And why?

Lee decapper is mentioned often,

Lets talk, Do I need one?

I have a Lee universal decapping die which is the only piece of Lee I have (honestly I think Lee is garbage but that's only my opinion).

I use mine to decap then wet tumble the brass. If you don't wet tumble, you may not need one.

I have also used it for the few times I've needed to deprime the cases but not resize (example would be to deprime cases I primed but later didn't load for one reason or another).

Do you need one ? I can't answer that one, but it's not a crucial have to have it type of equipment.

I keep a RCBS decapper set up in a dedicated press.

I have three Lee Decapping dies on my reload bench...

If one gets broken, I have two more...

I would rather break a depriming pin on a Universal deprimer
than one on a F/L die, or a Lee Neck Sizing die...

Me and Lee dies sets get along pretty well...Its the brand I use the most..
Then RCBS and finally some minor use of Hornady and even less of overpriced Redding dies...

Almost on every caliber I shoot, I have several sets of dies for each caliber.
A set of most calibers are the cost of one box of factory ammo off the shelf at the stores..

I've actually worn out a couple sets of 223 dies, I reload that much..

but we all learn our own preferred ways and methods, once we've been loading a while..

there is really no wrong answer.... whatever works for you is what is most important...

Any particular reasons Don?

Looking for the usefulness of a decapper, so far not seeing it, but I’m the Junior in this forum.

Wet tumble or dry, I deprime first, yes flash holes can get clogged on occasion,

The times I’ve needed to deprime live primers I’ve just extended the depriming pin low enough.

seems like I should have one, just not sure why.

No particular reason, I just got in the habit of punching primers and tumbling before resizing, just to keep from running dirty brass up my sizers. Your mileage may vary......

Legit answer, Thanks.

I have one that is set up all of the time and usually decap everything in it first before moving to the next step in my reloading. Mine is a Lee, and I bought a .30 caliber Lee stem that had a lot of taper and used it in the decapping die to size up .270 brass when making a false shoulder when making .280 RCBS brass. Never lost a case. miles

You mention decrimping in your title and decapping in your message. Which one are you asking about?

If decapping, Lee is about the best out there as the decapping pin is stout and won't break. The Redding decapping die has a pin that is thin and will bend/break much easier. I use the Lee version mainly.

If talking decrimping, Dillon Super Swage is the only way to go.

yes , Lee , because I wet tumble and take advantage of that system to easily keep primer pockets clean..

Good catch, Main focus here is the Lee Decapping die, with the intent of depriming,

I do have the Dillon Superswage for crimped primers, mainly 5.56

You guys that wet tumble, How are you drying the brass afterwards?

I just stick it on a cookie sheet or pan in the oven at about 220 for an hour or two till dry.
summit are you 220 is a little warm but I like to get it just above boiling and the drawing goes much faster and more complete. nothing worse than having a batch of brass you assume was dry and start priming or dropping powder and find water drop somewhere..

If I'm going to size the brass with a conventional FL die I decap first because I size without the decap/exapnder assembly in the die. I prefer to push whatever expander I'm using through the case necks, rather than pull an expander ball out.

So then you leave the expander ball in the brass right? If you push it in it’s either got to stay there or be pulled back out, right?

I pour a portion of my wet brass into a bath towel I keep in my shop for such purposes. I fold the edges in capturing the brass and bounce the brass around for about 20 seconds. After that I lay it flat on my shop floor in front of the heater and the towel and brass finish drying together.

Yes. I leave it in there.

Kenneth,

The reason I prefer to push the expander through (before pulling it out to withdraw it, for the especially dense) is to do most of the work of expansion on the in stroke. I've generally found it easier to get straight brass this way.

Ok, left turn here,

How are you sizing necks, Bushing or neck dies?

Clarify please.

I use Redding FL bushing dies on several calibers, I remove the decap/expander hence why I use a Lee decapper die.

We replied at the same time, but I’m still not grasping this………….

A FL die sizes the neck, along with everything else.

If I'm neck sizing with a bushing die then no expander is involved since I choose the bushing diameter to suit the brass thickness. The neck is then not sized down too much.

To size necks I mostly use Lee collet dies.

I do not use conventional neck sizing dies, they're often the fast track to bad runout.

I have two Lee universal de capping dies in case one fails. I always de cap then clean. I find it has its advantages. A few are cleaner cases then doing it without. Clean cases are better for full length dies. You don’t make a mess with loose primers or the ones that bounce out of the catcher because it’s done and cleaned up before the charging or other prep work. It makes a difference when you keep up with de capping as a task of its own and nothing else except maybe case cleaning behind it, then next day or days latter prep and reload. I try to de cap after each shooting session, but it can go three or four times before I de cap. Doing it before cleaning helps to let you know the quantity involved in the next reload and you can plan accordingly. It will help you plan on a big reload or minor and at least the number count is established before and the cleaning timeframe is also known. It just helps for better planning and controlling inventory I’ve noticed. I have three cleaning methods, rotary, tumble and sonic. I mostly use the sonic as it comfortably holds 100-300 pieces and that’s the amount I like to do for one session. If I go crazy with 400+, I will use the rotary and I sometimes do that when spending days to prepare for a big session or not planning on reloading but getting brass cleaned and ready and put into storage. To dry, I leave outside and the dry weather will dry them out fast enough for me, kind of like clothes drying on a clothes line. It’s important to have the cases held vertically when drying and the best method I found is the plastic cartridge holder that comes in 50 round factory pistol packages like in the 9mm, especially for the 223. 45 ACP works for the 06 type. The plastic holders have open bottoms that allow the water to drain under it and evaporate. I have accumulated dozens of these over the years from my own purchases, friends giving me theirs, and finding them at the range. They work well for shell holding trays when reloading too.

MM, back on track, Thanks.

1. The case is deprimed with the universal depime die.

2. The case is pushed into the FL die, no deprime/expander assembly in place. All of the case is sized. Neck, shoulder and body. Most of the time this will leave the neck too small in diameter.

3. If the case necks are too small in diameter, then I employ one of a couple of methods to expand the necks. I can put the expander assembly back into the FL die and then push the over the ball, without going all the way into the die. For the deliberately obtuse in the audience, I must of course pull it back out. It requires much less effort to pull it out now than if it had been done in the conventional way, and I generally get straighter sized brass as a result. Yes, it adds a dreaded extra step, but it also relieves me of the need to remove "wet" lube from inside the case neck. Dry lube works better for the push through first method, and I'm not bothered by thoughts of powder contamination. I prefer not to tumble brass to remove lube.

I prefer to push whatever expander I'm using through the case necks, rather than pull an expander ball out.

Nothing dense about it, either you found a mechanical and mathematical work around of Newtons 3rd law, or you either have to push the expander ball all the way through the case head to remove it, leave it in there or pull it back out. You made the illogical statement.

Sure.

It should have read "I prefer to push whatever expander I'm using through the case necks to do the bulk of the expansion work before withdrawing it, rather than doing all the work when pulling an expander ball out."

What dies do you use?

Cheap dehydrator in the winter or sunlight in the summer..

I found the Lee to be worthless unless I replaced the pin with a hardened, tool-steel version (eBay). Before that, I broke two factory Lee decapping pins. I also didn’t like how the pin would slide upward from use unless I torqued the snot out of it.

I switched to the Redding Universal decapping die and like it a lot, but I can’t say it’s “better” — just better for me.

Repurposed food dehydrator..

I keep a RCBS decapping die on my old RockChucker press on a separate bench to use as a de-priming station. For rifles I've sopped using expander balls and now using either bushing dies and/or expander mandrels to control neck tension.

^Same here. I've pulled most all the decappers out of my dies.

Hey, that could help with load density.

I use a Lee universal de-capping die on all of my rifle brass, then wash them in Lemi shine and Dawn dish soap, rinse, then dry in direct sunlight or in front of a forced air heat vent, then polish them in a vibratory case cleaner. Any polishing media that may stick in the primer flash hole is pushed out by the de-capping pin in the size die.

I keep one in a lee hand press. De-cap everything that way.

Ive been running a Lyman universal decapper for years. Decap then clean I don't tumble found walnut shell media used dryer sheets and a teaspoon of lacquer thinner or mineral spirits more than sufficient for my uses. If you like shiny primer pockets you have to tumble.

Good luck and shoot straight y'all

Mainly RCBS, Sometimes with Redding body dies and lee Collett for the necks.

Weber grill, not just for food………..

A few of the decapping tools I use:

Pope-style de-recapper


Frankford Arsenal 1909 de-recapper


A couple simple decappers I made


Ideal de-capping tool, circa 1903-1906

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.