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Old May 15, 2009, 06:51 AM   #26
dlb435
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I'm using the same bullet/powder for my 9mm loads. 4.6 gr of 231. I set loa to 1.13 just in case. Feeds fine in my guns. Chrono checks good.
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Old May 15, 2009, 07:03 AM   #27
Sevens
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Tex, as I said in my post, I think it's terrific if folks have it, use it, and they manage to produce rounds that function to their required specs.

Snuffy did a fine job of detailing better what I was trying to say-- post sizing a round is doing a minor or major job of swaging an already seated bullet, and that's where I wonder how good or bad an FCD is at what it attempts to do. Swaging a bullet down can introduce trouble. Accuracy, leading, and wosrt of all-- bullet setback. A good cast lead bullet should get swaged once, when it comes out of the brass and heads in to the rifling and gets shipped out of the barrel.

IMO--If my initial sizing die is giving me a consistent, workable resize, and my cast lead bullets are quality and uniform and consistent, then I don't see where I need to post size a round with the FCD.

I would think the opinion of competition shooters might hold more weight than mine or yours, so I wonder what percentage of those guys use an FCD? And each shooting discipline would be different, I'm sure. IPSC guys need absolute reliability with short-distance and large-space accuracy. Bullseye shooters need 10-x accuracy. I honestly don't know if competition shooters use it or not.

Don't ever forget when reading my take on the FCD of the very important: I don't have one. Maybe I'm missing out. All I wanted to say was that I'm quite happy with the 200gr LSWC that comes out of my man cave, and there is no FCD in process.
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Old May 15, 2009, 07:30 AM   #28
stang46gt
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dlb435

Thanks for the validation of the load. I plan to load up another 50 or so just to be sure that are cycling properly and have no other issues.
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Old May 15, 2009, 08:33 AM   #29
SL1
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Lee's PISTOL version of the FCD is really only supposed to reduce the case diameter where the dies have somehow created a bulge AFTER the case was sized in the first step. If all of your dies are set-up well, it should have no beneficial effect. Lee sells it for "insurance."

I don't like to use it that way, because it must squeeze the case down about 0.002" below SAAMI max diameter to allow for brass spring-back to leave the finished round at the SAAMI spec. So, IF it squeezes the case where the bullet is sitting, it also reduces the bullet diameter and that STAYS smaller because the lead is NOT springy.

I have several FCDs, and have found that two of them will squeeze FACTORY JACKETED rounds where the bullet sits in the case. But, those same factory rounds chamber and shoot fine without being sized by the Lee FCD. I have not tested the revolver rounds to see if accuracy was affected. I did find that the bullets in the auto-loader rounds were made somewhat looser in their cases. Set-back ON THE ONLY TWO THAT I TESTED was not catastrophic, but was significantly larger than the rounds that were NOT post-psized.

Long ago, I decided that I would not use the FCD in the post-sizing mode, because it was not offering me any advantage and might cause me some problems. For ammo that MUST work, I make sure each round drops fully into the chamber in my auto-loader barrel or the tightest chamber in my revolver cylinder. For target rounds at the range, I generally don't take the time to do that. I very rarely find any problems with chambering, and only when using cast bullets.

I do use ONLY the BODY of the FCD to resize my cases BEFORE I load the primers, powder and bullets. This seems to do better than a regular carbide sizing die with respect to getting the bulge at the base of the case sized back to SAAMI specs without getting the area just above there sized so small that the loaded round has a "wasp-waist" appearance. Of coures, I then have to also size the part of the case that will hold the bullet with the regular sizing die, so that the bullet will be held snuggly enough. That has become my standard practice.

If I use the Lee FCD for the final crimp, I use a FCD body for a larger cartridge, so that it will NOT post-size anything. All FCD internals fit all FCD bodies in the pistol version of the FCD, so you can crimp a 9mm round with a die body that has a carbide ring for sizing a .40 S&W, a .44 magnum, a .45 ACP, etc. The crimp part does a good job of making a nice, uniform crimp.

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