anyone work with Lee Pacesetter dies?

[das_napeth]

I don't want to state my lack of knowledge here again but now that i've got my kit, I need dies. The pacesetter dies come with "the factory crimp die, conventional bullet seater, roll crimper, shell holder, powder dipper, load data and a storage box" taken from wording of the Cabela's catalog. Wondering your opinions on them?

Read More

 

[RockKrawler]

Lee dies will serve you well.
The FCD are a great addition for rifle calibers.
In my reloading shed there are dies from most all the manufactures,including some few have heard of and the Lee' will work as well as all but the specialty BR dies.
RK

 

[deadeye]

Most all of my dies are Lee's and they work great. I order directly from them and they have quite a few limited production/ odd caliber sets also. If you get pistol dies from them get the stainless sets.

 

[das_napeth]

what exactly do you mean by stainless? I see the carbide sets from the cabelas shooting catalog. Would it be better to spend the extra cash and get the "carbide 4 die set that has the factory crimp" for pistol calibers?

 

[Gunner3456]

What press did you get? Unless you have a 4 die press like the Lee Classic Turret, the three die set is fine and actually needed. The three die set is actually fine in the Classic Turret too.

In the three die set the bullet seating die also does the crimping.

In a single stage press, you'll want the three die set.

BTW, all Lee pistol dies are carbide now but that's just a ring for sizing. The actual die bodies are steel or stainless. In any brand, steel has a tendency to get surface rust which isn't a big deal, but stainless is nice.

Rifle dies aren't carbide in any brand due to the shape complexity. (except for some very expensive production, factory dies.)

 

[das_napeth]

I got the Lee Breech lock challenger kit. Came with the breech lock challenger O-frame press, auto prime tool with 11 shell holders, perfect powder measure w/ stand, powder funnel, case trimmer, chamfer tool, safety powder scale, primer pocket cleaner and some sizing lube and what they call quick-change bushings.

 

[CXD Arms]

I got the Lee Breech lock challenger kit. ....and what they call quick-change bushings.

The quick change bushings are very similiar to the Hornady LNL bushings. They allow you to keep the die in the bushing and change out the bushings with a quick tqist instead of unscrewing the die. Once you are dialed in you only need to change the bushing with the die attached. The only issue is you would need bushings for each die that you want to be able to swap out. The primary advantage to this is speed in switching calibers or dies when going from one operation ie; sizing to seating. Otherwise, I feel that having a locking die ring is better because it is cheaper, locks the die at the current adjustment and screwing in takes only a few seconds more.

I like the Lee dies and use them almost exclusively. The factory crimp die is nice because you don't need bullets with a cannelure. The FCD is a collet that presses against the sides of the neck. With a roll crimp, you need a cannelure on the bullet or you run the risk of bulging the brass aka accordian style. A light crimp on a non-cannelured bullet is ok, but if the brass varies in length, the longer the brass, the more there is a rick of the bulging because the roll crimp is basically pushing down the brass into the bullet.

I use the dipper for my plinking rounds, as the dipper for .223 and for .308 measure BL-C2 just above the starting load.

 

[Collateral]

I would love to see a carbide .223 sizing die from LEE. Dillon seems to be the only manufacturer so far.