I have heard the Lee collet type neck sizing die produces resized cases with less runout, I have also heard Lee tends to make lower quality products. What do you guys think? should I go with the Lee neck sizing die for my 300 Win Mag or stick with the RCBS products I have been using? Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

For a hunting and mag type case I would do both.....get the Lee collet die sizer only and the RCBS Full length normal set.....do the smoothing and fitting the Lee collet often requires and use it for doing neck sizing...IF your case/chamber will let you neck size and you want to neck size....and use the normal RCBS full length sizer for when the cases get hard to chamber or for hunting loads....some guns/chambers/cases do well with the Lee collet die and others just won't fuction well with the collet die resized cases......hth..good luck and good shooting-loading!!

NorthSniper, Runout is the result of pulling the expander button out of the case. Most dies resize the neck down way too much and when you pull the expander button out it is not supported (the case) by the die. The button finds the path of least resistance and deforms the neck. The trick is find a die or bushing set that gives you an outside diameter of two thousands smaller than a loaded round. You'll have mostly zero runout. Do not use the expander button.
Think about this.
Dies are made with a reamer. Reamers are made on a machine that turns them in the process of making them and they are perfectly round and straight. When used to make a die the die reflects that. Perfectly straight and round if it isn't ruined in the heat treating process. When sizing without the button so is the brass. Then you pull the button through the brass that is being held only by the shellholder. Bingo neck off ceter, hence runout.
I take all my expander buttons off my dies. I've sorted out most of my dies and found ones that don't resize them too much.
David

Good feedback you are getting. I personally would not want to be without my Collet dies, having started to use them maybe a year or so ago. They are just so easy to use (no lube necessary) and size with very little runout. They can be a bit fiddly to use with older brass - when the brass workhardens, sometimes you don't get the necks sized sufficiently to provide enough bullet grip. So I order an undersize collet for all my Collet dies - Lee sells them for about $4, or you can turn your current collet down. Yes, you don't get this problem with other dies, but at least you don't have to worry about the pesky expanders any more. The advise of getting a Collet die and using your RCBS FL die (WITHOUT expander!) only when you absolutely need to bump the shoulder is not a bad one. Even better: get a Redding Body Die and use that together with the Collet die. Price for a Body Die - about $20.
- mike

I love my collet dies. Lee quality is certainly not the best, but with a little attention (like polishing away the burrs and tooling marks)you can get the collet dies to really work well. Along with the Redding competition seater I'm loading ammo with virtually no runout. I highly recommend them.

I use the collet die for the neck and when the cases get hard to chamber I use a redding body die. The Red. die bumps the shoulder back to where it should be but, it doesn't touch the neck.

Good Luck!

ps: If you polish the mandrel just a little, it allows you to size w/ less pressure.

Reloader

I don't know about Reloader, but I got better results after reducing the size of the mandrel by .001" using successively finer grits of wet/dry sandpaper and a little 3 in 1 oil.

I am picking up a Nornady neck sizer die for my 300 WM. The cost is less than $20. I am not sure if the quality is better or worse than the LEEs as I have no experience with the LEEs. I have the Hornay dies for my .270 and they are Okay.

The Hornady is 75% cheaper than the RCBS.

Danny Boy

The Hornady dies that I had were universal for that bore diameter and had little ability to line up the case. The floating piece for the shoulder, which is also one size fit's all, is a sloppy fit in the die. The Hornady expanding buttons are well designed however. I sent the dies back.

For a new cartridge I now order a Lee Collet die and seater along with an Redding "S" type FL die. After loading up the first batch with new brass I measure the case necks and order the correct bushing for that set up. At that time I order a competition seating die if the rifle is worth it.

I'm with Savage, either get a Lee Collet die, a Redding Neck Bushing die, or else get a FL die. NS dies that don't support the case are runout waiting to happen.
- mike

I had trouble using my Collet dies with Dillon 650. They seem'd too short, or the toolhead was to thick !?
Strange...