Dies

[odis]

I have a question about reloading dies, I know someone who is about to start reloading he will be buying a single stage press and starting out with 44 spec/mag. I am curious about the Lee carbide dies and whether they are as versatile as the more expensive RCBS, in the buyer comments they get high marks except some say that they are no good for seating cast bullets. My only experiance is with RCBS and the Dillon SDB dies. I don't think he wants something that won't seat lead.

[Calamity Jake]

Lee dies work just as good as the others although some of there sizers seem to size the case too much leaving a ring at the web, I don't like that so I don't use Lee dies.
At one time I set of RCBS 38SP dies do the same thing, there history too.

If he is going to load lead only then bite the boolet and get a set of RCBS cowboy dies, there made for loading lead.

[462]

Because they swaged down boolits, every Lee handgun die set that I used to own are now someone else's problem. They've all been replaced with Lyman, due entirely to their M die, and have been absolutely problem free, even with overly fat .433" .44 caliber boolits. I suspect that RCBS would give the same performance as Lyman, but the M die makes Lyman a winner.

[odis]

I guess I don't understand the difference I have been loading my own since 1979 and never had a problem seating a cast lead bullet although I haven't used my Rock Chucker for hand guns since I got my SD in the mid 80's I don't recall ever having any problem with cast with the RCBS dies. Do the Lees flare the case mouth minimally? The customer comments sounded like the seater was gripping the sides of the cast bullets.

[odis]

Because they swaged down boolits, every Lee handgun die set that I used to own are now someone else's problem. They've all been replaced with Lyman, due entirely to their M die, and have been absolutely problem free, even with overly fat .433" .44 caliber boolits. I suspect that RCBS would give the same performance as Lyman, but the M die makes Lyman a winner.I guess you were posting this while I was two finger typing, thank you.

[Char-Gar]

Odis... In principal, Lee dies function like every other die. I only bought two sets of Lee dies and that was years ago. Both were pistol dies and both had the expanding plug off center. I pitched the dies and have never bought another set of Lee die. They were replaced with Lyman dies. So, I can't speak to how Lee dies handle cast bullets.

Cast bullets, being larger than jacketed bullets, can cause difficulties in various makes of dies. This occurs, if the bullets is larger than the bullet seating chamber in the die. This varies from die maker to die maker and the size of the cast bullet.

For my cast bullet seating I uses either an extra large sleeve in a Vickerman die or an extra large bullet tunnel in a chamber type hand seating die. The discontinued Lyman PA (precision alignment) dies had an extra large sleeve for the caliber and make good cast bullet seating dies, when they can be found.

[cajun shooter]

The Lee FCD is about the only one that I buy. RCBS dies are much better and if using lead they are the best.

[462]

"Do the Lees flare the case mouth minimally?"

Flaring is not the problem, rather it's seating, or more accurately their swaged seating.

The M die doesn't "flare", it "expands" and adds a "step", for proper boolit-to-case alignment. It will not allow a boolit to sit askew, as it does inside a flared mouth, instead holding it firmly and perpendicular to the case mouth.

Another Lyman benefit is that their seater plug is machined to match the nose design of their moulds.

[noylj]

I have never had a "bad" Lee die and prefer them and their service.
I can get custom seating stems made for an inexpensive price.
If I could buy dies individually, I would buy a Hornady New Dimension Sizing die, a Lyman "M" die or a Lee PTE (been completely happy with both and prefer the PTE and all I load is lead), a Dillon or Hornady seating die (you can remove the seating insert in both without removing the die body from the press). All the taper crimp dies are good (and Lee makes taper crimp dies along with the FCD). For a roll crimp, the Redding Profile Crimp dies can not beat.
For a single-stage press, you don't need a powder-through expander die, but I still like the Lee expander inserts.
I also load oversize lead bullets and have not had the Lee FCD swage down my bullets, but that is an area I watch for and don't really use the FCD very often. It finds most use for .38 Special and .357 Magnum and for use with the Lee Bulge Buster.
Also, if I ever have a problem with any die, I would call the manufacturer and get it taken care of.

[1hole]

"I am curious about the Lee carbide dies and whether they are as versatile as the more expensive RCBS, "

I've been doing this a long time and own dies in some 12-15 brands, most long gone. I've never seen any average difference in the perfomance of any dies based simply on brand. "Versatility" depends more on the user than the dies, a knowledgeable user can pretty much do anything that can be done with any brand of die set.

I really like Lee's dies but like others as well. I find Lee's as good as any except Forster/Redding for rifle (Redding copied Forster's seater) and as good as any but Lyman/Redding for handguns and that's based on the excellant expander (Redding simply copied Lyman's M design).

Any die set will load lead if the case mouth is expanded or flared to accept the bullet's base.

Lee's excellant Factory Crimp Dies, rifle and pistol, are the best of their types no matter what die set you use for the reloading process.

[odis]

I thank all of you for your replies, the reason I ask is only because I have read the comments section on the internet like at midway and although Lee dies are highly regarded by past purchasers, the one complaint is that they have trouble seating cast bullets. That is not a problem I have experianced with any of my RCBS dies that I bought in the 70s or with my SD dies that I have used exclusively since the 80s.

[nicholst55]

If I could buy dies individually...

Not to put too fine a point on it, but you can buy dies individually. They end up costing you significantly more than a 'set' from any manufacturer that way, but it can be done.

Take a look at Midway (http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?pageNum=1&tabId=1&categoryId=8144&categoryString=9315***731***702***8345***), for one place; they may not have all the dies you want, but that's a different matter entirely.

[jaguarxk120]

It really come down to, you get what you pay for. All die sets will reload case's, but some will do it better than others and the quality of more costly die set's shows in the long run.

You don't have to finish the die makers job by sanding honing or working a speciality die that does a factory crimp that was never there to begin with.

Just because a die set is cheap and works doesn't make it the last word in loading.

[1hole]

Just because a die set is costly and/or shiney doen't make it superior in any way. ;)

[Char-Gar]

Just because a die set cheap and poorly finished doesn't make it quality die in any way.

[Mk42gunner]

odis,

I can directly compare Lee and RCBS dies in .45 Colt. The RCBS carbide sizer is smoother, it takes about half the effort on the handleof my Rockchucker to resize Starline brass. I do not like the Lee powder thru expander dies; the expander part sticks inside the case neck and you have to jerk the handle to get it to release (this happens on both the .45 Colt and the .32 Mag die set). From what I remember reading in the instructions years ago; it is designed to give the case/expander/powder funnel a shake, so that powder doesn't bridge in the die.

Of the two brands, I much prefer the RCBS for pistol dies, Lee rifle dies work okay for me, though.

Robert

[1hole]

"Just because a die set cheap and poorly finished doesn't make it quality die .."

Ah. Yes. But, no one suggested that cheap and/or poorly finished makes anything a guality die, have they?

Lee's dies are inexpensive, not "cheep" and their interiors are as well finished as competitors. Few of us shed tears about a lack of really shiney experiors and neat knurling because it adds exactly nothing to the quality of work that can be done with the dies, does it? ;)

[pmeisel]

Well -- I have dies from Lee, RCBS, and Lyman. No serious problems with any of them.

[odis]

I only posted this question because I was wondering if Lee dies could seat cast lead bullets as well as other dies, I have no experience with their dies and I am kinda trying to get some one into reloading who lives over a thousand miles from me. I have no interest in starting a bitch session over different products out there.

[nicholst55]

I only posted this question because I was wondering if Lee dies could seat cast lead bullets as well as other dies, I have no experience with their dies and I am kinda trying to get some one into reloading who lives over a thousand miles from me. I have no interest in starting a bitch session over different products out there.

I used to load .45 Colt - cast boolits exclusively - with Lee dies. They performed acceptably, and loaded ammo as accurate as the gun/ammo/shooter combo could shoot.

[dudel]

I have some Lee dies (along with some Hornady, RCBS and Lyman). They work well. The Lyman M dies (while very good), is a non issue to me as I use the Dillon powder dump with expander. I even used that dump mounted on a Rockchucker.

The Lee dies have worked fine (as have the others). One feature I like about the Lees (and Hornady) is the decapping rod won't break if it hits an off center flash hole or berdan case. Most of your sizing dies will have a flared mouth to make them easier to use on progressive presses. On some, the size of the flare can lead to an objectionable amount of the case bottom not being sized.

[spqrzilla]

I'm really not a fan of Lee equipment myself but I've never had any trouble with their die sets and still use several of them.

[Freischütz]

When buying dies you might consider the availability of decapping pins. The Lyman pins are harder to find and bend easily.

I haven't seen any pins for Herter's dies in years. They were smaller than anything else I had. I believe I made one from broken drill bit

[jcwit]

Well -- I have dies from Lee, RCBS, and Lyman. No serious problems with any of them.

Absolutely correct, if the dies are set up correctly.

This is like a discussion on polishing or not polishing brass and someone posts they do not tumble their brass, and see no reason for it. Guess they just like crappy looking reloads.

[Char-Gar]

1hole -- Birds go "cheep" and Lee dies are "cheap". The first and last set of Lee dies I owned were in 38/357 and the case expanding plug was off center, making the die unusable. I own 75 sets of Pacific, CH, Hollywood, Lyman, Bair, Redding and RCBS dies and never have I had a bad die.

I have only have one Lee press and there was so much slop in the turret and spring in the metal, I could not maintain critical headspace for match rifle loads.

I have no issue with the fellow who wants to use Lee stuff and save a buck. But, I do have an issue with the fellow who says Lee stuff has the same quality as other makes, for it just is not true.

Lee seems to have a cult like following of folks who believe that because Lee stuff suits their needs and fancy, it just must be as good as other makes. I have used Lee and on the whole, found it inferior to other makes and it does not suit my fancy. I am not stuck on any one brand of dies, presses or what-not, but I won't waste money on Lee. I am still using equipment I bought 50 years ago and have never had to "trade up" or replace bad stuff because it won't cut it anymore. I do believe you get what you pay for.