Lee Necksizing Collet Dies

[mrbill2]

Lee Necksizing Collet Die Opinions,good or bad. Tell me what you think before I buy.

 

[SRB]

I like them. $16 for one is an easy try.

 

[Winchester69]

All Lee products are cheaply made. All are subject to production variances. Some are innovative designs. How much variances influence functionality is dependent on the product.

The collet die is a unique design that works well. It requires lubrication and some "blueprinting." Caveat emptor.

 

[mrbill2]

SRB: I'm looking for a die for the 204 Ruger. Can't find one local, Lee wants $24.95 + $4.00 shipping. Looks like I'm going to have to go that route.

Winchester 69: Blueprinting, I'm lost. Help.
Mr. Bill

 

[Winchester69]

Winchester 69: Blueprinting, I'm lost. Help.

If the collet leaves marks on your brass, you will need to polish the edges of each finger. If the neck tension isn't right, you will need to either adjust the diameter of the mandrel or get another from Lee. There are other tricks to accommodate the collet's wearing.

 

[JBM]

I use them; I like them; I recommend them. Try it you will like it.

 

[wolfman]

I've found that a very slight bump w/ a body die, and then collet sizing the neck makes for super accurate ammo, w/ very little fuss. Of course it just happened to work out the the mandrel in my collet die was just the right size....

 

[aimless]

I like em too,they could be the poor mans substitute for the Redding Bushing dies. I use them in 308 & 7.62x39. A check on the Sinclair Concentricity gauge reveals perfectly concentric necks after sizing.

 

[marchboom]

I tested several neck sizing dies for my .223 a few years ago. Overall, the Lee neck sizing collet die was the most accurate as far as neck runout and bullet runout is concerned. I would have no problem using their dies and I recommend them to anyone looking for better accuracy.

 

[mrbill2]

Gentlemen
I took the recommendations of the group a bought the Lee neck sizing die for my 204 Ruger. Used it on once fired brass and it works great. Run out on the necks are now .0015 or less.
Thank you all.
Mr. Bill

 

[Silverfox]

The Lee collet dies work just GREAT. No dragging the expander ball through the necks, and my favorite about them is that there is no need to lubricate the inside or outside of the casing. Like Winchester69 mentioned, though, you should do a little polishing/sanding on some of the parts of the collet die. Here's a little photo to give you a look at the parts that usually need a little tender love and care:

One other word of advice--NEVER EVER run the ram of your press up on the collet die without a casing in the shell holder. You may make the collet fingers lock onto the mandrel or make the nose stick up in the beveled portion that squeezes the fingers onto the casing neck. Then when you lower the ram and place your casing in the shell holder and run your casing up in the die, you'll wind up with casings that look like the ones in the photo below!!! Experience is a good teacher, but you don't want to experience ruining casings like this. Just take my word for what happens and NEVER run the ram up without a casing in the shell holder. Yes, it took me a few ruined casings before I took the die apart and did some TLC work on it. These were brand new casings too :cry: :cry: