Lee dies, Love / Hate relationship

[ohland]

I came to a fuller understanding of the usefulness of a Lee die today. I checked the 7-30 Waters seating die. Pulled out the seater/stem combo, and noticed a build up of loob from 285448s. A Q-tip with Hoppes #9 took came of that. RCBS dies, while _so_ much more sexy than the Lees, are fine for jacketed bullets. BUT... their seating screw is just that - a single diameter screw. With the Lee, back out the seater/stem, and it is all exposed!

Why does this matter? As much as I heart RCBS dies, they aren't perhaps suited for cast boolits (as well as the Lee) when used for modern calibers (like the 6.8mm Remington SPC). I have searched for hours on-line looking for the RCBS 6.8mm SPC Cowboy dies, and I can't find 'em :kidding:.

The only annoyance that I have with the Lee seater is the lack of screw threads up the length of the stem. Again, Lee is satisfied with the floating seater (works fine!) but if you have the round Lee die box, there is little else OTHER than the seater/stem combo to hold onto when you thread the die back into the round base. Very easy to add a couple of turns on the stem. Just think, use a jam nut on the fully threaded Lee seater stem and it STAYS IN POSITION no matter what. Huh, whodathunkit?

[500MAG]

Until I got dillon presses, most of my dies were Lee. They just get the job done and if there is a problem, it doesn't cost too much to replace. The one thing I like about Lee is the decapping pin that just pushes up rather then breaking off. Due to them being rather inexpensive, I just run up the crimped brass and hammer down that decapping pin to knock out the primer.

[ohland]

The one thing I like about Lee is the decapping pin that just pushes up rather then breaking off. Due to them being rather inexpensive, I just run up the crimped brass and hammer down that decapping pin to knock out the primer.

Thankfully, I have no crimped in primers. My druthers is to punch all the spent primers out with a punch and base separately.

[Janoosh]

I like Lee dies for their cost. But......the very best dies for a cast boolit are the old Herters...
I have a set for 30/30 that came with two neck expanders, one for jaxketed, and one for cast. And the seater is relieved enough for a large cast boolit. They work.

[DeanWinchester]

I've never found RCBS to be one bit better than Lee and as the OP has discovered, RCBS is a lot harder to clean. Lees generous through hole makes cleaning out lube a breeze.

[celem]

Until I got dillon presses, most of my dies were Lee. They just get the job done and if there is a problem, it doesn't cost too much to replace. The one thing I like about Lee is the decapping pin that just pushes up rather then breaking off. Due to them being rather inexpensive, I just run up the crimped brass and hammer down that decapping pin to knock out the primer.
Hmmm? My classic turret has no problem decapping crimped primers. I usually don't notice them until the next step on the press, the prime step. A crimped pocket won't usually seat and I feel it. I then remove the case and use a primer pocket reamer tool, put the case back in the press and continue.

[MT Chambers]

Precise dies from Redding, Forster, RCBS are best for reloading, cast boolits or otherwise.

[bangerjim]

I have done a ton of 9mm and 223 mil crimped primer brass and have yet to break a Lee pin! If I do, I will just make a new pin assembly and HT it.

For pocket swaging I use the RCBS die. It works on big and small pockets perfectly. The Dillon thing is really fast, but is pricy and usually on backorder of a decade!

Lee dies work VERY well and I have never seen the need to spend tons of dollars on the premium dies of other brands. All my carts shoot true and straight.....every time....using Lee products.

banger

[Tackleberry41]

Im not so happy with the RCBS stuff being sold anymore. Was just at a friends house other day, he had 3 308 dies, one with a stuck case, another older redding that you cant buy a decapping pin for anymore. And a ready to use RCBS die. Things were going good until we noticed the scratches on the brass, first ones were fine, brass had been tumbled. But now somehow there were several burrs in the RCBS die. I resorted to sizing with the Redding die, then backing out the RCBS die to decap and expand the neck.

It would have been nice if there was some sort of standardization with things, threads on the decapping pins were different so no swapping them, my Lee die of course isnt threaded at all. Not sure why RCBS has such long threads on their decapping rods. I have older dies from the 90s and with the decapping rod adjusted properly, just a little threads sticks out of the die, goes into the box no problem. A newer small base 223 die, adjusted properly theres 2 inches of threads sticking out, you would never need that much adjustment, and of course now you have to run it in to get it to go in the box, so has to be set every time. I guess they use 1 rod for all their dies, so works fine in a 300 mag die but way to long in something shorter.

So anymore I buy a set of LEE dies for cheap, then if need something more specialized just buy that die, since LEE doesnt make small base etc. But some of their stuff is just stupid on price, $90 for LEE 577/450 martini, $480 for RCBS and you have to buy a shell holder. Should come with a press for that price. Same with my Nagant revolver, wasnt gonna pay more for a set of RCBS dies than I did the gun.

[Janoosh]

Put that die with the stuck case in the freezer for a couple of days...then extract the case. ..it works.
+1 on lee specialty dies...and cost.

[mdi]

Hmmm? My classic turret has no problem decapping crimped primers. I usually don't notice them until the next step on the press, the prime step. A crimped pocket won't usually seat and I feel it. I then remove the case and use a primer pocket reamer tool, put the case back in the press and continue.

Definitely a need for inspection![smilie=s: No offense intended! In my old mind, the most important and first step for reloading any round is inspecting the case...

[celem]

Definitely a need for inspection![smilie=s: No offense intended! In my old mind, the most important and first step for reloading any round is inspecting the case...
I inspect as I load, for splits, dents, etc., but, admittedly, don't look at the primer because, as I said, crimped primers don't present a significant problem. If I feel primer seating resistance I then inspect the pocket for a crimp. I don't get many crimped pockets. If I did I probably would pre-inspect for them.