Factory Crimp / Collet Crimp dies

[Royce]

I only load handgun rounds (at least so far). I have been reloading using my Lee 1000 presses for decades but recently started experimenting with the Lee Classic Turret. It's got four holes so I figured all of them needed something to do? That led me to purchase a 44 special FCD which worked well.

Then I purchased the 357 / 38 Special FCD and a 45 Colt FCD. The 357 FCD works fabulous. No complaints.

The 45 Colt die is a stumper. I can either get it to not do anything, or it crumples the case wall. Very annoying. So I bought a 45 Colt Collet die. That works very nicely!

I also load a lot of 45 ACP but am not sure I need to purchase another die for those. The Lee carbide bullet seating / taper crimp seems to work very well. Anyone tried the 45 ACP crimp dies?

[Ranch Dog]

Lee's handgun crimp dies can get a bit confusing! There is the bullet seating die that will provide the appropriate roll or taper crimp, and then the Factory Crimp Dies. Within the FCD family, there are three types of dies; the Carbide, Collet, and Short Bottleneck Collet. The Carbide is the original with a sleeve that delivers the roll or taper (I think the sleeve is called a collet, but I don't want to confuse things). The Carbide has a carbide sizer ring in the base of the die that corrects the cartridge case to the greater OD of its SAAMI spec.

The Collet FCD is exactly like the rifle collet dies. These are offered for handgun cartridges that are typically chambered for rifles. When I had my mold business, I approached Lee about them. Initially, they did not think it a good idea as they felt the short collet would only last about 125K cycles. My response was that it would not be a factor, and I ordered a bunch of them for resale in 357 Mag, 41 Mag, 44 Mag, and 45 Colt. I later order them for the 454 Casual and 480 Ruger. Like the rifle Collet Dies, if your brass is short, they won't work. They are made for the SAAMI spec range, and the more the brass is off the max towards the min, the less likely they are to work.

The Short Bottleneck Collet is the has the same collet as the die above. The difference is that the collet is inverted in an enclosed die body, and the collet acts against the top of the die instead of the shell holder. It's a short cartridge thing, not enough leverage to form the crimp against the shell holder. In my 357 Mag carbine, I use 38 Spl brass to accommodate a 190-grain bullet. It is shot at 357 Mag pressures. I wanted a rifle style Collet Factory Crimp die, so Lee custom made me a Short Bottleneck Collet Die, and it is a smooth die.

I use the Carbide FCDs with my semi-auto pistols; 25 Auto through 45 Auto. I use the Collet FCDs with what I noted above as well as the Bottleneck Collet Die. I also load 38 Spl on an Automator, which is a three-hole Pro 1000. I use the bullet seating die adjusted to provide bullet seating and a crimp at the end of the ram stroke. So, I'm using all four types of dies in my reloading.

The 45 Colt die is a stumper. I can either get it to not do anything, or it crumples the case wall. Very annoying. So I bought a 45 Colt Collet die. That works very nicely!

So it was the Carbide FCD that did not do anything? The roll crimp from these dies are not very pronounced, nor should they be. Just enough roll to prevent something like speed loaders from hanging up on a case rim and setback as the other cartridges are shot.

[Royce]

Yes the FCD did not work great on the 45 Colt as it has on the other two calibers. The cases I used were trimmed to 1.275" which is the limit of trimming with the Lee trimmer kit. This is range brass with an unknown history. The same stuff was troublesome if it is longer than 1.280".

[sparkyv]

The FCD should be just fine for 45ACP taper crimp, if you want to separate the seating/crimping steps. That's the way I've always done it, with no regerts. I recently started using the collet crimp die for 460S&W and liked it so much that I got one for 44Mag as well, but I haven't used it yet. .

I also load a lot of 45 ACP but am not sure I need to purchase another die for those. The Lee carbide bullet seating / taper crimp seems to work very well. Anyone tried the 45 ACP crimp dies?