No Lee collet die for 7.62x54R - use .303 Brit?

N

NWPilgrim

New member
I like the Lee collet die for other calibers, in that instead of squeezing the neck down by outside diameter it squeezes down to the mandrel, or inside neck, diameter. And it does not work the neck as much as undersizing the neck and then expanding back to proper inside diameter with an expander button.

However, Lee apparently does not make a collet die or set for the 7.62x54R cartridge. They do have ones for .303 Brit and 7.62x39 cartridges. Since I plan on reloading with .311 bullets:

1) Can I collet neck size using any .311-.312 neck size die such as .303 Brit or 7.62x39 die?

2) Or, could I even use my .308 Win Lee collet die? It would make the neck a tad smaller but would there be any damage to the .311" bullet being seated in a .305" neck (from a .308 die) instead of a .308" neck (from a .311 die)?

3) Are there other die brands that use the same principle of collet sizing to a mandrel (inside diameter); rather than an out side diameter collet, or over squeezing with die body and then expanding with button?
 
U

Unclenick

Staff
Lee's site indicates they'll start taking custom orders again in January, at which time they expect to be caught up. $60 for a custom collet die.

Others working can be determined by length of the case and the its width at the bottom. I believe that's .484" for the 7.62×54, but only .471" for the .308, so the bottom of the .308 Collet may not accommodate the 7.62×54. You'll have to look at drawing to see if you can find something close enough.

The over-resisizing of the neck may encourage the harder seating of the bullet to scrape it or make the neck tension high. I would use a Sinclair mandrel die body and open an undersize neck up with that.

You can also get a bushing die and just select the right bushing to hit the size you want.

Nobody else makes a collet die. That's a Lee patent (though I don't know if it's still in force). The RCBS X-die uses a mandrel to keep the neck from over thickening, but it still has an expander. I'm not sure why its designed that way. Perhaps necks don't thicken fast enough for it.
 
J

jepp2

New member
As Unclenick pointed out, Lee predicts that beginning Jan 1 they are scheduled to begin taking custom orders again.

However, earlier this year, they had similar wording with an earlier return to custom service. I called them and asked about how likely they were to meet that date. The response I got was less than confidence building. So you may want to have an option B in case they significantly delay custom orders even more.
 
S

Scimmia

New member
There are people out there using a 308 die with washers around the outside of the case to account for the length difference. You can even swap in the 303 mandrel and the piece holding the mandrel to get the right ID.
 
P

papershotshells

New member
Collet die substitution

For years I have used a Lee collet die in 7.5X55 Swiss to size my 7.62x54R cases. I bought a custom .310" mandrel from Lee several years ago (for less than $10.00 I think), and I still have the original .308 mandrel that I use when I use the die for 7.5 Swiss loads for my K31.

The die works perfectly for both calibers, and I think it is (or at least was) a stock item from Lee. I'm 99% sure I didn't custom order it.

Papershotshells
 
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