Why I Crimp

shawn mcjunkin said:
This is a good learning thread for me but I'm still going to ask a dumb question. So on non cannelure bullets it will make a crimp any where you set it for? On bullets with a cannelure do you have to now adjust your seating depth to use the cannelure? Meaning if you would normally use cbto for seating depth you don't ? ( hopefully that makes sense it did in my head)
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Correct. Existing cannelure or not does not matter—with the Lee FCD you can just crimp any bullet at whatever depth you desire.
 
shawn mcjunkin said:
This is a good learning thread for me but I'm still going to ask a dumb question. So on non cannelure bullets it will make a crimp any where you set it for? On bullets with a cannelure do you have to now adjust your seating depth to use the cannelure? Meaning if you would normally use cbto for seating depth you don't ? ( hopefully that makes sense it did in my head)
Click to expand...
The FCD crimps irrespective of bullet seating depth. As for seating bullets with a cannelure you can ignore it and use a seating depth you find most beneficial.
 
nicholasjohn said:
Thanks. I do have neck bushing dies, and had been planning to size for 2 thousandths, which seems to be the favored amount of neck tension with regular bullets. Instead, I'll find a bushing that provides 3 or 4 thousandths, and start there. I can see why chamfer would be important, since that might be a pretty tight fit. A bit of neck lube might not be a bad idea as well. Do you guys use a lubricant when seating bullets ? I have seen that mentioned in some of these threads, but didn't notice what bullets they were discussing.
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I just ordered the Redding dry case neck lube yesterday. Not for help with seating, but to combat cold welding.
 
RockyMtnMT said:
I just ordered the Redding dry case neck lube yesterday. Not for help with seating, but to combat cold welding.
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Hmmmmm....... hadn't thought much about that one. I have some of that on hand, and I'll give it a try - just as soon as they open up the shooting ranges around here. ( Wish I knew when that's gonna be.) It looks like the dry neck lube may be one of those rare "two birds with one stone" things. We don't get many of those.
 
shawn mcjunkin said:
This is a good learning thread for me but I'm still going to ask a dumb question. So on non cannelure bullets it will make a crimp any where you set it for? On bullets with a cannelure do you have to now adjust your seating depth to use the cannelure? Meaning if you would normally use cbto for seating depth you don't ? ( hopefully that makes sense it did in my head)
Click to expand...
The Lee FCD will crimp any where on a Non cannelure bullet and on bullets with a Cannelure you you can use it if you want to but its not necessary
 
cape cove said:
Very interesting thread. I've been thinking of the Lee FCD for a while (from an accuracy standpoint) but never tried one other than in my Model 94---30/30. No doubt that consistent start pressure is one of the important aspect of accuracy. I have read that this is one of the reasons that the benchresters often shoot with bullets touching the lands. Will be looking forward to @Savage 12BVSS updates.
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Here's how I use the Lee FCD for accuracy, I'm not trying to push it on anybody or saying that what anyone is doing is wrong, I love reloading and I have spent a small fortune on the latest and greatest and 30 years later I have come full circle and am almost where I started finding I can do a lot with a little. Anyway The Lee FCD, It comes with instructions and they work fine set to those specs but here is how I use it to "Fine Tune", Back the die way off and raise a round, screw the die in until it tightens up against the round, (Hand tighten really snug and I take a fine line sharpie and mark the die, lock nut and press at this point for reference), lower the round and give it a 16th to 1/8th or so of a turn, ( I prefer to cam over doing this with the Rock Chucker press so I know I'm consistent ) it may not look like it did anything but I assure you it did, crimp a string of however many you want and see if it helps, if it didn't give it another 16th to an 1/8th of a turn in and repeat. You can take bigger swings if you like but I don't .The way I use the Lee FCD its the same as finding a powder charge or seating depth. Once again I'm no professional and I'm not a competition shooter I'm a hunter who loves fast accurate rifles and this works for me and i use it on everything I load for, I have seen it help various calibers and I will say that I personally have never seen it hurt one in any way, , I do a lot of unconventional things from the Case Lube or the Dies I like to use some folks think I'm crazy I reckon, Once again this is just how I do things, I just want to say this again so it doesn't get all twisted,

ButterBean
 
ButterBean said:
Here's how I use the Lee FCD for accuracy, I'm not trying to push it on anybody or saying that what anyone is doing is wrong, I love reloading and I have spent a small fortune on the latest and greatest and 30 years later I have come full circle and am almost where I started finding I can do a lot with a little. Anyway The Lee FCD, It comes with instructions and they work fine set to those specs but here is how I use it to "Fine Tune", Back the die way off and raise a round, screw the die in until it tightens up against the round, (Hand tighten really snug and I take a fine line sharpie and mark the die, lock nut and press at this point for reference), lower the round and give it a 16th to 1/8th or so of a turn, ( I prefer to cam over doing this with the Rock Chucker press so I know I'm consistent ) it may not look like it did anything but I assure you it did, crimp a string of however many you want and see if it helps, if it didn't give it another 16th to an 1/8th of a turn in and repeat. You can take bigger swings if you like but I don't .The way I use the Lee FCD its the same as finding a powder charge or seating depth. Once again I'm no professional and I'm not a competition shooter I'm a hunter who loves fast accurate rifles and this works for me and i use it on everything I load for, I have seen it help various calibers and I will say that I personally have never seen it hurt one in any way, , I do a lot of unconventional things from the Case Lube or the Dies I like to use some folks think I'm crazy I reckon, Once again this is just how I do things, I just want to say this again so it doesn't get all twisted,

ButterBean
Click to expand...
ButterBean said "some folks think I'm crazy I reckon"
Not any crazier than the rest of us who want the most from what we produce.
 
The OP of this thread recommended the Lee FCD, a number of years ago. I being apprehensive, ( at first), gave it a go. I had a load that shot lites out, un crimped. Reasonable es, and sd. Decent speed. Well, I took that load, loaded up a good number, and applied what I will call a medium FCD. Of to the range I went, chronograph in tow.
Extreme spread, cut in half. Deviation as well, and a 25 to thirty fps gain. Well, needless to say, I've been hooked ever since. I use it it every caliber I shoot, and it just plain works. You can shoot holes in the pros and cons, and the need for it, but the holes I shoot in paper are smaller then without it.
Thanks Bean! 🦌
 
I'm dealing with an unbelievable barrel problem so will be awhile before I report any results. Sorry was unexpected, seems as a fine tuning tool it can effect accuracy. Die setting sounds similar to the way I set collet neck dies up. Never a problem of bullets going in or out of case so this will be a total accuracy and uniformity test for me. Will post later into summer.
 

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