Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Lee collet die

It's dirty job but somebody has to do it.


So what do you have against Mr. Collet anyway?




Lotsa corn of all kinds in South Dakota.

I recently got a Lee collet sizer for 30-06. Have high hopes! I have watched my RCBS dies oversize and then sloppily expand case necks for too long. What the hell kind of brass do dies manufacturers control for? Even some 270s that I opened up to 30 cal for S&G get worked way too much in the neck.

Those of you using the Lee collet die: how is it working for you? Any difference/improvement with accuracy or run-out? I imagine I shouldn't have to anneal near as often.

You can add using a 30-30 Lee collet die to load 303 Savage to the list. It doesn't size the whole neck but it gets maybe the top 4/5 and that's plenty

I use a 223 collet to "square up' 223 AI brass after FL sizing. You need to use a lot less pressure on the handle or you can mushroom the shoulder. I use it to reduce runout on my 600 yard ammo and it works well
But I'm not sure it would work as just a neck sizer.

I use a .280 Lee Collet die for my .280AI, works just fine. I use the Lee with a bench rest seater to load ammo that seldom has more than .003" run out. I'm a big fan.

Count me a fan, I use them for everything. It's the easiest way to reduce runout.

I use the collet die on my .223 AI and once in a while use a .357 carbide to bring the case wall back to size.

The Lee collet die should work with the improved case. It works on my 30-06 Improved. I have shortened a 308 Collet die to use on a 300 Savage.
I have just made a 22-250 collet die longer, and am hoping it will work on a 22 Hi Power. In my mind the lee collet die is one of the best reloading inventions of the last 50 years.

Bill.

Will add another validation to this thread. Use a std Lee Collet 7mm-08 die for the wife's 7mm-08ai with no problems whatsoever and generally get less the .002" runout.

Lee website says they will

http://leeprecision.net/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/99/14/ackley-improved-cases

Fwiw I use a 2506 collet to size 257 wby.
I also use 270 win collet on my 270 wby.

Just add washers to the top of the shellholder to activate the collet earlier.
The washers should be roughly the same thickness as the difference in dimension from base to shoulder/neck juncture.

After reading the posts here, I decided I would see what a 204 neck sizing die would do with a 20 TAC. Found it would size the neck about half way down and hold a bullet tight with hardly any run out. Will test the loads at the end of the week.

This has been an informative thread for me. Thanks to all of you for your input. I haven't shot enough collet-sized rounds to come to a conclusion yet. Has anyone done velocity tests between a fl die shoulder bump sizing and collet neck sizing? I'm wondering if I can just add to existing stockpiles of loaded rounds and get similar trajectories, velocity, poa, etc., or whether I should keep the two separate.

Although your experiences may be different, here is what my shooting partners and I have found.Typically, the neck sizer die has less neck tension than those full length resizers. Keep in mind we are loading and shooting mostly varmint cartridges in 17, 20, and 224. So, your shooting larger calibers/cases, could have different experiences as to how much case neck tension is needed.

Over all, our accuracy has improved with neck sizing and using a run out gauge. After all, when a case is fire formed and neck sizing only changes the neck configuration of the case. I doubt you will see any appreciable differences in velocity or accuracy.

IMO, it's hard to beat the Lee Collet neck sizer for concentric ammo. If you don't have enough neck tension, you can chuck the mandrel is a drill and with some 400 sand paper, cut it down a bit. Easy to do and it works.

DF