Lee .223 Collet neck die

[blueheckle]

Hi Guys would this be better for me to learn reloading for my .223 than neck sizing with my Redding competition Die which I have still to buy a bushing for , and has anyone got one they are willing to part with thanks

[Parabuteo]

I have partly switched over to these dies because they produce very consistent necks and dont need any lube, however.

Every so often you may well find that the cases will need bumping back if they get stiff to chamber. Because I shoot mostly AR based rifles in CSR comps, my brass is FL resized every time and then collet sized, and trimmed to be sure they will chamber perfectly.

I would suggest that any reloader always has a decent FL die for each chambering they shoot, so that you can re-set any once fired brass to a base dimension (because believe it or not some people still dont realize how much chambers can differ, one friend of mine was determined to see how my hand loads went in his AR. "Dont bother" I said, "they are neck sized only". He knew better. We managed to "Un Jam" the rifle and bugger me if he did not try and chamber it again!!).

Also, it even pays to FL size new brass, just to make sure. You can set these dies so that they move the shoulders back just enough to not over do things, but still chamber nicely every time.

So yes, I would use them, but also have a FL die as well. I am not sure why you want a bush die as you then get into the realms of bench rest/F Class and will end up neck reaming and turning to get the things spot on.

The collet dies are used by BR shooters stateside which may give an idea that they work well. Be careful setting them up and approach the "Over cam" position very carefully. I got over enthusiastic to start with and was using a pokey Forster coaxial that would crush a tank...and blew the alloy cap straight out of the top of the die You will be able to just about see the marks where the collet closes down on the neck. Remember the trick is to work teh brass as little as possible.

I would make up a dummy round and check it chambers then, when you arrive at a good load, make another dummy, write its vital stats on the case, and store it. If anything gets changed lost or damaged in the loading department (and it will), you have a working reference.

[Parabuteo]

PS.

Lee dies can rust. make sure you keep the cone and collet sections lubed with some light grease or you may well end up running a case in and the collet not opening...and you get a case like a pug...with a squashed in neck




Been there dunnit

[blueheckle]

Thanks very much for your info I have a FL die as well, but I have a few Sako brass fired in my rifle hence thinking of the neck sizing , the Bushing die & F/L die are both Redding comp, and I have the RCBS Comp Seater, also have a Lee factory crimp die, but as yet still to build a bench etc and get the press mounted etc just been watching plenty Ytube vids and asking plenty questions

[mag44uk]

I always find it interesting peoples different takes on reloading.
I cant remember the last time I full length resized any brass!
Including new.
I do have a straight pull as well - Schmidt Rubin.
The brass for this has been neck sized about 5 times and the next time will need full length as the bolt is not closing on occasional cartridges.
I have several Lee collet die sets and one rcbs neck bushing set (223) and one redding comp neck bushing set (260)
Both bushings are titanium coated.
Some of the 260 brass - lapua - is on its 7th reload.
Net result for me is no lube to mess around with.

[Parabuteo]

I always find it interesting peoples different takes on reloading.
I cant remember the last time I full length resized any brass!
Including new.
I do have a straight pull as well - Schmidt Rubin.
The brass for this has been neck sized about 5 times and the next time will need full length as the bolt is not closing on occasional cartridges.
I have several Lee collet die sets and one rcbs neck bushing set (223) and one redding comp neck bushing set (260)
Both bushings are titanium coated.
Some of the 260 brass - lapua - is on its 7th reload.
Net result for me is no lube to mess around with.

Take the following as an explanation on my part Magster. I used to only ever neck resize bud until I got into AR platforms and CSR, although the FTR World Champ was also caught out in a comp with a round that would not chamber.

I think you need to get caught out in to see a need sometimes. Because all brass is not necessarily equal then neither is the hardness. this means that the spring back may well not be as expected. You will find this out when you think your cocking lever is all the way forward but lo, the damned thing wont fire. Too late, exposure missed.

I/We dont have the luxury of forward assisting with every use of the cocking handle, you can, and I do occasionally out of habit, but generally you want minimal movement.

There is nothing wrong with neck sizing and I will do that for my AR10 and No4, but FL sizing seems to be the norm for most of my colleagues within CSR. Sadly because the courses of fire can be quite rapid, the chambers get quite hot which means the things not only burn out quicker but also that they extraction can get stiff. The latter is a pain, particularly on the last stage of the urban match where you need to fire 10 rounds rapid over 3 exposures. IF you are tugging away at the cocking handle and it does not want to go, you are now off target and your NPA has gone. As the AR10 will also be used for CSR/SO I may well end up FL sizing.

I have found that in FL sizing my cases the rifle cycles like a biathlon rifle with the lightest flick of my fingers. This also means that the bolt may short stroke, even more reason to have some leeway.

This all depends on your chamber as well. Mine will take both 5.56x45 NATO and .223 Rem and cycle both easily, but not all ARs will. Some will get quite sticky with RG, FN, FNM etc.

Funnily enough my brass will do 7 or so firings as well, although they dont get used in matches much after 6 and to be honest will as likely get scrapped as GGG 5.56 brass is easy to get hold of.

As regards never FL Resizing, well it depends on the need. IF you use brass once fired and picked up from the range, you really need to FL resize it before you load if for your rifle. This point was brought home to me (not that I needed it bringing home) recently in 2 ways. I sold my old M67 Kongsberg with some handloads. The buyer tried to fire these rounds in his AI and could not even chamber them. I was also given a large bucket of rather nice nickel plated federal .308 brass which should be great in the AR10. I FL sized a batch for load testing in a new rifle, so they need to chamber and must be at mag length. These rounds all came from a handful of well maintained AI rifles used at work, so I know they are in limits. The effort taken to FL resize went from little to...."Jeez is this thing really .308 Win?". This was with decent polished Forster Dies, although I usually use redding for the 5.56.

It would have been easier just to say...."sometimes the end justifies the means". It is more of a faff with lube etc, but I am used to it now

[blueheckle]

Has anyone got a lee collet neck die in .223 they want to move on thanks

[Parabuteo]

Has anyone got a lee collet neck die in .223 they want to move on thanks

https://www.henrykrank.com/reloading...izing-die.html

[Treebone]

Neck sizing with a Redding competition bushing die is pointless unless you neck turn, neck turning is pointless unless you intend to size with a competition bushing sizing die!

TB.

[loiner1965]

Has anyone got a lee collet neck die in .223 they want to move on thanks

think i have one...pm address and i will post to you

[blueheckle]

think i have one...pm address and i will post to you

PM sent tks

[Parabuteo]

Neck sizing with a Redding competition bushing die is pointless unless you neck turn, neck turning is pointless unless you intend to size with a competition bushing sizing die!

TB.

Neck turning is also pointless unless you ream as well, otherwise you thin out from the outside but still have thickness on the inner neck. The error starts with a blank that is slightly thicker on one side and is drawn rather than formed over a patern so the error will draw with the forming process (as it is not extruded through a form) and flow forward until the case is discarded or seperated.

IF you wanted to be super anal you would clean, weigh, anneal, collet size or ream/Turn, then trim for every firing. This may explain why the Lee collet die was popular with stateside BR shooters as it did the inside and outside against a plug.

[blueheckle]

Neck turning is also pointless unless you ream as well, otherwise you thin out from the outside but still have thickness on the inner neck. The error starts with a blank that is slightly thicker on one side and is drawn rather than formed over a patern so the error will draw with the forming process (as it is not extruded through a form) and flow forward until the case is discarded or seperated.

IF you wanted to be super anal you would clean, weigh, anneal, collet size or ream/Turn, then trim for every firing. This may explain why the Lee collet die was popular with stateside BR shooters as it did the inside and outside against a plug.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_eX6-X2Kxg a lot of people swear by them and it will be brass once fired in my rifle

[loiner1965]

interesting....best thing jim is to try neck sizing and see how you get on.....should have a parcel from krankies soon

[Parabuteo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_eX6-X2Kxg a lot of people swear by them and it will be brass once fired in my rifle

Makes sense.