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  1. #1

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    Screwed up lee factory crimp dies

    Several months ago I ordered 357 mag, 44 mag and 45 Colt Lee Factory Crimp dies from MidwayUSA. Not knowing any better, I typed in Lee FCD in the search bar.
    I ordered one of each. I expected them to be like all the other FCD'S I have.
    Something told me that something wasn't right BECAUSE they were Factory CARBIDE CRIMP DIES !!!
    SO, I WENT BACK TO MIDWAYUSA but this time I typed in Collet Style Factory Crimp die.
    So, once again I ordered the 3 dies listed above.
    The die boxes they came in were properly marked BUT when I opened the die boxes, I had what appeared to be TWO 45 COLT DIES AND ONE 500 S&W FCD!!!
    Phone contact with MidwayUSA is IMPOSSIBLE because of the Chinese biological warfare virus SO I called LEE PRECISION.
    We went round and round before finally Lee sent me the 3 dies I originally ordered (357 mag, 44 mag and 45 Colt). Other than the box the dies came in, THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY TO IDENTIFY WHICH DIES THESE WERE!!!
    These dies were unlike any other Lee
    FCD'S I have.
    Normal FCD have around 3/8" of the collet protruding below the die body and you can clearly read the nomenclature.
    On the dies Lee sent ne, there was less than 1/8" which made it IMPOSSIBLE to see enough to be able to read.

    Back to emails from Lee.
    There was a machinist at Lee that saw this problem and CORRECTED the problem by shortening the die body itself by a little over 1/4" I guess. PERFECT, PROBLEM SOLVED!
    HOWEVER THE V.P. AT LEE INTERVENED, STOPPED THE MACHINIST FROM DOING IT THIS WAY.
    Supposedly because the die would then not work on certain presses where the die screwed in differently.
    SO BASICALLY I THINK LEE PRECISION HAS JUST TOLD THE AVERAGE JOE "SCREW YOU"!!!!
    The die on the left is the the regular FCD and it's for a rifle cartridge.
    The die on the right is for a pistol cartridge and IMHO is incorrect.
    I found a pic on MidSouth Shooter's Supply showing a correctly made 44 mag FCD.

    ANYWAY, THIS SUCKS! LEE REALLY SUCKS!
    I have 1 supposedly 357 FCD they sent me and a 357 falls completely through it!!!

    I wish Lee Precision would correct this problem!
    ANY SUGGESTIONS???

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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  2. #2
    JeffreyDeGraff's Avatar
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    I meant to look at my crimp dies when I got home from work. But ended up going on a motorcycle ride. I will check them out tomorrow.


    JTD


  3. #3
    JeffreyDeGraff's Avatar
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    Ive only got one collet crimp die in a pistol caliber, 500s&w.

    This is an 18 year old carbide crimp 357 die


    And this is a purchased last week carbide crimp die 44 mag



    I see what you mean about the bottom ring being missing, but I don’t know enough about the o collet crimp dies to understand what is going on with your die.


    JTD


  4. #4

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    All of my factory crimp dies for straight walled pistol calibers have the carbide ring in the bottom and the thumb screw adjustment up top. The only ones I have that use a collet are for bottleneck rifle cases.


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