I like the Lee factory crimp die but have no use for the O-ring locks. I make new lock rings and drill and tap for a set screw. I make the lock rings from 3/4" nuts bored and taped for 7/8" and then part them on my lathe. May seem like a lot of work but I enjoy it.
Bill
We used to switch out those lock rings for RCBS or Hornady lock rings with a set-screw but lately I have been using a little trick a friend showed me. If your press (I have a Hornady LNL-AP for loading up here in Canada) uses dies bushings, which either LEE or Hornady presses use these days, simply wrench tighten the Lee Die with it's slippy O-ring lock ring down into the press real squishy tight -- and then it can't move. It's no longer "finger adjustable" and so it can no longer slip. Removal and installation of the die is through the die bushing so you don't need to touch the die itself and if you had it properly adjusted when you tightened her down, she's done, she's good, you can just forget about it moving forward as long as you are using it in just that press.
I load a lot of .45 Colt Black Powder loads. When John Kort pulled those 44-40 bullets from the 1880's and reported that the powder charges weighted exactly 40 grains of what appeared to be 3F powder, I thought "damn, that's precision". I set about going down the road of loading .45 Colt using a 255 grain LRNFP over 40 grains of 3F powder. One needs a decent powder compression die and a bit of patience but it certainly can be done. I use Starline cases although I find Winchester cases seem to require a bit less compression. The LNL-AP is a bit easier than a Dillon to remove casings from any station on the press than say a Dillon because of the spring retention on the LNL-AP compared to the brass locater buttons on the Dillon, but either press would work. (I find the Dillon 650's we have in Mexico load a lot faster rph than the AP, hands-down, if that matters. But I like both presses, although they are different for sure.) I hand weigh each charge to precisely 40 grains of FFFg, and like to be able to remove the casings just after belling to charge it individually before returning it to the shellplate to run her up into the compression die. It's a slow 2 or at best 3 rounds per minute process -- but damn it's fun to shoot.
I let a good friend and work-buddy of mine shoot several cylinder-loads through my Peacemaker of smokeless powder Unique loads (8.2 grains, 255 grain bullet) until he was quite comfortable with it. Then I asked him if he'd like to shoot a real, 1870's style 45 Colt load using 40 grains of black powder. "To give you a sense of what it would have been like back then...." I added.
"I'll bet it's nothing like what we have these days!" he retorted. I just looked at him a second, and then said: "Well, you shoot it, and then tell me." Then I set the camera to slow-mo. His expression says it all.
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