Die sets?

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outoftowner

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Alright, so I might be picking up some dies tomorrow. And as I was looking through all the different companies I noticed that there are tonnes of different die combinations. There are 2 die sets, 3 die sets and plenty more in different variations. I was wondering what do I all need in a die set? Do I just need the 2 dies, or is the 3rd die necessary.

I am mostly interested in lee dies, since that is the equipment that I will be starting with. Also I will be re-loading rifle ammunition.
 
Usually for rifle die sets there are 2 die sets for bottleneck cases like .308. One to Full Length Size, and one to seat bullets and crimp if desired. The case neck is expanded by a ball on the decapping rod on the way back out of the case.

For straightwall cases like .45-70 there is the usual full length size die, a case expanding die (to open the neck enough to accept the new bullet) then the usual seating/crimp die.


There are also seperate crimping dies or neck sizing dies that people will add to the set they have and use as needed. Some bottleneck case dies come in a 3 dies set one to FL size, one to Neck size only, and a seating/crimp die. This way you can full length size new brass, then neck size it every time after to fit your individual gun if desired.

I use some Lee rifle and pistol dies and am very happy with their performance.
 
Most rifle dies are 2 die sets. Some of the Lee are 3 in that they include the factory crimp die in their set ,which is not a bad thing. Most pistol or straight wall rifle cases use a die to bell the mouth of the case to make bullet insertion easier and prevent buckling the case. What caliber are you reloading?
 
I'm looking into 303 british right now, then 7.62x54, 308, 223 and so on. So should my best bet for a bolt gun is to get the 3 die set with full length sizing and neck sizing? I know you can't do neck sizing with semi-autos.

Also is there any benefit of the factory crimp die over crimping while seating?
 
outoftowner said:
I'm looking into 303 british right now, then 7.62x54, 308, 223 and so on. So should my best bet for a bolt gun is to get the 3 die set with full length sizing and neck sizing? I know you can't do neck sizing with semi-autos.

Also is there any benefit of the factory crimp die over crimping while seating?
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I always use a factory crimp die for pistil ammo because it also resizes the case again, eliminating bulges in the casing.
 
outoftowner said:
Alright, so I might be picking up some dies tomorrow. And as I was looking through all the different companies I noticed that there are tonnes of different die combinations. There are 2 die sets, 3 die sets and plenty more in different variations. I was wondering what do I all need in a die set? Do I just need the 2 dies, or is the 3rd die necessary. I am mostly interested in lee dies, since that is the equipment that I will be starting with. Also I will be re-loading rifle ammunition.
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For the 303 British I would go with the Lee 3-Die Deluxe set. It includes their full length die, bullet seating die, and their collet neck sizing die. You should be set for all eventualities, and it is cheaper to buy as a set than to get them piece meal.

Deluxe 3-Die Set

There is no need to crimp the cases in a bolt gun.
 
outoftowner said:
I'm looking into 303 british right now, then 7.62x54, 308, 223 and so on. So should my best bet for a bolt gun is to get the 3 die set with full length sizing and neck sizing? I know you can't do neck sizing with semi-autos.

Also is there any benefit of the factory crimp die over crimping while seating?
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The Fl,NS,BS should be all you need for the 303, the neck size for 303 is tough to find unless order, here in B.C
 
Not much need to crimp bottleneck rifle cartridges for a bolt action rifle. Only if you have either a too thin case neck, a too large expander ball, or a too small diameter bullet, will there be much chance of bullet slip in a bolt rifle.

Now, some folks sometimes - note the waffle there, some somes - get better accuracy with crimped loads. It would be the last variable I would try, since crimp is very hard for the layman to measure.

It is always possible to necksize a bottleneck case by backing of the full length sizing die, so that it just touches the shoulder, and does not set it back. Great for benchrest, plinking and practice of shooting positions and administering the tool. Not so great for a hunting round, just because you lose one of those little tolerances that give reliability in field conditions.
 
The Lee Deluxe three die set wouldnt be a bad idea for your bolt action calibres and runs for about $30. The Factory crimp die is up to you. I use it a lot for my semi autos. Keep in mind the rifle type and pistol type Factory crimp dies from Lee work entirely differently.
 
outoftowner said:
I am mostly interested in lee dies, since that is the equipment that I will be starting with. Also I will be re-loading rifle ammunition.
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Not sure what your reloading experience is, but just to clarify, all dies have the same thread. Just because you are using a Lee press does not mean you have to use Lee dies.
 
joe-nwt said:
Not sure what your reloading experience is, but just to clarify, all dies have the same thread. Just because you are using a Lee press does not mean you have to use Lee dies.
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I know, but since I have read the lee manual I would rather stick to their dies in the beginning. When I upgrade my equipment I will look into other dies.
 
^^Unless you are going to become a gear snob or will be trying for those one-hole, ten-round-at-a-thousand-yards shooters, you will never need to upgrade your equipment. No matter what anybody on here says. I have lots of Lee stuff, lyman stuff, RCBS stuff, Hornady stuff, pacific stuff, etc. I only load rifle but,none of the dies or presses produce any better rounds for me than the Lee dies do.
None of the other presses have done any more for me than the Lee presses have done. I have even formed wildcat cases on the Lee Challenger (granted, I only did it for one batch of 10 and will continue to use the RockChucker instead). Scales and measures, however, are not on my list of stuff Lee makes well, but that's just me, others like them just as well.

I crimp using the Factory Crimp die EVERY round I make. I believe that it helps to standardize internal pressures, eliminate bullet jump, and it has proven to improve MY accuracy. You, however, will need to experiment on your own. But, I figure, the commercial manufacturers crimp, why shouldn't I?
 
joe-nwt said:
Not sure what your reloading experience is, but just to clarify, all dies have the same thread. Just because you are using a Lee press does not mean you have to use Lee dies.
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Just to be devils advocate here, I'll mention that this is only mostly true, modern dies for standard cartridges are all 7/8X14 thread. But, there are some ancient dies out there with different threads. Most of these were designed for nutcracker type reloading tools.
Also, dies for the gigantic cartridges now coming into vogue have different threads as well.

In both cases, it obvious at first glance that they won't fit your press. So no worries.
 
John Y Cannuck said:
Just to be devils advocate here, I'll mention that this is only mostly true, modern dies for standard cartridges are all 7/8X14 thread. But, there are some ancient dies out there with different threads. Most of these were designed for nutcracker type reloading tools.
Also, dies for the gigantic cartridges now coming into vogue have different threads as well.

In both cases, it obvious at first glance that they won't fit your press. So no worries.
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I'm sure that the OP will be happy to know that there are some odd-ball dies out there that won't fit his Lee press........;)
 
I would buy the Lee deluxe set and use the collet neck die almost exclusively with brass from your own rifle. IMO you may never have to full legnth size. I have often used a FL die set to patially size and have run into problems twice, ironically both >243's in different Sakos. The case expanded enough through the body that the Full lengnth die set to partially size would actually size part of the body of the brass and leave a slight bulge below where it worked the braas. The is why I prefer a neck die and incidently I have used neck sized ammo for most of my hunting loads. As far as having to full length size every 4 or 5 rounds I believe that is a bunch of crap..I had a triple duece years ago that I neck-sized for and annealed that brass on a regular basis. Didn't have much money so I bet I loaded that same brass close to a hundred times. Did'nt keep track because it seemed irrelevent after a multitude of loads. I think I had about a hundred pieces of brass and would soot them all or close to them all in one episode of gopher shooting so I reloaded without tumbling and shot them all the next day. Mind you not all rifles are as forgiving and they wre not super hot loads-just super accurate.
Neil
 
Neilm said:
Didn't have much money so I bet I loaded that same brass close to a hundred times. Did'nt keep track because it seemed irrelevent after a multitude of loads.
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I believe you. Lapua claims some 6PPC shooters get 200 loads out of one piece of their brass.
 
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