Which neck die?
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I got a Hornady neck die since that was the same brand of dies I got for my 260. It has served me well so far. I have only loaded about 200 rounds with it so far though.
M
milo 2.0
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If jayjay means type S, ok, but if he means the comp one, it would be one of the biggest waste of cash you could do. Let Bill Gates buy those.
I'm also a fan of the Redding bushing dies, although my experience is with their full length dies which I like for everything outside of benchrest. Whichever you do, make sure you back off the die per the instructions so the bushing can float.
Yeah, I like the Type s with the micrometer seating die. Brownells usually has them in stock with a decent price.
I still use my Lee Collet die but to get away from the picket fence marks I size in two or three steps. First squeeze the case neck a little (by feel) then lowering ram and rotating case about 45 degrees. I then take it all the way up and give it the full squeeze. I may repeat the last stem again if I'm in the mood.
I've added another die to my setup, a Forster Shoulder Bump/Neck Size Bushing Die. The Forster allows me to bump the shoulder without having to full length size and does yield pretty straight cases but the Lee still makes them straighter, doesn't require neck turning, and no lube. Just doesn't bump the shoulders.
I've added another die to my setup, a Forster Shoulder Bump/Neck Size Bushing Die. The Forster allows me to bump the shoulder without having to full length size and does yield pretty straight cases but the Lee still makes them straighter, doesn't require neck turning, and no lube. Just doesn't bump the shoulders.
I paid out the nose for these for my .338lm and they work good but I'll still had the picket fenc marks on the neck with those. They told me to deburr the inside of the bushing with fine grit sand paper. I did that and have yet to test it. Will today probably.
I'm not sure i understand how the micrometer works on the neck die. Does it just control neck tension?
M
milo 2.0
Guest
The bushing controls the neck tension, the micro controls the amount, or length the neck gets sized. Really, it's waste, I had one.
Lee Collet die all the way... as far as the fence marks...like the other guy said cam half way let up turn 180 degrees and cam all the way..past that send it to lee and they will make it right with you they always have with me.
I bought my first Lee collet neck die shortly after they came out, just to try. I soon "retired" my four conventional neck dies (various brands) and got "POS" Lee's for everything, and have added a few others since. My single ammo concern is how closely bullets cluster, not about how beautiful the necks look. YMMV.
Didn't mean to offend you. It's not so much how the brass looks, it's that it is compromising the structural integrity of the brass. It is scratching metal off of the neck. I'd rather not have to destroy my brass to get "close clusters." Also I'm not exactly sure how you get consistent pressure with a collet anyway.
you can reduce the brass scratching honing the offending sharper edges with fine grit sanding paper & oil_ I think the only real drawbacks of the Lee Collet be that the resulting necks aren't good for any turning and the debatable/tricky repeateability of his setting about the constriction, if removed/replaced and /or changed of setting, but, aside that, on the target I don'see it inferior to my Wilson or S Redd._
M
milo 2.0
Guest
I just annealed 500 7mm saum brass yesterday, sized about 75 before I noticed the scratching, big mess! I just tumbled the rest and spread a little Imperial and all was good.
I was surprised the annealing process started that fiasco.
I use lee collet without issue or picket fence marks
but I dont set it up per instructions
I just set it till i get -just enough to hold the bullet in place
if your shell plate touches the die when ram is up like instructions say -thats way to much IMHO
on my rcbs press anyway
I set the die pretty far up
so far that I can barley feel die touch the brass when neck sizing
just try press bullet into case with your fingers & keep moving the die a little at a time till you cant
then load a few & shoot em
I use lee collets on my 223 ,308, & 300wm no issuses -no marks
they work great IMO
I have a rcbs neck die for my 3006
it also works well -except I cant adjust the amount of neck tension- like I can with the lee collet die's
I may not be sizing the whole length of the neck this way -but it shoots well- less than moa & that works for me
but I dont set it up per instructions
I just set it till i get -just enough to hold the bullet in place
if your shell plate touches the die when ram is up like instructions say -thats way to much IMHO
on my rcbs press anyway
I set the die pretty far up
so far that I can barley feel die touch the brass when neck sizing
just try press bullet into case with your fingers & keep moving the die a little at a time till you cant
then load a few & shoot em
I use lee collets on my 223 ,308, & 300wm no issuses -no marks
they work great IMO
I have a rcbs neck die for my 3006
it also works well -except I cant adjust the amount of neck tension- like I can with the lee collet die's
I may not be sizing the whole length of the neck this way -but it shoots well- less than moa & that works for me
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The four faint longitudinal lines come from the slits in the sizer collet. The lines have NO effect on the structural intergrity of the necks but they may show you're applying much more lever pressure than is needed. Once the neck interior is in firm contact with the steel center mandrel, applying more pressure won't make the necks any smaller.
I'm by no means offended but Lee's loading tools get labled POS for a lot of different reasons, none of them valid. IMHO.
I'm by no means offended but Lee's loading tools get labled POS for a lot of different reasons, none of them valid. IMHO.
Lee is an interesting brand. Some of their stuff is cheaply made (on purpose - a marketing guy would call it "affordable"), and obviously so. But every once in a while they make something great and nobody believes it because it's Lee. My first hand priming tool was a Lee. I later "upgraded" to an RCBS model only to find out the Lee was better all around. The collet dies are another gem from Lee. I don't use them, but it's a neat concept and they've done a good job with them for 1/3 the price of expensive dies. What's evident is that they put a lot of thought and effort into making stuff that will get the most bang for the buck, and they should be commended for it. I no longer skip the Lee section when browsing stuff- they've done a lot right in recent years.
I've been using a Lee Collet die for my 308 for a few years and I love it. The marks are very faint and don't really bother me. As far as damaging the brass I'm on my 7th (and likely last as there is no reason to push to failure IMO) go around with a set of federal brass and have not had any trouble.
I set mine up like acts238 above...and not per the Lee instructions. I don't have to guesstimate how much pressure I'm applying, and do not get any exterior marking. Polishing all the internals (see YouTube for that) really made a difference as well. I've been happy with the LCD thus far. I agree Lee sometimes suffers from being considered 'legitimately high-end', but it is hard to argue with the results.
After using the LCD, my neck runout is typically ~0.001". When I use my Forster FLS, it is ~ 0.002" - 0.0035". I'm not happy with that, and this is even after sending the die back to Forster to have it honed.
After using the LCD, my neck runout is typically ~0.001". When I use my Forster FLS, it is ~ 0.002" - 0.0035". I'm not happy with that, and this is even after sending the die back to Forster to have it honed.
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