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RanchDogOutdoors ordered a bunch of 357 Mag, 44 Mag, and 45 Colt RIFLE type Factory Crimp Dies from LeePrecision.com a couple years ago for re-sale on his website, and I quickly ordered one of each. RanchDog is no longer in business, but individuals can order custom dies of all sorts from Lee for barely over the ordinary retail cost. However, Lee is currently not taking custom orders due to still catching up from the reelection of Obummer.
Of course everyone has their preferences, and some don't like any of Lee's stuff, or like their other stuff but not the FCD's, but personally I like the FCD's of the 'Rifle' type, but am not as impressed with the 'Pistol' type.
It's 2025 - "Cutesy Time is OVER....!" [Dan Bongino]
If you shoot cast bullets and do not have a LFCD for each caliber, you are missing out on a lot. I lost count, but its somewhere near 20 of 'em grace the loading room shelves.---6
I use them on all cartridges have found that they cut my groups in half on 99's crimping makes for a more consistent release when fired, cases can have varying neck tension due to multiple firings and different makers it flat out works. danny
Old No7 wrote:Hope that 32-20 ammo shoots well for you!
It did, indeed; thanks for asking.
Interesting you'd ask on this thread however, as I've not loaded many 32-20 with my 32-20 FCD yet, since I have a bunch of old ones still to shoot up.
That unusually-fragile case ought to be a worst-case test for that style crimp, don't you think? I've only done a few and I set the adjustment to do a light crimp on that paper-thin case mouth. So far no sign of damage, though.
I think I have them for all my rifle cartridges, and the Big Three revolver ones. Also for 454 Casull and 500 S&W, (which for me are only shot in rifles anyway).
It's 2025 - "Cutesy Time is OVER....!" [Dan Bongino]
Doc AJ (and anyone else here) - Now I'm all confused! I'm sure not a novice reloader, having been doin' it for 1/2 a century. However, I've recently acquired a Rossi 92 .357 and it has been a little cantankerous. Not nearly as slick as the little 1981 Marlin 1894 .357 I stupidly sold off to a (formerly) best friend a 1/2 dozen years ago.
Having spoken with Nate (Steve) about the magic involved with this Rossi to get it to reliably cycle a cartridge in to the chamber, without jiggling the lever multiple times and cussin' a bunch. Now have Steve's stuff coming my way and making sure the cartridge OAL is just right for the persnickety little carbine. But you've gone and confused me with the talk about the rifle .357 LFCD. Is there any upside to using the rifle FCD over the revolver FCD when loading fo this .357 Rossi. And if so, what might it be? What about the case crimp profile? Is it significantly different from one to the other. I already use the LFCD's for my other long gun calibers, but the crimp for those cartridges has a different "profile" than those loaded with a roll crimp. As it is now my brass has a few bright spots of the case mouth with the roll crimped fired brass. Ready to order one of the FCD's if you all deem it productive and will not interfere with smooth chambering.
"If a man does away with his traditional way of living and throws away his good customs, he had better first make certain that he has something of value to replace them." - Basuto proverb.
GoatGuy wrote:Doc AJ (and anyone else here) - Now I'm all confused! I'm sure not a novice reloader, having been doin' it for 1/2 a century. However, I've recently acquired a Rossi 92 .357 and it has been a little cantankerous. Not nearly as slick as the little 1981 Marlin 1894 .357 I stupidly sold off to a (formerly) best friend a 1/2 dozen years ago.
Having spoken with Nate (Steve) about the magic involved with this Rossi to get it to reliably cycle a cartridge in to the chamber, without jiggling the lever multiple times and cussin' a bunch. Now have Steve's stuff coming my way and making sure the cartridge OAL is just right for the persnickety little carbine. But you've gone and confused me with the talk about the rifle .357 LFCD. Is there any upside to using the rifle FCD over the revolver FCD when loading fo this .357 Rossi. And if so, what might it be? What about the case crimp profile? Is it significantly different from one to the other. I already use the LFCD's for my other long gun calibers, but the crimp for those cartridges has a different "profile" than those loaded with a roll crimp. As it is now my brass has a few bright spots of the case mouth with the roll crimped fired brass. Ready to order one of the FCD's if you all deem it productive and will not interfere with smooth chambering.
The revolver FCD will size the loaded ammo. The rifle FCD is a collet design and does not size the loaded round. Lee's web page is pretty informative. It is worth the read. Regards, 1886.
Lee's collet size die is worth researching too.
The pistol FCD pushes the bullet into the case (RED ARROWS pointing to the bullet seating portion of the die):
lee pistol 38_FCD arrows.jpg
The rifle FCD does not seat the bullet, because it has an open top, and it does not contain the bullet-seating "plug" that the pistol FCD has. Some reloaders prefer to reload ammo in several, seperate steps.
Shawn
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"That's right, Billy, I'm good with it. I hit what I shoot at, and I'm fast!"-Lucas McCain, c1882.
Will some one explain why the FCD is so great for cast in leverguns or any other rifle for that matter? Was gonna start another thread, but figure it goes with this. Never gave this much thought cuz I generally shoot more singleshots than levers.
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres
250 Savage... its what the 223 wishes it could be...!
3leggedturtle wrote:Will some one explain why the FCD is so great for cast in leverguns or any other rifle for that matter? Was gonna start another thread, but figure it goes with this. Never gave this much thought cuz I generally shoot more singleshots than levers.
A reason many prefer the LFCD is that it is possible to crimp any where on the bullet surface. No need for a cannelure. This applies to the revolver or rifle die. Again, Lee's web page is worth a read. 1886.
AJMD429 wrote:RanchDogOutdoors ordered a bunch of 357 Mag, 44 Mag, and 45 Colt RIFLE type Factory Crimp Dies from LeePrecision.com a couple years ago for re-sale on his website, and I quickly ordered one of each. RanchDog is no longer in business, but individuals can order custom dies of all sorts from Lee for barely over the ordinary retail cost. However, Lee is currently not taking custom orders due to still catching up from the reelection of Obummer.
Of course everyone has their preferences, and some don't like any of Lee's stuff, or like their other stuff but not the FCD's, but personally I like the FCD's of the 'Rifle' type, but am not as impressed with the 'Pistol' type.
Thank you posting this. I just ordered the rifle type FCD for the .357. While I was at it, I ordered the FCD for the .44-40. Lots of other not ordinarily seen chamberings are available too. I would like a rifle type FCD for the .45 Colt too. 1886.
I use the FCD in my .30-06 kit for the .30-30. My Hornady set of dies doesn't crimp to my liking, so I use it for the other stages, and crimp with the Lee. I have only done this with about 500 rounds, so I am a total novice to the .30-30 reloading (at least on this site). So far, it everything has fed perfectly and there have been no problems. I had a problem setting the Hornady die, and I did use a fine felt tip marker to make marks for reference of how far I moved it, and screwed the die inward in increments of less than 1/16th of an inch. I either did not get enough crimp or crumpled the case shoulder. I like the Hornady part that holds the bullet straight and travels with the bullet until fully seated, so I am willing to just make 2 steps where 1 should do.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
GoatGuy wrote:Doc AJ (and anyone else here) - Now I'm all confused! I'm sure not a novice reloader, having been doin' it for 1/2 a century. However, I've recently acquired a Rossi 92 .357 and it has been a little cantankerous. Not nearly as slick as the little 1981 Marlin 1894 .357 I stupidly sold off to a (formerly) best friend a 1/2 dozen years ago.
Having spoken with Nate (Steve) about the magic involved with this Rossi to get it to reliably cycle a cartridge in to the chamber, without jiggling the lever multiple times and cussin' a bunch. Now have Steve's stuff coming my way and making sure the cartridge OAL is just right for the persnickety little carbine. But you've gone and confused me with the talk about the rifle .357 LFCD. Is there any upside to using the rifle FCD over the revolver FCD when loading fo this .357 Rossi. And if so, what might it be? What about the case crimp profile? Is it significantly different from one to the other. I already use the LFCD's for my other long gun calibers, but the crimp for those cartridges has a different "profile" than those loaded with a roll crimp. As it is now my brass has a few bright spots of the case mouth with the roll crimped fired brass. Ready to order one of the FCD's if you all deem it productive and will not interfere with smooth chambering.
...The rifle FCD is a collet design and does not size the loaded round[/b].... Regards, 1886.
I understand this. As noted in my initial post I have several of the collet dies for reloading rifle cartridges. My question relates to the type of crimp and its use in the Rossi 92. A roll crimp can be a problem if cases are not all the same length, or one uses too much crimp. However, it may work better with guiding a cartridge into the 92's chamber than the collet design which will leave the leading edge of the brass at original diameter, thereby possibly causing a hiccup as the cartridge enters the chamber.
Probably picking nits on my part, and also really not a pertinent question anymore as I ordered the .357 FCD this afternoon. Nothing like seeing first hand if there is a problem of using one type over the other. Really hope it's the "cats meow", as I'm somewhat lazy and hate the idea and effort involved in trimming pistol cartridge brass to uniform length.
Thanks for all the replies.
"If a man does away with his traditional way of living and throws away his good customs, he had better first make certain that he has something of value to replace them." - Basuto proverb.
The pistol FCD pushes the bullet into the case (RED ARROWS pointing to the bullet seating portion of the die):
lee pistol 38_FCD arrows.jpg
The rifle FCD does not seat the bullet, because it has an open top, and it does not contain the bullet-seating "plug" that the pistol FCD has. Some reloaders prefer to reload ammo in several, separate steps.
Shawn
The Lee pistol FCD does not seat the bullet.
The bullet must be seated in a separate operation.
It does not take the place of normal sizing but check sizes to maximum dimensions.
1886 wrote:
...The rifle FCD is a collet design and does not size the loaded round.... Regards, 1886.
I understand this. As noted in my initial post I have several of the collet dies for reloading rifle cartridges. My question relates to the type of crimp and its use in the Rossi 92. A roll crimp can be a problem if cases are not all the same length, or one uses too much crimp. However, it may work better with guiding a cartridge into the 92's chamber than the collet design which will leave the leading edge of the brass at original diameter, thereby possibly causing a hiccup as the cartridge enters the chamber.
Probably picking nits on my part, and also really not a pertinent question anymore as I ordered the .357 FCD this afternoon. Nothing like seeing first hand if there is a problem of using one type over the other. Really hope it's the "cats meow", as I'm somewhat lazy and hate the idea and effort involved in trimming pistol cartridge brass to uniform length.
Thanks for all the replies.
I agree; best to just try one and see - if you dislike it probably can sell it here!
On my lead bullet loads the FCD can be adjusted to smash the case into the bullet almost flush if you want; the step-off is where the brass case was not in the collet. That tight a crimp isn't usually what I do but it can be done. Actually you can do that with many jacketed bullets as well...!
It's 2025 - "Cutesy Time is OVER....!" [Dan Bongino]
Agreed, just by referring to both as FCDs you're comparing them as though they are the SAME. But - they're not. That PISTOL carbide crimp die clearly says it roll crimps, it never purports or claims to be a collet-type crimp die.
Otherwise I agree with you that the collet crimp die is a superior method!
Thank you for correcting me. As has been said, the names of these things, and similarity in appearance, is a bit confusing. Of the pistol dies, which is which? (seating & crimp, versus FCD-only):
Even the instructional videos, for these two, are similar:
