Dies manufacturer specific?

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ShawnRich

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I too am new to reloading. I bought a whole set from a guy that came with all I needed for 223 remington, all Lee equipment.

If I want to load other calibers, ie 6 BR or 6 PPC, or...? do I need to find the dies, and then get a new press of the same manufacturer of the dies? I don't see those calibers on the Lee site. I am trying to figure out what all is involved into a less popular cartridge like those mentioned and if I should go there, or just try to improve my 223 Howa.

https://leeprecision.com/reloading-dies/rifle-dies/pacesetter-2-die-set/

but I did see a bushing "for competitor's presses", so is that all it is? Different threads ie I could use an RCBS die set in my Lee press with a bushing/adapter?

https://leeprecision.com/1-1-2-12-to-1-1-4-12-die-adapter-bushing.html

It seems that other brands are more popular when it comes to reloading dies.

Thanks all
 
ShawnRich said:
If I want to load other calibers, ie 6 BR or 6 PPC, or...? do I need to find the dies, and then get a new press of the same manufacturer of the dies?
Click to expand...

With rare exception, all dies are the same thread, 7/8"x14. Dies from Lee, RCBS, Hornady or Lyman will all work fine in your Lee press. So all you need are dies, and a shellholder.
 
The overwhelming majority of die sets are all 7/8"-14 thread. BattleRife beat me to it... Dillon "Square Deal" are proprietary, maybe certain others.
 
That is great! I guess why that is why I could not find information on adapters, etc. They don't exist.

Thanks guys!

Cheers,
Shawn

@ Battlerife...After I responded, I noted and laughed at your signature.....I almost opened my question with that. Glad I didn't.....:)

Cheers
 
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Ha! Funny thing is, in my experience the great majority of the questions that I see prefaced with, "I know this is probably a stupid question but...", the question is totally legitimate and reasonable.

I think that's because a stupid question is one that gets blurted out without thinking, and if the asker had stopped to think a second they would realize they already know the answer. But if you took the time to think about it long enough to wonder if it's stupid, then it's probably reasonable.
 
I recently had an issue.
While loading some 375 Ruger, I couldn't seat primers deep enough with my RCBS hand held priming tool. I was using a Lee shellholder out of my 458 win mag die set(Loads fine 458 WM ammo). I ended up purchasing a RCBS #4 shellholder and then had no issue seating those primers a hair deeper? Maybe the Lee shellholder is a wee bit out of spec?

375 Ruger and 458 Win mag both use the same shellholder #4, according to RCBS charts. I never looked up the Lee numbers. Regardless, the Lee shellholder and RCBS priming tool were not compatable.
 
Mr.Rigpig said:
I recently had an issue.
While loading some 375 Ruger, I couldn't seat primers deep enough with my RCBS hand held priming tool. I was using a Lee shellholder out of my 458 win mag die set(Loads fine 458 WM ammo). I ended up purchasing a RCBS #4 shellholder and then had no issue seating those primers a hair deeper? Maybe the Lee shellholder is a wee bit out of spec?

375 Ruger and 458 Win mag both use the same shellholder #4, according to RCBS charts. I never looked up the Lee numbers. Regardless, the Lee shellholder and RCBS priming tool were not compatable.
Click to expand...
There sometimes are tolerance differences between brands. I bought a Lee shellholder to size my 45 Auto Rim brass and it was so sloppy that a few of the cases actually pulled out of it. I then bought an RCBS shellholder for 45 AR and the fit was nice & snug. There also can be tolerance differences with various brands of brass. Sometimes you just have to experiment around a bit to find what works best. Probably 95%+ of the time brand "A" works as well as brand "B" but there are always exceptions to the rule.
 
ShawnRich said:
...but I did see a bushing "for competitor's presses", so is that all it is? Different threads ie I could use an RCBS die set in my Lee press with a bushing/adapter?

https://leeprecision.com/1-1-2-12-to-1-1-4-12-die-adapter-bushing.html
Click to expand...
I think that adaptor may be for using larger dies to load 50 BMG.

The other thing to be careful of is that some of the new presses use die bushings for doing quick die changes. The die screws into the bushing and the bushing screws into the press. I haven't been keeping close track of these but I know for sure that Lee and Hornady both have quick change die bushing systems but they are not compatible so Lee bushings won't work in some Hornady presses and vice-versa.
 
The 1 1/2 x12 bushing is meant for larger size dies. Basically cartridges that are to fat to fit in a regular die. 50 BMG, 577 Snider, 450-577 and 416 Barrett. There are also a few more. Not many people load them so only a few presses are made to fit them.
 
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