Lee Loader

I wonder if anyone can advise me on this:
I just got myself a Lee Target Zero Error set in .308W. I have a problem with seating bullets as the cartridge tightly binds in the die after seating the bullet. I inside neck-ream Lapua and Norma brass using the cutter provided with the kit . Bullet diameter is 0.308"/7,82 mm.

No answer, but hopefully someone can help. I have never used the set you mentioned, just the simpler Loader.

Starting with the basics, have you tried to see if the same issues exist with cartridges that have not had the necks inside reamed?

Do you have the instructions for the set? If not you can find them here.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... structions

Thank you both!
I checked as as follows:
My hunting bullets measure full .308. For comparison I seated a .305 bullet, first without inside neck-reaming. There was some binding but not as severe as with my preferred hunting bullets. Then I pulled the bullet, resized and inside neck-reamed the same case and seated same bullet again - no problem! So, my target loader does not seem to work with .308 bullets which is disappointing.
I notice that tolerances with the target kit seem to be considerably tighter than with regular Lee Loader sets. The seating stem, for instance, is almost air tight fit in the die!
Again, thanks!

Do you have a way to outside turn your brass? It might help. With brass varying somewhat from maker to maker as to outside neck diameter there's no telling whose dimension Lee used to make the die. I wonder if they could tell you the ID of the neck portion of the die.

Make smoke,

snaginn wrote:Thank you both!
I checked as as follows:
My hunting bullets measure full .308. For comparison I seated a .305 bullet, first without inside neck-reaming. There was some binding but not as severe as with my preferred hunting bullets. Then I pulled the bullet, resized and inside neck-reamed the same case and seated same bullet again - no problem! So, my target loader does not seem to work with .308 bullets which is disappointing.
I notice that tolerances with the target kit seem to be considerably tighter than with regular Lee Loader sets. The seating stem, for instance, is almost air tight fit in the die!
Again, thanks!

Do you have a ball micrometer that you could measure the thickness of the neck. It might not be an issue with the bullet. Inside neck reaming is not going to correct thick brass only uniform concentricity. The SAAMI spec for the neck thickness is .0173" to .0193". If your brass is outside that, the only thing to reduce the diameter is outside neck turning. If the brass is within those numbers, then the issue is with the Lee tool.

Thank you ohio3wheels and Ranch Dog.
I do not have a ball micrometer, only digital calipers. The target tool inside-reams with the case still in the die. The reamer is ca. 0.302" in diameter and it enters the neck perfectly centered, shaving off any brass from the inside like a drill bit. This makes for uniform neck thickness of ca. 0.014". An outside cartridge neck diameter with a .305" bullet uniformly measures .332" and with a .308" bullet I get a uniform reading of .334", regardless of brass manufacture.

Got this reply to my inquiry from Lee Precision:

The Target Model Reloader was made by Lee Custom Engineering. For the whole story, read Richard Lee's article in Handloaders Digest, 17 th. ed.
Lee Custom Engineering has been out of business since 1988, and Lee Precision does not make parts for those tools, nor are we familiar enough with the tool to diagnose what may be the cause of the issue nor do we know how to fix it. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Lee Custom was the company that Richard Lee started and then, according to him, was stolen out from underneath him. You can appreciate he and his son are not going to provide support for their products.

Oh, dear!