Precision reloading discussion

[82boy]

Out of curiosity have any of you guys had problems with Lee dies?


A lot of people like them, but my honest thought is you get what you pay for. I have had lee dies, and they preformed well, but they will have consintricity problems, and other things. They are fine for someone wanting a cheap die, and absolute acuracy is not a must. (Such as laoding hunting cartridges.) My biggest problem with lee is, if by chance you break a decaping pin you are screwed. Lee will not give out a new decaping pin, (Like any other die company.) but will charge you for it, that is not the bad part, they have a minmum order or $10 and $7 dollars shipping, you an get a new die set for what it cost to replace the part. After all that I will not buy any lee dies. All I can say.

[That1guy]

What about "Match" primers ? The Federal or CCI's ? Are they worth it?

[scnewt]

I use cci bench primers but only because it was like $35 for 1000 vs $32 for 1000 of the standard primers on the last order I made with Powder Valley Inc. I really can't tell a difference but I also can't tell enough difference in the price to not buy them. Buy in bulk and the price is almost the same.

[scnewt]

Nevermind. Now the price gap is $14. I might stay away from them now!!!

[That1guy]

WOW!

Federal 210 v 210M is only $6 difference. Bad thing is 2 months ago I ordered my 2012 stash of stuff from PV. So no more bulk order for a while. Cabelas locally has some, I'll test the difference to see for myself, but wanted to see if anyone else had hard data. I know for some guys I shoot pistol with, the Fed Match do shrink their groups at 50yds.

[82boy]

What about "Match" primers ? The Federal or CCI's ? Are they worth it?


Yes and no. The Federal match are no diferent than the standard Federal. (I was told this by a highly competitive, and well known, shooter, and rifle builder.)

The CCI Benchrest are a good primer, and in som cases it is a good fit. I like them loaded in a 22BR, and a 30 BR, seams like the perfect match.

The Remington 7 1/2 benchrest is another good primer, I been told that it is actualy considered a magnum primer. If it fits use it. I like them in fast twist BR applications like a 6 BR. I find they shoot just as well as the CCI mag primers.

All in all find what works and use it.

[GaCop]

CCI 450s shoot just as good in my 223AI and 6mm BR as the BR4s did, cheaper too.

[lal357]

i us lee dies for most of my pistol cals since all i do is plink with them and my ar-15 loads (my stress reliever)on a lee turret press. but for my rifle rounds it rcbs i may try redding out this year and up grade my press (had it since 1985) and give the set up to a friend who wants to start reloading.

[fgw_in_fla]

@ 82boy - I just got, within the last 3 weeks, 2 new decappers for my 30-06 & .270 dies at no charge. I called the Lee main number in, explained I dropped them & they broke & had 2 new pins within a week. Maybe she felt sorry for me as I explained I have left arm all slinged off & bandadged up from surgery? I told her I had use of only my right arm & dropped the dies. Got 2 new ones at no cost to me. I have absolutely no complaints about my Lee set up. They do everything I need them to do with no troubles although reading all the discussion about neck sizing, I hope to be calling Natchez to order a collet neck sizing kit for both calibers.

[82boy]

@ 82boy - I just got, within the last 3 weeks, 2 new decappers for my 30-06 & .270 dies at no charge.

Well my friend you got EXTREAMLY lucky. I have called Lee a couple of times and they want to charge an arm and a leg for a decaping pin. This is why I threw out 2 pairs of dies, (22/250 and 243) because everytime I have called they wanted more for the decaping pin that I paid for the set.

[fgw_in_fla]

82 - Actually, I did it twice in the past year. Maybe because I was wimpering on the phone? (j/k) :'(
I was prepared to pay for them if necessary but, I had to try for a freebie & scored. Maybe I got the "nice" phone girl & you got the "meanie"? >:(

Stay well, all.
I'm going in for yet, another surgery on my shoulder which means I can't shoot for another 4 to 6 weeks.... again.
Maybe they'll get it right this time. I'm running out of money & patience.
If I don't get back in time, I hope y'all have a Merry Christmas & a Great New Year.

[scnewt]

Now that I think about it I did lose an expander on my 38 special/ 357 mag expander die by Lee. They replaced it for no charge or shipping. For my pistol dies, Lee does fine. I own their 9mm, 38/357, and 45 acp pistol die sets. I really like how there crimp dies work. I guess for the price the Lee dies are fine. They are not good for making precission ammo though. For a pistol, as long as it chambers in the gun, Who Cares!!! ;)

fgw_in_fla,
Good luck on the surgery, and don't worry about not being able to shoot. I will take care of that! ;D

[scnewt]

Guys, I just had a random thought, is it possible for the Lee dies to be out of square with the shellholder due to the O-ring that they put on their lock-rings? If so my bullet alignment problem should be easily fixed by chaging to a better lock-ring such as RCBS of Hornady's rings right? I might give this a try especially since I hate having to readjust Lee dies everytime I mount them on my press.

[82boy]

Guys, I just had a random thought, is it possible for the Lee dies to be out of square with the shellholder due to the O-ring that they put on their lock-rings? If so my bullet alignment problem should be easily fixed by chaging to a better lock-ring such as RCBS of Hornady's rings right? I might give this a try especially since I hate having to readjust Lee dies everytime I mount them on my press.


You can try it, the only way to know is to do it. I kind of doubt that it will fix the problem, the biggest problem with lee dies is that the bullet seater floats in the die, and there is no suport on the case neck when seating bullets. On the rubber on the bottom of the rings, some experts say that this system works better, and they use them on their high end dies, stating that the die alings itself, and decreases runout. Some will use o-rings under their lock rings to mimic the lee lock rings. It is one of them things you just have to try and see. Here is an article on the subject.
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2011/05/try-using-o-rings-with-sizing-dies-for-reduced-neck-run-out/

[scnewt]

That seems like a good idea to use o-rings under the lock nut, but Lee's set up does not evenly cover the bottom of the ring when tightened. Part of the o-ring will tuck into the lock nut and part will hang out. It makes high and low points on the bottom of the nut and, therefore, could cause allignment issues. That's what I was thinking of.

That was a good article 82boy. I will try that on my next loads.

[hayboy]

The big O rings that are sold as water hose washers (not the flat washers) work good for me.

[Grit #1]

I do most of the things that 82boy does; however, all is pointless unless you test over the chronagraph. A load can shoot into the 3s at 100 yards and three minutes at 300. Why? Extreme spread. A 100fps extreme spread equals 6" of vert. dispersion at 1000yds it is 10" or better. Can't win matches like that.