Butterbean better be correct!

[Rich Coyle]

Butterbean twisted my arm so much I ordered a Lee factory crimp die for both my wildcats. One is the 7-.338RUM and the other is an 8-7 Weatherby Mag. I am looking for better accuracy and hopefully higher velocity. The 7 barrel may wear out, but I doubt the 8 barrel will.

 

[adk hunter]

The force is all around us...

 

[GLTaylor]

Rich,
Your accuracy (grouping) may well improve. Speed probably won't change much. The most increase I've seen is about 20 fps.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Butterbean twisted my arm so much I ordered a Lee factory crimp die for both my wildcats. One is the 7-.338RUM and the other is an 8-7 Weatherby Mag. I am looking for better accuracy and hopefully higher velocity. The 7 barrel may wear out, but I doubt the 8 barrel will.

At the relatively low cost of Lee's FCD, I think it's a worthwhile investment. I've spent much more on special tools and dies that I no longer use. I do use my FCDs but not nearly as much as I anticipated.

Good luck and keep us updated as to your findings.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

...must be frightening hunting where the animals are wearing armor and need this much killing power !

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I've got a couple of the Lee FC dies. I haven't used the 375 H&H one I have but the 405 win one works fine with 400 grain Woodleigh pills set a bit short for my '95...

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I'm very interested in your findings. If you have time, I'd really like to see a detailed report outlining changes (if any) in accuracy, ES & SD.

Did crimping improve your established loads?

Did loads have to be changed to improve/equal accuracy after crimping?


Things like that.




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[justinp61]

Butterbean twisted my arm so much I ordered a Lee factory crimp die for both my wildcats. One is the 7-.338RUM and the other is an 8-7 Weatherby Mag. I am looking for better accuracy and hopefully higher velocity. The 7 barrel may wear out, but I doubt the 8 barrel will.

I too ordered a Lee FCD on beans recommendations. The load I shoot in my 22-250 doesn't have much of the bullet in the case neck. Since this is a magazine fed hunting rifle, I was concerned about the bullets being moved or possibly dislodged.

In my limited testing, two three shot groups each, crimped and uncrimped at 200 yards. The shots alternating, one crimped, one uncrimped. The two uncrimped groups averaged 2 1/8", the two crimped groups averaged 1 3/8". All rounds were loaded in the same 50 round batch.

I'll revisit it in the spring to confirm my results.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Outlaw6.0,

Sounds good. I will try to keep accurate records so I can report back. Right now, the Oehler is in Dr. Oehler's clinic getting repaired.

justinp61,

Thanks for that brief post. It is very encouraging.

 

[Oldsteelrunner]

Your findings pique my attention.

 

[GimpyPaw]

It's not an expensive tool, so there's no reason not to get one. I've had mixed results. My son's 300 wm load, using Norma brass and Norma 180 gr Bond Strikes, it likes the crimp. My 300 wm, using Norma brass and HH 166 gr was not a fan of the crimp.

 

[GLTaylor]

It's not an expensive tool, so there's no reason not to get one. I've had mixed results. My son's 300 wm load, using Norma brass and Norma 180 gr Bond Strikes, it likes the crimp. My 300 wm, using Norma brass and HH 166 gr was not a fan of the crimp.

Did you try multiple settings? 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, etc?

 

[Quintus]

...must be frightening hunting where the animals are wearing armor and need this much killing power !

'Need' is a very interesting word choice.

The biggest advantage I see with the LFC die is the drop in SD.

 

[Muddyboots]

...must be frightening hunting where the animals are wearing armor and need this much killing power !

Yes, for anything in next zip code.......

You never know how much Hp you need until you don't have enough for your need.