Lee Decapping die

Sometimes the holes are misaligned or the cases have rocks stuck in the bottom. Pins are cheap, you should have a few on standby.
 
Interesting. I love my Lee decapping die (universal model). Mine charges right through crimped military 5.56 brass. Occasionally, I run into a too-small primer hole in some Guat milsurp that I still have, and the pin just punches a bigger hole.
 
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One trick I've heard to make them last longer is to round off the edges of the pin to make it look more like a ball-point.
 
berdan got mine, glad I bought an extra pin when I ordered the die. If I hadn't been so dumb I wouldn't have bent the first one. The resistance on the pull lever of the RockChucker should have been enough to tell me to take the darn casing out and look inside before proceeding with the crank down.:D
 
I've gone through a few pins on mine in the years I've had it. Just ordered a couple the other day with some various other reloading stuff. Bent one on a berdan case and it curled into a U shape which I thought was neat.
 
That's what mine done is bent double. I didn't see any place on Midway to order pins. Milne looks like one solid piece. Hey Hornady 260 die came with extra pins but my Lee die looks nothing like it. Aw sh,, I just saw them for $3.99 each. It's the entire stem. They've already shipped my bullets and new die and I could have just ordered 3-4 pins. Live and learn. I'm sure I'll be ordering again next week for something I forgot.
 
Thanks Clark. I saw them on Midway after I re ordered the whole die. I've got to order another shooting bag next week and I'm going to order 3 extra pins. Lesson learned the hard way.
 
My biggest problem with the Lee dies was the Depriming pin pulling out on smaller flash holes. It would get stuck in the flash hole and then i would have to take the press apart to dig it out of the brass to get the brass out of the shell holder.
I sold all of my Lee dies to a coworker who was just getting started. Went to RCBS and others.
 
I've used mine for many thousands of rounds, mostly 9mm, 223, and .38 Special. I use it with a progressive press, and frankly I break pins regularly. They bend, I straighten them, they bend, I straighten them, they finally break. I keep several replacement pins on hand.

Perfect, no. Wouldn't trade it though.

Tony
 
If you visit Lee's website and use the links to contact them for service, you can briefly describe the problem and even attach a picture. They mail it First Class and you usually have it in 4-5 days, no charge.
 
Have had mine for years. Haven't broke a pin in over two years, but then again I have four spares. Learned early on (9 years ago) stuff happens and it is better to be prepared than have to wait for replacements.


Stay safe.
Jim
 
8Ball67
My biggest problem with the Lee dies was the Depriming pin pulling out on smaller flash holes. It would get stuck in the flash hole and then i would have to take the press apart to dig it out of the brass to get the brass out of the shell holder.
I sold all of my Lee dies to a coworker who was just getting started. Went to RCBS and others.
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RCBS has sweet female voices that give sympathy when the feeble RCBS decapping pins snap off, Then she will insist on sending you a handful of pins for free, even if you broke yours on a Berdan primed case.

Lee always had the Snidely Whiplash customer service until Sept 2015 when they interacted with me and agreed to turn a 25-06 collet neck die into a 6.5-06 die.
I dunno what's wrong with Lee. They are going soft on customers.

edited because my search engine level spell checker has gone rouge
 
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??????

How in the heck are so many of you breaking Lee decapping pins?? One of the great features of the Lee die is that the pin rides inside a collet designed to let the pin push up when it hits something hard!
 
I'm with Mauser, if I hit something hard, the pin slips in the collet :confused:

I have found that certain shells like the .44mag need the collet a little tighter so the pin doesn't slip on everyone you try to punch out.
 
In my case it was called too much force and not enough sense. I just call it like I seen it. I had bent it a few times before and straighted it out. One time too many.
 
How in the heck are so many of you breaking Lee decapping pins??
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That's what I was wondering too. Now that I am saying this, I will probably snap one this afternoon (I do have a spare collecting dust), but I have never broken or bent one in three years of reloading many, many thousands of rounds. I did have it slide up in the collet once, as it is intended to do, but with no damage.

My biggest problem with the Lee dies was the Depriming pin pulling out on smaller flash holes. It would get stuck in the flash hole and then i would have to take the press apart to dig it out of the brass to get the brass out of the shell holder.I
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Never had this happen either. I would think the issue was the collet holding the pin was not tight enough.
 
One whole month and pin broke on of all things a 357 cartridge. Go figure.
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Call Lee they should send one out free. having extras is not a bad idea.

How in the heck are so many of you breaking Lee de-capping pins??
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the should be adjusted to push out the primer and not contact the webbing of the cartridge. I see them bent by new reloaders and adjusted too far down. berdan primers are another good reason for breakage.
 
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