Lee Dies

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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Fixing that takes about 5 seconds, you simply tighten it. It's a superior design for volume loading since sooner or later a stuck case will show up and you can just pound them out with that thicc rod.

I don't know if the issue was the rod or the collet, but I had to reef up on that nut, twice, as it slipped again after the first time I tightened it.No reloading tool should have to be as tight as I had to tighten that nut. As for stuck cases, I haven't had one in over 45 years of loading, so that isn't an issue.
 
I don't know if the issue was the rod or the collet, but I had to reef up on that nut, twice, as it slipped again after the first time I tightened it.No reloading tool should have to be as tight as I had to tighten that nut. As for stuck cases, I haven't had one in over 45 years of loading, so that isn't an issue.

It is a bit absurd how tight that collet needs to be to hold the rod. A minor complaint though IMO. I'm glad you have never had a stuck case, they can be very annoying. I have had to use the RCBS puller which is far from quick, simply tapping it out would be much better.
 
I started reloading with Lee. Their dies are fine. Just not a fan of the linkage on the presses. Cheap pot metal and prone to break. Hopefully they have improved recently.
 
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

For my Rifle Dies I have an RCBS Rock Chucker; I bout an adapter bushing for the press and have been using the Lee "Breach-Lock" bushings. Easy, accurate and repeatable.
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I started reloading with Lee. Their dies are fine. Just not a fan of the linkage on the presses. Cheap pot metal and prone to break. Hopefully they have improved recently.

I think they solved that problem 30+ years ago. My turret press linkage broke. Lee sent me an updated replacement, which has been going strong for 30 years.
 
No probs with Lee dies here, and they load sub MOA ammo on one of their nutcracker style hand presses lol
 
I have some of all makes and Lee is just as good as the others, although a bit better on the price. I have a set of Lee for .223 with thousands and thousands of loads through it.
 
I don't know if the issue was the rod or the collet, but I had to reef up on that nut, twice, as it slipped again after the first time I tightened it.No reloading tool should have to be as tight as I had to tighten that nut. As for stuck cases, I haven't had one in over 45 years of loading, so that isn't an issue.

I've had this happen with a few Lee dies. I think it's a tolerance issue or something. Had to warranty a .30-06 fl die because the pin would not stay put. It pulled out of the collet every time and the collet eventually stripped completely. I notice their newer dies adopted Hornady's solution of basically rough machining marks on the stem. It seems to help. Although the Lee decapper is a mint stuck case remover, lubing your cases properly is an even better stuck case remover. I'm using Forster and RCBS dies more and more as I've grown too annoyed with cranking the #### out of the Lee collets.
 
if a crimp adds accuracy, then you have issues with your neck tension.

This.

I can see using a crimp on bullets that are likely to move in a tubular magazine or even a regular magazine when very long necks are designed into the cartridge or the cartridges don't have a neck, but as often as not even this isn't an issue.

Many people like to bell the case mouths when they handload and so do some commercial loaders, they apply the crimp to roll down the lip of the bell.

I've seen cartridges that have had crimps applied and there weren't any "crimp grooves" This just deforms the jacket

There were several of us that did a bunch of testing with proven accurate rifles with loads they liked and cartridges, that were bottle necked, fireformed and neck resized as well as full length resized straight wall cartridges, which included three lever action/tubular mags chambered for the 45-70, 44 magnum and 30-30Win. We included the 30-30 as a straight wall because it has such a long neck.

We tried all of the rifles with both crimped and non crimped case mouths.

As stated by stubble jumper, if neck tension was tight and consistent in all of the cartridges used in all of the rifles, accuracy was always good.

A couple of us were curious as to why there were so many claims of improved accruacy from such a slight constriction, when compared to the pressures being created during firing.

One of the fellows found an article on neck tension and crimping, so we duplicated one of the tests, using the 44 magnum and the 30-30 because they weren't as punishing on the bench.

What we did was use different inside diameter sizing/expander balls on the decapper pin.

For the 30-30 I used a .308 diameter expander ball from another die set. When we loaded a five cartridges with this oversize ball, every bullet, other than the first one was set back a appx .010in with each shot and accuracy wasn't good.

When we crimped the next lot of five with the same expander ball none of the bullets was pushed back into the neck and accuracy was just about normal for this rifle.

The very same thing happened with the 44magnum lever rifle.

I tried one of the bolt rifles, chambered for the 308Win, with a detachable mag with that same expander ball.

There was a measurable difference in OAL on the last four cartridges in the mag that were subjected to the recoil, but only about .005in.

This prompted another experiment.

Instead of using the standard .3055-306 diameter expander ball, I had a spare in the die parts bin and polished it down to .3045.

You wouldn't think that tiny bit would make much difference, but it did. NOT TO ACCURACY, which was very good, which was normal with this rifle. WHAT IT MADE A VERY NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE TO WAS PRESSURE. Primers were severely flattened.

They didn't back out at all as all of the cases were reloads that had been neck sized only, so headspace conditions were non existent.

With it's regular accuracy load, normal slight flattening of primers is expected. The bolt was a bit snug on opening and extraction was easy but ???????????

Sorry for the diatribe but I just wanted to bring some personal experience to stubblejumber's statement.

Back in the day, crimping with black powder was almost a had to be done situation, crimping made a lot of sense. Batches of black powder efficiency varied quite a bit between lots, as did brass quality. Not only that, but black powder works best under compression and if neck tensions weren't tight enough, the projectile would work out a bit. They had similar issues with cordite.

Crimping was the best and easiest answer to this problem.

I have a lovely 270 that shoots quite well. When I bought a set of dies (NOS Bonanza) they looked really good and the cartridges made on them had very little measurable run out.

The load this rifle likes is quite stout.

At first, no matter what I tried, accuracy was just OK and I contemplated selling the rifle. That when one of the fellows that did the test with me suggested I take the expander ball and polish it down a half thou and see what would happen.

That's what I did. With the same set up on the press and the same bullets, cases, primers, powder RL19, this rifle now shoots groups just under an moa if I do my part.

Neck tension is very important and it's one of the main reasons I cringe when people go on about turning down the thickness of the case necks on their cartridges. All they're doing is decreasing accuracy producing neck tension.
 
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Lee Dies-
1960's vintage & technology mechanical screw machine tool/machine work.

Will they make ammo--Yes.

but

Buy once...Cry Once as there is equipment that is light years ahead of Lee,Hornady,Lyman,Forster.
 
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