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Wondering if I can skip crimping 300blk, details inside

Len5E1

Private
Minuteman
May 3, 2018
81
14
So I just finished getting everything ready to work up some 300blk loads and realized I somehow got a bad lee factory crimp die. It just doesn’t adjust in anyway and if I manually put a complete round in it the the round just pushed all the way in until the case is inside the die almost 1/2”. If it was press mounted no way it would ever make contact with the case neck. It appears like the two-piece design is smashed together unlike my other lee FCD’s which adjust when you twist the top...

Anyway....Regardless...I took a case with a freshly seated bullet and the bullet feels very snug. I have no tools to test tension but i tried dropping it from 4 feet high right onto the tip on a hard floor and also holding it in my hand and using moderate force banging it on the ground. After measuring it seems to not have nudged at all which is suprising. The tip is polymer and flattened a hair but I accounted for that. So...Even though I’m using them in an AR it appears the bullets fit snugly into the case without a crimp. Using 225 grain eld-m’s and the seating die does not have any crimp features. Opinions?
 
All of the FCD I have ever owned you can obviously see were the die crimps the case neck at the outer edge near the bullet.
I would carefully inspect that junction were the bullet ogive meats the case mouth and verify there are no crimp marks if not I would contact Lee and seek a solution or replacement if you are certain you are adjusting the die properly.
I personally don't crimp any of my auto loader rounds and don't have any issues but your party so do it however you want.
 
All of the FCD I have ever owned you can obviously see were the die crimps the case neck at the outer edge near the bullet.
I would carefully inspect that junction were the bullet ogive meats the case mouth and verify there are no crimp marks if not I would contact Lee and seek a solution or replacement if you are certain you are adjusting the die properly.
I personally don't crimp any of my auto loader rounds and don't have any issues but your party so do it however you want.
I have 3 other FCDs all by Lee all the same design. This one doesn't even come close to meeting where the case meets the bullet. It doesn't even contact the bullet itself, it feels like it's a die for a much longer bullet and no matter how you hold or twist it nothing moves, the collet looking thing just spins inside the die but doesn't move up or down. Its very strange.

I see a lot of people don't crimp so I might just work up some loads and see how it does.
 
I have 3 other FCDs all by Lee all the same design. This one doesn't even come close to meeting where the case meets the bullet. It doesn't even contact the bullet itself, it feels like it's a die for a much longer bullet and no matter how you hold or twist it nothing moves, the collet looking thing just spins inside the die but doesn't move up or down. Its very strange.

I see a lot of people don't crimp so I might just work up some loads and see how it does.

There's your answer, contact Lee and seek a refund or replacement if you want it although not needed.