Lead shavings w/ HBWC?

[BamBam-31]

Just loaded up 100 rds. of Precision Delta match lube 148 gr. HBWC's in .38spl over 3.1 gr. Win 231 (mixed brass, Win SPP). Seating the bullets flush with RCBS dies (the seating die also crimps), I'm getting lead shavings at the top of the bullet. No crimp, just removal of the bell. It's not a lot of lead, but it is annoying. I usually just scrap it off on my workbench.

Is this normal? Will it affect accuracy? Never loaded lead WC's before. TIA.

[22popnsplat]

Hard to tell without seeing you do it , usually caused by either not enough bell or need to remove the bell/crimp in a seperate step from seating the bullet . I always seperate the 2 steps .

[G-forceJunkie]

The post above is key. On jacket or plated bullets, you can do it in one step easy. With lead, as the bullet is still being pushed down as the bell is crimped. At some point the case mouth is on lead while the bullet is still being pushed down and a tiny bit shaves.

[BamBam-31]

Damn, that's what I was afraid of. Now I'm gonna need new dies....

Or keep the RCBS die, back it out so it just seats, and get a Lee FCD or some such.

[G-forceJunkie]

Cant you just screw the die up so it doesnt crimp, and turn the seater down? Then screw the seater up (or all the way out) and just use the die body for the crimp?

[BamBam-31]

Theoretically, yes. But since I was doing it all on a Lee Classic Turret press, it'd just be easier to plug a crimp die in that empty fourth tool head hole.

[ojisan]

Crimp as a seperate step....I use an extra seat and crimp die with the seater removed for all bullet types.
This solves many problems and speeds up the production of consistent high quality ammo.

[Whiterabbit]

if that doesn't work, it's not enough bell.

[ireload]

Try to increase the bell a bit. If that does not work then it's the seat/crimp in one operation is the culprit as others have stated.

[BamBam-31]

I'm pretty sure there's enough bell. Probably in the neighborhood of .02" or so. It's gotta be the crimp & seat.

Is the Lee FCD a decent crimp die for .38, or do I need to spring for another RCBS seating die and remove the stem?

[Dark Mod]

I'm pretty sure there's enough bell. Probably in the neighborhood of .02" or so. It's gotta be the crimp & seat.

Is the Lee FCD a decent crimp die for .38, or do I need to spring for another RCBS seating die and remove the stem?

FCD is usually a taper crimp, youll probably want a roll crimp. Id just get the cheapest seating die i could find and remove the seater

[Bill Steele]

I always use a separate crimp die, BUT I think I would try a few things before buying a new die.

The first thing I would do is try a little more bell. If you are measuring the .020" of bell at the case mouth O.D., then that is .010" on each side, basically the thickness of the brass (or slightly less). Try belling say twice as much and see if you get any shaving. If that stops it, then march your belling die up as you check and when you get some shaving go back down just a bit.

If adding more bell doesn't end the shaving and the crimp is set to just take the bell out, I would try screwing in the seating stem slightly (seating the WC a little deeper) and see if the shaving stops.

If none of the above works, then maybe a separate crimp die will solve your problems. The LFCD will work fine. The .38/.357 LFCD is a roll crimp, but it has a knob to adjust how much crimp you are putting on. You can set it anywhere from no crimp to a light taper crimp to a full boat roll crimp by how much you screw it down.

The only negative with the LFCD is it has a carbide ring at it base. This ring sizes the whole round to assure it is SAAMI spec. The downside when using it with lead is if the brass is slightly thick, it will size the bullet (along with the brass), so the round is guarenteed to chamber. Other manufacturers make crimp dies for .38/.357 that don't have that carbide sizing ring at the base, i prefer this style of crimp die (no carbide ring at the base).

Good luck, have fun.