sharptailhunter Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) I've only used Hornady dies for my other pistol cartridges (.380 & .40). For my 9mm I decided to get the Lee deluxe carbide set since it came with the FCD and was on sale. First off, the bullet seating die was horrible, fortunately, my Hornady .380 seating die is for 9mm as well, it works great. Now, the Lee full length sizer is grabbing or sticking on virtually every round. And let me tell you, it is really sticking, my whole bench shakes and jumps. Sometimes I have to use both hands on the lever. I'm not about to use sizing lube as the carbide dies are advertised as not needing it. I have scoured it with brake cleaner and followed it up with Hornady one shot. I have tried adjusting it up and down within the press to no avail. Has anyone else experienced this? My Hornady dies work slicker than slick, but I donno bout this Lee stuff. FWIW, the FCD seems to be working great. Edited January 20, 2011 by sharptailhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I've only used Hornady dies for my other pistol cartridges (.380 & .40). For my 9mm I decided to get the Lee deluxe carbide set since it came with the FCD and was on sale. First off, the bullet seating die was horrible, fortunately, my Hornady .380 seating die is for 9mm as well, it works great. Now, the Lee full length sizer is grabbing or sticking on virtually every round. And let me tell you, it is really sticking, my whole bench shakes and jumps. Sometimes I have to use both hands on the lever. I'm not about to use sizing lube as the carbide dies are advertised as not needing it. I have scoured it with brake cleaner and followed it up with Hornady one shot. I have tried adjusting it up and down within the press to no avail. Has anyone else experienced this? My Hornady dies work slicker than slick, but I donno bout this Lee stuff. FWIW, the FCD seems to be working great. I run a Lee 4-die set in 40S&W and also in 9mm. I run Hornady One Shot case lube on my brass. 10's and 10's of thousands of rounds of "works great". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lomshek Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I've only used Hornady dies for my other pistol cartridges (.380 & .40). For my 9mm I decided to get the Lee deluxe carbide set since it came with the FCD and was on sale. First off, the bullet seating die was horrible, fortunately, my Hornady .380 seating die is for 9mm as well, it works great. Now, the Lee full length sizer is grabbing or sticking on virtually every round. And let me tell you, it is really sticking, my whole bench shakes and jumps. Sometimes I have to use both hands on the lever. I'm not about to use sizing lube as the carbide dies are advertised as not needing it. I have scoured it with brake cleaner and followed it up with Hornady one shot. I have tried adjusting it up and down within the press to no avail. Has anyone else experienced this? My Hornady dies work slicker than slick, but I donno bout this Lee stuff. FWIW, the FCD seems to be working great. I used the same die set for my 9mm and finally gave up. I had the same issues and even sent it back to Lee for replacement (didn't help). After throwing in the towel I got a Redding or RCBS (can't remember which) carbide sizer and the difference is noticeable in feel at the handle and looks. Visually the replacement's interior finish looks smoother and less rough than the Lee. I do spritz some One Shot lube on my cases now anyway because they size butter smooth lubed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeZer Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Lee - China would be ashamed of their products... - personal opinion, flame on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98006 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 lee is made in the good ol USA. the name Lee is not always Asian. Remember Robert E Lee? On the dies, it might be your brass. are you using cases fired from 1 gun? it could have an oversized chamber allowing it to expand more than normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Get a Hornady New Demension, and get plenty of decapping pins. Its a big improvment over the Lee or EGW die in less effort, my speed doubled getting rid of the Lee. Or get a case of One Shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeZer Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 lee is made in the good ol USA. the name Lee is not always Asian. Remember Robert E Lee? On the dies, it might be your brass. are you using cases fired from 1 gun? it could have an oversized chamber allowing it to expand more than normal. I know background of Lee company, I was trying to say - their products' quality is such that Chinease companies make better stuff. And I agree with Hornady New Dim. dies, tried Lee, RCBS and Hornady dies were the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I started out on Lee in 9mm and decided that I wanted to do a little better. Not bad for the price, but I do believe theya re not as good as they used to be, or I have raised my standards. Dillon Sining Die, Redding Comp Seater or Dillon Seater, Dillon or Redding Crimp Die. Never failed me yet. I sell Hornady, Redding, Dillon, Lyman and Lee and I know what keps selling the most and giving the least problems, and it does not begin with L. Buy either a Redding or a Dillon Carbide Siser and make sure you use the right amount of Hornady or Dillon Lube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 FWIW, I use Lee carbide resize dies on 9mm, .40, .223, and .308 and they work just fine for me. Are you using any case lube at all? If so, which kind and how much? You might want to read some of the threads on case lube as I know that this issue has been discussed several times. The general consensus is that Hornady One-Shot aerosol spray works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeZer Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Just to add to the post above - Hornady has TWO different lubes - Case Lube, and Gun Clener & Dry Lube. Former is a red canister (with a ball inside, if you shake it) and latter is a black canister. Both are very good at what they are meant to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 The Lee die sizes your case down more than most other dies. Closer to original. Sooo, if your cases are really swelled it will take more effort, it's doing more. Hornady one shot is great stuff, a liitle shot does wonders even with carbide dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharptailhunter Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 As I have had only great experiences with Hornady New Dimension dies, I junked the Lee dies and replaced em with Hornady dies, problem solved. I do like the Lee Factory Crimp Die, so I have left that in the press, but the rest are the big H dies. I also know the difference of One Shot gun cleaner and One Shot case lube. My .40 S&W brass has never needed lube. I the 9mm could benefit from it because of the tapered case? For lube, I have found that Lee lube mixed with rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle gives me excellent results and is very cheap, might have to spray my 9s if they start sticking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin303 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I've only used Hornady dies for my other pistol cartridges (.380 & .40). For my 9mm I decided to get the Lee deluxe carbide set since it came with the FCD and was on sale. First off, the bullet seating die was horrible, fortunately, my Hornady .380 seating die is for 9mm as well, it works great. Now, the Lee full length sizer is grabbing or sticking on virtually every round. And let me tell you, it is really sticking, my whole bench shakes and jumps. Sometimes I have to use both hands on the lever. I'm not about to use sizing lube as the carbide dies are advertised as not needing it. I have scoured it with brake cleaner and followed it up with Hornady one shot. I have tried adjusting it up and down within the press to no avail. Has anyone else experienced this? My Hornady dies work slicker than slick, but I donno bout this Lee stuff. FWIW, the FCD seems to be working great. I run a Lee 4-die set in 40S&W and also in 9mm. I run Hornady One Shot case lube on my brass. 10's and 10's of thousands of rounds of "works great". Same here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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