Bottom push-through sizing dies

[Turkeyfeather]

I would like to canvas some experience on this subject.

I have been using the Lyman 450 sizer and standard sizing dies, top punches and hard lubes for some time.  Recently I have been reading more about using the bottom Lee push-through sizing dies and the liquid alox lube.  Between the two functions of resizing and lubing the results are higher velocities, less barrel leading, no bullet nose deformation, better gas check seating, more uniform and better accuracy and the list continues.

I have other Lee products and find them to perform as they claim.  Is the same true with their lead casting equipment and this process?

Does anyone have experience with this and could share their comments?

 :grin:

[bpjon]

The Lee push through dies provide results that are second to none.  The method is also slooooow, messy and very inconvenient.  (My opinion only).  I still use Lee's Liquid Alox for bullets I'm not going to size, and I use their dies for small batches of bullets that need to be perfect, but I like my lube-sizer, and I wouldn't go back to using just Lee sizing equipment without a fight.

[Forest T]

you have a pm

[Leftoverdj]

Depends on what you are doing. Liquid Alox is messy. There are non messy dip and flood lubes that work very well at normal pistol velocities. I find the Lee pushthoughs far faster in terms of my time than my lubrisizer. because I only have to put bullets in and don't have to take them back out.

Can't beat the Lee system for sizing. It's the lube part that is the rub. You have to decide for yourself whether you are willing to lube by another method.

[Robert]

They work great for me, plus you get the molds w/ handles AND the Sizer for about the price of a Lyman mold w/o handles.  They also throw in free lube.  The Liquid Alox is 'ugly' looking...that is about the only drawback....they are not very pretty to show your freinds....however, a good way to go for extra velocity is to tumble lube with Lee Alox...then you can still put another semi-hard lube in the grooves.

[jgalar]

If you lube well before you plan to load the bullets the Lee lube isn't mesy at all. I lube the bullets in a large butter type container and leave them in there a few days - retumbling them every day or so. I then dump the bullets into a zip lock bag and box them up. I try to keep 300-500 bullets available to reload, when I go to use them the lube is like a hard varnish and not at all sticky or messy. If you try to load them the same day you lube them they will make quite a mess though.

[Lloyd Smale]

Ill stick to a star twice as fast still a push through from the base like a lee and with quality lubes i have less leading and dont have the dirt magnet noses on loaded ammo i store.

[Haywire Haywood]

I'd love to have a Star, but the price is a little intimidating.  I'm using a Saeco at the moment.

Ian

[Nobade]

I use the Lee sizers (or copies I have made in unavailable sizes) for sizing and seating the gaschecks. I do this after casting before the water dropped bullets are up to full hardness. Then whenever I want to load some, I run them through the RCBS lubrisizer with a die .001 bigger than the bullet. That way I don't work soften the bullets, and the lubing is quick and not messy. I get much better accuracy by doing it this way than trying to gascheck and size in the RCBS machine.

[Lee S. Forsberg]

I would like to canvas some experience on this subject.

I have been using the Lyman 450 sizer and standard sizing dies, top punches and hard lubes for some time.  Recently I have been reading more about using the bottom Lee push-through sizing dies and the liquid alox lube.  Between the two functions of resizing and lubing the results are higher velocities, less barrel leading, no bullet nose deformation, better gas check seating, more uniform and better accuracy and the list continues.

I have other Lee products and find them to perform as they claim.  Is the same true with their lead casting equipment and this process?

Does anyone have experience with this and could share their comments?

I used  Lyman 450 for a long time worked very well, and alox worked ok.
I changed to a Star and hard lubs, have to use a heater base with them. Much faster, can order custom dies, alot less mess, better velocity, and accuracy.

 :grin:

[Sixgun]

I have been a fan of Lee products for about the last 40 years.  Back in the early 70s, I didn't have a reloading press but every time I bought a new firearm, I would buy a Lee Loader for about $5, some brass, powder, bullets and primers and end up with my first 100 rounds for about the price of 2 boxes of loaded rifle ammo.

I started using Lee casting equipment in the late 70s.  My cousin and I just happened to be stationed at the same Air Force Base and he had a Lee bottom pour pot and a 150 gr rn mold for a 357 mag bullet.  I borrowed them and soon bought my own.  The old Lee cookie cutter, lubber was a mess but it worked and I did lots of loading with that old lee stuff.  

When Lee came out with Lee liquid Alox, I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprized to see that I got no leading, no matter how fast I shot the bullets.  liquid Alox has a higher melting temp than lead.  Try melting a lubed bullet sometime.  The lead melts and runs and the lube is left, in the shape of the bullet.  Lee claims that Lee liquid Alox will actually clean lead out of a barrel.  They took a leaded up 45 auto barrel and weighed it  then shot  a bunch of liquid alox lubed bullets then weighed it again.  It weighed less than when they started.  I have not duplicated the test but I had a 357 max barrel that leaded up shooting full house Oregon Trail bullets through it.  I tumble lubed some of the same bullets in liquid alox and shot a box of 50 through the barrel.  When I got done the barrel was sparkling clean.  Now I lube any cast bullet that I shoot in that barrel with liquid alox.

I do have a couple of presses and a Lyman 450 sizer and RCBS and Lyman bullet molds on my reloading bench but I also have lots of Lee molds, lead pots, dies, sizers, etc on my bench.  By the way, That Lee Collet die is the best thing since sliced bread, for rimed bottle necked cases.  It probably works good for any rifle case but I have eliminated streaching in my 30-30 and Hornet brass, with those collet dies.

Sixgun

[Longcruise]

I just got my first lee push through die (.309) and my Lyman will be collecting dust from now on.  My first use of the lee was with some 191 grain bore ride nose bullets that come out of the mold at about .314.  My lyman expanded the bore ride nose and they came out swiped more on one side than the other.  didn't shoot very well either.

From the same batch of castings  I ran some through the lee with freshly appllied Liquid Alox and got great resutls with nice even sizing and no bulged noses.  What's not to like? :grin:   Next time I plan to immediately wash the liquid alox off the bullets after sizing (mineral spiriits) and then oven heat treat them to about 25BHN and then do a pan lube in Verals blue lube.

Then there's cost.  I can buy the lee set up for less than the price of a die to fit my lyman :eek:   Even a custom size lee push through is only $25 bucks and I'll probably end up ordering a couple of those.

[BCB]

Turkeyfeather,

I also use the Lee push through dies.  I do use an RCBS Lube-O-Matic if I am just seating a check and shooting the rest of the bullet "as cast".  That is the only problem with the push through dies--the entire bullet must be sized to seat a check.
I recently got Lee to make me a push through in 0.278" diameter.  Apparently the 270 is not used much for cast bullets!  So, I paid the custom price to get it made and it works really well.  Nope, I don't size any of my .278" cast bullets, but I use it to down-size some of my 0.284" cast bullets to shoot in my 270's.  Some of the .284/7mm diameter bullets work dangdably well when sized down to .278".  This gives a much better selection of slugs to choose from as the 270 ain't real popular among cast bullet shooters.  Good-luck...BCB

[rbwillnj]

I just checked on Midway.  A Saeco Sizer is a $143.  A new Star from Magma is $195.  Believe me, its worth the extra $50.