Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Gotta love Lee Collet dies!

Just today I got an RCBS Case Master Gauging Tool from Royce and I tested the bullet runout on 40 7mm-08 loads I had recently loaded using the Lee Collet die.

None of the 40 showed more than .001" TIR of bullet runout.

Pretty nice for a cheap Lee die and no case lubing either!

This just reminded me why I use the Lee Collet dies so much.

You are aware that George Bush designed them?

I don't care if it was a collaborative effort of Stalin, Mao, Hitler, and Ho Chi Minh as long as they work as well as they do.

That has been my results with the collet dies as well. Affordable no lube and if you chamber is straight so is your ammo.

NOw mate em up with the redding body die when they get a bit tight to chamber......you're only half way to heaven with the collet die....you get in once you add the body die!

+1!!!!

The collet dies are a good idea, but in many samples the execution is lacking. They need better internal finish and attention to detail. A couple of different size mandrels supplied as standard equipment would be nice too.

Every one of the ones I own have been fine.

Just checked a bunch of .270 rounds loaded with a LCD and they are even better than the .001" of the 7mm-08.

If I need a smaller mandrel I'll either polish the Lee one on my lathe with crocus cloth or make an entirely new one.

As to supplying several different mandrels I'll take the low price that Lee sells these for over a higher price and mandrels I'll never use.

I don't have a lathe. Maybe I'm just behind the curve.

I got my grandfather's when he passed away 15 years ago.

It has a place of honor in my basement.

I have one, but I just use a drill press.

+ a whole bunch on the combo of a Lee collet die and the Redding body die.

If we could get Lee designs built with Redding quality and finish that would be a marriage made in Heaven.

There are several youtube videos on the Lee collet dies showing how to polish the collet. Basically just take the die apart, polish the angled portion of the collet with 1000 grit sandpaper and then smear a bit of lithium grease on it before re-assembling.

Did that to all 6 of my collet dies - it only took about 5 minutes each. While I can't honestly tell that they work easier this is supposed to keep them from sticking and certinaly reduces wear.

I sold a rifle once simply because Lee did not make a collet die for that caliber - and that's the honest truth! 'Course, that was before I learned they will custom make one for a mere $54.

It's not just the collet taper, it's the angled part of the plug the collet bears against. I've seen a lot of big ridges there too.

The slit edges of the collet fingers need dressing as well.

I think Lee makes three exceptional products which perhaps are unequaled in the industry; collet die, classic cast press, case trimmer.

I greatly agree but would add their Factory Crimp Die as well.

I have a few Lee FCD's but I've never used them.

So, is the collet die one size fits all as far as neck tension? Why is it better than a bushing die on sorted brass?

It is adjustable for neck tension.

Lee Collet Die

The neck tension can be adjusted a bit by polishing the mandrel and the tension isn't dependent on neck wall thickness so sorting brass by neck thickness (or turning the neck...yuck!) isn't required.

The LCD's are also 1/2 the price (or even less) of bushing dies.

It can't be completely independent. If the dimensional interference fit of the bullet into the hole is the same, a thicker case neck will grip tighter because there's more material to stretch to fit around the bullet.