Help me identify 308 Dies

50 BMG, Collet, and steel reloading dies plus the Factory Crimp Dies. Also, discussions concerning the Deluxe, Pacesetter, and RGB die sets.
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Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by skynetsysadmin »

I have a couple of Lee 308 dies and I need some help identifying them. One has the markings of LEE-308 WIN-F4, and the other is LEE-308-L2. Anyone know what these markings indicate?

I think one of these is a Factory Crimp die, but not sure which one.

Thanks for the help
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by Ranch Dog »

Greetings and welcome to the forum. The F4 & L2 are date of manufacture codes. The Letter represents the month of the year; A for January through L for December. The number is simply the last digit of the year so it rolls through every 10 years. As an example the first could be 2004 or 2014. So one die was made in June 2004 or 2014 and the other in December 2002 or 2012.

Let's see, the reference is... http://leeprecision.net/support/index.p ... gs-on-dies
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by Ranch Dog »

Oh, so the dies are not labeled as to what they are. If you have picture of them I could tell you.
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by GasGuzzler »

Yep
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by skynetsysadmin »

Ranch Dog wrote:Oh, so the dies are not labeled as to what they are. If you have picture of them I could tell you.
Thanks for the help. Here are some images. I am of the opinion that they are both crimp dies, but let me know what you think. The only real difference between the two are the base of the dies. Left one "L2" has two rubber O rings at the base and a rounded edge. The other one "F4" has a thicker plastic ring at the base and it is machined flatter without the rounded edge. They definitely are not seating dies or neck dies, maybe a full length resizing die, but I am betting they are just crimp dies.

Thanks again
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by 62chevy »

they are neck sizing dies with out the pin. But you can order pins for a couple of bucks from Lee or Titan Reloading.
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by Ranch Dog »

62chevy wrote:they are neck sizing dies with out the pin. But you can order pins for a couple of bucks from Lee or Titan Reloading.
Hey Chevy, I didn't think Lee made a neck sizing die. The Lee version of a neck sizing die is the Collet series which these aren't. I've never seen a Lee die with the synthetic inserts in the bottom. I've got to ask sky where he got them?
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by 62chevy »

Ranch Dog wrote:
62chevy wrote:they are neck sizing dies with out the pin. But you can order pins for a couple of bucks from Lee or Titan Reloading.
Hey Chevy, I didn't think Lee made a neck sizing die. The Lee version of a neck sizing die is the Collet series which these aren't. I've never seen a Lee die with the synthetic inserts in the bottom. I've got to ask sky where he got them?

Look at page 29 of the Lee 2016 catalog or the front cover of the Lee's Modern Reloading second edition. That is the Lee Collet Die.
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Re: Help me identify 308 Dies

Post by skynetsysadmin »

Ranch Dog wrote:
62chevy wrote:they are neck sizing dies with out the pin. But you can order pins for a couple of bucks from Lee or Titan Reloading.
Hey Chevy, I didn't think Lee made a neck sizing die. The Lee version of a neck sizing die is the Collet series which these aren't. I've never seen a Lee die with the synthetic inserts in the bottom. I've got to ask sky where he got them?
Yeah I am pretty sure these are both factory crimp dies. I just bought a 223 factory crimp die and it matches the shape and design of the die on the left with the o rings at the base. The other die is shaped exactly the same way, just the base is plastic without the o rings. Maybe and older design. It does resemble the full length sizing die from the outside, but it doesn't have the threads internally needed to hold the pin. And it also doesn't have the neck shape internally.

Thanks for the input. I got these from a garage sale and they didn't know exactly what they were. I appreciate the help, I'm sure I'll have lot more questions. New to rifle reloading, only have experience with pistol reloading.
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