The .38 Special cartridge was introduced to the reloading world 116 years ago. The Lee Taper Crimp die came out about 10 years ago. Do you really think people were making crap reloads for 100+ years?
The Lee die may be beneficial in some situations, but it is never necessary. And sometimes it creates bigger problems than it solves.
The Lee Factory crimp die may have came out approximately 10 years ago but cartridges have been taper crimped longer than the .38 Special has been around, and I said nothing about crap reloads. The Lee factory crimp die is VERY useful for people too lazy to trim all their cases to the same length and prevents buckled cases from over crimping. It is favored by competition shooters who constantly pick up and use range pick up brass fired by other competitors in matches.
The biggest problem reloaders have is seating and crimping in the same operation and getting good crimps that don't bulge the case mouth. I use two dies and seat and crimp in separate operations to keep from readjusting my seating dies which many reloading manuals recommend. In the past I just placed a washer under the seating die to keep it from crimping, then removed the washer to crimp the case. I for one like the factory crimp die and have no problems with its use.
If you are having a problem with the Lee factory crimp die then you have the die setup incorrectly or your shooting over sized cast bullets which the die was never designed for. I stopped casting my own bullets and now use plated bullets in my revolvers and semi-autos and prefer using a taper crimp on all but maximum loads. I'm 65 years old and have been reloading for over 46 years and this old dog still has the ability to learn new tricks.
Is the Lee factory crimp absolutely necessary, the answer is no but I still use them.
Is a runout gauge absolutely necessary for rifle cases, the answer is no but I still use one.
Is a micrometer and a vernier caliper absolutely necessary for reloading, the answer is no but I use and have several.
Is a Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge absolutely necessary, the answer is no but I still use one.
And I now use my Wilson case gauges for paper weights and pen holders.
And the best thing about reloading is it isn't a team sport and when I sit at my reload bench I do it my way and enjoy it without being grumpy about what other people use.
How to select the right die set for your needs (and teach old dogs new tricks)
"All Lee Handgun Dies feature a Carbide Sizing Die. Carbide dies are simply the best way to resize straight walled handgun cartridges.
The Standard Three Die Set works fine when using a quality controlled source of gun brass like cases fired only in your gun. More care is required when adjusting the bullet seat and crimp die as seating and crimping occur simultaneously.
Select the 4 Die-Deluxe Pistol Die Set when using mixed range brass or brass that was fired in other guns. The Deluxe Set includes the Carbide Factory Crimp Die. This die allows you to separate the bullet seating from the crimping operation. It makes setup much easier and the die has the added feature of a carbide resizer that does a finishing sizing pass on the completed round. This final sizing guarantees that any case that passes through the die will freely and reliably chamber in any gun."
http://leeprecision.com/reloading-dies/hand-gun-dies/
