Tip for those using Lee Collet dies

[bigedp51]

Kenny474

It was Christmas here today and a new .243 Lee Collet die arrived and I spent some time taking off the rough edges.

All joking aside please keep us in formed on your uniform collet die pressure and how well it works out for you.

NOTE: No Lee Collet dies were killed or injured during the filming of this posting.

 

[ReedG]

Kenny, I am 100% in support of you "doing it your way". I just enjoy the exchange of ideas and experiences. I wish you the best.

 

[RangerRob]

Awesome! I think just one more wrap of duct tape should do it! ;D

 

[gilream]

I’ve been using the Lee Collet Dies for a long time and I agree with the post above, they are ingenious in their simplicity and in the results they deliver. No one should ever have to drag that sizing button through a case neck again! It twists and bends the neck something fierce. I have other neck dies (Redding Type S and Competition) that use the bushings which are great to adjust neck tension and they can turn out very concentric case necks with neck turned brass when measured with the concentricity gauge. However, if the case necks are not turned, you are simply transferring the lack of concentricity to the INSIDE of the neck with a bushing. The inside dimension of the case neck is formed on the mandrel with the Lee Collet Die which is pretty close to perfectly round. With the resultant neck tension of about .001 to .0015, seating the bullet is smooth and the bullet does not size the case neck as it enters. The end result, which is what we are all looking for, is a bullet with very little runout.

I started using them years ago. First in a factory barreled hunting rig in 30/06 and my accuracy went from 1.5” at 100yds to under 1 inch consistently when using the Lee die. I’m no expert, so I’m not sure if it’s the resultant concentricity OR the neck tension that the die imparts but I know that my accuracy greatly improved in my factory barreled rifles. I use the bushing dies in my higher end custom barreled guns and love them too; they just require more tinkering and experimenting.

 

[Longtrain]

Big Ed:

I removed my decapping rods long ago and run-out was reduced to almost nothing, but I used a Sinclair expanding mandrel to expand the neck to give me a couple of thou neck tension. I own a Lee Collet die, but never got it to work well until I read this post and voila perfect cases, no marks!

I noticed in your "243" photo what appears to be a Sinclair expanding die, are you using this in conjunction with the Lee Collet?

Thanks,

Tony

 

[queen_stick]

Did someone say something about the torqueomatic Jaw Breaker 5000??????

bigedp51... that made my day... Laughing like a school girl over here!!! LMFAO!!!!!

 

[Kenny474]

Did someone say something about the torqueomatic Jaw Breaker 5000??????

bigedp51... that made my day... Laughing like a school girl over here!!! LMFAO!!!!!

The first time I saw it, I had to spend 10 minutes cleaning the coffee I spit out from my laptop.

 

[camac]

Great thread guys and hell funny to boot.
Kenny, I have my challenger press set up at the end of the bench and use it for bullet seating only as I feel it gives much more "feel" than the bigger presses. I shortened the handle to help increase the feel for seating pressure. I will have a go at your method as it is great and novel I think but maybe use an inch lb torque wrench for seating pressure

 

[bigedp51]

Big Ed:

I removed my decapping rods long ago and run-out was reduced to almost nothing, but I used a Sinclair expanding mandrel to expand the neck to give me a couple of thou neck tension. I own a Lee Collet die, but never got it to work well until I read this post and voila perfect cases, no marks!

I noticed in your "243" photo what appears to be a Sinclair expanding die, are you using this in conjunction with the Lee Collet?

Thanks,

Tony

This is why this posting is so funny and why I was really laughing at myself. If you fire a commercial .303 British case in a military .303 Enfield and end up with a warped banana shaped case the Lee collet die isn't going to align "ANYTHING".

The Lee Collet die will only keep a straight case aligned straight if the case was straight to begin with. If the case is warped and banana shaped when you use the collet die it will remain warped and banana shaped.

Moral of story.........

Even if you hang out in a accurate shooter forum your Enfields will "NOT" get any more accurate. The problem is any time you park a cartridge the size of a smart car in a chamber the size of a blimp hangar you will always have case and bullet alignment problems.

Imagine fireforming a rimmed .303 case with a rubber o-ring around the rim to eliminate headspace and center the rear of the case in the chamber.

Below a o-ring is slipped over the case and seated against the case rim, this is to eliminate head gap clearance and center the case in the rear of the chamber.

This is why I was joking around so much in this posting, Kenny474 is using a torque wrench to achieve consistent neck tension and I'm just striving to have "ANYTHING" constant when shooting whimpy undersized .303 cases in a large oversized blimp hangar chamber.

Longtrain, I'm using the Sinclair expanding die to create a false shoulder at the front end of the .303 case hoping to align a bullet with the cordite burned out throat.

Most nights after shooting my .303s I drink myself into a excess headspace induced coma. :'(

 

[Taxman1002587]

Kenny good idea. Years ago I set up a poor mans rig attempting to do the same thing as your torque wrench. I drilled a small hole at the (handle) end of the press arm and I suspended a two pound coffee can on a very thin steel cable to the press arm. I then pour lead shot in the coffee can (quite a bit) until the weight of the lead would provide enough down pressure on the press arm to give the tension I wanted using the collet die. I simply lower the press arm until the collet starts to squeeze the neck against the mandrell then I gently let go of the press arm and let gravity finish the sizing. I know it sounds hokey but it seems to work and I know it is more consistent then my simply going by feel.

 

[Longtrain]

Big Ed:

Thanks for the reply and PM, it's appreciated.

Tony