I am using a Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die for a 7mm, and when the bullet is seated I am still able to push it into the case BY HAND if I apply ALLOT of pressure. If I push the point of the bullet against my bench, I still have to give it a push but it goes in without too much pressure. I tried the same with a factory load by hand and I couldn't budge it. Against the bench, the plastic tip broke before it moved so I stopped.

I know that pressure is relative, but how do you know when your neck tension is tight enough??

If it can be moved by hand pressure then it is too loose, at least in a hunting round with some bit of recoil like a 7mm Rem. If in a varminting or target round in a .22 centerfire, then it's not such a problem.

Check out the thread started by Leopardtrack for advice on tightening up your neck tension with the Lee Collet die.

If you can push it back, it is too loose. How do you know when it is tight enough? For hunting, when you can't push it in. Damn, I see this is the exact same thing the previous poster told you. I should learn to read before answering. good luck; this is an easy fix.

Unable to push in by hand or bullet tip pushed against bench??

quote:

Originally posted by Leopardtrack:
Unable to push in by hand or bullet tip pushed against bench??

Either. Or should I say neither?

Another Lee collet die problem, a reminder, I do not recommend specialty dies, I recommend reloaders avoid taking advise seriously if the sentence starts with “You “gotta” have and you need...,”. I recommend the versatile full length sizer die. There are not many dies I do not have, I have a choice. When experience is added, reloading specialty dies become an option, neck sizer only, collet sizing dies, bump? dies as in a die that bumps the shoulder without bumping anything else, and I ask, “How do they do that?”. Bump and neck tension, I can not bump without bumping everything that contacts the inside of the die, and I can not measure neck tension. I can measure the inside diameter of a hole, I can measure the outside of a bullet, I can determine the difference in diameter between the two, the difference in the two diameters is called interference, interference can be measured in thousandths.

I will assume this question does not have anything to do with the collet die so I will answer the question about tension, I can not measure tension, I can not convert tension to pounds, resistance or feet anything. I use bullet hold, I can measure bullet hold in pounds by push and or pull, I could use pressure but that would be a stretch because of the internal pounds of pressure pushing on the case wall could cause the bullet to be released.

I am the fan of bullet hold, I want all the bullet hold I can get. When using pressure remember the .7854 thing.

F. Guffey

If you really want all the hold you can get, you should glue them with tar like the older US military bullets were made.

How tight?
They must handle being in the magazine for say 2 magazine cycles while firing about 10 rounds.
You have to verify that the feeding forces do not bend the bullet out of the neck. You also have to verify that the recoil does not set the rounds back into case.

The Lee Collet produces very little interference fit, bullet grip, neck tension, whatever you want to call it. This is by design. I had several conversations with Lee by phone and e-mail several years ago and their explanation was that the mandrel sized to give a neck ID ~.001" below bullet diameter was a tactic developed to minimize runout. They explained that they offered the Lee Factory Crimp Die as an aid if a reloader wanted to minimize bullet movement.

The Lee Factory Crimp Dies are cheap and do an excellent job of crimping the bullets without detrimental effects if you so choose.

Many hold the mandrel against a sanding block or other abrasive surface and just reduce the diameter of the mandrel a couple of thousandths. I tried that but it was hard to get the mandrel to have the exact same diameter to the thousandth throughout it's length.

So I order additional mandrels from Lee for $5.00 each (minimum order may apply)




They are very precise.

IMO (worth what you're paying for it) it is unnecessary to size more than .002" below caliber since you will not be increasing bullet grip, only seating pressure. IOW if you sized your neck .010" below caliber and seated a bullet, the case neck will reach it's elastic limit around .002" and no more grip will be added

YMMV