Hi:

I understand that a Lee factory crimp die will improve the accuracy of my reloads. The problem I am having is locating a Lee Factory Crimp Die for the 204 Ruger. Does anyone know where I can purchase this die? Thanks for your help.

First welcome to the forum, Did you try http://www.midwayusa.com . Sorry i just looked in the book and they don't show one. And i don't have there phone number right here for you .But i'm sure some one will jump in here that has it.

My buddy and I both shoot the 204 a lot, and neither of us ever uses a crimp die, and accuracy has been fabulous with several loads.

If you still wish to use a crimp die, (which I do for a 30.06 and 6.5 x 55), use a light crimp-light is the opperative word.

I just checked the LEE web site, and they are not showing a factory crimp die in .204. They do have one in .222 Rem, but I would ask them if it will work for the .204.

Welcome aboard azpicturetaker!

I've been sitting here thinking of how crimping would be considered a reloading step used to improve accuracy. I'm not coming up with any reason to consider it. Crimping is (usually) meant for large bore magazine fed rifles and rifles that see severe duty.

Can you give a quick rundown of your brass prep and loading procedures? What rifle are you shooting? What powder/primer/brass/bullet are you using?

Edit: One more thought. If your case mouths are not nearly 100% square you will almost certainly induce some runout! Runout is an accuracy killer.

i sent an email to http://www.leeprecision.com and asked them about a collet sizing die. they said i would have to order thru them.
my suggestion would be to send an email to them asking the same question you asked here. you should get a reply within 1 day, answering your question. in other words, you can probably buy it thru lee.
the web address is; http://www.leeprecision.com; and click on "contact us"

I know Lee will custom build you one. I have one.
I've gone on record on this forum many times over the years stating that crimping can improve accuracy. Been there, done that, many,many times. The same number of times I've said don't bother If your load requires a crimp its simply not a good load or your missing the bus on another important aspect of hand loading.

I won't bother going into the trials and tribulations of crimping. Trust me theres a lot. The Lee die I consider the worse. It will do the job and crimp a bullet and if you jump through enough hoops it will usually improve the accuracy. Biggest problem I see with it is the amount of damage it does to the brass. Its basically a military crimp. Chews up brass pretty good. You probably won't get much life out of your brass and every reuse will require a different crimp setting to find just the correct tension on previously crimped brass.
Lots of tail chasing.

As long as you do not need to crimp stay away from it. There are much better ways to improve accuracy.

Hi: Wow, thanks for all the advice!! I just purchased and have began shooting a CZ 527 Varmit rifle. The load I am planning on using is Hogdon 4895 with a Hornady V-Max 40 grain bullet. I have been reloading other cartridges with a crimp die and trust this will help (maybe not?). I will e-mail LEE regarding the die. Thanks again for the information.

Mark

The only time I was ever advised to consider crimping was if I was having problems with the bullet getting pushed back during the cycling in my ARs (.204 & .223). So far it hasn't been a problem and I don't crimp.

Your military .223s are usually crimped and the bullet has a canelure for that purpose as they are set up for full auto rates of fire.

If you are not having a serious problem in the feeding cycle, stay away from the crimp process. It's just another can of worms..