Best $7.99 I've ever spent on gun-related stuff...

[heypete]

...was on a Lee Universal Depriming and Decapping Die.

Seriously. I don't think I've ever purchased anything nearly as useful as this die. Whether it's popping out crimped-in military primers, popping primers prior to tumbling, removing media from flash holes after tumbling (note to self: most tumbling media is not sufficiently small to scrub the primer pockets. Not worth the hassle of cleaning out the flash holes.), or just depriming regular spent primers from mixed cases of different calibers, this die shines.

Most primers pop out with the greatest of ease -- since there's no resizing, it requires minimal effort with my Lee Challenger press.

A week or so ago, I bought an RCBS universal decapping die at Sportsman's Warehouse. Within an hour, I had bent the pin on a berdan-primed case, and snapped the then-straightened pin on a tough crimped-in primer. I returned it the next day and ordered the Lee die from Midway. The Lee die's half the price, yet the pin is all but unbreakable -- if it hits an obstruction (say, a berdan primed cased) it simply pushes up through the little collet, requiring only a few taps with a hammer to get it back to its proper position...no damage done.

While some people may frown on Lee equipment (there seems to be two everlasting "wars" in the gun community: 9mm vs. .45, and Red vs. Blue vs. Green vs. Some Other Color for reloading gear), this is a quality product for an unbelievable price. I know of no better universal depriming die.

 

[yhtomit]

pete -- thanks for pointing this out! Esp. for some of the assorted brass I've gathered from my usual (not usual enough, but Hey) outdoor range, this looks like a perfect companion. The case collection grows slowly, as I find the odd case from calibers I don't shoot, which for now mostly goes into the "curiosity" bin (which is also where the .50BMG bullet a friend of mine gave me goes, and the lead-free frangible bullet I was handed at the recent gun show, and the 2 or 3 357sig cases I've ever found ...). If any one pile reaches 100, I guess I'd feel obligated (by which I mean "justified") to buy a die set and a gun to match

timothy

 

[heypete]

Tim, no problem! It's really handy, particularly because it doesn't touch the case in any way -- thus, you don't need to have clean brass or any lube at all. Perfect for range brass and for stuff you don't have dies for.

That sounds like a good obligation to buy a new gun -- I should start collecting more brass.

 

[yhtomit]

I really ought to revise upward the trigger amount, or perhaps set it per caliber (And needless to say, getting a job will affect the available income stream and thus the appropriate trigger value. Otherwise, I'd already owe myself a few .40 cal guns.)

 

[rodnocker1]

I've got to agree with Pete. About 2 months ago, I also bought the Lee Universal depriming/decapping die and it is great. I mounted it in a Lyman Accupress and have probably deprimed right at 20,000 rnds of mixed calibers. It has deprimed from .25 all the way up through 30-06 with very few problems. There would have been no problems but I only had 2 shell holders for the Lyman so things didn't line up quite right on alot of the calibers and I broke the pin 1 time. It wasn't a big problem since I had ordered a spare pin for just such a reason and Lee promptly replaced the broken pin free of charge (the pins are guaranteed unbreakable). I now have an 11 piece set of (that's right) Lee shellholders.

I had considered buying more expensive depriming dies but am glad I went with the "cheap" Lee dies.

 

[Caimlas]

I don't believe you. Everyone knows RCBS is better than Lee, and that Lee just produces cheap junk.

</tongue in cheek>

 

[Odnar]

...the lead-free frangible bullet I was handed at the recent gun show...

Let me guess, the 1500? That's where I got one handed out to me a couple weeks ago!

I'm buying one of these decapping dies with my next Midway order.

 

[halvey]

Does Dick Lee pay you guys to shill for him? This is almost as bad as the "buy a SIG" guys trolling around THR a few years back.

 

[heypete]

halvey - No, he doesn't. I'm simply a satisfied user of his company's products.

I'm nobody's shill, and resent the implication.

 

[halvey]

Chill out man.

 

[Odnar]

Does Dick Lee pay you guys to shill for him? This is almost as bad as the "buy a SIG" guys trolling around THR a few years back.

He's just sharing a positive experience. If you've had bad experiences with Lee products, feel free to share them.

Personal attacks just make you come off like a prick.

 

[scrat]

agree more people out there are using lee products every day without probkems and saving money

 

[rodnocker1]

Boy, I wish he (or maybe Mike Dillon) were paying me!

I just bought a new Dillon XL650 with case feeder plus a bunch of extra Dillon stuff from Brian Enos in December, totalling a little over $1,700.00, so I guess buying a $7.99 Lee deprimer/decapper die does seem sort of "silly" (or should that be the other way around ).

I have Dillon products, RCBS, Lee, Lyman, and quite a few others. I have yet to find any that have disappointed me and they have all done the job so I tend to badmouth none of them. The Lee die is just a heck of a deal and good product.

 

[yhtomit]

Odnar wrote (wrt lead-free frangible bullet I mentioned):

"Let me guess, the 1500? That's where I got one handed out to me a couple weeks ago!"

I'm not sure how to parse your question What's "The 1500"?

I got this bullet as a sample from a booth at the Harrisburg gun show; I recall that it's 90pct copper, and 10pct ... hmmm, something else. I want to say "antimony" but I think that contains mostly lead anyhow. So, I guess, 10pct "mixed or unknown fibers."

So I'm intrigued, and now really want to know what The 1500 is If it's the name of the company selling the bullets, then I'm just blind, because I didn't pay close attention; I mostly just noticed a big sign that said "Lead Free Frangible Bullets" or something very close to that.

timothy

 

[Odnar]

Sorry, it's the Indy 1500. Big gun and knife show here in Indianapolis. Around here we just call it "The fifteen-hundred". Not sure where the name comes from. Maybe the organizers thought that it's about three times as much fun as the Indianapolis 500.

I've been to dozens of gun shows in several states over the years, and other than edible products, nobody has ever given me a sample of anything until a few weeks ago at the 1500. It was such an uncommon happening that I though perhaps it was the same vendor at the same show.

Let me take a second guess, you spell your name backwards because "Timothy" was already taken at THR?

Rando

 

[yhtomit]

Heh, I learn something every time I let myself open THR I suspect that for me, nearly any gun show would indeed be 3 times as fun as the Indy 500. No accounting for taste, after all.

And Yes, you have the reason for the name

timothy

 

[RustyFN]

Does Dick Lee pay you guys to shill for him? This is almost as bad as the "buy a SIG" guys trolling around THR a few years back.

Yes but only a fraction of what the Dillon guy's get.
Rusty

 

[jr81452]

well using the LEE decaping die is just common sense. i mean what exactly could the advantage be in paying twice as much for the rcbs decaping die? does it decap more precisly glad you find your LEE decaping die as usfull as i find mine

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

i mean what exactly could the advantage be in paying twice as much for the rcbs decaping die? does it decap more precisly

Well, for starters, the RCBS has a better lock ring (not a great one, like a hornady/forster/lyman, but better than the lee lockless ring). Secondly, my RCBS decapping pin is spring loaded so it "pops" the primer off the pin, and does not draw it back into the pocket. Thirdly, I did not pay twice as much for mine. Finally, I don't do range brass, and I haven't broken a depriming pin yet.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Lee universal decapper is a fine product. I just think the RCBS is better for me, especially since I don't do range/military brass. I have several Lee products, and many are great, but some aren't.

Andy

 

[heypete]

Andy,

I respectfully disagree about the lock ring -- I found the lockless ring on the Lee dies to be easier to secure firmly in the press itself than the RCBS lockring, even when the lockscrew is tightened firmly. Granted, I have a single-stage press, and Lee's lockless ring might not perform nearly as well in progressive or turret presses (or it might, I honestly don't know), but it seems to be more than secure enough for my purposes.

I didn't notice any spring-loaded bits in the RCBS die, but I admit I wasn't really looking for any. I've deprimed several hundred cases with the Lee die, and haven't had any primers drawn back into the pocket...is this issue a common one? I've not heard of it being a problem before.

Also, while on the the topic of crimped in primers, is there any particular tool that's useful for removing the crimps after the primer's been removed? Something that can be chucked into a power drill would be ideal.

 

[prickett]

I too agree the Lee decapper rocks. I'm not worried about the lock ring as its purpose is very minimal - no need for locked in precision on a decapper.

Lee is an interesting company - they make some very good products and some real junk. I'm mainly an RCBS man, but have Lee dies for my .45. I have the collet die for my .223. The factory crimp dies ROCK! And I absolutely swear by the Auto Disc Pro for loading pistol powder. I bought one for each caliber, set the desired cavity, and it drops dead accurate loads all night long with no wandering (due to the fixed sized cavity). The best part of all is, when combined with the Lee powder thru the belling die, you can reclaim the spot formerly dedicated to powder. My RCBS Pro 2000 now has the equivalent of a 6 stage press! I have the standard 3 dies (the belling die doubles as a powder drop), plus a check die and a factory crimp die.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

Pete,

I've haven't had problems with the Lee lockless rings not holding the die in place while in the press, but they never seem to stay put when inserting/removing the die, requiring me to re-setup the die every time. Not a big deal for a universal deprimer, but a pain for others.

I had a couple primers drawn back into the case before I switched to the RCBS (recent mfg) Heavy duty deprimer. Not a big deal, since it lets you know when you can't slide the case out of the shell holder due to the primer partially sticking out the bottom of the case. I would just re-cycle the ram, and it would usually take care of itself. I switched to the universal deprimer in order to deprime prior to tumbling, and have not had any problems since.

Dillon and RCBS both make primer pocket swaging (de-crimping) tools. RCBS' is a die type tool that mounts in a standard press, whereas Dillon's is a separate tool. I'm not sure if primer pocket "uniformers" will remove the crimp.

Andy