to aol of 1.20, and the power factor I want.

I was getting a jam every other mag or so. He was very resistant to using a Lee FCD. I purchased it for him and he loaded 2000 rounds. He is a firm believer in it now--it does not mess up the seat of the bullet.

Guess WHAT-------No jams in over 500 rounds!!!!

On a tight gun like mine that die is a miracle.

Buy it, use it.

BTW: it is about 4 dollars cheaper at Midway. You pay retail at Lee Precision. Which is fine by me since he supports his retailers and does not try to undercut them. I purchased it from Lee and they shipped out a couple of days later.

[Tokarev]

I've used a FCD in .45 ACP for years and have nothing but good things to say about it. It's cheap and easy to set. I also use one for all my .40 reloads. I use mixed brass. Some cases don't get resized in the die and some do. In my opinion it's cheap insurance for the occassion AMERC case I miss when sorting my brass!

I've found there are alot of people who shun Lee stuff because it's cheap. I, for the most part, have been very pleased with the Lee products I own. I used to have a Pro-1000 for each pistol caliber I reloaded. I don't shoot 9mm or .38 Special anymore so those presses were sold on Ebay. I still have a Pro-1000 for .45 but it doesn't get too much use either. Anyway, I like Lee and recommend the FCD, for whatever that's worth.

[jcmios]

I just bought one this past week to crimp my 45GAP rounds. I have been using Dillon dies for all the calibers I load on my 650 until now. I think it is much easier to adjust and it provides a good crimp. The added benefit is that it will size any rounds out of spec as you withdraw the round from the die.

So far I see it as a win win die.

Jim

[roc1]

What is a EGW die? I use the Lee FCD works great,but would be interested in doing same thing at resize station if possible.

Thanks

roc1

[D.Hayden]

The EGW die is the Lee 'U' die. Decap/resize.

[Guest Larry Cazes]

The EGW U Die as Berkim noted is a recap/resize die that has a carbide insert that is .001" undersized and does not have the flare on the bottom of the die as does the Dillon. Setup correctly you can get rid of that "Glock Bulge" that is common in once fired .40 brass. I prefer the EGW U over the Lee FCD because it seems to be a better way to solve a common problem.

[roc1]

Thanks for the input fellowes.What is the proper name for the U die and where do you get one? I have not seen it in any listing under Lee dies as such.

Thanks again

roc1

[Froz2death]

Roc, see post above for the link to EGW.....Got mine a month ago, this thing is as advertised....and better.

[.40AET]

Just get the complete set of Lee dies. I bought the EGW "U" die and liked it for a while. All of the rounds that failed the gauge were linked to the little bulge that the bullet creates when it is seated in the undersized case. I changed to the standard Lee resizing die and also run a FCD. I can't remember the last time a round failed the case gauge. BTW..I'm refromed. I used to think that the "U" die was the heat. It fixed all of the guppied belly brass problems, but then I noticed that the press would run kinda herky jerky. The standard Lee set does it well without adding any extra problems, and it's much smoother. Over 1/2 of my brass is bulged form unsupported chambers and I don't have any problems with my current setup.

Dies are .40 S&W,

[D.Hayden]

To get it frmo Lee directly, you have to call them. EGW makes it much easier.

[Jasonub]

WORKS LIKE.... a charm, my case guage is now a paperweight after installing the egw die

[Wim]

I use the FCD and find it good. But my understanding was that the die sized the bullet in the case as necessary - particularly for poorly sized / inconsistent lead bullets, so that the case neck diameter is correct (which was the contribution that it made to my relaods). The neck of the cases sometimes don't make it to the end of the chamber so the headspace is wrong. The primary purpose was not to size the bottom of the case as I understood, if that's your problem the undersize sizing die seems to be the "right" product.