lee collet dies

[corey012778]

I did do a little search on them. nothing I found satisfied the questions I had about it.
how easy is the setup is on them?

is it worth buying another set of dies?


how much better are they over regular dies?

[Maven]

They neck size only by forcing the fired case neck into a collet. Ergo, there's no need to lube the case or inside of the case neck. Moreover, they produce a neck sized case with very little runout, which is a good thing. With some of the collet dies, there's no need to use an "M" or expanding die (to slightly flare the case neck) when seating cast bullets. My .30-06 Lee Collet Die allows this, but my .243Win. Collet Die does not. The dies work as advertised, but I haven't seen a significant difference in accuracy after using them, but not having to lube and remove said lube from the case neck, plus not having to use the M die when resizing my '06 brass is very convenient.

[beemer]

The collet die works the neck of the case less than a conventional die. The necks are not sized to small and then opened up to the proper diameter, just sized to the mandrel. I did have one that did not size the neck enough, I just polished the mandrel down.

I have them for most of my calibers. I find especially useful for my 303 Brit, they are hard on necks and every bit helps. Another one is the 7.62 X 54, most dies size for a .308 bullet. I reworked a collet for the 303 and made a larger mandrel for a .314 boolit, that one really saves working the neck.

It depends on your situation as to their worth, it is another tool in the box. Like Maven I don't like to lube cases.

Dave

[Silverboolit]

I use it for my 308. I needed a .312 bullet for my throat and use a .303 British mandrel with the .308 die. I did have to order the rod as well as a new .308 bushing. Just have to open up the bushing a little in the die to hold the .303 rod. Works very well.

[Duster340]

I use them for all my 303 British and 7.5x55 Swiss loads. Easy as pie to set up and use, great accuracy and very good case life.

[fast ronnie]

I start with a full length sizer die that has been honed to slightly larger than what is required to seat a bullet. This die has had the expander ball removed so it doesn't pull the neck out of shape. I then use a Lee collet die to bring the neck down to the proper size to tension the bullet. This way, the brass doesn't get overworked, and the necks run true. Before I started doing this, the neck run-out was terrible. This seems to work very well. Group sizes improved a lot.

[corey012778]

I am using the regular lee sizing die for 300blk. Noticed that there was not a lot consent tension. A lot of time. So tight I can’t even load j word with out an expander die even. Sometime so loose I can drop a unsized .312 155 in without expanding. (Tested one when I noticed)

May have to order. Also sounds good not to have the extra cleaning step

[Clark]

I am loading ammo to go hunting.
I make 6.5-06 ammo by necking down a 30-06 case with in Forster 25-06 die with the neck honed out to 0.292".
When I measure the runout of the ammo at the bullet ogive relative to the case shoulder, I get 0.005" runout.

But if I find some of last year's fired cases, run them through the 270 Lee Collet Neck Die, with the mandrel cut down to 0.262", but the tip left at 0.275"... the resultant ammo measures 0.001" in runout on my Sinclair concentricity gauge.

That is why everyone is always talking about Lee Collet Neck dies. That is hard to achieve.

[Bird]

It depends on what you mean by better. Better accuracy, not always, as that may be dependent on neck tension and thus mandrel diameter. You may still have to bump the necks back with a full length size die occasionally.
The collet dies will save time in lubing, and will induce a lot less neck stretching and therefore trimming.
I still get better accuracy with 22-250 and FL sizing, but I have collet dies for most cartridges that I reload.

[corey012778]

the collet die for my 300blk is on order.

[wasa]

I use them for my 303 British (Mk 5 Lee Enfield, Ross Mark III) and 243 Winchester (custom bolt action). To me, the best thing about them is the fact I don't need to lubricate my cases. Hence, I use my turret press to reload these rifle calibers. Makes reloading so much faster than my single stage (which I still use when I need to full size brass (mainly range pick-up) or for my lever action & semis.

I have shot my best group with the Lee Enfield with the collet dies, although 100 yards with iron sights that might not mean anything to the scope guys. Still, I now have two sets of dies for the 303 and the 243 and I am happy with my decision. To me, it was money well spent.

[john.k]

With a bit of fiddling,the case neck can be any size ,the neck doesnt need to be pressed into the mandrel........so for 303s ,the neck can be an exact fit for .317" bullets.Or 315" bullets.Or anything down to 312".My gripe is that the collet marks the case neck,and if you dont rotate the case while using the collet at an oversize,you can end up with bulging into the gaps in the collet......The collet is very soft steel,not hard at all,so is easily modified ,if you like.......Breaking the sharp edges of the sawcut though will make marks on neck,if overdone....Yes...a good idea...but not perfect.

[jetinteriorguy]

If your brass is bulging into the gaps enough to leave marks on the necks, you are simply applying way more pressure than necessary. Best way to use the collet sizing die is to have it set to where it's just short of leaving a mark. It just doesn't need this much pressure to properly size the neck.

[troyboy]

In the search for concentricity, body size dies in conjunction with Lee's collet neck sizers and good brass have yielded the results desired

[john.k]

j/i guy.....in order to leave the neck id at 217".,I dont press the neck into the arbor at all.Excess force has nothing to do with it.......at .217" the collet doesnt close up,so leaving the sawcuts open,and brass does bulge into the gaps.Simple cure is to turn the case and press the bulges flat.The other issue is that a collet finished to be round at .212" id,is not round closed to .217",but a series of smaller segments......And as mentioned,any form of neck only sizing will gradually move the neck over to one side ......whereas a FLS die keeps the neck centered ,but isnt adjustable for different sizes...........unless its a custom multipart die.

[corey012778]

Came in. Don’t have any brass to size. After I shoot i do it all the same day. Hoping on my next day off. Do know I am wanting to go over sized

[Artful]

I like Lee's Collet Die - for my long range precision rifles I find it makes a difference with Jacketed at 300 yards and beyond.

[jetinteriorguy]

John K. So first I'm assuming a typo when your saying your sizing for a .303 but typing in .212-.217 your meaning .312-.317. So you are trying to size down to .317 to fit your bore, but your doing it on a .312 mandrel? I can see why this would leave marks in the neck without excess pressure, but it does make me curious how you accomplish this in a consistent manner. Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just curious how you do it. Perhaps you could get Lee to make an oversized mandrel for you, although I can imagine that would be rather costly being in Oz and all. Another thought would be to get a mandrel from a larger caliber and having it machined down to whatever size you need.