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Some say they'll work with "Improved" cases. Is that true?
The cutaway photo on the Lee website looks as though the collet fingers would crush the body and shoulders of a straightened body with sharp shoulders.
Anyone experience this?

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Originally Posted by MZ5
I have collet neck sizers for every cartridge I load for (that Lee makes one for, at least). I've even considered getting custom ones for the cartridges they don't normally make. They work beautifully, I don't have to lube cases, I don't work the brass as much as FL dies, the results are just as good as any other dies I've tried, and they cost a whole bunch less than any other neck-sizing dies I know of.


Same here for me.


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I use my .250 Savage collet die for the .250AI. Works like a charm. I have factory crimp dies for the Hornet (Thanks for the recommendation go to Rocky Raab and others) and the .45 Colt. Excellent product.



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Does the crimp die rest at the base of the neck and not against the shoulder? If that is the case and the shoulder has no real effect, would not every individual caliber be able to use the same die? ie. all 7mm's could use the same die.

Pardon my ignorance. You'll never know unless you ask and I'm not afraid to ask.


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Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhTUgytUGnM

These guys blabbing on here don't know nothing. LOL


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378Canuck

Can you give a brief description of the video. YouTube is not dial-up friendly and that's all I can get where I live.


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I really like the Collet Die. I use it exclusively. I have messed around a little with the Crimp Die, but have not developed any data that I would consider "hard" when comparing its use to not using it. I would, in general, say that it tends to increase velocities a bit, but not what I would consider significantly.


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Originally Posted by Longarch
Does the crimp die rest at the base of the neck and not against the shoulder? If that is the case and the shoulder has no real effect, would not every individual caliber be able to use the same die? ie. all 7mm's could use the same die.

Pardon my ignorance. You'll never know unless you ask and I'm not afraid to ask.
http://accurateshooter.wordpress.com/2007/12/29/tips-for-using-lee-collet-dies/
Try this site-not so heavy.


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I've used the Lee also but I seem to get better results using bushings. I fire form my brass to get chamber size and order the bushing (Redding)accordingly to get just the right neck tension. Then I have what I want -consistency. I anneal after 5-6 firings so necks remain soft and lose their memory to avoid uneven neck tensions. I use the Lee in my auto loaders.


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The crimp die is cartridge specific. It holds the round as you run the ram up and the shell holder contacts the collet slide to push it up into the die to constrict and crimp the case mouth. Adjusting it deeper runs the slide higher into the die creating more squeeze. The top is open, so it has no effect on seating depth of the bullet.



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Originally Posted by 378Canuck
I've used the Lee also but I seem to get better results using bushings. I fire form my brass to get chamber size and order the bushing (Redding)accordingly to get just the right neck tension. Then I have what I want -consistency. I anneal after 5-6 firings so necks remain soft and lose their memory to avoid uneven neck tensions. I use the Lee in my auto loaders.

Interesting! My experience with Lee neck dies and the Redding neck die with bushings was the opposite.

Using my RCBS case gizmo to check alignment, I found the Lee neck collet die gave just as good alignment as the Redding bushing die, and was not sensitive to neck thickness as the Redding neck bushing die was.

I disliked being forced to turn necks, or to get a different bushing for different brands of brass. So, I kept the Lee die, and sold the Redding neck die and all its bushings.

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I found this result on my 338/378 weatherby and on my 378. May have something to do with the Weatherby neck. Haven't bothered to try the collet die on my 338 Lapua IM, went straight to Redding and bushings. However I use only Lapua brass which is some of the best on the market. It comes pretty damn straight and uniform on neck thickness.


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Hej 378Canuck

Well, you could not get two more different calibres for "our comparison"!

Mine was a .222 Rem, yours the mighty .378 Weatherby.

I too (now) use nothing but Lapua brass in my .222 -- it is amazingly good!

Actually, as a 3 decade handloader, I hate to admit it, but I hate a devil of time even matching the accuracy of the Lapua FMJ factory rounds that I purchased to get the brass to reload.

My best tailored reloads with Norma brass just neck sized were still less accurate than those Lapua factory loads.

I have a .375 H & H so I am not a stranger to recoil, but I have fired a .378 Weatherby -- I salute you and your rawhide-covered cast iron shoulder! smile

John (Canuck in Sweden) smile

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Actually it's not so bad after I stuck that 30+ oz NF scope on it and the heavy McMac-tupperware stock. If I run out of bullets, I could still club them to death with this thing. LOL


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I will have to try these Lee crimp dies.Seems like everyone likes them.


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Originally Posted by Huntz
I will have to try these Lee crimp dies.Seems like everyone likes them.

I was very skeptical, but gave them a try when the last round in my 5 shot magazine in my .375 H & H would get pushed in the case by recoil because I was seating the bullets out where there was no ring to crimp on (with a conventional die anyway).

Three rounds in the mag were no problem, but this rifle held 1 + 5 shots and the bullet in the last round would start to move in spite of an undersized expander ball in my sizing die.

The Lee collet crimper die allowed me to crimp even on a smooth X bullet, fixed the problem of the bullet moving, and cost very little. I do not recall accuracy changing at all, but some have sure reported improvements.

I understand Lee crimp dies for pistol calibres do not use the fingers and collet, but I sure like the rifle dies (which do use this approach).

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Things come to mind... I've never seen a long range shooter or BR shooter even THINK of using a Lee die.... and I"ve never seen either see the need for a crimp as a good thing.

I"ve run well over 100K rounds through ARs, maybe double or triple that even.... and never crimped one round.

IMHO there are better ways to skin a cat, but IF it works for you, then thats all you need to know.

I do have a handful of Lee dies collected over the years and I have done my best to not ever buy another.


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Originally Posted by jpb
Originally Posted by Huntz
I will have to try these Lee crimp dies.Seems like everyone likes them.

I was very skeptical, but gave them a try when the last round in my 5 shot magazine in my .375 H & H would get pushed in the case by recoil because I was seating the bullets out where there was no ring to crimp on (with a conventional die anyway).

Three rounds in the mag were no problem, but this rifle held 1 + 5 shots and the bullet in the last round would start to move in spite of an undersized expander ball in my sizing die.

The Lee collet crimper die allowed me to crimp even on a smooth X bullet, fixed the problem of the bullet moving, and cost very little. I do not recall accuracy changing at all, but some have sure reported improvements.

I understand Lee crimp dies for pistol calibres do not use the fingers and collet, but I sure like the rifle dies (which do use this approach).

John
I've never seen bullets slide back in the brass from recoil. You need to anneal your necks more often to remove the springyness(may not be a word). Like I said before after 5-6 firings they seem to spring open a bit after sizing. My findings. I don't know metalurgy but something seems to happen to the brass and it develops a memory. Maybe others with more experience know why or can explain it better than I can.


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I am sold on the Lee "Factory" Crimp die especially on hard recoiling pistols and rifles..Never had a bullet even come close to moving on the hard recoiling 454 Casull and it helps big time with heavy bullets in the 45-70..I would hate to think of reloading either without it.

I have both RCBS and Lee dies and use the Lee's more often.

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I have used the crimp dies in several rifles that i couldn't get to shoot otherwise and got an improvement in them all. They were all auto's or levers or magazine rifles that had short magazines compared to how the barrel overall length was set.[mainly browning levers and autos] One 270 blr of a friends went from 4 inch groups at 100 to 1&1/2 just from crimping. I now crimp any rifle i can't get to shoot a reasonable group.
Fred


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