Good day,

I've just recently purchased a Lee Collet die for .30-06, mainly because it's supposed to necksize in a good way without lubing the cases, an appealing idea. Now, I screwed it into my Rock Chucker (per the instructions for what I later realised was the Lee press), inserted a case, pulled the handle (a bit hard, maybee) and snap! the cap of the die came popping up, the treads were broken.. I sent it back and recieved a new one. Now, before I break this one too, does any of you guys have some tips for adjusting this die for the RockChucker press?

The collet in the die is "loose" in the sense that I can push it upward with my fingers when the die is empty. If I were to screw it in 1 1/2 turns after it touches the shellholder, would that be 1 1/2 turn from when the collet just touches the shellholder, or 1 1/2 turns from when it's pushed in as far as it goes without using force?

any help most apprechiated!

regards,
beefeater

I have several of them and used them in a Rock Chucker and now in a CoAx. When you initially set them, remember the RC and other heavy presses have a lot less spring than the lighter Lee press for which the instructions are written. Leave the die several turns from the shell holder, bring a fired case to the top of the stroke and then screw the die down until its hand tight. Now back the case out and turn the the die a little at a time, run the case back in, and check the results. Because of the almost zero spring with the heavy presses, you can feel the difference in pressure required if your cases have varying neck thicknesses. Hope this helps

When it's adjusted right then mark the side of the die, locknut and the press to note the position.

Use the same shell holder every time.

Thank you so much guys, that seemed to do the trick!!

I adjusted it so that it just resizes the neck on the bottom of the full stroke. The cases semmed to be fine; a little loose fitting bullets maybee, but I understand that this is common with these dies. What do you suggest; leave the cases like this - with slightly loose fitting bullets, polish some steel off the mandrel, or purchase a Lee factory crimp die?

I'm anxious to screw the die any more in, as I feel it's a very thin line between success and fiasco here, I just sit there and wait for the treads on the aluminum cap to give in, and the cap pop off again...

beefeater

It is very likely that you might run into problems with the cases not holding your bullets properly. Say you have set your die up to work new cases just sufficiently to hold the bullets. When you start resizing cases fired X times (not sure what the number X is?), you are likely to find that the cases have become workhardened, and what used to be sufficient sizing no longer is.



You do have the option of going to a smaller mandrel, either by polishing yours down, or by ordering an undersized mandrel from Lee (about $5 if memory serves).



Personally, I prefer to keep that option to some point in time where it might be my only remaining option... I prefer to screw in the die just a tad more (trying to stay with in the limits specified by Lee in their setup instructions) to see if I can get sufficient bullet grip.



If the Lee Collet die has one basic disadvantage when compared to the (much more expensive alternative of the) Redding bushing neck sizing dies, it is that you don't have the same level of control over how much you work the brass. Although this is not a universal "fix-all" (some rifles may shoot better with more neck tension), I prefer to work my brass as little as possible, if I can. I think you have a better chance of achieving that, by initially adjusting the die a tad deeper to see if this will solve your problem, as opposed to immedately going for a smaller mandrel.



- mike



P.S. Very surprised you managed to strip the threads in the top of the die! I have never experienced anything like that. You sure must have applied a fair amount of pressure, or the initial die must have been faulty (more likely).

I broke my Rockchucker with a Lee collet die.
I had the die screwed in so with 100 pounds of force on the handle ball, the press just cammed over. RCBS sent me a new one, even though I told them it was all my fault.

I polished my mandrel down and accuracy suffered. I then used a Lee factory crimp die and everything was fine after I ordered a new mandrel. $4 plus $4 shipping. I used a dial caliper on my 3006 cases and find that if I go under .330 outside diameter, it is too tight.When they say that the bullet should not expand the case over.002, that is what I found to be true. .001 expansion with the factory crimp die used lightly after seemed to solve all my problems.

You have to watch it and not take off too much when polishing the mandrel. If done correctly you can neck size w/ any effort at all. W/o turning one down it seems like you are going to break a chunk off of the reloading bench.

Take a case and press as hard as you can to size one really well. Then, mike the case and see what the inside dimension is. Turn/polish the mandrel just a little then try it w/ a case. Do it until the case comes out just like the one you pressed so hard to get. If you do it a couple of times you should get that good fit every time effortlessly.


Reloader

What do you use to bring the mandrel down to size. Emery paper, polishing compound,what size grit? Do you put the mandrel in a powerdrill or set it in a vise? I have broken my Lee Loader press once and Cabelas gave me another, I don't want to do it again. I like the Collet die, I just think you have to use too much pressure to get a good bullet grip. I wonder why Lee makes them so?

I use Lee Collet Dies almost exclusively for Neck Resizing using the Neck Mandrel at the supplied diameter. Although the bullets do not feel like they are strongly gripped when seating them, I have never been able to twist one loose with a moderate grip after they are seated. I just leave them like that for Varmint Hunting. For rounds that need to be robust enough to spend a lot of time in the magazine and that may be rechambered and extracted several times before firing, I use the Lee Factory Crimp Die to secure the bullet. This strategy has worked for well me.

rollinghills

I reduce the diameter of all my mandrels. I find that you lose some muzzle velocity if the bullet is not held tightly.

I used 300 grit emery cloth with the mandrell chucked in my cordless drill. It comes off fast so be real careful. I have also found that all bullets are not created equal. My .308 interbonds could be moved after being seated with only a gentle push. The interlocks however could not be moved, the Sierra prohunters were tighter yet. Get a dial caliper and measure the neck, after seating the bullet, it should increase about .0015, if you achieve this, the accuracy stays good and the bullet is held tight enough. The directions pretty much tell you this, and I found it to be true. I always use the factory crimp die on my hunting loads, just added peace of mind as this locks the bullet in place.

Thank you for all the good suggestions!

I'm off to the range this afternoon, and will test some of those rounds with "slightly loose fitting" bullets. If accuracy is the same as, or better than with full length sized brass, I'll keep them this way. If not, a factory crimp die will be ordered. Hell, I might order one anyway, these Lee products cost next to nothing!

beefeater

I followed Lee's instructions, but found that I have to use their supplied shellholder. If I use my older shellholder, the case neck crushes into the shoulder.
The dies are for 22-250.

I use the Lee collet die for my .22 hornet and love it! In the set of instructions that were included with my dies it suggested that if you want more neck tension, that after the first pass through the collet die you rotate your cases 180 degrees and then run them through the die a second time to minimize runout. It worked like a charm and I can't pull the bullets out of the cases by hand anymore.
Richard

I sometimes lay a shim on the shell holder to move the collet a little further away from the shoulder.