Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Who’s using a Universal decapping die,,

I use a Lee decapping die for two reasons. First, I run the expander ball in my FL rifle dies up under the neck when the case is fully in the die so the expander enters the neck on the down stroke while the case is still aligned with the die for straighter necks. Second, it keeps my ram cleaner. I have a Rock Chucker Supreme press. I have a Lee "C" press I use for decapping rifle brass and resizing my handgun brass.

I use a Lyman.

I use it because i clean the brass before it goes into a die for re sizing.

I have had 2 dies that had to be sent back because of that.

I use a rockcrusher press.

Pretty much my reason. At one point an rso was giving me all the 223/5.56 brass he collect. It was dirty dirty, better to decap toss it all in wet tumbler to clean. Then like Don go from their. I use the rcbs universal decapping die.

I use the Mighty Armory Decapping die. It is a SUPER well made and tough die. I use them because when decapping, the mess (especially when decapping pistol brass in bulk, is incredibly messy and the debris can gum up a press ram. I have a dedicated Lyman press I used strictly for decapping with the MA die. I use 21st Century neck expanding mandrels in combination with a Lee collett die to size my necks. So, I dont utilize the expander ball/decapping pin in a FL sizing die.

I de-cap first with a dedicated Lee universal. Then shoulder bump with a redding body die and neck size with a lee collet. All my dies except the redding body dies. I've never had a problem with Lee; not true with other brands I've tried, but I have run into guys who like to talk about how much their dies cost.

two thumbs up!

That is exactly what my reloading bench has taught me also...

on the Redding body dies, I think I have 4 of them... 223, 204, 22.250 and 7/08. bought 3 or them on sale on line..
and the latter one ( the 204) someone on the campfire gave me it...

for other body die uses or needs, I just take the spindle out of a larger caliber...
eg: 260 Rem die, with the spindle out of it, makes a good 243 body die...
or a 338/06 die with the spindle out makes a good 30/06 or 270 body die...
7 x 57 die, with the spindle out makes a good body die for my 6.5 x 57 and my 6mm Remingtons

I normally have two sets of dies for each caliber I shoot often enough... most are Lee and RCBS..
Dies are cheap... one set usually costs the same as ONE box of factory ammo with a decent bullet on it these days...
and LAST a LOT longer!

I have a Lee decapper, but I rarely use it except on crimped primers.

I decap first on a dedicated Lee APP press, to keep the junk out of my main press and to get to the primer pockets when wet tumbling with steel pins. Bottleneck brass gets resized with a mandrel instead of the expander ball.

If you do high volume, spend the $100 on a Lee APP and get the collator. They're fun. I can can deprime ~500 pistol cases in 20-30 minutes. You won't regret it.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EDd4wNVpNHw

I have 2 and use them all the time. I decap and polish before I tumble. I like clean brass to resize. Then size, prep and retumble. My wife calls my brass, man jewelry...............

Easier to change a broken decap pin on one universal die, than multiple dies.

I have a Redding Boss press I use exclusively for depriming with the Redding dies. Just makes for a cleaner set-up when loading.

Phil

I usually deprime with a Lee Hand Press and Lee Universal Decapping Die. I can sit in front of the idiot box and get a decent bit of brass prepped that way. Just have to be sure not to tip the press. The wife just loves it when she finds spent primers in the couch.

Frankford Arsenal hand deprimer. Catches the primers, you can “feel” if your primer pockets are loose, and keeps debris out of your press.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ar...d+deprimer&qid=1678841139&sr=8-2

I have Redding body dies for every caliber I own; they're so easy to adjust with a hornady headspace gauge.

EXCELLENT POINT..

so simple I think most of us never even think about it..

the obvious point in anything is the one most often overlooked..

I totally respect your experience, Sir, but I have been using two Lee Universal decapping dies for years and deprimed many thousands of cases and never had the original pins break. I bought some extras because of experiences like yours but have never needed them.
Why two?
Because I turned down the diameter on one of them to use on my extra small primer holes on Lapua 6 ARC and 6.5 CM (SR) cases. They are so cheap I just swap dies rather than swapping decapping rods.

Cheers,
Rex

I use a universal decap die to remove the primers from all my brass prior to wet tumbling in order to get the primer pockets clean. After wet tumbling with hot water Dawn & Lemi-shine cases are rinsed in a collander under hot running water, I spread cases out on an old cookie sheet and place them in an oven set as low as it will go (mine's lowest is 170) for 20-30 minutes.