"Factory Crimp Die"

[tbrice23]

Where are you guys purchasing these for $10 ?
Midway has them for $14 then shipping.

 

[Buckskinner]

Wonder how many FCD's this string sold... I bought another one! Waiting for better winds to test out a couple ladder tests for the 25-06. One crimped, one not. Should be interesting.

 

[Pdvdh]

Midway has the 300 Weatherby FCD on sale for like 9 bucks. Not sure if any others are on sale, but I think full price is less than 15$... I just got my 6.5 Creed LEE die set today. I just ordered the ultimate die set so I could get the collet die and the crimp die. I don't see any difference as far as quality, to any other die set I have...

tbrice23;
I blame gohring3006, if I misrepresented the cost.

He stated $9 in a prior Thread. But I see he purchased at a "sale" price. My last purchase was about $15 off FleaBay, which included shipping to my Igloo.

 

[tbrice23]

Ok, I thought I was missing out.

 

[ButterBean]

Wonder how many FCD's this string sold... I bought another one! Waiting for better winds to test out a couple ladder tests for the 25-06. One crimped, one not. Should be interesting.

Skinner, I'm a 25-06 nut and have been messing with them since I can remember, the 25-06 really responds to the crimp and you can use it as as tuning tool just like ladder testing with powder ... start light shoot a group 16th of a turn on the crimp and repeat(this works for all calibers but the quarter bore shows the most response) one more thing...... even if you don't see a visible mark it is still crimping, pull a bullet and you will see what I'm talking about

 

[Gord0]

Wonder how many FCD's this string sold... I bought another one! Waiting for better winds to test out a couple ladder tests for the 25-06. One crimped, one not. Should be interesting.

This thread made me part with 20 of my hard earned dollars. I've always been interested in trying the fcd in my .223. Finally went and picked one up yesterday. Got a fun plinking AR that isn't the most accurate thing. I'll see if this helps.

 

[tbrice23]

tbrice23;
I blame gohring3006, if I misrepresented the cost.

He stated $9 in a prior Thread. But I see he purchased at a "sale" price. My last purchase was about $15 off FleaBay, which included shipping to my Igloo.

Ok,
I found them for $10.99 at FS Reloading ( Factory Sales).
It is a licensed Lee outlet store.
I always forget about them. I get parts from them when I need to put together a wildcat or odd caliber Lee Collet Neck dies or break a part of a Lee die, it has been a while since I've bought from them but they're prices are good.

 

[Lonewolf74]

Has anyone had good results with the fcd on rounds that they have loaded to touch the lands? What about with powder that seems temp sensitive? I have one on the way so I'll test it out regardless but wondering if anyone has played around with these factors.

 

[Pdvdh]

I have not. My suspicion is crimping jammed loads may yield less improvement, as jamming bullets most likely has already improved consistency of powder ignition.

I carefully chronographed MV on each test group fired through my AR15 (.223). I didn't record reduced ES or reduced SD with the crimped loads. Yet the precision at 300 yards was very notably improved. I wanted to record reduced ES/SD to help explain the much improved precision. But the reality is, ES/SD remained much the same.

I never tried to determine if crimping would reduce powder temperature sensitivity. I don't expect it will have any measurable effect.

Report back and keep us informed on the results of your testing?

 

[gohring3006]

I have some 300 Weatherby brass and some 225 ELDs here in the classifieds.
After crimping that 300 Weatherby a shooting buddy at the range, seen it shoot and just had to have it. So now I'm out a rifle. Thanks factory crimp die.

 

[tbrice23]

I have not. My suspicion is crimping jammed loads may yield less improvement, as jamming bullets most likely has already improved consistency of powder ignition.

I carefully chronographed MV on each test group fired through my AR15 (.223). I didn't record reduced ES or reduced SD with the crimped loads. Yet the precision at 300 yards was very notably improved. I wanted to record reduced ES/SD to help explain the much improved precision. But the reality is, ES/SD remained much the same.

I never tried to determine if crimping would reduce powder temperature sensitivity. I don't expect it will have any measurable effect.

One though is that the FCD crimp makes bullet release and Barrel Time more consistent shot to shot; bullets are leaving the barrel at the same point in the barrel 'whip' / oscillation.
My first thought was that it improves powder burn rate efficiency but that would be indicated by improved ES

 

[WildRose]

I have been thinking of trying one to see if it lowers ES.
They are pretty cheap, I'm not holding my breath but I think it could hold onto the bullet a little longer getting good ignition. I have heard primers can actually send the bullet out of the neck before the powder ignites. I think that it would be significant if I can delay this...

I really had my doubts which was why I originally posted this thread.

The only bad thing about buying the first one was seeing the results which caused me to then buy one for each of the center fire rifle calibers I load for.

The ten bucks each that I've spent has proven to be one of the best moves and money I've spent on upgrading my reloading gear.

What really convinced me was when I simply pulled a bunch of bullets on a load that was already working well for me in the .260, replacing them with another and simply crimping them without resizing or anything else. All I did was run them through the seater die and put a light crimp on them.

 

[Pdvdh]

One thought is that the FCD crimp makes bullet release and Barrel Time more consistent shot to shot; bullets are leaving the barrel at the same point in the barrel 'whip' / oscillation.
My first thought was that it improves powder burn rate efficiency but that would be indicated by improved ES.

I don't even have a good theory, let alone an explanation. I ran about 5 different loads of .223 over the chronos. 6 uncrimped and 6 crimped bullets constituting one load. So about 60 rounds total. I kept expecting to see a pattern of reduced ES with the crimped shells because of the much improved precision. Never did.

The crimping is doing something to improve precision.

I'll test some 280 RCBS Improved loads this spring, but I won't shoot as many due to both the increased cost and recoil. Maybe additional testing by others can help figure out the cause(s) for the improved precision.

 

[Lonewolf74]

I have not. My suspicion is crimping jammed loads may yield less improvement, as jamming bullets most likely has already improved consistency of powder ignition.

I carefully chronographed MV on each test group fired through my AR15 (.223). I didn't record reduced ES or reduced SD with the crimped loads. Yet the precision at 300 yards was very notably improved. I wanted to record reduced ES/SD to help explain the much improved precision. But the reality is, ES/SD remained much the same.

I never tried to determine if crimping would reduce powder temperature sensitivity. I don't expect it will have any measurable effect.

Report back and keep us informed on the results of your testing?

Absolutely...as long as I remember lol. Still be a lil bit cus I'm still in the process of nailing down a good charge weight then gonna play with bullet seating. So it might be warm out again before I get to comparing the crimp. Been a weird winter hear in Wisconsin!