I just purchased a 4 die set for 357,44,and 40 sw. It is my understanding that the 40 gets a taper crimp and the 357 and 44 gets a roll crimp. The die sets say 38 special and 44 special. The fcd that they came with look the same, are they all taper or roll. Also what about shooting mag bullets without a groove such as berrys or rainier. Just taper crimp those. Much confution and your help is apreciated.

They're all straight walled cases so the sizing dies will work with the mag and special cases without adjustment. You'll have to adjust the belling, seating and crimp dies out to use with the magnum cases.

the fcd puts a peculiar crimp on the 44s and 38/357. it's somewhere in between a taper and roll crimp. it works very well and you don't need a cannelure; the die will force a groove into the bullet.

The problem is when I will be reloading bullets that don't have a canelure. Berrys and raineir are plated and you don't want to put a roll crimp on them. I figured that the die sets would come with the apropriate crimp die for the caliber. Is there a way to adjust the die so it just takes the bell out of the case and at other times put a good roll crimp if needed.I am just a little confused. I havn't recieved all of my supplys yet so I can't go in the garage and see for myself on the press. Hopefully soon I will be rolling my own, Can't wait.

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Originally posted by jdel:
The problem is when I will be reloading bullets that don't have a canelure. Berrys and raineir are plated and you don't want to put a roll crimp on them.

that's OK, you can still put a crimp on them with the lee fcd. just go light, as you don't need much.

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I figured that the die sets would come with the apropriate crimp die for the caliber.

they do. the lee 4-die set has 2 crimping options.

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Is there a way to adjust the die so it just takes the bell out of the case and at other times put a good roll crimp if needed.

yes. use the bullet seating die to remove the bell. just adjust the die body down until there is no bell left. don't screw it too far down or you will start to roll crimp. then use the fcd die to apply a mild crimp, if you want. I always do.

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I am just a little confused.

not for long, you will learn pretty quickly.

quote:

Originally posted by jdel:
I just purchased a 4 die set for 357,44,and 40 sw. It is my understanding that the 40 gets a taper crimp and the 357 and 44 gets a roll crimp. The die sets say 38 special and 44 special. The fcd that they came with look the same, are they all taper or roll. Also what about shooting mag bullets without a groove such as berrys or rainier. Just taper crimp those. Much confution and your help is apreciated.

Jdel,

From the tenor of your post, I am guessing that you are new to reloading. If not, please forgive me if I seem to be talking down to you.

Headspace is absolutely crucial to proper and safe functioning of your firearm and ammunition. Headspace ensures the back of the cartridge is up against the breechface of the gun such that the firing pin will be able to ignite the primer. Also the pressure of the propellant will try to force the primer out of its pocket or force the case head back away from the rest of the cartridge. Both these unfortunate events are prevented by proper headspace.

Your revolver cartridges headpace on the rim that sticks out past (is wider than) the cartridge case. Easy to see and to understand because you can see all the parts and how they fit together.

The .40 S&W cartridge's rim does not stick out past the sides of the cartridge. So the rim does not hold the cartridge's base back against the breechface. What does? The mouth of the case butts up against a shoulder in the chamber. You can see it where the smooth walls of the chamber transition to the rifling in the barrel. (The only function the rim has is for extraction.) The mouth of the case on the .40 S&W, then MUST BE SQUARE and full diameter all the way out to the end. No roll crimp. If there is a crimp that rolls the mouth even a little bit closed, the cartridge may fall too deep into the chamber. Aside from the misfireing or case head separation I mentioned before, other bad things can happen. The too-deep cartridge may fail to extract when you pull the slide back follwed by a double feed when you let the slide go forward. The round in the chamber now has beeen pressed hard into the chamber and may be stuck there until you dislodge it.

Don't worry overmuch. All dies made for the .40 S&W (and all other cartridges that headspace on the case mouth, die makers are neither homicidal nor crazy). Look at the pictures of the cartridge in your loading manual (and the dimensions) for the difference in the diameter of the bullet and the case. That makes a shoulder that you can easily feel with your finger on the loaded cartridge. Also, if you take the barrel out of your gun, you should be able to drop a cartridge in the chamber and feel and hear it hit bottom firmly. The cartridge base should be even with the back of the barrel.

About the crimping groove for a roll crimp (especially important for any handgun that has heavy recoil); The groove is fairly important. For about $40 you can get a tool (kind of like a small lathe or like a canning sealer) to put a crimping groove in a bullet. Works better than trying to "smush" one into a already loaded bullet. If your loads do not have heavy recoil, simple friction should hold them OK without a groove.

Wear eye protection when seating primers and don't pinch your fingers in the press.

It can be very satisfying to punch holes in things with ammunition you made yourself. Happy reloading and straight shooting

Lost Sheep (Larry)

There is no necessity nor advantage to putting a crimping cannelure in a bullet prior to using a standard Lee Factory Crimp Die. It will make its own that fits the crimped case edge perfectly.