Lee boolit sizer,is that good enough?

[jeff223]

once i get my mold from the group buy im going to get started.a friend of mine told me i could use his sizer but i want to get my own.do you think the Lee boolit sizer would be good enough for me?size,lube and seat the gas checks on the 180 gr 357cal boolits for my 357max?

what do you all think?

[Bass Ackward]

once i get my mold from the group buy im going to get started.a friend of mine told me i could use his sizer but i want to get my own.do you think the Lee boolit sizer would be good enough for me?size,lube and seat the gas checks on the 180 gr 357cal boolits for my 357max?

what do you all think?

Jeff,

Yep. I have everything, and still use the Lee's.

[azrednek]

I'm with Bass Ackward, I have the higher priced equipment and often find myself using the Lee sizer and single stage press.

[beagle]

The Lee nose first sizers are good. They'll size and seat the checks better than a regular lubricator/sizer but they won't lube. You'll have to use the liquid alox for lubing and then size. Or size and then dip in the liquid alox.

This is one reason, and the use of multiple size dies that keeps the older guys using Lyman, 450s, RCBS, Stars and Saecos./beagle

[Rrusse11]

Jeff,
I give my 'as cast' boolits a light coat of the Lee liquid alox, I find a ziploc bag the best applicator, size after drying, and then another round of alox. You can either give 'em a quick trip thru the size die again,,,,, cleans 'em up a bit and gets more lube in the grooves, or simply load. The bell/flare on the case mouth also packs a bit more lube in. Unless running top velocity, I don't get fussed about filling the grooves completely. Felix can possibly weigh in on the notion that the minimal amount of lube needed is the best.
Cheers,
R*2

[Maineboy]

I use Lee push through sizers exclusively. I rarely lube boolits before sizing and applying checks, unless they are 3-4 thousandths oversize, then I might. On those occasions I've sprayed them with WD40 before sizing if I'm in a hurry, instead of applying a light coat of liquid alox and letting that dry. It doesn't take much liquid alox to lube boolits if the velocity is my usual 1200-1600 fps, but if the boolits are meant for more speed, I'll put on a second coat.

Years ago, when I shot a lot of 38-357 revolters, I did have an old Lyman lubrisizer, but I sold it when I sold the guns. I don't miss it.

[David R]

I have used the Lee sizer for TL bullets, but for my gas check pistol and rifle boolits, I use the Lyman 450. To each his own.

[44man]

The Lee will give the straightest boolits of any sizer. I use soft Felix lube and smear it in the grooves by hand and push them through the Lee. My RCBS lube sizer is under the bench!

[StarMetal]

44man

Not necessarily so. My older Lyman 450 lubes straight bullets and they are still straight when they come out. I believe if you have a good one that they worked just fine. Also I think the Lyman/RCBS sizers put gaschecks on better too. I've had alot of Lee sizers catch the check and ruin it and I would usually end up sizing throught them base first to avoid that. Nope, I'll take my Lyman any day of the week. It works very good and I don't have to mess with lubing by hand.

Joe

[drinks]

I use the Lee sizer, have never had a check hang up, yet.
I was getting tired of letting the liquid alox dry overnight, tried a few things,the least messy and fastest way I have found is with Hornady Unique case lube, a can of very hard and slick lube, I just wipe my fingers across the lube, then fondle 4 or 5 bullets as I am putting on the gas checks, then rewipe my fingers, no stuck bullets and no buildup of lube so far.
I then put conventional lubes on the bullets before loading them.
Don

[buck1]

They work fine . I had a .309 but sold it after I got my RCBS sizer. I am going to get another one on my next order. I lubed the bullet by hand then sized . It worked fine for me. ....buck

[JohnH]

While I'm only 46, my wife calls me "old fart" and on some things I'm as stuck as an old fart can be, lubesizers are one of them. I have the Lyman 4500 currently. My first some 20 years ago was a Lyman 450. I then got the RCBS and thought I'd gone to heaven. I got the Lyman 4500 this go round, wish I'd held out to put together another 15 bucks, but I still like it better than messing with the liquid alox and all.

The Lee is cheap enough, get one and use it, use your buddies sizer too and make the decision that suits you. Both work. Each has there strengths and weaknesses. You may find yourself with both on your bench.

I still pan lube even though I have a sizer. A Lee sizer would be a nice quick way to seat gas checks on pan lubed bullets without changing the set up in my sizer as I frequently shoot small amounts of a given bullet. It is probably my dislike of the mess of the liquid alox that keeps me from being overly enthuesed about the Lee system.

I must say this though. I first tried the Lee system with their 45 230 RN tumble lube bullet. I was using it in a Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt. I had no trouble shooting 2-3" groups at 20 yards. I still remember thinking it was too easy to get that good a result from such a cheesy method. I shot a lot of those, still have the mold. Wish I had the Ruger.

[Buckshot]

..............Without a doubt, a push through die is going to give you your best boolits, so far as even sizing is concerned. For most pistol applications I T-L the slugs, whether they're a T-L design or not and for 38 Special target loads it may be a bit TOO much lube, but that's what I use.

For almost all rifle applications I use the Lyman lube-sizer press. If I was to load for ultimate accuracy I'd lube-size in a slightly oversized die and then run them up through a push through die if sizing were required.

..............Buckshot

[Cayoot]

..............Without a doubt, a push through die is going to give you your best boolits, so far as even sizing is concerned. For most pistol applications I T-L the slugs, whether they're a T-L design or not and for 38 Special target loads it may be a bit TOO much lube, but that's what I use.

For almost all rifle applications I use the Lyman lube-sizer press. If I was to load for ultimate accuracy I'd lube-size in a slightly oversized die and then run them up through a push through die if sizing were required.

..............Buckshot

So this is probably a dumb question...but is Lee Liquid Alox (tumble lube) adequate for non-tumble lube design boolits (in other words, can I tumble lube my Lyman .38's .44's & .45's with tumble lube instead of running them one at a time through my Lyman luber/sizer)?

Or will I get a leading problem?

I'd like to run them as cast (unsized) in many cases, and T/L is soooo much faster with large batches (500 - 1000) than my Lyman 450s are.

[Rrusse11]

So this is probably a dumb question...but is Lee Liquid Alox (tumble lube) adequate for non-tumble lube design boolits (in other words, can I tumble lube my Lyman .38's .44's & .45's with tumble lube instead of running them one at a time through my Lyman luber/sizer)?

Or will I get a leading problem?

I'd like to run them as cast (unsized) in many cases, and T/L is soooo much faster with large batches (500 - 1000) than my Lyman 450s are.

Yep! Depends on velocity, hardness of boolit, size vs bore diameter, yada yada,,,,,,,,, but try it, works for me for low/mid velocity plinkers.
R*2

[Maineboy]

You can push the velocity up to 2000 fps if you lube heavily enough, it may take two applications though. When I'm putting on a heavy coating, I stand the boolits on their bases and the lube tends to run into the grooves. I think it's pretty good stuff.

[BCB]

jeff223,

I have an RCBS Lube-O-Matic that I have never been able to get to lube bullets without a heck of a mess. I now just use it to seat gas checks, not full-length size the bullet, if I want to shoot the bullet as cast. The Lee sizers will seat a check, but the bullet must be pushed the entire way through the sizer. I have six of the Lee sizers and I really like them. I ordered a custom one to size to 0.278�. I use this one to size some 0.286�+ slugs down to use in the 270 Winchester cartridge. It works very well.
I have posted a picture (maybe). It shows RCBS 38-148-WC’s sized to 0.358� and a light coat of Alox on them. That is all the Alox I use unless the velocities are to be 1800 fps or faster. I think people put to darn much Alox on there bullets and it does get messy when seating them. I fully size these slugs so the will not cause a bulge in the case when seated. Sometimes this bulge will not allow the loaded round to chamber in my Security-Six. This sized slug will rattle my 5.5�x11� pendulum at 100 yards from a good sandbag rest. Good-luck...BCB

[grumble]

I agree with Mainboy. Liquid Alox is pretty good stuff. Might not be the best at velocities over about 1600, though.

Several comments about it being messy and taking a long time to dry. I thin the alox with mineral spirits, about 50-50. I pour raw boolits in a dedicated plastic container, add a few drops of Alox, and roll them around for a couple minutes. (no mess yet.) Then I pour the coated boolits into one of those aluminum foil turkey pans, also dedicated to the purpose. (still no mess.) I use a dedicated old plastic cooking spoon to smooth out the pile. (A little mess on the spoon, but not much.) Then I use a hair dryer to heat the boolits. Since the alox is thinned with mineral spirits, they dry quickly. (the only mess so far is on the spoon.) I let them cool off for a few minutes, and if they still smell like mineral spirits, I give the pile a stir with the spoon and another shot with the hair dryer. Elapsed time is about a half hour or 45 minutes at the most. (And only a slightly messy spoon to show for it.) The boolits are now ready for the Lee push-through sizer. Some boolits might be slightly tacky, but not much. After sizing them, they go back in the plastic container for another light coat of diluted alox, and into the turkey pan for the hair dryer treatment. Then they get a sprinkling of powdered mica. The result is a well-lubed boolit that's dry to the touch and ready for loading.

If I feel particularly fastidious, I'll clean up the "mess" on the spoon with a rag dampened with mineral spirits.

Compared to using "real" lube, it's about as easy as it gets. Lots cleaner, too.

[BCB]

Sorry about the large picture!!! How do I get it smaller the next time I decide to post a picture? Thanks...BCB

[Cayoot]

WOW!!! I can never get over how much great information you guys give out when someone asks a question!

Thanks!