450B LEE FCD

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450B LEE FCD

Postby SAGERATER » Wed Feb 22, 2017 2:59 pm

HEADS-UP...FWIW

Just received my new 450 B Lee custom FCD a few days ago...took about a month. $31.00...WORKS GREAT. HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY. :lol:
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby Hoot » Wed Feb 22, 2017 3:50 pm

SAGERATER wrote:HEADS-UP...FWIW

Just received my new 450 B Lee custom FCD a few days ago...took about a month. $31.00...WORKS GREAT. HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY. :lol:

How about a picture of the resulting crimps?

Hoot
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby SAGERATER » Thu Feb 23, 2017 2:10 pm

I live at the end of a very old phone line and on dial-up...took me three tries to log on just now... doing the picture process takes over an hour for one low density pic and for that reason and several others I just don't post pics.

I looks like every other Lee FCD I've have/used and similar to factory ammo crimps....weather has prevented me from doing any velo or crimp/no crimp recoil testing, but I see no problem putting an adequate crimp on reloads.
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby Hoot » Thu Feb 23, 2017 5:39 pm

SAGERATER wrote:I live at the end of a very old phone line and on dial-up...took me three tries to log on just now... doing the picture process takes over an hour for one low density pic and for that reason and several others I just don't post pics.

I looks like every other Lee FCD I've have/used and similar to factory ammo crimps....weather has prevented me from doing any velo or crimp/no crimp recoil testing, but I see no problem putting an adequate crimp on reloads.


Most of us were at some point in our lives, at the end of a noisy dial-up account, so we totally understand. We're glad you have the patience to even join us. ;) Did you mic the OD of the crimp after it was applied?

Hoot
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby SAGERATER » Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:12 pm

Measured both a factory 200 gr Hornady 450 B and a new Hornady brass piece with a Hornady 250 bullet at 0.4765"( how's that for a bunch of whole bunch Hornady's)...AND a 275 gr Fury cannelured/serrated with the same numbers.

This being a round that supposedly headspaces on the case mouth, but also with a tapered case you just have to be careful how much FCD you attack loaded rounds with. Lee FCD's can really put the hurt on everything except a solid mono-metal bullet...I don't want to get into that Sturm und Drang over 9mm and 45 and other mouth headspaced cases...been there, done that, it's over...for a very long time....I squeeze it just enough...what that "just enough" is you have to work out your self...I'm not all that convinced a crimp is needed for this cartridge, but I won't argue that point, it's not worth it...do what YOU think is best for YOU. I might do some testing in the future, and there is a ton of information on just that process already out there for all kinds of cartridges, so why keep reinventing the wheel...read the data, decide what to do and do it or don't. 8-)

First thing I do to Lee dies is get rid of that morpho-dyte "O" ring POS and replace it with a "normal/standard/every-other-die lock ring because I have Rock chucker and a Forester presses and rubber isn't conducive to accurate ANYTHING. After that it's a simple thing to adjust and lock in your dies if needed.

A couple of asides...I HATE buying dies so I use whatever will work and whatever is on sale, don't care WHAT the name on the thingy is...a 45-70 sizer will work for sizing...depending on your chamber specs and the amount of brass expansion...so will the seater possibly...you might have to do a bit of chewing here and there tho'...and 45 Colt revolver and 45-70 taper crimpers will also work depending on how cheap you can get them and how much chewing you are willing to do to save a buck. I have quite a few 45 cal toys from 45 ACP to 45-120 so depending on what I'm loading I mix and match from many dies sets...and note which and what die gets used where and when.

I'm going to enjoy this little jewel...not a lot of recoil and a WHOLE LOT OF FIREPOWER at the touch of the go button...hahahahahahahahahahah :twisted: :shock: :roll:

Luck
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby SAGERATER » Sat Feb 25, 2017 2:57 am

Forgot to add...the crimp is at/on the case mouth...if you want it lower then you will have to trim the bottom of the inside crimping part that squishes against the shell holder so the case stops farther down the case wall similar to doing the 45-70 crimper.

Enjoy
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby dantheman » Sat Feb 25, 2017 2:11 pm

I'm still learning the "squeeze just enough". I reseated a Hornady factory round that I had to knock out of my chamber with a cleaning rod.

I crimped it to hard and had a failure to fire. I came home and measured the case mouth and it was about .472. I figured that was the culprit. Too much FCD and taper crimp messed with the head space.

Dan
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby Hoot » Sat Feb 25, 2017 2:57 pm

dantheman wrote:I'm still learning the "squeeze just enough". I reseated a Hornady factory round that I had to knock out of my chamber with a cleaning rod.

I crimped it to hard and had a failure to fire. I came home and measured the case mouth and it was about .472. I figured that was the culprit. Too much FCD and taper crimp messed with the head space.

Dan


That doesn't sound right Dan. You sure the case head hadn't grown too wide or perhaps it wasn't full length resized prior to reloading. I'm holding a case in my hand that I sized the mouth down to .456 and it still positively stops on the chamber lip. I have had to tap out cases where the case head had grown beyond .502 and was snagging up at the back end of the chamber. That having been said, the fact that your round didn't fire, would suggest that it had inserted beyond that front lip. Chamber width dimensions do vary, but I don't think by .016. I don't know what to make of that. Did the primer show any indentation at all? Most peculiar...

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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby dantheman » Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:07 pm

This was a factory round never fired. The only one out of the box that had a problem. I chambered a couple of rounds when the upper was brand new for function and the rounds stuck in the chamber. When I knocked them out with a cleaning rod the bullets moved deeper in the case.

I reseated the bullets to the proper COL and used an FCD followed by the taper crimp. One of the two rounds fired and the other didn't after several tries

When the ground firms up some I'll sight the rifle in and see if there are any further issues. I've got 5 more boxes of factory ammo.

Dan
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Re: 450B LEE FCD

Postby pitted bore » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:14 am

SAGERATER wrote: ... It looks like every other Lee FCD I've have/used and similar to factory ammo crimps....weather has prevented me from doing any velo or crimp/no crimp recoil testing, but I see no problem putting an adequate crimp on reloads.

SAGERATER-
Several of us are really curious about the custom FCD that Lee created for you. I'm particularly interested in the width of the crimp it creates.

Below is a photo that forum member "gunnut" posted here about seven years ago. It shows the rather narrow crimp groove that results from the usual modification of the crimping ring in the 45-70 FCD collet. A significant amount of metal is removed from the crimping ring to produce the narrow result shown in the photo.

An unmodified Lee 45-70 FCD will produce a much broader crimp that may be useful in some 450B applications. However, the narrower crimp impressed into the case seems to retain bullets better than a broader crimp.

--Bob
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