Can someone explain Lee RGB Dies to me?

[LloydXmas250]

I'm new to reloading and I might just be ignorant toward this but I can't figure out what the RGB dies are about. I see there's just two dies, but anytime I watch people reload on youtube or read there's almost always 3 dies. At Bass Pro all I see are 3 or 4 die sets. So what is the purpose of these? Can just the two do everything you need or is something else required? I'm interested in buying my .223 dies tomorrow at Bass Pro. They have the 3 die set for $24. Should I get that or look into this RGB? Thanks.

[Flyin Brian]

RGB just stands for "Really Great Buy" and it's just a Lee gimmick. I love Lee but some of their promotion stuff is kind of idiotic. The RGB comes with a sizing die and a bullet seating die, but you will probably want the "Lee factory crimp die" or a rifle charging die, which is where the 3 or 4 dies comes in. Some people don't crimp but I do and I have had great results.

If you are loading for bolt action, one rifle only, look at getting the collet die set. They neck size only and will be more accurate in the long run, but you will still need a full length sizing die if you get new brass or pick some up at the range.

[gunboat]

In years past almost all dies were 2 die sets -- The sizing die also decapped and sized the neck to the proper diameter -- The seating die seated the bullet and crimped the case.
Three die pistol and straight case rifle dies came along the extra die being a expanding die.
Four die sets came along after that, the fourth die being a crimper.
All these combinations can vary by maker of the die sets -
Two die sets have and can load as precise a reload as any.
my ha-penny

[bohoki]

ive used them in 223 and 308 and ive found no need for crimping as my bullets seat nice and tight

pistol dies often come with 3 as they have an expanding to help seat flat base bullets and cast lead

with rifle boattails load easy and with flat base bullets it helps to have trimmed and debured inside (leaving a slight chamfer)

[LloydXmas250]

Excuse the ignorance again but what exactly does a crimp do? I have just been reloading 9mm but I just seat the bullet. I don't really understand what more a crimp would do. Does it actually make a crimp? Does it look or work any differently?

[bohoki]

Excuse the ignorance again but what exactly does a crimp do? I have just been reloading 9mm but I just seat the bullet. I don't really understand what more a crimp would do. Does it actually make a crimp? Does it look or work any differently?

with pistol rounds a crimp will help with feeding issues due to tight chambers with rifle a crimp is meant to make as close to mil spec as a person can by pressing some of the brass into the bullet knurling if your bullet selection does not have the center knurling then you should not crimp

it is extremely important to have a tight tolerence in your case length

[LloydXmas250]

For my AR I will mainly be plinking. Should I get the Pacesetter 3 Die set or the regular Lee 3 Die set? I'm not sure that crimping would be necessary for me. I could always get the crimping die later.

Also, is it hard to seat flat-based rounds in a case without expanding the rim?

[Divernhunter]

Seating flat base bullets are not a problem. You can adjust the seating die to crimp or not to crimp. I do not on rifle rounds and I load from 204ruger to 338win mag also 45/70 and 50bmg. About 35+ different cartridges.

"I" personally have a couple sets of lee dies but do not care for them. Get RCBS or Hornady(or Redding or Lyman) and you will not look back. IF you do get lee dies be sure to get a real locking ring as the POS they have cannot be locked in place so requires resetting it each time. By the time you buy locking rings you could buy RCBS or Hornady dies Lee dies do not have a lifetime warr.

[LloydXmas250]

If I'm reading right, a full-length sizing die is used to reshape brass from a different gun to be my perfect size. A collet die only sizes the neck and is only used when the brass came from my rifle. Is this correct?

[FLIGHT762]

If I'm reading right, a full-length sizing die is used to reshape brass from a different gun to be my perfect size. A collet die only sizes the neck and is only used when the brass came from my rifle. Is this correct?

That's right,but if you're shooting an autoloader, you should F/L resize each time. Neck sizing only is fine for bolt guns. Neck sizing in an autoloader could potentially lead to rounds not chambering or worse, a slam fire.

[LloydXmas250]

Got it. Now amother question about the Lee dies, some reviews say the seater also crimps while others say you need the factory crimp. Can someone tell me from experience.

[bohoki]

my seater doesn't crimp but my sizer shrinks the neck so much that seating a bullet is nice and tight

i do not lube the inside of my necks and the little expander on the decaping rod kind of cleans the inside of the mouth

[Flyin Brian]

You can screw the seater in and it will crimp, but if you have a FCD (factory crimp Die) it is better to do it as a separate operation. To crimp or not to crimp is a question with no right answer. Everyone has an opinion on it, nobody is right. You have to do what you like to do. For me, I crimp with an FCD. I like the fact that my powder is fully burning and pressure is up before the bullet starts moving, YMMV.

Got it. Now amother question about the Lee dies, some reviews say the seater also crimps while others say you need the factory crimp. Can someone tell me from experience.

[xrMike]

Got it. Now amother question about the Lee dies, some reviews say the seater also crimps while others say you need the factory crimp. Can someone tell me from experience.

Yes, Lee advertises that if you set up their seating die correctly, you can also get it to crimp too. But in reality that does not work too well.

It's better to set up their seating die to just do the bullet seating only. And then use their FCD in the next hole to apply the crimp. Works much better that way.