Lee Collet die

[Arnie]

Any one ever have Lee make a collet die for a 30-40 Krag ? They dont show this as a regular item . Arnie

[I'll Make Mine]

You should be able to use the die made for .308 Win, though you'll have to come up with a spacer to go around the Krag case to activate the collet at the right height. Alternately, you could shorten a collet die made for .303 British (they're generally sold to size for .308 bullets) -- you'd only take off a quarter inch or so.

[Arnie]

Thanks ,i just might have one of those two in my shed .Lee isnt taking any custom work right now or i would have them make me one .Arnie

[sisterjim]

I'm on the same sort of bus. Want to neck size 25-20WCF to get the most out of brass. Will only be shooting in one single shot chamber. Will I be able to adapt a 25-06 Lee collet die? Do Lee do custom jobs for Australian customers? Thanks JIM

[I'll Make Mine]

\Want to neck size 25-20WCF to get the most out of brass. [...] Will I be able to adapt a 25-06 Lee collet die?

Most likely not; as I understand it the closing of the collet in the Lee dies is initiated by contact of the shell holder on the bottom of the die (presuming it works the same way as the Lee Factory Crimp Die, of which I have one). Since the .25-20 WCF is significantly shorter than .25-06, the case neck wouldn't ever reach the collet.

[XTR]

When I finally get a 30-40, and it's on my short list, I will have a collet die set up for it some way or another. I use them for my 308 target loads and I'm convinced they are in fact better than sliced bread.

[sisterjim]

Thanks for your input. Do you have any suggestions about how neck sizing is best acheived. I tried to FL size some new brass and it crumpled despite lube. I then just flared the new brass round with Lyman M die. I will load a few and see if they will partial FL size after first firing. Any other ideas?

[I'll Make Mine]

The easiest way to neck size is to adjust your (presumed) existing full length sizing die to the point the sized portion of the neck is just above the shoulder; lots of reloaders have done this for lots and lots of rounds, and it apparently does work (haven't had a chance to try it yet), though setting it up is a little fussy. With a less common round like .25-20 WCF it may be the only practical way to neck size, short of spending what seems to me like a lot of money for a custom die from Lee, RCBD, or Redding.

If you're getting crumpling trying to FL size new brass, I'd check to be sure your brass and dies are actually for the same cartridge. There are two rounds designated .25-20; one is the .25-20 Winchester Center Fire or WCF; the other is .25-20 Single Shot or SS. They are not interchangeable; the Single Shot (also sometimes called .25-20 Stevens) is about .030 smaller rim, close to .080 smaller ahead of the rim, .060 smaller shoulder diameter, but longer to the shoulder, longer shoulder, longer neck.

The reference where I got the .25-20 SS cartridge dimensions to compare SS to WCF included a quote that stated that Winchester "adopted" the .25-20 SS cartridge before Stevens did, and applied the WCF tag -- but the Winchester cartridge is clearly different, shorter and fatter than the Stevens (which was, I read, originally published in 1882 by J. Francis Rabbeth, may have been the first .25 size wildcat).

[GBertolet]

Get the .303 British collet die. It sizes all but a small portion of the bottom of the neck, which is good enough for my U.S. Krag. Depending on what diameter you size your bullet to, you may want to reduce the diameter of the mandrel a few thousandths, as the std .303 British diameter is around .311. I am using .310 diameter cast bullets, so I reduced my mandel by chucking it in a drill press and used emery cloth to accomplish the task. There is a limit on how much you can reduce the mandrel, maybe 2 thousandth at most.

[EDG]

You might investigate cutting off a 30-06 collet die.

[sisterjim]

Thank you " I'll make mine". Apologies to "Arnie" I'm no wanting to hijack your thread. JIM