Lee Carbide Pistol Dies

[jlh]

I haven't bought dies (primarily RCBS/Lyman) in many years, and was greatly surprised to see how much prices have increased in the interim. I am now looking at Lee Carbide Pistol Dies. I am considering a 3-die set in .380, vs the more expensive RCBS. I don't think I would like the 4-die set, because that just adds an extra step in the process, and the 3-die set, seating-die, should seat/crimp, anyway. I am loading on a single-stage, and a turret-press, and do not have a progressive. Your thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[dragon813gt]

I buy Lee dies first. If they don't work to my liking I buy another brand. I have found little need to buy other brands.

You are going to get a slew of opinions on why you should or shouldn't buy Lee products. Buy them and if they don't work for you resell them here.

[Uncle Jimbo]

I have and use a set of Lee dies in 380 and I like them very much.They work as well as my RCBS dies that I have in other calibers. I don't think you will be unhappy with them.

[Pine Baron]

I like the 4-die sets. I don't always use the FCD, however it can also be used as a full length sizer, if you back off the crimper. I just feel the extra money is well spent for "Just in case". IMHO

[jlh]

I haven't bought dies (primarily RCBS/Lyman) in many years, and was greatly surprised to see how much prices have increased in the interim. I am now looking at Lee Carbide Pistol Dies. I am considering a 3-die set in .380, vs the more expensive RCBS. I don't think I would like the 4-die set, because that just adds an extra step in the process, and the 3-die set, seating-die, should seat/crimp, anyway. I am loading on a single-stage, and a turret-press, and do not have a progressive. Your thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I have had no trouble with Lee dies at all, with the one exception of a decapping die where the collet just wouldn't hold the de-capping pin tightly enough. Sent it back to Lee and got it returned with the proper collet in just a few days time at no charge. I use their turret press quite often, and recommend the 4 die set. The Factory Crimp Die is just about the best thing since sliced bread for semi-auto pistol cartridges because it has a carbide ring in it similar to the sizing die, and sizes the cartridge on the way in to be crimped and again on the way out, so if your reloads will run through the FCD they'll run through you pistol with no possibility of an oversized ring behind an excessive roll crimp or the bullet pushing into the case from an insufficient taper crimp. Take a hard look at the Lee equipment--usually a great deal.

[mdi]

My "4 die sets" for my handgun reloading include a dedicated crimp tool (not an FCD). I still prefer to seat and crimp in different operations and on my turret press, it's just .5 seconds more "work"...

[tazman]

I run Lee dies for my 9mm, 38 special, and 357 mag. After thousands of rounds, they are still producing excellent ammunition with no problems.
I also like to crimp as a separate step after seating. It just seems to work better. I use the Lee FCD for the crimping step. It doesn't effect my ammunition in any detrimental way.
The only time the sizer in the FCD touches anything is when I have an extra thick case wall or an oversized/unsized boolit. The crimp part of the FCD works well.
I mostly run them on my classic cast turret. The extra speed I get over a single stage press is nice and with the turrets being so easy to swap in and out, changing calibers is a snap.

[VHoward]

Nothing wrong with Lee dies. I have used them without issues. I don't care for the factory crimp dies, but that's just my preference. If after the last step, your bullet will not fit your chamber or a case gage, you have got other problems and the factory crimp die is just a bandaid to cover it up.

[jmort]

I have a few different brands, but most always start with the Lee 4 die set for handguns. Use the FCD handgun for jacketed semi - auto ammunition and the Redding Profile crimp and Redding taper for cast.

[Bookworm]

I have been using Lee carbide pistol dies for years. No complaints. Although, to be fair, I've never used any others, so I may be missing out and not know it.

[Bookworm]

Double post

[singleshot]

After having sampled all manufacturers I usually buy Lee now. No complaints.

[singleshot]

Of all the brands I've tried, I like Lee best for the money.

[swmass]

I've grown used to the lee dies.. I know exactly how to set them quickly and how much crimp or case mouth expansion im gonna get while making adjustments. Some people like the more expensive dies but hey, I screw the die in.. and they work, so I see no reason to change. My guns haven't minded that my reloads are made on lee dies lol.

There may be something I'm missing like durability that some of the holder guys on here have discovered since I've only been reloading for a few years, but I've got probably 10,000 rounds loaded on my 9mm dies and they work fine.

[DougGuy]

The only thing I could add to this is to use a taper crimp die as the final crimp. Use the boolit seater/roll crimp die to remove the bell and straighten the case mouth then taper crimp. I think you hve to buy the taper crimp die separately.

[1_Ogre]

Personally, I only use RCBS dies and don't figure in the cost of the dies because they will last me a lifetime. I stay away from the Lee dies because I don't like the way they use an "O" ring setup when you initially set them up, and I don't like that "SETUP". I use the RCBS and tighten them up then I know they won't slip when seating or crimping/taper crimp. Just a personal opinion, not dispariging Lee dies.

[DerekP Houston]

you make a fair point about the locking rings. I bought extra heads so I don't have to set them up again for my most common loads. I had one set missing the seating die and the 380 expander needed a bit of polishing with sandpaper. Other than that no complaints with using lee dies.

[VHoward]

If the lock rings are your only complaint, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady and Dillon lock rings will fit Lee dies.

[1066]

I'm probably a little odd because I actually like the "O" ring locking rings. - I have found, when tracking down causes of slight runout on long range rifle rounds, that the solid locking ring has sometimes been a problem. When using a solid lock ring, as in my decent Redding dies, I can detect some runout, if I just back off the die a little and let it free float I get no runout. I've changed the lock rings to Lee and still get no runout.
To stop them moving I run another Lee lock ring on the die first, fitted upside down. It's then an easy matter to nip them together to lock them in place.