Favorite body sizer die, OR...

Joel

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Is there a consensus or at least what are your experiences with using a body sizing die between neck (say Lee collet die) sizings?

Or, is it feasible to simply take the decapping pin/mandrel out of a FL die and use that as a body die?

Before anyone asks "why not just use the FL die as intended", because I'd like to avoid dragging a sizing button back out through case necks.
 
Yeah, that's how I use them. FL bushing dies with the expander removed. I don't like depriming at the same time as resizing. All that crap seems to find its way into the die. I use 21st century mandrels in a separate operation to set the neck tension. For FL dies I try to use Redding S type if possible, followed by Hornady, then RCBS. Haven't tried any others
 
Yeah, that's how I use them. FL bushing dies with the expander removed. I don't like depriming at the same time as resizing. All that crap seems to find its way into the die. I use 21st century mandrels in a separate operation to set the neck tension. For FL dies I try to use Redding S type if possible, followed by Hornady, then RCBS. Haven't tried any others

Right on, thanks Jon. I've only ever used regular FL dies or the collet dies, so new ground for me.
 
Is there a consensus or at least what are your experiences with using a body sizing die between neck (say Lee collet die) sizings?

Or, is it feasible to simply take the decapping pin/mandrel out of a FL die and use that as a body die?

Before anyone asks "why not just use the FL die as intended", because I'd like to avoid dragging a sizing button back out through case necks.

I use Redding body dies for three of my match riflrs, and either a Lee Collet die or the bushing die, either Redding or Widden .
I really prefer a body die.
Cat
 
I use Redding body dies for three of my match riflrs, and either a Lee Collet die or the bushing die, either Redding or Widden .
I really prefer a body die.
Cat

Got ya! Really do believe I'll be going with the Redding dies and Lee Collet from now on then
 
We are switching everything to Lee collet dies, just makes sense.
Neck mandrel makes sense to push brass to the outside of neck instead of to the inside like a bushing die.
collett body needs no lube plus it keeps body size within spec better than pushing brass down like a regular sizer
 
For my target and varmint rifles I get my best results from a Redding body die and Lee collet die.

For my hunting rifles I use Forster FL dies and I see minimal runout from it, usually less than 3 thousandths, which is acceptable for my standards. Most of my hunting rifles shoot sub moa.
 
A Redding body die in conjunction with the Lee Collet die works good. I would stay away from using a standard FL die to size the case then the collet die to size the neck. This defeats one of the advantages of the collet die. A Fl die sizes the necks much more than needed and the LCD is not designed to expand the necks this way. It is designed to size the neck a minimal amount buy squeezing it against a mandrel of proper diameter. The die cap and threads can be damaged by expanding the neck after using a standard FL die.. Now a full length bushing die with the bushing removed would be good.
 
............the LCD is not designed to expand the necks this way. It is designed to size the neck a minimal amount buy squeezing it against a mandrel of proper diameter.
The die cap and threads can be damaged by expanding the neck after using a standard FL die.. ...........
that doesn't compute here
 
You can take the expander out of a full length die but its still a full length die. On the other hand if you take the expander out of a .308 Win it does become a body die for 7/08, 260 Rem, 243 and my 22/243. A 30-06 dehorned the same way makes a body die for a 270. A 338 Win mag will do the trick on 7 Rem and 264 Win.

A FL bushing die with the bushing removed is a body die. Thing is, if you have a FL bushing die which is also a body die you don't need the collet die.
 
I once used my 25/06 collet die to expand necks I had sized with a standard FL die with the expander removed. What happened is the top of the collet die popped off and I stripped the threads. When I enquired about this I was told not to expand necks with the LCD because it wasn't designed for this. That is my experience doing this. Maybe it doesn't happen all the time but it happened to me.
 
I once used my 25/06 collet die to expand necks I had sized with a standard FL die with the expander removed. What happened is the top of the collet die popped off and I stripped the threads. When I enquired about this I was told not to expand necks with the LCD because it wasn't designed for this. That is my experience doing this. Maybe it doesn't happen all the time but it happened to me.

I got screwed up there, was thinking of pushing a standard expander through a neck and completely missed that you were talking about the LCD mandrel. Oops :)
 
I've drilled open the neck portion of full lenght sizing dies turning them to body dies.

Tell me more, I've got a 30-06 small base die I want to make into a 35 Whelen SB body die. A friend said he could do it on his lathe and I might do that when I pick my bike from his shop, but the red-neck in me wants to ram a 3/8" or 7/16" carbide concrete drill bit through on my drill press.:onCrack:
 
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