Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Lee Collet & FL used w/o expander - any benefit?

I tried to write this question several times and couldn’t quite get it right so here goes:

BLUF: First time using Lee Dies. I want to maximize case life and neck size as often as possible before running a FL. I do not want tight cases when chambering - this is a hunting rifle.

Gear:
Tikka t3x Superlite
Once fired Lapua brass
Lee Ultimate Die Set
Old Bonanza Co-Ax press

I wanted to use the Collet Die alone but resized cases were just too tight in the chamber and marked the case head.

Removed the expander button in the included Lee FL sizer and resized. Cases now fit great.

Ran them back thru the LCD and the FL case was tight over the collet guide shaft (FL provides a tighter bullet fit than the LCD) interesting that with this die set a loader can decide between two different bullet tensions.

Question: Does this overwork the brass too badly? Is it beneficial or harmful to case life & accuracy.

Note to JB: your GG2 load 46g of Hunter / 129gr Hornady IL shot .75 right out of the gate.

Thanks!

Sizing the neck more than necessary will shorten brass life. Of course how fast depends on how much extra sizing is being done.

Mathman - would you let concentricity & accuracy test results determine weather a loader uses the LCD before the FL or the other way around?

If you're needing to use the FL die then why add a step for the collet die?

Runout would be my only gain otherwise I’m wasting time I suppose

If the FL die induces runout I don't see how the collet die will reduce it.

I'm wondering if your load is too warm? Typically, most once-fired cases should chamber nicely after neck sizing in a Lee collet die. I know this isn't always the case, just kinda thinking out loud.

I did get very slightly sticky bolt lift at 46g but nothing alarming otherwise. 45.5 was only slightly less sticky & I didn’t think much of it. Did not have my chrono set up so was sorta flying blind. Never thought about the downstream effect of over-pressure. I’ll load 44 & 45 to compare.

Great thought - thanks Super T!

Why didn’t I think of it that way. You’re right!

Duh moment here.

What is the chanbering?

This is exactly why most using a Lee collet neck die use a Redding body die instead of a FL die

Or a different FL die suitable to the task. For example, a 7mm08 FL die with the expander removed makes a good 243 Win body die.

Saddlesore - 6.5 Creedmoor

Math - why a 7-08? Guarantee not to touch the lower case section?

Saddle - off topic but I haven’t typed or thought about the phrase Saddlesore for 2 decades- I left the Winds in Wyo and rode countless miles in the mountains with my old friend Grant Beck.

A guarantee not to touch the neck.

So a Redding body die is in my future - I’ve got a lot of calibers I load for but don’t know off-hand if a parent case of larger caliber exists for a 6.5 CM - maybe a .30 TC? No idea about that.

Any FL die can be turned into a body or bump die by reaming out the neck a half caliber. The body can also be honed for a perfect fit to your chamber. Lee will do this for a nominal fee also. I buy bargain bin dies and then do the mods on them when I can find the right die.

Is this brass "once fired" in this rifle or another?

Exactly.

You can buy a Redding body die, but reaming the Lee FL die does the job and for a lot less.

You'll always need a body die with the Lee Collet neck sizer. This is the way I solved it. It takes some work as these dies are pretty hard.

You can also use a larger size, same body. You can use a .308 FL die as a body die for a 7mm-07, etc.

This one was a 22-250, I didn't have the next size up, so I reamed the neck.

DF

Yes - once fired in same rifle

Great idea DF - I’ll take a look in my old die stock to see what might work.

Strange that it won't go back into the original chamber it was fired in. I kind thought it was fired in another rifle with a smaller chamber.

I have two 300H&Hs. One makes the fired brass larger than the other so won't fit.