Rifle charging die help Lee Pro 1000?

[Yetiultimate]

I've used my Pro 1000 for thousands of pistol rounds, but am trying .223 now with little success. When using the Short Rifle Charging Die, I'm getting quite a bit of powder spillage. It seems that the empty case doesn't always contact the beveled plunger inside the die perfectly straight and this causes a gap for powder to spill through. Have any of you had the same issue and then found a fix?

[kevins750]

I use my charging die for .223 on my classic turret without issue....

Have you taken the die apart to inspect?

[Yetiultimate]

Yeah, its clean and the plunger moves freely. The issue is that the beveled opening at the bottom of the plunger is nearly the same diameter as the neck of the case. This means if the case is just a little bit off center as it contacts the plunger, it creates a gap...

[jdfthetech]

have you tried bending in the case retainer spring a bit? I had a primer feed issue where the cases weren't staying perfectly aligned and found bending the spring in fixed the issue.

[tonyjr]

It sounds like you need to adjust the die down .
I had the same problem with my 270 .
But I am using a loadmaster .

[Yetiultimate]

I've increased the tension on the case hold spring and if I run the die down any farther it crushes the mouth of the case. No dice.....

[Pardini]

Too tight can be a problem too.

[tonyjr]

Yetiultimate
If it is touching , the powder hole is to big .
I would contact Lee .
Right now the smallest I do [ and that was for
the 4th of July ] is the 25 ACP .
I have the - Lee small powder die [ long one ]
I mainly use for the bottle necks .
They run about 20 on ebay - 25 for a set .
I do 15 calibers and own at least 4 for the short and I think[ with out checking ]
6 of the long .
FYI - Lee Short (90668) and Long (90194) Charging Dies are included in this kit
for use with the Auto-Disk, Pro Auto-Disk and Auto-Drum Powder Measure. ?
Works with cases .860 to 2.620 inches long, and bullet diameter .223 and larger.
The rifle charging dies work the same as the pistol powder through expanding
die, except it doesn't expand the case mouth. Rifle case expansion is done in the
sizing die.

The Lee long die is used to charge small capacity rifle cases ranging from 22
caliber to 30 caliber with a minimum case length of 1.403" to a maximum case
Length of 2.015" (Ex: 22 Hornet to the 308 Winchester) using the Auto-Disk Powder Measure.

The Lee Short Charging Die is for use with the Lee Auto-Disk, Pro Auto-Disk and
Auto-Drum Powder Measure. Designed to work with cases .860 to 1.760 inches
long (22 Hornet to 223 Rem), and bullet diameter .223 and larger due to powder
bridging.
I copied the FYI from my notes and don't remember where I got it .
I decap pistol rounds by hand and resize / expand after cleaning .
Bottlenecks and decap on one station and sized / expanded on next - then
cleaned .
My advice would be to contact Lee , tell them the problem and ask for more pins .
They will charge you for shipping of pins and probably recommend [ may give you one ] you either get a Lee Short Charging Die or a new 223 die .