Good judgement comes from experience which usually comes from using bad judgement. Several weeks ago, there was a post asking about a crimp die for .416 Rigby. One response correctly stated that the seater die had a crimp function on it. I wondered at the time why the original poster did not know that. I now know why. With a RCBS seater die in .416, the distance between first engaging the crimp section of the die and bottoming out of the die against the shell holder is very, very slight. It is possible to move the ram all the way up to bottom out and feel very little resistance. Because the shoulder on a .416 Rigby is so sharp (and small), a quick look at the finished shell does not reveal a distorted shoulder, even when quickly compared to a new factory round. The rounds feed fine and shot 1 and 1/4 inch groups at 100. Upon reflection, and after carefully screwing in the seater/crimper die,to detect the point at which the crimp function is engaged, I loaded a second set, properly crimped. You could hardly tell the difference without a magnifying glass. However, the properly crimped loads hit about 3 inches lower on the target and again grouped 1 and 1/4. leading me to conclude, in the absence of a chronograph reading, that the velocity was somewhat higher. I have over crimped many different shells in my life(lots of experience, still working on the good judgement part) and in every other case, it was obvious and often resulting in chambering problems. Not so with the .416 Rigby.
(400 gr Nosler partition- 105 grs H4831 )
All of this to say, without experience and carefull attention, one could reasonably conclude that the seater die did not have a crimp section.

Redbird, I like t crimp my 416 rigby with a modifyed Lee Factory crimp die.
It works well for me because this die lets me crimp where there is no crimp groove I seat the Hornady 400 RN .125" further out and this gives me better acc.

Regards Martin

Redbird,

I am having the same trouble with my .416 reloads, but I can visually see the shoulder has been set back. Can you just try and explain to me again how to set the crimp up properly with my RCBS dies, if you could give it to me in steps as I did not quite follow what you had written.

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PC, the instructions are included with RCBS dies which I don't have here with me. ( I still work for a living) However, seat the bullet with the die set so the crimp section is not engaged. In other words back the die out a turn or two and adjust the seater plug to seat the bullets at the desired depth. I do a whole series of these at one time. Then, back the seater plug way back so it will not come in contact with the seated bullet. Place the loaded, uncrimped shell in the shell holder and run it all the way up. Next, screw the die downward until you can feel resistance. This is the point where the crimp section of the die first hits the case. Next, back down the loaded shell and screw the die one quarter turn down. Move the loaded shell back up. If the crimp is not sufficient, repeat the process and turn the die down some more. Repeat until a satisfactory crimp is obtained. If all cases are the exact same length, you can position the locking ring on the die and do all of them. Because I don't generally load a whole lot of .416s at one time, I prefer to do them one by one.
Martin, I have repeadedly e-mailed Lee on their web site for information and have yet to get a reply. Maybe they don't do business with folks in the Republic of Texas.

I load my .416 Rigby with RCBS dies and press and follow the same routine as Redbird. Works like a charm!!

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Phil- Life Member NRA & SCI

Thanks gents.

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Redbird: I just had a look at the crimp die and it's a die I made myself.
I am a machinist by trade and I make a fair amount of my dies myself so I am not sure if Lee makes a 416 Fac crimper if I got your hopes up in vain I am sorry.
However,the outside of this die are all alike it just the lenght of the sleeve that's diff. and of course the neck diam.
So if you have a Fac. crimp die in a diff. cal. and somebody with a lathe just make the sleeve to suit the 416.
Hope this helps

Regards Martin

I was the poster with the original question re 416 crimp die. I think they made me one up for about 25 $. I sent a bit more to cover postage and such and they sent me a check back for the overage. It works pretty good but not as nice as the 375 factory crimp die. I prefer this type of crimp die to using the seater die. Good hunting. "D"

Redbird,

Make a 416 Rigby dummy round and send it to Lee with a check for $25. I did this for a 35 Whelen, 416 Rigby, 458 Lott, and a 460 Weatherby along with a check for $100 about 3 months ago. The sent me the first three back with a fully guaranteed factory crimping die in about a month. The sent me a check for $25 and the 460 back because it is too large for the 7/8" factory crimping die. The $25/die includes postage and handling. You will never regret doing it.