Lee collet dies

[TheWalls]

How good are they? Will they work in my RCBS press. They advertise that you don't need to use lube. Will this reduce the life of the die.
Also would like to here comments on the Lee perfect powder measure. I've heard lots of good things about them. Are they consistent enough for rifle reloading?

 

[fal308]

One of my powder measures is the Perfect. My consistency isn't the greatest. My Pacific is better. My 45/70 load measures between about 32 gr. to around 33 gr.. You've got to get the sideplate screwed down to the correct tension (I did mine by trial and error). Too tight and no flow, too loose and powder spills out the side. The difference is not very large between too tight, just right, and too loose.

 

[Fred]

The Lee collet dies are neck-size only, that's why you don't really need case lube when sizing brass. As a practical matter, I have a set that I use for a .22-250 and do occasionally put just a very small amount of case lube on my brass simply because I remember an article that said it was a good idea to do so. Othere than that, I usually just run the brass into the sizing die with nothing on it. I don't think it hurts anything, nor do I think it will shorten the life of the dies as long as you clean any accumulated dirt, grit, etc., out of the dies every so often. Hope that helps.

 

[Fred]

Sorry, forgot to answer your question about the RCBS press. Yes, the Lee dies will work in the RCBS press without difficulty as they share the same thread dimensions as RCBS dies.

 

[Contender]

My experience with the Lee Collet die was one of an oversized mandrel in the caliber I was using. This resulted in the neck inside diameter to be too large for the bullet. However, Either you can spin the mandrel in a lathe or drill press to remove small amounts of material or return a couple of fired cases and a bullet or two with the die to Lee and they will make the adjustment. As far as the Perfect powder measure, I too have had trouble with adjusting the drum tension forget fine powders especially the ball type they will bind it up very nicely or dump more powder on your bench than in the case. I really liked the graduated adjustable cavity though. I wish other measures had one like it without paying a premium for it.