Who uses Lee Collet Sizing dies?
- Thread starter 22to45
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Have loaded countless, countless 30-30 loads with them and they are fantastic.
My 30-30 brass seem to last forever
The full length sizer has never been used.
Bottom line, exceptional, but truth be told most of the Lee equipment is top notch.
I've always been impressed by it.
I've used others but prefer Lee, and it costs less......more money for bullets, primers, powders and booze
My 30-30 brass seem to last forever
The full length sizer has never been used.
Bottom line, exceptional, but truth be told most of the Lee equipment is top notch.
I've always been impressed by it.
I've used others but prefer Lee, and it costs less......more money for bullets, primers, powders and booze
They work fine. One fellow's test on an internet video shows they had the least runout (the best concentricity). If your necksized brass will chamber consistently it's great. You may find after a few go-rounds that you need to FL once to get cosistent chambering again. I have a 260 that I cannot just necksize for. No way I can get all the rounds to chamber. My 243 is just fine. Not really sure if it's different brass in combination with a tight on spec chamber. Next year I am going to do some exacting testing to see it's impact on velocity/accuracy. So far it appears that neck sizing is more accurate on that 243 but I did not have the chrono at the time I was working up those loads.
If the collet die is adjusted correctly with the mandrel slightly loose and floating you will have much less neck runout with the Lee Collet die.
"BUT" I spent four hours cleaning and adjusting a new .243 Lee Collet die tonight. The collet jaws were open more than normal and were rubbing and dragging on the inside of the die body hanging up and throwing everything out of alignment and increasing neck runout.
Once I got the collet diameter smaller the die became "loose" and operated normally.
BUT sometimes gremlins at the Lee factory let things slip out the door without being inspected.
The .303 collet below missed the final smoothing and polishing and made my necks look like a rabid pitbull had chewed on them.
Don't get me wrong, the 243 collet die pictured above came today and I wouldn't hesitate to buy many more. "BUT" they can be a "little" rough at times and need a little TLC and polishing to make them work a little better.
"BUT" I spent four hours cleaning and adjusting a new .243 Lee Collet die tonight. The collet jaws were open more than normal and were rubbing and dragging on the inside of the die body hanging up and throwing everything out of alignment and increasing neck runout.
Once I got the collet diameter smaller the die became "loose" and operated normally.
BUT sometimes gremlins at the Lee factory let things slip out the door without being inspected.
The .303 collet below missed the final smoothing and polishing and made my necks look like a rabid pitbull had chewed on them.
Don't get me wrong, the 243 collet die pictured above came today and I wouldn't hesitate to buy many more. "BUT" they can be a "little" rough at times and need a little TLC and polishing to make them work a little better.
Agree with p51, most of mine have needed some 'finishing'. They are worth the effort.
'Specially clean up the burrs inside the collet slots. grease the tapers.
Carefull adjustment is critical, I let the press 'camover', contrary to lee instructions. You can feel when things are right through the handle. When lines start to appear on your necks it's down too tight, back it off a little bit at a time till they just disappear. Smoke the necks to aid setup. NEVER run the ram all the way up without a case in there, you'll close the collet fingers. If you feel resistance to your case entering the die, then the collet fingers have closed up on you.
Neck tension is adjustable by polishing the mandrel(I like 2 thou.).
Properly set up they will yield no more runout in resized brass than currently exists in your uneven necks.
Used with a good b.r. sleeve type seating die, and match bullets, runout is typically 0 to 2.5 thou. max. Not worth even checking for anymore since adopting this method.
No need for lube or even really clean cases.
Mind the setup tho', ... buddy once fired the aluminum top cap right through his ceiling tile.
Lee sent him a new one gratis, even though it was stated as 'operator error'.
'Specially clean up the burrs inside the collet slots. grease the tapers.
Carefull adjustment is critical, I let the press 'camover', contrary to lee instructions. You can feel when things are right through the handle. When lines start to appear on your necks it's down too tight, back it off a little bit at a time till they just disappear. Smoke the necks to aid setup. NEVER run the ram all the way up without a case in there, you'll close the collet fingers. If you feel resistance to your case entering the die, then the collet fingers have closed up on you.
Neck tension is adjustable by polishing the mandrel(I like 2 thou.).
Properly set up they will yield no more runout in resized brass than currently exists in your uneven necks.
Used with a good b.r. sleeve type seating die, and match bullets, runout is typically 0 to 2.5 thou. max. Not worth even checking for anymore since adopting this method.
No need for lube or even really clean cases.
Mind the setup tho', ... buddy once fired the aluminum top cap right through his ceiling tile.
Lee sent him a new one gratis, even though it was stated as 'operator error'.
When I started to reload for rifle I wanted to learn more about dies so I cut and pasted from a few places the info below.
It depends on the rifle If it is a high quality gun with a closely dimensioned chamber, and a heavy target barrel, then it may make sense to use a better quality die set. For this kind of gun I use a Forster Bump/Bushing die for sizing. It works well. I can bump the shoulder 0.001 to 0.0005", and at the same time resize about two thirds of the neck, leaving a tight fitting one third to ensure the cartridge sits concentric. For seating the Forster Ultra Seater with the micrometer adjustment makes it easy to get repeatable seating depths, which loading different bullet weights and designs.
For hunting ammo I like the Lee Collet Neck Sizer for concentricity and case life, the Hornady seater for concentricity, simplicity, and value, and don't use FLS dies often enough to care much. Since I like the Hornady seater and they give away bullets I've just been buying their two-die sets right off the bat. I've had issues with the specs on one of their FLS dies.
The Lee Collet Neck sizer is a lot cheaper than the Redding Type S dies and works identically. It makes for extraordinary case life and I have never had to FLS cases due to an inability to chamber them... some '06 cases of mine have been reloaded +15x.
Of the standard dies sets the best seater out there is the Hornady New Dimension seater. Reports of issues with their sizing dies.
The worst seater IMO is the ridiculous RCBS seater. I also think the RCBS locking ring brass setscrew is the most idiotic design ever. I like their sizers and often pair them with the Hornady seater. And a Hornady locking ring!
If Lee makes a collet die for the cartridge I'm loading I really like them, once again paired with the Hornady seater.
Nowadays, I buy a Forster set and compliment it with a Lee collett die. I only use the Forster FL die rarely. The Lee collett and the Forster seater turn out the most concentric, and accurate, ammo I've ever seen.
Of the standard dies sets the best seater out there is the Hornady New Dimension seater. I've never had a problem with their sizing dies either but some folks are reporting issues with them.
The worst seater IMO is the ridiculous RCBS seater. I also think the RCBS locking ring brass setscrew is the most idiotic design ever. I like their sizers and often pair them with the Hornady seater. And a Hornady locking ring!
If Lee makes a collet die for the cartridge I'm loading I really like them, once again paired with the Hornady seater.
It depends on the rifle If it is a high quality gun with a closely dimensioned chamber, and a heavy target barrel, then it may make sense to use a better quality die set. For this kind of gun I use a Forster Bump/Bushing die for sizing. It works well. I can bump the shoulder 0.001 to 0.0005", and at the same time resize about two thirds of the neck, leaving a tight fitting one third to ensure the cartridge sits concentric. For seating the Forster Ultra Seater with the micrometer adjustment makes it easy to get repeatable seating depths, which loading different bullet weights and designs.
For hunting ammo I like the Lee Collet Neck Sizer for concentricity and case life, the Hornady seater for concentricity, simplicity, and value, and don't use FLS dies often enough to care much. Since I like the Hornady seater and they give away bullets I've just been buying their two-die sets right off the bat. I've had issues with the specs on one of their FLS dies.
The Lee Collet Neck sizer is a lot cheaper than the Redding Type S dies and works identically. It makes for extraordinary case life and I have never had to FLS cases due to an inability to chamber them... some '06 cases of mine have been reloaded +15x.
Of the standard dies sets the best seater out there is the Hornady New Dimension seater. Reports of issues with their sizing dies.
The worst seater IMO is the ridiculous RCBS seater. I also think the RCBS locking ring brass setscrew is the most idiotic design ever. I like their sizers and often pair them with the Hornady seater. And a Hornady locking ring!
If Lee makes a collet die for the cartridge I'm loading I really like them, once again paired with the Hornady seater.
Nowadays, I buy a Forster set and compliment it with a Lee collett die. I only use the Forster FL die rarely. The Lee collett and the Forster seater turn out the most concentric, and accurate, ammo I've ever seen.
Of the standard dies sets the best seater out there is the Hornady New Dimension seater. I've never had a problem with their sizing dies either but some folks are reporting issues with them.
The worst seater IMO is the ridiculous RCBS seater. I also think the RCBS locking ring brass setscrew is the most idiotic design ever. I like their sizers and often pair them with the Hornady seater. And a Hornady locking ring!
If Lee makes a collet die for the cartridge I'm loading I really like them, once again paired with the Hornady seater.
I use one as well and am quite happy with it. I also have a carefully adjusted redding body die that I use every time. There's another potential issue that has happened to me (along with the solution), here:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=490607
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=490607
Good info BC
.I like the comment from Mystic re the collet die.
I will start doing it this way too...
did you size your cases before using the Lee collet die?
Because the die has a fixed 'chamber' length, if a case is longer then desired, it will top out in the die and this can cause it to be pushed back. Unsupported, the case can bulge or buckle.
As long as the case is within desired dimensions, the die can't crush the shoulder - it should never touch.
I polish all the parts of my collet dies, to get the tool marks out, and apply a little grease to prevent wear
You didn't polish the pictured Lee Collet because it belongs to me along with the photo I have stored at Photobucket.
My real name is Ed Horton and my screen name is bigedp51, and if you check the photo "properties" you will "SEE" my name.
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/IMGP7132.jpg
The same .303 collet using the flash.
And the entire die with red arrows pointing to the unfinished, unpolished slots in the collet.
It would be nice to be able to answer a posting and be able to use the photos I took with my camera.
Badger at Milsurps banned me from his website for posting this "borrowed" photo here at Canadian Gun Nutz.
So don't tell me I'm being chicken $hit.
If you go to the website below "6mmbr.com" you will find out the pros use the Lee Collet die for benchrest/competition shooting.
http://www.6mmbr.com/index.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek075.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/BlogJan2007.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/index.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek075.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/BlogJan2007.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
If you go to the website below "6mmbr.com" you will find out the pros use the Lee Collet die for benchrest/competition shooting.
http://www.6mmbr.com/index.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek075.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/BlogJan2007.html
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
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.
My pictures show up on zillions of web sites.
The internet is an echo chamber.
Some websites are enforcing copyright laws, I posted the photo below here at Gun Nutz which someone else had posted at Milsurps and was banned from milsurps by Badger for violating "Copyright Laws".
I also donated 95% of all the Enfield books and manuals you see at milsurps.com, so be careful you never know when someone is going to stab you in the back for bovine scat.
BUT it was Christmas early this week and Santa brought a new .243 Collet die and goodies. (polished, lubed and in use)
The internet is an echo chamber.
Some websites are enforcing copyright laws, I posted the photo below here at Gun Nutz which someone else had posted at Milsurps and was banned from milsurps by Badger for violating "Copyright Laws".
I also donated 95% of all the Enfield books and manuals you see at milsurps.com, so be careful you never know when someone is going to stab you in the back for bovine scat.
BUT it was Christmas early this week and Santa brought a new .243 Collet die and goodies.
(polished, lubed and in use)
