Mixed up my Lee dies; confused

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PolarFBear

New member
After years of mixing dies on various Lee and Dillon presses I got the wild idea to break down everything and start afresh. Had no issues with most calibers but Oh My Goodness, I mixed up my 9 MMs. I have several sets. The markings on Lee dies seem to be VERY inconsistent. I have checked the Lee website with no help. Can some of you Lee die users check your shelves and give me some feedback. Here is what I have and what I "think" it is used for. Do note some of the designations on the dies are the same but functions are different.

E-9 Bullet Seater
L-8 Bullet Seater
F-8 Decapper/sizer
D-8 Decapper/sizer
H-2 Speed die
L-4 Powder die
E-8 Bullet seater
C-2 Factory crimper
A-9 Decapper/sizer
D-5 Decapper/sizer
D-8 Powder die
D-7 Bullet seater
D-8 Decapper/sizer
K-5 Bullet seater
F-8 Powder die.
 
The markings are date of manufacture codes. Nothing to do with the type of die. From Lee's website:

http://leeprecision.net/support/ind...identifying-the-markings-or-stampings-on-dies
Identifying the Markings or Stampings on Dies
Posted by on 30 November 2011 11:45 AM

The Letter/Number stampings on our reloading dies are an internal manufacturing date code telling us when we made the dies. The Letter represents a month and the number represents the year, starting in 2000. For example A6 = January 2006, B6 = February 2006, etc. In years that have the same last number, such as "0", it could represent either 2000 or 2010.
Click to expand...
 
Other brands of dies

higgite: Thanks so very much. This is a down check for Lee, though I do like the dies. Other manufactures can mark theirs very clearly. But, I am slowly converting over to Dillon dies. So I can eliminate the Lee's as I progress. I really have used no other dies other than Lee and the occasional Dillion. I have a set of 38/357 from Pacific that "look" exceptional but never put on a press. What are some other good brands and are they caliber specific. I mean does RCBS (or XYZ) make a really outstanding die for a particular caliber. This is why I enjoy reloading; always more to learn. Plus it solves my need to tinker since I can't slide under a car or bury myself in an engine bay anymore.
 
If you really are stumped take some pictures and send Lee the question. They'll happily answer it for you. I had a similar experience, and they told me the same thing about the letter codes, in a short while they told me what the die was.
 
The Dillon dies are good quality, but keep in mind they are geared toward progressive loading where you need to make every case work in order to avoid work flow interruption. As a result, their sizing dies that I have are tight. For example, I used to toss all the R-P .45 Auto brass I found at the range because, after 2 or three reloadings they became so springy my Lyman Carbide sizing die no longer narrowed them enough to hold onto bullets. It worked fine with all other brands. But after I got my first Dillon progressive purchased set up for .45 Auto, I no longer had that problem because the Dillon die was narrower than the Lyman.

IME, Lee dies tend toward the other end of the diameter spectrum, only resizing minimally, and with some rifle cases where you are trying to get maximum life out of them, especially for a rifle with a generous chamber, a Lee sizer may be a better choice.
 
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