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Originally posted by Herkimer:
Does anyone know if the collet sizing die for the .22 Hornet can be used for the K-Hornet? Lee doesn't list one for the K, but the diagram for the die doesn't show it contacting the case body at any point, only the neck. I assume the necks of the two cases are the same diameter, so it seems to me it should work equally well for both, but there are plenty of people here with a lot more reloading experience than me, so I'm asking.

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Originally posted by vzerone:

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Originally posted by Herkimer:
Does anyone know if the collet sizing die for the .22 Hornet can be used for the K-Hornet? Lee doesn't list one for the K, but the diagram for the die doesn't show it contacting the case body at any point, only the neck. I assume the necks of the two cases are the same diameter, so it seems to me it should work equally well for both, but there are plenty of people here with a lot more reloading experience than me, so I'm asking.

Question is the collet die sizes the entire length of the neck so you have to determine if any of the K Hornet body will be in that sizing area. Stand the two cases together and observe where the base of the necks are on the two.

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Originally posted by Stonecreek:
I use a Lee Collet die for my .22 K-Hornet. There are two ways of doing this. The most convenient is to take a drill bit that is equal to or very slightly larger than the shoulder of the K-Hornet and recess the interior of the collet enough that it doesn't strike the wider shoulders of the K-Hornet. This is what I did to my die and I still use it for my regular Hornets as it still sizes about 2/3rds of the neck which is ample to hold bullets firmly in place.

The other way is to drop washers or a spacer equal to the difference in neck lengths over the shell sitting in the shell holder. This will keep the shell from going far enough into the die to collapse the shoulders, but will activate the collet to squeeze the case neck. If you have a limited number of cases to resize this is a bit slower but works fine and requires no modification to the die.

But you can also order an extra collet from Lee which can be modified so that you have a collet for both regular & ethyl.

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Both your options look good. To start, what about taking a shell holder and adding a horseshoe spacer to the top, equal to the thickness of those washers? The opening will allow the cases to be slid in and out, so no washer stacking each round.

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Or call LEE and ask if they will make a custom collet die for the K Hornet. They made one for me in 8x52 Siamese several years ago. All I had to do was send in 2 fired cases and two bullets. That was 10 years ago and the charge was around $50 then

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I sent Lee cases for a 7x33 Sako but they rejected the special order saying something about it being too short.