Lee Fcd & Carbide Dies

[PaulW]

Ok I'm running on a 550 press. My usual steps include cleaning brass, spraying brass on a cookie sheet with either one shot or the dillon lube. Loading, re-tumble for 10-15 minutes and then case gauging each. WEW....usually I find 1 or 2 out of a hundered that don't pass, usually buldged cases at the bottom.

Read some good things on the Lee FCD and want your opinion on it as well as the carbide sizing die. Using the carbide die they say you don't have to lube the cases...True or False?

Thanks....

[Steve Anderson]

I also use the 550...

1. Buy the Lee FCD and pitch the case gauge. You don't need it anymore.

2. You don't "need" one shot with carbide dies. You also don't "need" a comp or dot to shoot open.

Use the one shot and leave it on, the dillon spray is a little too gunky...

S

[John Heiter]

You didn't mention what you're loading with it but I use the Lee FCD in conjunction w/ the EGW undersizer on my 550 to load .40 and 1 or 2 not case gauging out of five hundred is unusual now. Before the switch I was 4-5 out of 100.

John

[Flexmoney]

Don't toss your case guage...you do need it.

The FDC will certainly reduce the failures to gauge.

More important to me, it form fits the brass to the side-surface of the bullet. This is much better than hoping that a crimp will keep the bullet experiencing set-back.

Carbide dies are the ticket, but I still use One-Shot. It lets everything go more smoothly.

It sounds like there should be a faster way to spay on the One-shot than the cookie-sheet though.

[Steve Anderson]

OK, you do need a case gauge to shoot Glock .40...

To spray the 1 shot, I put em in a small plastic tray lined with a paper towel.

Put the brass on their sides, spray, shake 'em around then spray 'em again.

Wait 2-5 min. and load away.

Flex is right, you should use a case gauge, and real ammo box.

SA

[Flexmoney]

Steve,

I think those Dillon gauges we got for Super (on that same order) are pretty forgiving (meaning whored-out and possibly worthless). I haven't done any measurements, but I still have a whole baggie full of Super Comp that passed the Dillon gauge, but didn't pass my Midway gauge.

Go figure. Of course, I don't have an FDC die in Super...so, who knows.

I'm not shooting/loading in Super, so I never worried about figuring it out.

[Nolan]

Don't toss your case guage...you do need it.

More important to me, it form fits the brass to the side-surface of the bullet. This is much better than hoping that a crimp will keep the bullet experiencing set-back.

I quit using the Lee Factory Crimp Die back when I was still shooting lead bullets in my .40. I was having problems because with lead the FCD would squeeze the bullet back out of the case a little bit on the up stroke.

Even with jacketed bullets I don't think the FCD is a good idea because you will compress the bullet slightly which will reduce bullet pull verses an un-resized bullet in a properly sized case.

[CSEMARTIN]

Just starting using the Lee FCD. Won't ever load without it again. I had a lot of failures using the Dillon Crimp Die. Now no problem after several thousand rounds. You don't have to use case lube, but you'll work a lot harder without it.

[redmercury2]

use your barrels chamber as a case gauge,if it goes in after loading the probability is very max it will go in when you shoot it, dont you think. case gauges are nice but i dont shoot my ammo out of a case gauge. B arent there several other threads on this topic???

[TBF]

Paul,

Get the FCD, you'll love it.

No need to tumble with One shot, you don"t NEED it with carbide, but after trying it both ways , You will want it.

Nolan,

Good point, especially with lead bullets. I have never noticed any problems with jacketed having problems.

Just my .o2

Travis F.

[reneet]

in 40 s&w, I was having on average 5 loaded rounds per hundred loaded that would not go in my chamber (shooting crappy range brass). David Long @ Precision Bullets put me onto the Lee FCD and I'll never load without it again. Even the 1 or 2 rounds that may not go in my case guage will still chamber in my pistol.

I also use one in 38 super now. Had thousands of 38 super brass that had "belts" at the bottom. The Lee FCD made even them go into my case guage.

Lube not necessary but preferable most definitely. I use the top part of a copy paper box ~ perfect size with high sides.

[PaulW]

Thanks for all the input guys.....have the FCD on the way and will be ordering some carbide dies shortly.

[D.Hayden]

I'm a little late on this sorry:

I have a few questions:

You're replacing the Dillon Crimp Die with the Lee?

I though I read in a nother thread, that people were using the EGW Lee die, on the last stage [on a 550] after the crimp, and this was supposed to fix the Glock bulge for one thing.

Other s were running everything through the EGW first , before running through the normal loading process.

And the case gauges: Flex mentioned problems with the Dillon? Too loose tolerances?

Thanks, Dave

[Flexmoney]

And the case gauges: Flex mentioned problems with the Dillon? Too loose tolerances?

Thanks, Dave

I don't know. All I know is that I have a baggie full of 38 Super Comp. I didn't have the Lee FDC (Factory Crimp Die) for that caliber. When I gauge those rounds, a bunch would pass in the Dillon gauge, but they would fail in the Midway gauge.

I don't know if one brand of gauge was out of spec...or if one was fouled with rust...or if the ammo would gauge in the actual barrel. I sold the gun.

The important thing, I think, would be that the gauge was smaller than the barrel chamber?

BTW...the EGW Lee die is the sizing die...it goes in station 1.

The Lee FDC goes in the last station. It crimps (removes the belling) and it RE-sizes the loaded round.

[Nolan]

The Dillon case gauges are on the loose side of Maximum and the Midway case gauges are much tighter. A quick check is to try case gauging a fired case if it goes into the case gauge Oops the case gauge is the same size or larger than your chamber.

I don't like using the barrel for case gauging because the chamber does not fully surround the case web and rim. A slightly bulged case or a dinged rim MAY case gauge just fine in one position, but if rotated 90 degrees the defect may cause problems. And you just know what position it will feed out of the magazine in the middle of a match!

Back to the Lee Factory Crimp Die. If you're using it to iron out the Glock bulge your sizing die isn't doing a proper job! Fix that problem because the FCD is just a band-aid to the real problem.

[TDean]

Nowdays, all my gauging is done with the gun's barrel.

Dissassemble gun, hold barrel in weak hand, hold beer in strong hand (alternating with loaded rounds), put Fox news on the tube......start gauging.

[D.Hayden]

Back to the Lee Factory Crimp Die. If you're using it to iron out the Glock bulge your sizing die isn't doing a proper job! Fix that problem because the FCD is just a band-aid to the real problem.

I don't have the problem yet with the 40, but as I shoot more of it and less with the 45 andor 9mm, I'll probably encounter it. Just tryng to setup for the best spec'd ammo I can.

I thought the big problem here was the Glock ammo, and the Dillon die didn't really do a factory resize?

Mine touches the shell place, can't be any tighter than that can it? (famous last words)

[Nolan]

I haven't measured the Dillon dies so I'm just guessing here. I think they are tapered more at the mouth of the sizing die to ease entry of the cases. That means even when the die is touching the shell plate some of the brass is not being resized. EGW sells a modified Lee .001 undersize carbide sizing die that sizes much farther down the brass. The trade off is the occasional smashed case when it doesn't enter the sizing die. On my 1050 I use 2 sizing dies, the first one is the Dillon, then the EGW undersize die. On the 550 I just use the EGW die, but case lube is mandatory.