Who uses Lee Collet Sizing dies?

I use Lee collet dies for 308 in my remy700. I prefer these over full length resizers. Mainly I don't have to deal with case lube.
 
I've used LEE Collet dies a long time. How does the sizer come out? Top or bottom? I want to check mine for tool marks even though they have been in use for long time. More kinda like an "I'm curious thing" now!

Thanks for the excellent posts too.
 
JasonS said:
I've used LEE Collet dies a long time. How does the sizer come out? Top or bottom? I want to check mine for tool marks even though they have been in use for long time. More kinda like an "I'm curious thing" now!

Thanks for the excellent posts too.
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Figured it out! Comes out of the top with a little effort. My brand new .223 REM set is the one I checked. Absolutely perfect machining and polishing on the collet. Nice to see. Good work LEE.
 
CyaN1de said:
Not too many top notch shooters use the Lee collet die. There are a few but they work out to a very small percentage.

Most use either Redding, Forster or Custom made dies.

There are a few High Énd custom die makers out there that cater to the Benchrest crowd but most F-Class and TR shooters generally use the Redding Comp and Forster BR dies.
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Richard, I wonder why more don't use them? They really do produce very little runout, chamber and bullet dependent, but often less than 2 thou measured on the seated bullet.

Also no lube required. :)
 
dan belisle said:
If you tell your BR friends you use Lee products they sneer at you after the match. Very disheartening. Even if you win. It's a status thing, lol. - dan
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It is good to get laughed at by the superior once in a while, then do something like pulling out their new truck with my old truck, or out shooting their newish brand name rifle with my milsurp.
 
A simple basic Lee Loader and a plastic hammer can produce minimum runout, the problem with standard dies is the decapping rod and ball expander misalignment. Also if you have any burs or dings in the extractor groove of the case the shell holder can misalign the neck.

The lee collet die lets cartridge case stand "flat footed" in the shell holder base and crimps the neck around a floating mandrel and thus eliminating alignment errors.

The Lee collet die or "ANY" resizing die will not fix warped banana shaped cases that have become misaligned from over stressing the brass. Example shooting maximum loads in commercial .303 cases in a military Enfield rifle.

This is why careful fire forming of your cases is a must for "case alignment" and case reloading life.
 
bigedp51 said:
A simple basic Lee Loader and a plastic hammer can produce minimum runout, the problem with standard dies is the decapping rod and ball expander misalignment. Also if you have any burs or dings in the extractor groove of the case the shell holder can misalign the neck.

The lee collet die lets cartridge case stand "flat footed" in the shell holder base and crimps the neck around a floating mandrel and thus eliminating alignment errors.

The Lee collet die or "ANY" resizing die will not fix warped banana shaped cases that have become misaligned from over stressing the brass. Example shooting maximum loads in commercial .303 cases in a military Enfield rifle.

This is why careful fire forming of your cases is a must for "case alignment" and case reloading life.
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so how do you fire form brass so it will not banana in a lee enfield?
 
Either set the bullet out so it will be pushed into the rifling when you chamber the round, thereby eliminating headspace movement and allowing the brass to fireform to the chamber, or adjusting your bolt head to remove excessive headspace, (or a combination of those two) and neck sizing after your rounds are formed to your chamber. I've found these work well for me, but after that your brass is wed to that rifle. - dan
 
dan belisle said:
Either set the bullet out so it will be pushed into the rifling when you chamber the round, thereby eliminating headspace movement and allowing the brass to fireform to the chamber, or adjusting your bolt head to remove excessive headspace, (or a combination of those two) and neck sizing after your rounds are formed to your chamber. I've found these work well for me, but after that your brass is wed to that rifle. - dan
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Thanks Dan, I will give that a whirl.. I have a ackley built on a number 4 mk 2 that it is not possible to re use the brass. I was fireforming cases without making sure they were pressed back. I bought the lee neck sizing dies to try to help with that. I will have to make a ring to effectively make the shell holder a bit thicker to make the die work on the ackley case, I am not sure how much of the neck will be resized.. the adventure continues.
 
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