Lee Loader

Mt. Sourdough introduced me to the idea and that got me thinking about a forum heading dedicated to topics such as this so I thought I would get it set up and introduce it.

Here is the issue that Mt. Sourdough has presented; Hornady has become the primary, dependable source of brass used in a number of levergun cartridges: 32 Win Spl, 35 Rem, 444 Marlin, 45-70 Govt, and 450 Marlin. The problem is that the Hornady brass is shorter than the SAAMI spec to accommodate their FTX series of levergun bullets and the current series of Lee FCDs will not function with the shorter brass.

It would be nice if Lee would offer a "LVR" series of FCDs in the dies that are designed around the shorter Hornady case lengths. What do you think!

One thought I have is loading super heavy cast bullets in the shorter brass may be advantageous. Some 444 bullets I work with get stuffed over .8" onto case and I suspect a little less seating depth might be better.
I do not know, if it will make a difference, but I suspect somebody here may be able to answer that.
I do know that Hornady's seat/crimp dies do not like oversized cast bullets as the bullets stick in the sleeve. So you can use Hornady's seater/crimp die for loading jacketed bullets into the shorter brass with the edition of a new seater stem purchased separately, but it doesn't do cast bullet shooters any good.

I don't use any lever action brass, but can't you put a steel washer or two on top of the shell holder to make up for the shorter length and allow the FCd to crimp where you want it. It would be an extra step each time but I doubt if Lee would retool for the small market.

How about grinding off from the bottom of the collet that moves up inside the die to crimp when it contacts the shellholder? You would need to remove as much metal as you'll find in the difference between regular length cases and the short Hornady brass.

Yes, grinding the bottom of the die will allow a person to create a crimp die for the shorter brass. Longer shell holders also work, but I have come to the opinion that there are a lot of little idiosyncrasies to loading and many folk like myself strive to try to keep things as straight forward as possible .
For loading jacketed bullets in the shorter brass, I use the Hornady seater die with the stem that is sold separately. I simply use the crimp that the seating die provides, but for oversized cast bullets, the Hornady die does not work, because the bullets get stuck in the die's sleeve.
I am going to shave the bottom of a crimp die for loading the cast bullets in the short brass, but I bet many people's attitudes about the short brass would change if the right sized crimp die was readily available.

I've done a poll at another forum and I have contacted different outfits to push the issue. I get the idea that everybody is really busy out there. Yep, imagine that. Anyways, the responses to the poll were largely positive with about 40% would buy the product, 40% dont need it and remaining votes for wanting more information.

I went and ordered a bullet mold from MM that is designed specifically the shorter brass. I have some of those LFCD for 444 here to trim, but I am going to send dummy rounds with a money order to Lee and have them trim one.

mt_sourdough wrote:I've done a poll at another forum and I have contacted different outfits to push the issue. I get the idea that everybody is really busy out there. Yep, imagine that. Anyways, the responses to the poll were largely positive with about 40% would buy the product, 40% dont need it and remaining votes for wanting more information.

I went and ordered a bullet mold from MM that is designed specifically the shorter brass. I have some of those LFCD for 444 here to trim, but I am going to send dummy rounds with a money order to Lee and have them trim one.

Good work! What do they charge to trim the existing die?

I have heard $15 if you send them the dies or $31 with them providing the die.