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Posted: 2/2/2009 7:08:14 PM EDT
| Hey guys on every case I've crimped so far with this the OAL has grown by .001 to .002. In some cases this has pushed them to 2.61 or 2.62..............is this normal when using the FCD? Do I need to seat the bullets a little deeper to account for this or am I fine with a tad be longer than 2.6x? |
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Damn your right. There's a noticeable ring indent around where the crimp was on the bullet. Sigh....I followed the directions listed on the instructions and on the guide here. Guess this means I need to pull all the ones I already made and toss those bullets then.
So my final question....is it really worth it to crimp? Or should I just not screw around with that at this point, I thought I had given them all a pretty light crimp. And Ya I meant 2.26x is where these grew to on some of them. 
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Have fun trying to pull those bullets. Unless you have a collet style puller, they're damned near impossible to get out with an intertia puller.
You should see a little crimp marking on the case neck, but not too much. It's a feel thing. You shouldn't have to exert much effort to put the crimp on the round. I set mine for a fairly light crimp. |
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I wouldn't pull the bullets, as you haven't hurt them. If they won't fit in the mag, just shoot them individually.
You will not want to use the FCD for bullets which do not have a cannelure. 
You do not need to crimp, or perhaps apply a LIGHT taper crimp when you have no cannelure. 
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I thought the FCD was supposed to put a crimp on N/C bullets, like the factory does sometimes, without issue?? I have one on order, and was going to do the same thing with a couple thousand of the 62g FMJBT bullets without the cantelure, as they're cheap bullets, as I'm getting varying tension on them when seating... (Redding dies with carbide expander ball, all processed at once, all felt about the same sizing)
Thanks, Mike |
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Quoted:
I wouldn't pull the bullets, as you haven't hurt them. If they won't fit in the mag, just shoot them individually. You will not want to use the FCD for bullets which do not have a cannelure.
You do not need to crimp, or perhaps apply a LIGHT taper crimp when you have no cannelure. Do you suggest reloading a bunch of new batches without a crimp to find my sweet spot for the setup I plan to use...or will these still reach that same purpose? |
| I use the Lee FCD on 7.62 x 39 & 54r ammo with bullets with no cannelure like the Speer HotCor .311 150 gr. SP and Sierra .311 125 and 150 gr.SP The trick is not to over crimp,I have no problems with either of these combo's and they all shoot very accurately. Everyone has there own way of doing things it's what works for me. |
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I use the Lee FCD on 7.62 x 39 & 54r ammo with bullets with no cannelure like the Speer HotCor .311 150 gr. SP and Sierra .311 125 and 150 gr.SP The trick is not to over crimp,I have no problems with either of these combo's and they all shoot very accurately. Everyone has there own way of doing things it's what works for me. Identical experience with that caliber and several others, including non cannelured Noslers in .338. Plus various Sierra bullets in .30 Like the man said, just don't overdo it. |
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Same here, shoot the ones you have, they may not fly as well but won't be bad. Then back the crimp off, I crimp to where I can just see a line all the way around the case mouth and no more. But
just load up a dummy round, pull it and look. Take it down until you can mic bullet deformation and then back it off to your last setting and lock it down. Takes ten minutes. |
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I thought the FCD was supposed to put a crimp on N/C bullets, like the factory does sometimes, without issue?? According to the directions that come with the FCD you can crimp bullets with no cannalure. 
Mine is set pretty light. I may have done a few over the years, but I mostly load bullets with cannalures. |
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I thought the FCD was supposed to put a crimp on N/C bullets, like the factory does sometimes, without issue?? According to the directions that come with the FCD you can crimp bullets with no cannalure. In my experience, it works quite well for bullets with no cannelure as long as you don't get crazy with it as others have stated. With cannelured bullets it can really form an aggressive looking crimp. |
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I thought the FCD was supposed to put a crimp on N/C bullets, like the factory does sometimes, without issue?? According to the directions that come with the FCD you can crimp bullets with no cannalure. In my experience, it works quite well for bullets with no cannelure as long as you don't get crazy with it as others have stated. With cannelured bullets it can really form an aggressive looking crimp. Bullets with a cannelure can also be taper crimped from the bullet seating die, and skip the FCD should you want to, with identical results. I use the FCD for non cannelured bullets, and with a consistent crimp get consistent groups. Some purists will tell you that a FCD is the fastest way to make a MatchKing fly like a surplus bullet, but I have not had that experience. The point is, experiment, and pay attention. If you get bullet set-back, then you need to so something to keep that bullet in place. Crimp, glue, roofing tar, whatever works for you and gets you the accuracy you want. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I thought the FCD was supposed to put a crimp on N/C bullets, like the factory does sometimes, without issue?? According to the directions that come with the FCD you can crimp bullets with no cannalure.
Mine is set pretty light. I may have done a few over the years, but I mostly load bullets with cannalures. Exactly. The FCD did exactly what it is designed to do, it made it's own cannelure in the bullet. |
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