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Old December 11, 2011, 10:04 PM   #1
hounddawg
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Lee Collet neck sizers

Just wanted to say plus one for the Lees, I am now a believer in the Lee collet dies. I have been reading up on bullet concentricity and just happened to have a old Starret dial indicator and a couple of V blocks that have been gathering dust for a few years tucked away in a cabinet. I had just switched over from my Lee collet to another brand neck die just before loading the last batch of .308 in the safe.


I checked my gage setup by checking a few Lapua Palma cases that i had fired last trip to the range and cleaned but not resized or deprimed and was getting = or - .001 which told me my redneck engineering was good to go and started checking some reloaded ammo. Much to my surprise the ones that I had loaded with the Lee before switching brands were coming out + or - .001 to .002, the ones using the high price die were + or - .005. Resized some more brass using both dies and found the Lee die giving me near perfect necks. The other die was giving me .004 - .0005 runout and is now on Ebay if anyone needs a .308 neck size die and is not picky about concentricity it's a bargain.
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Old December 12, 2011, 07:32 AM   #2
savagelover
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I also like the lee collet dies..You can create you own neck tention on the bullet with them..Great for looking for the most accuracy you can squeeze out of your rifle...only my opinion...
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Old December 12, 2011, 07:38 AM   #3
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I have pretty much settled now on Lees for the neck sizing and Forster BR's ( non micrometer) for the seating
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Old December 12, 2011, 10:03 AM   #4
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good for you...
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Old December 12, 2011, 04:23 PM   #5
Romeo 33 Delta
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It's thumbs up for me as well. I used their collet dies exclusively for calibers for which I neck size only. I've even had them make some custom calibers for me, most recently a set in 7.62 X 45 Czech for a target bolt gun I own. First rate and makes reloading even easier!
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Old December 12, 2011, 05:19 PM   #6
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Yep. Lee collet dies for the neck, Redding body dies for the shoulder bump independent of the neck. 2 steps, but good outcomes. I use the Redding Competition Seater Dies for seating the bullets. Similar to the Forster, but adds a self-aligning floating seater stem to the sliding sleeve case alignment method. Works very well.
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Old December 12, 2011, 05:21 PM   #7
m&p45acp10+1
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Lazy reloader here. I love my Lee Collet Die. I do not have to mess with case lube or cleaning my brass . I just size, and go.

Also it helps that the brass I size with them give me my most accurate loads also.
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Old December 12, 2011, 09:28 PM   #8
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If you haven't taken your collet die apart, I would suggest you do so. You can check out the collet and make sure any fabrication chips are cleaned out. Some folks have problems with the collet and the tapered mating portion galling. Make sure you lube it. I polish mine - easy to do since it is just mild steel. The polish + lube insures the mating surfaces stay nice and smooth.

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Old December 13, 2011, 10:49 AM   #9
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that's a good tip, thanks
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Old December 13, 2011, 11:41 AM   #10
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Love my Lee Collet Dies. Really love the fact that they don't require lubed cases, anywhere. Once cleaned and polished they stay clean and polished.

For those that don't like the little ridges that can form due to the gaps in the collet, just size the case, lower the ram, turn the case 45 degrees or so, and size again. This helps smooth out the surface although you really have to look to see these lines.

Polishing the mandrel will allow one to increase neck tension if desired. If you polish too much and want to go back, the mandrels are only $4.

It's almost required that you take the die apart and make sure everything is clean and free of burrs before using it the first time. I lube the top of the collet and the corresponding sleeve with anti-seize on a regular basis.
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Old December 13, 2011, 01:23 PM   #11
Brian Pfleuger
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swmike
For those that don't like the little ridges that can form due to the gaps in the collet, just size the case, lower the ram, turn the case 45 degrees or so, and size again. This helps smooth out the surface although you really have to look to see these lines.
A good technique is to hold the sizing for 5 seconds, lower the ram slightly, rotate the case 180 degrees and size for another 5 seconds. The 5 seconds gives the brass time to "take" to it's new size and the 180dg rotation makes the already amazingly concentric necks even more so.
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Old December 13, 2011, 02:41 PM   #12
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Quote:
A good technique is to hold the sizing for 5 seconds, lower the ram slightly, rotate the case 180 degrees and size for another 5 seconds. The 5 seconds gives the brass time to "take" to it's new size and the 180dg rotation makes the already amazingly concentric necks even more so.
This is an excellent tip something I've done for some time with good results.
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Old December 13, 2011, 03:22 PM   #13
hounddawg
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thanks for the good tips guys.

In my never ending effort to eliminate flyers the case neck concentricity, cleanliness and tension is my newest obsession. BTW cheap neck clean to get rid of carbon is to swab the inside of the neck with some One Shot (the red stuff) with a patch and a jag. Does not make it shiny but it gets the soot off and is cheaper than an ultrasonic in the short run at least.
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Old December 13, 2011, 03:44 PM   #14
Brian Pfleuger
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I think you have a sickness!
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Old December 13, 2011, 04:02 PM   #15
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Looking for that magic one hole group.
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Old December 13, 2011, 04:05 PM   #16
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:::chuckle::: not a sickness - just an obsession to shoot the smallest groups possible from a bipod with bargain basement rifles and scopes
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Old December 13, 2011, 04:20 PM   #17
Brian Pfleuger
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Hm.... I think I have the same sick.... er, "obsession"....



Are you using Redding body dies for the body sizing when needed?
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Old December 13, 2011, 06:12 PM   #18
Romeo 33 Delta
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Peetzakilla ... I'll add my thumbs up as well on the 5 second hold. I wish I were a better shot to be able to take full advantage of the Collet dies. My aim is to make some of my exotic, expensive brass last as long as possible by not overworking the body.
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Old December 13, 2011, 06:50 PM   #19
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Like swmike said, alittle polish and anti sieze and you'll be fine. I have one for every caliber.
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Old December 13, 2011, 06:55 PM   #20
hounddawg
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Quote:
Are you using Redding body dies for the body sizing when needed?
not yet I am still in the learning stage for precision reloading. Using the Lee's for full body and Forster for seating in my .308 and have not yet bought a precision seater for my new .243. My AR is just a plinker and I have gave up on ever getting it below a half a MOA so I just shoot it open sights and use Lee's for everything on it. Got the .308 down to where I can do a ragged hole for a group of three or four but getting all five in the same hole is still a challenge. Guess I need to get to the range and practice more
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