Lee die question

[wherestheham]

I am now setting up my own reloader. I have a Dillon 550. I found some used Lee 3 die sets for a good price.

According to Lee, their seating die also does a taper crimp. The Dillon press is set up to have a seperate crimping die.

Can I use the Lee die to both seat and crimp and use the Dillon as a 3 stage vs 4 stage or do I need to keep the operations seperate.

I am primarily loading lead semi-wad cutters for target practice.

Thanks for your help.

 

[SASS#23149]

you can use the Lee die just fine.Just leave the 4th hole empty on the dillon.
there is an advantage to crimping in a seperate step...it's easier to adjust the dies,and you don't shave lead/jacket/lube into the seating/crimping die.

 

[Oro]

Another bonus about 3-die sets is to set the 3rd die to just seat, and the the 4th station to crimp and do a full-length resizing. This smooths out any irregularities from seating. It produces a better case consistency, and is especially nice if you have an autoloader with a tightly toleranced chamber. Lee sells resizing/crimping dies separately for most all handgun calibers for very reasonable prices - like $13 or so.

 

[moooose102]

something you could also do is buy a lee factory crimp die. they work very well, then you could use the seater die to only seat instead of seat and crimp/

 

[wherestheham]

Thank you gentlemen. I will buy the seperate crimping die.

 

[fastbike]

just buy the four die set