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Old December 30, 2010, 02:10 PM   #1
flashhole
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40 S&W Lee Bulge Buster or Redding Die??

I am tooling up to load for 40 S&W. I have a set of Lee Deluxe Dies (4 die set). It states I have the "Lee Factory Crimp Die" as one of the four dies in the set.

May sound stupid but is this the die they reference when they say you need the Lee Factory Crimp Die to use with the Bulge Buster or is the product description referencing a separate die?

For those of you who have the Lee Bulge Buster, does it work as advertised? I have a lot of brass to use and I want to run it all through the die before I get started on loading them up.

How about the Redding equivalent to the Lee Bulge Buster? There is a big difference in price between the carbide and non carbide versions. Does the carbide die really eliminate the need for lube or just lessen the need for lube?
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Old December 30, 2010, 02:16 PM   #2
kylewood
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I have some carbide Lee dies for 38 Special and I absolutely love them. I wont switch to anything else. I've never had to use lube when using Lee carbide dies, and never had any problems that were lube related.

I don't have a Bulge Buster so I cant comment on that.

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Old December 30, 2010, 02:28 PM   #3
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Flashole,

Yes, the Lee Factory Crimp die for pistol is the right one. The Bulge Buster just adds a collector that replaces the removable crimp ring and a ram for your shell holder to push the cases through. I think it was the only way Lee had to work around Redding's patent on the GRx.

Given that the Lee FCD uses a carbide crimp ring like a sizing die does (only a little larger OD), I would expect the Redding to do the same. Carbide dies eliminate the lubing requirement for normal FL sizing of straight wall cases, so I don't see why they would not do so for total length sizing, too. Nonetheless, if you use both carbide and a case lube, the pieces will go through even more smoothly.
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Old December 30, 2010, 07:25 PM   #4
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I have both the Lee Bulge Buster and the premium, carbide version of the Redding G-Rx. I bought an extra Lee FCD to support the Bulge Buster, all strictly for .40 S&W.

The Redding is the one I use the most, but the Lee is able to be used on loaded ammo...not so for the Redding.

I don't use lube. I don't seem to need it and don't need to clean it off or gunk up a good batch of tumbler media used afterward.

The Redding requires (or at least specifies) sizing first. That means it only addresses a small area at the base of the case. I really prefer just ramming the whole thing through the Lee and later getting the normal resizing during the first stage on the progressive. The Redding is nice, but done over, I probably wouldn't buy one. The less expensive Lee unit is quite adequate.

I have an EGW-U die for my 9mm but wouldn't consider that adequate for .40 or .45, especially .40.

Last edited by Real Gun; December 31, 2010 at 07:19 AM.
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Old December 30, 2010, 08:59 PM   #5
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you may not need anything more than the FCD in your 4 die set. I load a lot of 40 range brass for my 229 and G35, I check one every 50 or so in a case gauge they are always good to go. This includes a lot of Glock fired brass including mine from the G35. You can use your barrel as a case gauge. If all is well it will save you $$ and a extra step in reloading.
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Old December 31, 2010, 01:12 AM   #6
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I use and like the redding grx die. I just run all my brass through it first, then run it through the dillon and load as normal. Yes its an extra step, but an easy one. I have no experience with the Lee bulge buster.
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Old December 31, 2010, 09:19 AM   #7
flashhole
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Thanks for the responses, I have a ton of range pickup brass with no knowledge of what kind of gun they were fired in so want to be sure the brass are sized properly before loading.
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Old December 31, 2010, 10:10 AM   #8
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I use the 4 die Lee Deluxe set for 9mm. I have reloaded a lot of Glock fired brass from my G26. I use the FCD as a reassuring method. I have not had a single round that would not chamber of fire. I have also loaded a few of them in my Kel Tec P-11 without problem.
The FCD is a post sizer that will assure that the loaded round is in spec. If it is slightly out of spec it will size it to spec.
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Old December 31, 2010, 11:53 AM   #9
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+1 to m&p45's post. I use the Lee FCD on all my .40 ammo and have never had a round fail to chamber in my M&P 40c.
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