Lee FCD swages cast lead 10mm, frustrated

[crash813]

Have learned a lot in the last 6 months or so that I've been reloading, but reloading 10mm has me frustrated. I've been using .401 coated cast from a few different companies. What happens is the oversized bullets buldge out the 10mm case too much. On recommendations, I tried using the Lee FCD but I have to run it the length of the bullet and it ends up swaging it down. If that would work, I probably wouldn't worry too much about the head of the bullet being slightly wider than anything post crimp. What ends up happening too many of the time is it'll actually swage the lead down and it just pushes out the bullet on the up motion. Just like squeezing out tootsie rolls. I'm then stuck with bullets too narrow to get a good crimp. Sometimes I can run the FCD twice and secure it but its not consistant and I feel like I'm just crushing these things.

What now? Should I just run .400 sized lead? FMJ? Do people not run oversized lead for 10mm? Any help would be appreciated. I havent run into any issues even close to this in any of my other calibers. Ugh!

 

[243winxb]

Does the bulge keep the rounds from clambering in you gun, when not using the FCD?

SAAMI lists bullet diameter as .4005" I don't see .401" as being an issue. But I don't load 10mm.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

I don't load 10 mm but I had a somewhat similar issue with the FCD with .38 Special using .359" lead bullets. I finally discovered that the throat of the FCD above the crimp ring was smaller than the bullet, causing interference and pushing/pulling the bullet in unpredictable ways. Maybe be worth checking to see if the .401 bullet is interfering with the die throat by seeing if a bullet will pass through the die crimp insert.

 

[Hartkopf]

See if they’ll plunk with just a taper crimp. Just enough to take the flare out of the case. If you’re shooting a Glock, it’ll probably run almost anything anyway.

There is also usually a difference in brass thickness from brand to brand, which you could sort and only use the thin cases for lead bullets.

 

[wild willy]

There is quite a bit of variation in the sizing ring in the Lee FCD.I had a 40/10mm FCD die that a jacketed bullet alone wouldn’t fit in.The one that Lee send as a replacement works fine.The variation or lack of QC is the reason I think why some people like them and have no problems and some people hate them.

 

[crash813]

Yes, the bulge keeps the round from loading (only have 1 gun in 10mm). Thinking of just going back to copper plated or fmj for just 10mm but that's annoying and a little more cost obviously. Was hoping there's some basic thing I'm missing but its frustrating.

 

[Alex Clayton]

Yes, the bulge keeps the round from loading (only have 1 gun in 10mm). Thinking of just going back to copper plated or fmj for just 10mm but that's annoying and a little more cost obviously. Was hoping there's some basic thing I'm missing but its frustrating.

Sounds like maybe the die is not in spec. Call Lee, see if you can send it back and have them send a new one. I have been using the Lee FC dies for many years and love them. Sounds like they may have let a bad one slip out.

 

[243winxb]

SAMMI maximums are marked in red. Should not be larger, to fit chamber.

To much taper crimp may bulge brass. Or seating the bullets crooked.

 

[Soonerpesek]

I use both 180gr and 220gr TCFP HiTek coated from SNS- .401"
I don't use a FCD, just taper crimp enough to remove the flair/bell.
There is a slight bulge where the bullet is seated ( you can see where the bullet ends ), but they will ploink in all 3 barrels without issue. (actually, ploink in 2 barrels, the other is a revolver and it fits the cylinder nicely)...

 

[JO JO]

I had a similar issue with lee fcd
I switched to a Redding profile crimp die
No more issues

 

[stormshrike]

There is quite a bit of variation in the sizing ring in the Lee FCD.I had a 40/10mm FCD die that a jacketed bullet alone wouldn’t fit in.The one that Lee send as a replacement works fine.The variation or lack of QC is the reason I think why some people like them and have no problems and some people hate them.

Agreed.

I had a similar issue to the OP's with 9mm, ACME coated bullets, and my carbide FCD. My 9mm FCD worked fine for me with jacketed rounds, but once I tried ACMEs, the FCD would swage down the bullet. But without a crimp the bullet would not plunk in my barrel due to the brass having to be flared a little more with lead vs. jacketed. So I removed the carbide ring from my FCD and just use the crimping function. Once I did that, the crimped rounds plunked fine after the flare was removed. So for me it wasn't the extra .001" thickness of the bullet that was the issue, it was the flare. Removing the flare was all that I needed.

Also, depending on your gun and the bullet profile, you might have to seat the bullet with a shorter OAL to get it to plunk. Try a dummy round that is crimped (flared removed) with a crimp die other than a carbide FCD and see if that will plunk. If it plunks, you should be good to go (adjusting powder charges as needed if your OAL is shorter than data indicates). If it won't plunk at all, then you may have some other issue, but whatever that issue is, I doubt the carbide ring of the FCD will really fix it.

I have come to the conclusion that running a completed round through a carbide ring is unnecessary and creates a lot of confusion with lead bullets, especially when the carbide ring can swage down bullets that are within allowable tolerances. And like willy said, different carbide FCDs will vary in the size of their rings, so that adds another variable that makes it difficult for others to help troubleshoot any problem.

I think the carbide FCDs are good enough crimp dies, and I use one with all my handgun rounds, just without the carbide ring. I prefer to check each completed round in a case gauge.

All this is just my $0.02. For the OP, there is plenty of good advice in this thread and others.

 

[mdi]

I had a Lee FCD for a short while and it did swage my finely sized cast bullets, so I punched out the carbide ring (put the die in my vise, used a long pin punch and tapped the ring down from the inside). Resulting crimps were so-so and the die soon moved to a landfill. I got a Redding profile crimp die so that became the tool of choice (my semi auto rounds are not crimped, just deflared with a taper crimp die)

 

[Rule3]

Contrary to internet lore. Not everything is the fault of the LFCD

Dies need to be st up correctly. What dies were used, was the sating die adjusted to not crimp?

Last thread the FCD was the greatest .??

"Well, everyone was right.... FCD smoothed out the buldges and not one failed the barrel test. For whatever reason, I thought the FCD simply cleaned up the crimp but it smooths the whole brass w/o cutting it into the lead. The more you know!!! 10mm's are cranking out now!"

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...e-not-fitting-in-barrel.902079/#post-12217945

 

[Reeferman]

If money is not an issue and redding die is available get it. If not punch out the carbide ring and use the FCD.

 

[Muddydogs]

The Lee FCD is doing what it's supposed to question is why are you using it to crimp and size lead bullets? The die is not made to be used with oversized cast bullets.
Your issue is your not belling / expanding the case mouth correctly to except the oversized bullet.
I expand the case mouth with a NOE .400 to .404 expander plug in the Lee universal expander die. Seat a .403 bullet then remove the case mouth bell with a Lee taper crimp die.

 

[1KPerDay]

If money is not an issue and redding die is available get it. If not punch out the carbide ring and use the FCD.

This. If you want to use it as a crimp-only die you can knock the sizing ring out of the bottom. I did this on my .38 Special FCD

 

[chamokaneman]

I was thinking this myself.

The Lee FCD is doing what it's supposed to question is why are you using it to crimp and size lead bullets? The die is not made to be used with oversized cast bullets.
Your issue is your not belling / expanding the case mouth correctly to except the oversized bullet.
I expand the case mouth with a NOE .400 to .404 expander plug in the Lee universal expander die. Seat a .403 bullet then remove the case mouth bell with a Lee taper crimp die.

 

[LiveLife]

I've been using .401 coated cast from a few different companies. What happens is the oversized bullets buldge out the 10mm case too much.

Thinking of just going back to copper plated or fmj for just 10mm but that's annoying and a little more cost obviously.

Have you considered ordering coated bullets sized .400"?

 

[crash813]

Ok, so I'll go back and try belling out the mouth a little more and see if I can reduce the buldge and just stop using the FCD altogether.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

Ok, so I'll go back and try belling out the mouth a little more and see if I can reduce the buldge and just stop using the FCD altogether.

I would measure your brass (below the bell) after sizing, after expansion and belling, and after seating the bullet. SAAMI range is .4281 - .4321 for a finished cartridge. If your .401 bullet expands the brass larger than that, you may have problems with your cartridges seating. Then measure after running it through the FCD. The primary purpose of the FCD, besides crimping, is to insure that your finished cartridges does not exceed SAAMI maximum. Since there is a tolerance on the FCD, it will inevitably size to slightly under .4321. If you got one on the lower tolerance limit, you will be working your finished cartridges more, which may be your case.

Also, have you tried different brands of brass? Some are thinner than others, and the thick ones will bulge more and be sized down more with the FCD.