Question about using Lee FCD

[RBDMTJager]

450 BM is the first and only straight walled rifle cartridge I have ever owned, shot and as a result the first straight walled rifle cartridge I have ever reloaded for AND first rifle cartridge I have ever crimped.

I set up and used my 450BM Lee FCD exactly as directed per the Lee instructions by screwing in the die till it made contact with the shell holder with the ram of my RCBS Rockchucker press in the 100% up position then added 1/2 turn more, tighten the lock ring and crimped a shell. Doing this required a force although not great I was a little surprised at the amount of force I had to apply to overcome resistance to complete the cam over action of my Rockchucker press. Again it wasn't what I consider an alarming amount of force needed but more force than I ever use for any other reloading step.

I have watched multiple videos on how the Lee FCD works and unless I am mistaken it crimps using a collet made up of four separate sections that uses the force of the shell being pushed into the die by the ram to constrict the sections of the collet onto the case just below the mouth to crimp the case around the bullet. Not much different than their excellent Lee collet resizing die I have been using for over two decades now.

I closely inspected every shell post-crimp and none showed any sign of any damage or actually any makings on the brass or bullet.

To be clear I am not saying that the Lee FCD in any way or form did any damage whatsoever to my reloaded shells or that the Lee FCD actually did anything wrong at all.
To be 100% honest if not for me having to overcome a noticeable amount of resistance to cam over my press to get the Lee FCD to function there is no other visual indicators the Lee FCD did anything or crimped the shell

I guess what I am asking is based on my results, am I actually using the Lee FCD correctly and is it actually crimping my reloaded shells.

[Al in Mi]

sounds like your doing it right.

can you post a pic of the case mouth after crimp?

[Hoot]

The only caveat that comes to mind is when using monolithic copper or brass bullets. They resist deformation more than cup and core (jacketed) bullets and their extra hardness can actually cause the walls of the case mouths to thin a little if you're not crimping down into the cannelure or driving band groove (highly recommended). This is especially noticeable with new cases that haven't had the opportunity to work harden like once they've been reloaded several cycles. As a hard core precision reloader, I inductively anneal after every firing. This is not a precision enough caliber to merit annealing every cycle. Still, you should about every 5 or so, to reduce springback. As already requested, it would be good to see a focused, close-up of one of the mouths after you FCD it and I'll add, equally important to see what they look like after firing them. IMHO, if the crimp you place doesn't shoot (fireform) out, then you're crimping them too much. Its also why I prefer the taper crimp that's afforded by the Hornady die set but that's just me.
A good word of advice would be When you're entering into a new realm such as going from bottleneck to straight walled rifle caliber, if what you're doing, even if recommended by the die manufacturer, feels off-putting, only do 5 or so and shoot them for analysis before doing the whole kit and caboodle. That lesson was painfully experienced by me when first experimenting with the modified Lee FCD stab crimp. There are plenty of ways to do it but only about one way to do it right.

Hoot

[RBDMTJager]

Thanks hoot,
Based on my results form my first range session shooting my first reloads which i used your advice to make The crimp I used at least had no ill affects.
I can't post pictures are classified as to large.

[RBDMTJager]

Am going to reload a bunch more today will take a few pics and post them later.

[RBDMTJager]

Well made 35 more reloads and crimped them all using my LFCD set at the minimum amount of crimp. By naked eye only I can see the most slightest of evidence that the LFCD actually crimped the case, but only using my 5x magnifying glass and using a un-crimped shell placed next to it as a comparison can I see that there is a crimp, slight but definitely a crimp. Doesn't show up on a pic with my phone.

I also seated two bullets and didn't crimp then two and did crimp them on FL resized but not primed or charged cases then using my RCBS collet bullet puller pulled them all. The crimped cases required while not great but definitely noticeably more force to pull the bullets VS the non-crimped. This confirms beyond doubt that my LFC is definitely imparting a decent degree of crimp on my shells.

Liked to add for those who do not have a collet bullet puller you mount in your press to use I can not recommend the RCBS collet bullet puller strongly enough. I also have the Hornady LnL collet bullet puller and the RCBS collet bullet puller makes the Hornady look a piece of over priced junk. The RCBS works 10x better and is made much more robust is MUCH easier to set up and near idiot proof to use. The RCBS collet also left no perceivable marks on the four .452" 245grn H/INLOKs I pulled.

[Hoot]

+1 on the RCBS collet style puller. Was just using one earlier this afternoon.

Hoot

[Texas Sheepdawg]

Here’s how I crimp mine. Once I apply the LeGendre side crimp to the case, I will run it back through the standard taper crimp to make sure the mouth is uniform.

https://youtu.be/Ur1B_YtYbec