Lee Factory Crimp Die

[Salvo]

I'm kicking around the idea of purchasing a Lee Factory Crimp Die.

If I seat my preferred bullet out to be close to the lands, it's only in the case for 1/16" or so. That won't do, so I'm thinking maybe a crimp would be the answer. The Hornady 55 grn. FMJ has a crimping groove.

They say that it provides much the same benefit as seating close to the lands does for you.

I would be concerned about the brass not lasting as long, but I shoot a .223 so once-fired brass is almost always laying around at the gun club for free.

I'd be interested to hear opinions and stories about this die. It's not very expensive, so I'm thinking of giving it a try. My groups right now are OK - but I'm looking for outstanding.

Here's my rifle, a modified Howa 1500 with a 1:12" twist barrel reduced to 18".

click image to see it larger

[horseman]

Not sure about the other statements about the benefits of the LFCD but can tell you that the Lee rifle crimp die is an excellent crimp die. A whole 'nuther discussion can be started about whether or not crimping is necessary or not, (I crimp EVERYTHING I reload so you can see my opinion on that) The Lee crimp die will work with or without a cannelured bullet but should be adjusted carefully so as not to harm the bullet OR the die. The collets should never be adjusted to more than just touch. And that is probably more than necessary and "could" damage a jacketed or plated bullet. If a bullet has a cannelure or crimp groove, that's where to crimp. I don't see where the use of one would shorten the lifetime of a piece of brass. That's a start for another discussion on work hardening and annealing, full length sizing vs neck sizing etc; BUT, to reiterate, it's a good die.

[Ranch Dog]

The sure enough way to tell is try it. I use it with all my cartridges, that's a long list. If Lee doesn't offer them for a particular cartridge, I special order one.

[Ranch Dog]

Oh, very nice looking rifle.

[mikld]

I wouldn't think the relationship between the crimp and bullet depth will mater much (from a machinist/mechanic's view). I would not want much less than one caliber of the bullet seated in the neck (for a .223 I would want at least .224" of the bullet in the case for stability/concentricity). Sounds like you have a "long" chamber...

[Ranch Dog]

I wouldn't think the relationship between the crimp and bullet depth will mater much (from a machinist/mechanic's view). I would not want much less than one caliber of the bullet seated in the neck (for a .223 I would want at least .224" of the bullet in the case for stability/concentricity). Sounds like you have a "long" chamber...

Good point and a good rule of thumb mikid, I focused more on the "FCD" part of the question.

[Salvo]

I'm hoping it will give more consistent ignition, maybe tighten up my groups. I have bulk-ordered some Hornady 55 grn FMJ BT bullets that have the crimping groove. After trying 100 of them, I found that my rifle likes them, shooting the same size groups to the same point of impact as the 55 grn V-Max bullets that I have been using lately.

When I seat the bullets, the case mouth is right over the crimping groove anyway, so I thought, "Why not give it a whirl?"

All of my loads go around in an MTM plastic cartridge box and are single-loaded at the range, so the durability issue is kind of a moot point here.

Any-who, I have the crimp die ordered and will probably see it late next week. I appreciate everyone's comments, and look forward to giving it a try.

[Salvo]

Today I did some preparation for when the Lee factory crimp die shows up, next week.

What I did was load up ten rounds with a moderate load of H4895 (22.6 grn) with the 55 grn Hornady FMJ BT bullets, then I hauled all of my junk to the shooting club this morning. It took three trips from my van to get the rifle, shooting bags, spotting scope, chronograph, and other paraphernalia out to a shooting position. I was thankful that I had the place to myself as I set it all up.

Then I carefully documented the velocity of each round, and where they struck on the target. Velocities varied from 2428 to 2501 fps, and five round groups at 50 yards averaged at one inch. - OK I guess, but about four times bigger than I'm hoping to eventually wind up with.

I measured the bullet strikes (x and y) with dial calipers, and put all of the data into some shooting software that I have here.

Now, all I have to do is wait until the crimp die shows up, and then see what happens with exactly the same load, but with a crimp on it. In the mean-time I will not fire or clean the rifle.

I've got a bunch of stuff I need to do for my shop this week to keep me busy. I'll be setting up a milling machine, which is going to be time-consuming. I'll also be making a gun rack, and hanging up some oil paintings to spruce the place up a bit. That ought to take me a week or so, at the rate that I go.

Weather permitting, I'll report on my results with the Lee factory crimp die about a week from now.

[klr]

What I did was load up ten rounds... and five round groups at 50 yards averaged at one inch.


Now, all I have to do is wait until the crimp die shows up, and then see what happens with exactly the same load, but with a crimp on it. In the mean-time I will not fire or clean the rifle.


I'll report on my results with the Lee factory crimp die about a week from now.

I look forward to seeing the results. One thing to watch for is the small sample size of shooting only two groups.

[bayou]

The Lee FCD works very well for me. Moreso that I have one in every pistol and rifle cartridge I reload.....

Bayou