Thread: Lee Collet Die Decapping Pin Removed

Originally Posted by Three O'Three

Hi all. Will removing the decapping pin from a Lee collet die mandrel have a negative affect with the neck sizing operation in any way? Thanks

Greetings @Three O'Three and All,
Both the Lee Collet dies and the Lee Loader kits are noted for producing straight cases. To my mind the decapping pin on the mandrel in the Lee Collet die performs an essential part of keeping the mandrel and hence the neck straight and should never be removed. Some, but not all, conventional neck and full length sizing dies can pull the neck of line when the expander button is pulled through the neck. This can be reduced, or eliminated, by running the sizing button into the case to expand the necks as a separate step. This allows full support to the case head in the shell holder rather than just part of the rim. Adjusting the expander ball as high up in the case as possible can help as well but means you have to de cap as a separate step, something I do anyway. John Barsness did an excellent article on this in Handloader a couple of years back.
Regards Grandpamac.
PS. Many have problems with the Collet die not sizing the necks enough to grip the projectiles after a couple of loads. This is due to brass hardening and can be eliminated by annealing the necks. Many target shooters anneal case necks for every load.
GPM.