lee 45/70 dies

[windwalker]

i am new to this forum, i shoot the lee 500r cast bullet in my h&r buff classic got the long expander plug from track of the wolf and the lee expander die,but still had to seat them by hand as my rcbs seating die's seating plug was the wrong shape. so i got a set of lee 45/70 dies as i was told the are good dies and the seating die plug was the rite shape for the 500r lee bullet. the seating die seats the 500r with out deforming the 500r. no mere hand seating.plus i think the lee dies are beter to use than my rcbs dies,i like the way they ajust no lock rings or srews.
bernie:-D

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have used a lot of both as well as lots of other brands. I don't like the screwdriver slot and lock nut on the RCBS dies, but they work ok, I currently have about three sets. I have about six-ten sets of Hornady New Dimension dies as they seemed longer and worked better when I used a Dillon 550B. I have also picked up several as I have bought several guns off a friend who is a dealer and he buys Hornady dies when he buys a gun for himself (I'm trying to squeeze a MkV 340Wby mag out of him at the moment). But more than anything, I have lots and lots of Lee die sets. They are great! Cheap as chips as well. I can buy a deluxe set, with a shellholder, collet dies, full length sizer cheaper than a two die set from another maker. They work as well or better than others as well.

That should make the Redding die worshippers jump (my first three sets of dies were Redding, they are ok, all gone in trades).
Mick.

[Ranch Dog]

I did about the same thing a number of years ago... I decided my bench was not Y2K compliant and replaced everything with Lee equipment based on my experience with what I had purchased from that outfit. I actually gave away all my other stuff... helping others get started in reloading.

I did keep one green and one orange box. The green box has an RCBS Stuck Case Remover Tool and the orange box a Lyman Check Weight Set. The red Lee die boxes can be seen on the cedar shelves.

[chunkum]

I reckon I'm just not as perceptive as I should be, or maybe just easy to please. I have Lyman, Redding, RCBS, and one old set of Herter's dies. Some of them do some things better than the others but, over the years, I reckon the dies and me have sort of accomodated one another. They will all load good ammunition. I do have a couple of Lee die sets and they do fine too. I especially like the Lee specialty dies, specifically the Lee Factory Crimp Dies and their Universal "neck expanding" Die. But I don't have a single die set to cull. Almost always, when I've found a die set lacking in some way or another, it's turned out that I was lacking in knowledge and understanding of how to use them. I do have a Lee 45-70 four die set that won't open up a case enough to load a cast bullet without shaving it, and after going through a couple of replacement intrinsic "neck expanders from their technical folks, I decided this was intentionally designed to sell the UNE dies and I bought one. It's been useful, so I now see this as a good thing too (maybe).
Best Regards,
Chunkum

[windwalker]

chunkum here is the page from tracks for the lee replacment expander plug's they cum in diferent sizes from .457 - .458-.459-.460 and are $2.99,they work realy well.
bernie:-D
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partList.aspx?catId=18&subId=212&styleId=1135&PageSize=10&Page=2

[Ranch Dog]

I do have a Lee 45-70 four die set that won't open up a case enough to load a cast bullet without shaving it, and after going through a couple of replacement intrinsic "neck expanders from their technical folks, I decided this was intentionally designed to sell the UNE dies and I bought one.

The "Powder Through Expander Die" is the die that flares the case mouth to accept bullets. You are having problems with this die expanding the case mouth?

[chunkum]

Ranch Dog,
That's the one. I went ahead and ordered the Lee Universal Expander after going through three of the "powder through" types from the Lee tech dept. They were all the same size would not adjust enough to allow comfortable seating of .457 - .460 cast bullets in the new Starline brass I was using.

Thanks windwalker for the link. I'll check it out today. Just now got my email notification on this thread.
c.

[Four Fingers of Death]

They all have their strong points. I forgot to mention I like the knurling on RCBS Dies, but the spanner flats are good also on Lees and others. Despite how Lee and Dillon both go on about their lock nuts (they share patents on these believe it or not) I don't like them at all. They can be bumped and when you tighten them up they move ever so slightly in relation to the die. I have found the absolute, "I'm never gonna budge no matter what!" lock nut is the Hornady ones. When you slacken them off they go completely loose and are easily removed or moved. Once tightened up, you can use a spanner to tighten / loosen the locked die and they keep their position. All got good points and all do a good job. I generally go with Lee Deluxe sets because I get it all in one box, inc a collet neck size die, FLS die, shellholder and I like a good crimp and the Lee Factory crimp is my favourite.

[13Echo]

Have you tried the Lee die set from Pat Wolf? It includes a special expander designed specifically for the long, soft lead bullets used in Trapdoors and includes a compression die for black powder. They work very well. You can buy just the die or die parts you need if you already have a set.

Jerry Liles

[chunkum]

Just located that site. Thanks. The UniversalNeckExpanderDie actually is a "bell/flare" type dies but has been getting the job done. But I am going to order this Wolf product just for comparison of performance.
c.