I'm getting a little sick of the inconsistent crimping my RCBS die does on my .44 mag ammo. Does anyone have any experience with the Lee Factory Crimp Die?  Does it really work like it says?  Would it be a good crimp die for revolver and lever gun ammo?  Thanks.

I'm currently using the Lee Factory Crimp dies for both the .44 Rem Mag and .45 Colt.  I can't really say there was much improvment with the .44 but the .45 Colt loads from my Ruger Blackhawk are much improved.  Ignition is more consistent as evidenced by less variation in velocities.  Accuracy improved somewhat although the extent of improvment is hard to determine when you're as ineffective with a handgun as I am.   The extent of the crimp applied is easy to adjust.  I'll definitely be buying a Factory Crimp die for the forthcoming .444.  Ed

Frontlander,

I use the Lee Factory crimp die on all my stright taper rifle cartridges, .38-55, .375 Winchester, .444, .45-70 and .458 Win (special order).  It has given me consistent performance that I've not equalled with other dies.   This is the extent of my use of the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

In handgun cases I've never used it.   My solution to the problems you are experiencing is to use the Redding Profile Crimp Die.  It has given me flawless results, and has been the only answer to stopping crimp jump on alloy bullets in the .454 Casull in short barrelled revolvers.  I like the Redding die for handgun cartridge crimping.  It is the best on the market as far as I can tell!

God Bless,

Marshall

I have used the Lee Factory Crimp Die for some time now and can say it is very good. I use it for all my handgun and straight wall rifle cartridges. I have not used the Redding but  I am sure that it is very good also. Just my .02 cents worth.

God Bless

Chris

All I can add to the excellent advice above is that I like to trim all my 44 brass to the same length before I start reloading it. This also squares up the case mouths and really aids in even crimps.

Before everybody jumps off a cliff when they hear about trimming cases, I'll tell you that I use the neat little LEE trimmer pilots to quickly hit all the cases. It's fast ,especially when plugged into a cordless screwdriver.


FWIW

:cool:

I'll ditto everyone else's postings. The Lee Crimp Die is worth it in my opinion. I've used it in 444, .308, and .30-06. The latter two initially for Service Rifle loads in an M-1A and M-1 Garand, but since then I used it for '06 hunting loads in a friend's Remington 700 as well. Once I have more time I've meant to do a side-by-side test of identical ammo except for using the Crimp Die on one batch, none on the other. It should prove interesting.

I have been having a terrible time with one of my rifles. It has a Krieger barrel (supposedly one of the best) and the action was trued up and glass/pillar bedded to a Rimrock synthetic stock. It is chambered to the 300 Arnold Magnum- the 8mm Rem Mag case necked to 30 cal. Anyway no matter what I do I get unaccounted for fliers. I am an experienced reloader and have had excellent results with my other rifles but this one has given me fits. I think I may have bumbled upon the problem this morning. I noticed last night when I was loading up some ammo for this gun that it was rather easy to seat the bullets (compared to the force required for the other cartridges that I load for). I got to thinking that maybe the cartridges in the magazine were getting battered around during recoil and thereby altering the seating depth which was causing the fliers. I shot 3 groups of 3 shots each at 275 yards by loading 3 into magazine and firing those 3 shots. I would get 2 shots within about 2" but the third opened up the group to about 5.5". Then I shot two groups by loading each round singly and got a 2.34" and a 3.25" group. So I will do some more testing to see if in fact this has been the problem. If it is the problem then I suspect that I will need to order a custom Lee Factory Crimp Die. Has anyone ever encountered this type problem? Brian Carlson.

Brian,

Yes, I have encountered the problem in the past.  Generally speaking when I am shooting for groups and doing load work ups, I shoot the rifle as a single shot, as you have mentioned, and let the barrel cool between shots.  It would appear that your observation of the group sizes shrinking when shooting the rifle as a single-shot would bear out your theory of the bullets being set back in the case.

I don't know who made the dies for your wildcat, but my first suggestion to you would to obtain a smaller neck expander button for the sizing die.  This will increase the tension on the bullet in the neck, and create a more uniform start pressure... if that doesn't cure the problem, then look into crimping options.

Just my observation, but I have had similar problems in the past, and a smaller expander button cured the issue.

God Bless,

Marshall Stanton

I have been following this along...some great stuff..For years I paid the price on RCBS dies  Then on a lark I picked up a set of Lee .30-06 dies. Some of my best loads have come off those dies. The collet doe help line up the bullet with final crimp, especially on auto rifles.
I noticed the comments about flyers..I built up a nice .257 Improved Krag on a Ruger No3 action one time. As you know this is a necked down, shoulder blown foward and out, case. RCBS made the dies. I about went crazy with that rifle with flyers until I OUTSIDE NECK TUENED THE CASES. Don't believe the pulp paper writers...you can't compress, move around, and blow all that brass without getting uneven thickness in the neck. You don't have to take off much brass,just until the cutter touches all around the case. Might have to spin/emery the expander ball a little but it sure help group size! But still keep an "M" die around.
Best Regards From The Hammock.....James

Ditto the crimp die.  I use it for almost everything I load now, and up until about two years ago I didn't crimp anything unless I thought there was a reason due to recoil.  Not any more.  It's the only product Lee makes that I think is worth a hoot, but they are worth their weight in gold.  Now if they could only make one in .50 Alaskan, just got my check back in the mail, they said they cannot make a crimp die for .50 cals.  Bummer.

I use Lee Factory Crimp Dies, but the pistol versions and the rifle versions are not the same.

The bottle necked rifle dies are a collet acting on the top .1" of the case. Even the benchrest guys sometimes use this.

The pistol factory crimp, is a sliding sleeve with a carbide sizing die built in. The 45 acp factory crimp has a cabide die built in that is .471", where Lee's 45 carbide sizer die is .467".

So, one resizes the case to with .467", and resizes the loaded ammo to .471". This insures that the loaded ammo will chamber. People used to say I was crazy and dangerous for reszing loaded ammo, but now that Lee sells a product to do it, it is ok.


It is worth noting that brass will spring back .002" from sizing to .469". While lead does not spring back as much. The way the factory crimp keep the bullet from falling out after resizing is the sleeve pinches a tight spot in the brass and lead that the brass is  then smaller [at that spot] than the size the lead recovers to elsewhere on the bullet.

Hey marshall
I got the Redding Profile die for my 45-70, after using one for my 45 Colt and 44 Spec. I thought they worked so well on the two pistol calibers that it had to work wonders on the big 45-70.
Jim

Jim,

I'm sure that you'll appreciate that die very much in the .45-70! *Let us know what is does for your handloads when comparing groups... Profile crimped vs. conventional roll-crimped!

Blessings,

Marshall

Will the Lee Factory Crimp Die work in any loading press?  

I have the Dillon 550B.  I've already ordered the die...if it doesn't work I'll either get a second press or sell the die.  

I had a little rastlin' match getting the RCBS set to crimp, finally did.  But the expander die is useless since the powder funnel does that function on the 550B.  

Thanks

Hello,
I'm glad that you all seem to like the Lee factory crimp die,because I just had one delivered yesterday.
However,I might have a problem It is scratched,and the lower unit fits very tight into the upper unit. It may be a "used"or "returned" piece of goods.
I can live with this,if you think that the die should be tight fitting. I ran a dummy round through it,and it seemed to work OK.
Thanks,
Frank