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David Wile · September 10, 2002, 03:58 PM

Hey folks,

I hear many folks sing the praise of the Lee Factory Crimp Die because it can crimp a bullet (jacketed or cast) even if it has no cannelure. And they also cite the fact that a bullet that bulges the case can be run up the die and the bulge disappears. Well folks, all that tells me is that the Lee Factory Crimp Die is capable of resizing bullets that you have already paid plenty of money to get in a particular size. How that can help accuracy is beyond me. If I am shooting my .357 Mag, I want it to be shooting .357 bullets. I do not want to shoot bullets that have been swaged down to eliminate a bulge in the case. If you have bulges in finished cartridges as a result of seating the proper bullet, then you should be finding out why the case is bulging instead of simply resizing case and bullet to eliminate the bulge. You may be making the finished cartridge look better, but that does not mean it is going to shoot accurately. Such use of the Lee die just does not make sense to me. I have always been able to get proper crimps with my regular dies as long as the cases are at the proper length and the die adjusted properly. I just do not understand why so many folks think they can change the size or shape of a bullet by swaging it in the Lee die and then not expect to get deleterious results. I suspect folks are taken in by the idea that they can crimp a bunch of cartridges without making sure the cases are all the same length. That is not crimping. It is bullet swaging.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

September 10, 2002, 03:58 PM	#19
David Wile Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2001 Location: Mechanicsburg, PA Posts: 585	Hey folks, I hear many folks sing the praise of the Lee Factory Crimp Die because it can crimp a bullet (jacketed or cast) even if it has no cannelure. And they also cite the fact that a bullet that bulges the case can be run up the die and the bulge disappears. Well folks, all that tells me is that the Lee Factory Crimp Die is capable of resizing bullets that you have already paid plenty of money to get in a particular size. How that can help accuracy is beyond me. If I am shooting my .357 Mag, I want it to be shooting .357 bullets. I do not want to shoot bullets that have been swaged down to eliminate a bulge in the case. If you have bulges in finished cartridges as a result of seating the proper bullet, then you should be finding out why the case is bulging instead of simply resizing case and bullet to eliminate the bulge. You may be making the finished cartridge look better, but that does not mean it is going to shoot accurately. Such use of the Lee die just does not make sense to me. I have always been able to get proper crimps with my regular dies as long as the cases are at the proper length and the die adjusted properly. I just do not understand why so many folks think they can change the size or shape of a bullet by swaging it in the Lee die and then not expect to get deleterious results. I suspect folks are taken in by the idea that they can crimp a bunch of cartridges without making sure the cases are all the same length. That is not crimping. It is bullet swaging. Best wishes, Dave Wile