.351 Lee Dies?

[Battis]

I bought a set of Lee .351 Winchester SL dies on ebay for $60 & shipping. The seller said they were a special order from Lee. They got here quickly, they had the correct shell holder, they were stamped 351 SL. I lubed up a few fired .351 cases and ran them through the full length sizer. It sized the cases exactly as my .38 Special dies do. Exactly. No neck tension.
Hmmm...

[beagle]

I've been load .351s in .357 dies for years. They work just fine./beagle

[Battis]

What about the neck tension? I tried my 38/357 dies and the case mouth was too big to hold the bullet.

[Tatume]

The bullet for this rifle is supposed to be 0.351" diameter, and the case should 0.373" diameter at the mouth. That indicates a case wall thickness of 0.011", the same as the 357 Magnum (which is 0.357" & 0.379" respectively). Therefore it seems unlikely that 357 Magnum dies would reduce the case sufficiently to hold a 0.351" bullet. Try seating a 0.357" bullet in a case sized with your new 351 SL die. I suspect that your die is a 38/357 die that has been incorrectly marked.

[Battis]

I measured the outside diameter of several more (fired) sized case mouths (sized with the .351 die) and sure enough, this time they came out at .373. The inside diameter, as accurately as I could measure, was .352. But these cases would not hold a .351 bullet - it slid right in.
I pulled a loaded .351 bullet and ran the case through the .351 die. The die did not change the diameter of the case mouth at all.
For some reason, the fired brass case mouths are not sizing down in this die. Would annealing help?


A .357 bullet won't seat in the .351 sized cases without expanding the case mouth.

[Tatume]

It appears that your die is not sizing the case sufficiently. I wonder if this may be why the seller got rid of them. It could be that when he special-ordered the dies from Lee he specified the diameter without knowing that the finished diameter of the loaded ammunition is not the correct spec for the resized case. The case mouth should be 0.373" with a bullet seated, and should be somewhat smaller than that before the bullet is seated.

At this point you might want to call RCBS and ask them to what size their dies reduce cases (RCBS #:56423-Die Set-I). I suspect they will tell you 0.370" or so.

RCBS: (800) 379-1732

[Battis]

We'll see how well the No Hassle Returns works. Redding also makes a die set for that caliber.
Thanks for the RCBS info.

[C. Latch]

Try some .352" bullets? Maybe .3525? Put a tiny dent in the case before trying to seat bullets?

[Battis]

I ordered 100 .351 copper coated bullets from Buffalo Arms - that's what is in their loaded ammo. To use .352 cast, I'd have to size from .358 to .355 then .352. Lee bullet sizing dies are $36 each (2 needed) plus shipping. A Lee collet neck sizing die would be about $70 plus shipping and I'd have to send them 2 fire formed cases and the bullet I want to use, which I don't have since I haven't bought the bullet sizing dies.
I'll give Redding a call Monday. Their dies are about $82.

[Charley]

I've got the Redding dies, no problems.

[Battis]

That's what I get for trying to save a few bucks.

[C. Latch]

Ouch.

(really, ouch......I have a .351 and the expense is stopping me from gearing up to load for it. I would LOVE to shoot it).

Where are you paying $36 for Lee push-through sizers? I think I'd ask Buckshot here on the fourms to make me a sizer before I paid $36 for a Lee. Most of mine cost around $16 each.

[Battis]

That's the price Lee gave me for the dies. I didn't know they were available here.
The cost for brass and bullets isn't bad, and the Redding dies are reasonable - RCBS dies are around $180. If I could just get some neck tension with the .357 dies, I'd be all set. Maybe a filler to hold the bullet in place for the crimp might work.

[C. Latch]

I have seen the brass for sale before and agree that the prices aren't terrible; I just can't fund every project I want right now. I look forward to seeing pics of how your shoots, though.

[Battis]

I called Redding - their die sizes the case mouth of the .351 to .365 (outside diameter). The Lee die that I just bought sizes them to .373. That is the problem.

[JRLesan]

FWIW: I recently bought a collet closer die from Lee for the .351 WSL and it was a stock item costing in the vicinity of $25.00. My '70's vintage RCBS dies (.351WSL) don't really size the brass down where one would need to flare (or bell) the case mouth either; thus the reasoning behind the Lee crimp die. John Henwood, in his book on the Winchester self loaders, describes reloading using .38 Spl/.357 dies for the .351. I could measure no difference in sized cases using carbide .357 dies (of RCBS manufacture circa 1980) or .351 WSL steel dies. Jacketed bullets press into my sized cases using finger pressure but I use the seater for consistency.

[C. Latch]

So could the OP use such a collet closer die on his cases before seating and get by without another die set?

[texassako]

Lee even has that die in stock on their custom crimp die overruns page.

[Battis]

Lee told me that they have "surplus" factory crimp dies for the .351 for $25.00. I can crimp the case mouth with my .357 die, but does a crimp take the place of neck tension? The .351 copper coated bullets that I have slide right into the case mouths that have been sized with the Lyman .357 or Lee .351 dies. They'd have to rest on the powder or a filler to hold them in place until I crimped the case mouths.
Redding dies size the mouth (outside diameter) to .365 and the Lee that I bought sizes them to .373 - .374. I'll just go with the Redding dies unless the ebay seller has other Lee dies that size better.
Midway is actually selling a Redding FL sizing die for about $55 but it won't be available until October. What the heck, I might wait for that to come out.
http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/318...r-self-loading

[Battis]

The seller agreed to take the dies back for a full refund (I'm out the cost of return shipping). He said it was a "manufacture's error." If one die size is wrong in that special order batch, they're all wrong.