32-20 Lee die set

[brnomauser]

looking for a set of 32-20 dies and all I can see is Lee (I’m in Australia). A lot of people seem to prefer Lyman or Hornady, but is there anything wrong with the Lee sets? Only issue I can see is the powder-through-expander - how does this go with the thin walled case and cast bullets? Do you get enough control for correct neck tension? It sounds like a tapered plug, this means there won’t be a parallel section of the case mount to hold the bullet, is that ok?

[muskeg13]

I have a Lee .32-20 die set that gets a lot of use, and I have no issues with it. There have been no problems with the supposedly fragile .32-20 cases, but there are probably two reasons for that.

First, I've never used the expander die that came with the set. Instead, I use a Lee Universal Expander die that can be set to give just the amount of bell/case flare that you want/need. I use the Universal Expander when loading nearly everything (30 different calibers) because it does a fine job and is easy to switch from one caliber to another.

Secondly, I also recommend the Lee .32-20 Factory Crimp die and STRONGLY suggest that you perform seating and crimping in separate steps.

[Texas by God]

Not 32-20 - but my 44-40 Lee dies work perfectly for me. I use the PTE die and lightly crimp with the seating die.
But I’m loading for a single shot, not a lever action.
I use lots of different brands of dies, and Lee is well represented and regarded here.


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[brnomauser]

Thanks guys, they sound find. I run Lee for my 303 and I can’t fault them, although all my others are Redding/RCBS, it was more the design I was wondering about than their general quality. I know the lack of set screw is annoying but it’s easy to D&T one in. I’ll go easy with the PTE and consider I may have to find an alternative for that stage. Which is ok as I’ve got a die body I made to run various expanders I’ve made for other cartridges. Loading for an old 1892 but I don’t think that in itself is a major issue

[Tall]

I have a set of 32 WCF dies made by Lee. No issues, I also bought the Factory Crimp Die for that caliber so I have a four die set. It works flawlessly. The brass is a little difficult to work with, be sure that you start out very long and slowly work towards the sizing, seating and crimping depth.

[uscra112]

Is the Lee powder-through expander plug sized for cast bullet or jacketed? 9 times out of 10 I find die makers expand for jacketed, which is too small for cast. The only Lee expander I use is 9mm, and it is one of them.

[Texas by God]

I use the PTE for cast bullets in 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W, 44-40, and .45 auto with no problems.
I like the option of adding the powder charge through the die.


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[Tall]

Is the Lee powder-through expander plug sized for cast bullet or jacketed? 9 times out of 10 I find die makers expand for jacketed, which is too small for cast. The only Lee expander I use is 9mm, and it is one of them.

I have only used cast bullets sized .3125".