Lee lube and size question

[tking308]

Newb question... I searched first and couldn't find anything..
How far over a Lee .309 sizing die could a bullet be and still go through the die? IE: Could you size a bullet that was .314, down to .309? I ask because I'm looking at a mold that is .312 minimum but could be upwards of .314 or .315.

[TheCelt]

Yes you can but the .314-.315 to .309 will take some force, Make sure that you use lube. If need be you could size the Boolits down in "steps".

[tking308]

THANKS, hopefully I won't have to go that far but I wanted to make sure it was possible.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If you are casting a harder alloy for your 30 cal
then sizing down .005 will surely be a chore.
But if you are just sizing COWW, it shouldn't be too bad.

[tking308]

That makes sense JonB. I am just doing coww

[Mk42gunner]

What are you planning to shoot those .309" boolits through? I normally start with .311" (which Lee also offers) for .30 caliber rifles, and only change if there is a problem.

Robert

[tking308]

I'm going to be shooting it out of a 300 blackout AR. I'm trying to purchase my first bullet mold. I really wanted to try the lee 150 but if it really casts at .309, that might be too small. That's why I was looking at the.312 155 grain mold. I was just wondering if I needed to if I could size it down that small. I havent slugged the barrel yet, so I don't know for sure what I need.

[Maven]

tk308, If you resize from ~.314" -> .309", you should first fill the lube grooves with lube (duh!) so as to prevent the [lube] grooves from collapsing.

[blikseme300]

I use a .310 Lee sizing die to size down boolits from a NOE 316-155G-FN for my 300blk rifles. This takes some force but not too bad as the die is polished and I spray a light mist of lanolin/alcohol to lube. These boolits work better than the Lee C312-155-2R on feral hogs and are accurate out to 200 paces on a 4" gong.