The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

I normally use Lee dies for my reloading, and for my needs they have generally been fine. However when I tried to full-length size 223 Remington I just couldn't get it to work. The case would bind up in the die and be impossible to get out without a lot of force. So I'm looking to get a full length sizing die to use on my Lee press. To me the Forster's look good. Anyone have experience with them please? Any watchouts for sizing 223 Remington? I'll be using PPU brass, but also planning on reusing my GGG brass as well (and yes, I'll be swaging it to remove that crimp). Thanks.

Did you completely clean the die first?

Did you rub lube in the inside of the cavity? I usually heat it up a bit as well and then lightly remove the lube.

What case lube were you using and was it properly applied.

Have you removed and destroyed that abomination of a neck expander and replace it with a plain de-capping rod.

Forster dies are excellent but only really necessary for long range shooting with high accuracy expectations.

I use lee for most of my .222 shooting and the few times I have managed to work up sufficient enthusiasm to reload .223 the Lee dies have worked fine. There is a very good chance that the die is faulty being a Lee one so a question or two to the supplier would be in order.

I have many different types of die sets, from expensive to cheap. Although the Lee dies are at the cheaper end of the spectrum, they essentially work fine and are fit for purpose. The Forster dies are probably a better bet overall, but don’t expect a huge step change in performance for the extra money.

The advice you have been given by Dromia is sound, and much more likely to be the cause of your woes than the actual die itself. I suggest that you check all of the points mentioned before putting your hand in your pocket. Remember that even if it is the die, then Lee have always been pretty good in resolving customer issues, so it’s not a lost cause just yet.

jmc67 wrote:I normally use Lee dies for my reloading, and for my needs they have generally been fine. However when I tried to full-length size 223 Remington I just couldn't get it to work. The case would bind up in the die and be impossible to get out without a lot of force. So I'm looking to get a full length sizing die to use on my Lee press. To me the Forster's look good. Anyone have experience with them please? Any watchouts for sizing 223 Remington? I'll be using PPU brass, but also planning on reusing my GGG brass as well (and yes, I'll be swaging it to remove that crimp). Thanks.

JMC - you need to set up the Forster FL die as per instruction.

There is a small hole in the side of the die - in the threads. The expander ball which is moveable on the screwed stem - must align with this hole. Do that and you won't have a problem.

Thanks for the advice. It's Lee lube, and I'm applying in the same way as I do for my 308 which has worked fine for a couple of thousand rounds so far. So hopefully it's not a million miles away from right.

Dromia, your comment about the neck expander is interesting, as I think it's that that was causing the problem. I didn't know this could just be replaced with a plain decapping rod, so thanks for that. I'll definitely give that a go..

I had no end of stuck cases with a Lee .223 full length resizing die. Plus the lady in the shop said when I bought them that I’d need to be extra careful with even lubricant on the cases.

It’s not just you

Imperial sizing wax is my my solution for Lee dies in the .223/.222 and smaller range, it is the only way to go - Accept no substitutes!

yep imperial is the stuff for 223, once I switched to it no more issues.
Lee lube caused odd stuck case in 223.

Ok will also try and get some of the Imperial sizing wax too when I next need to buy some stuff. Thanks.

I tried Lee lube once and got a bunch of stuck cases. Don't know whether it was a bad batch or not, but I chucked it out. The Imperial living wax, now that's a godsend. Bought the smallest tin you can get and have sized a couple of thousand cases, and the tin isn't even hard empty! I've never had a stuck case, and have used it in a multitude of calibres and die manufacturers (Redding, Forster, RCBS, Lee).

Don't forget to put a little bit of lube inside the case mouth if you still happen to use the expander ball intact!