.454 reloading dies

To date I have been reloading for my .454 Casull SBH with the Lee 4 die set which has been ok but of the 4 dies only the seating die is .454 specific the other all being .45 LC which Lee does note is the case in their instructions.
Having read that it is a good idea to use dies specific to the .454 I purchased the RCBS 3 die carbide set but have noticed the RCBS die does not size down to the base of the case as far as the Lee. Is that typical? Also I am using the Lee shell holder, would the RCBS set require their shell holder?
Would appreciate any advice, thanks.

I've used the same Lee .454 set that you have for 15+ years. Only problem I've had is sometimes the seater die doesn't crimp well. I solved that by getting a Lee .45 cal. crimp die. Works great.
I use Lee shell holder for their priming tool and RCBS shell holder for reloading (already had it for .44 Mag.) I use Lee shell holders with some other RCBS dies (different calibers) with never any problems.
I've loaded and shot well over 2500 rounds for my 3 different .454s with no problems EVER by mixing shell holder and dies. I consider the Lee sizing die excellent. I use them in all my straight wall revolver cases except .475 which they don't make.
I've always looked at Lee dies as the Rodney Dangerfield of loading dies- no respect, but decent price and they always work.

Thanks for the input on the Lee Dies and being able to mix shell holders I have been reloading about 4 years now and have only used Lee dies and load for several rifle and pistol calibers on a Lee single stage press, not an extravagant set up but keeps me in ammo each weekend and the dies seem to work just fine, I had read in a few articles that the .454 should have dedicated dies not adjusted .45 Colt but as you noted the Lee works just fine and no doubt produce a better cartridge than I am a shooter. The Lee factory crimp does work great and had to use it to go back and re-crimp some Hornady Custom ammo that was pulling the crimp.

Thanks again for your reply.

I bought a Lee 3 die set when I got my 454...Went to the range and the bullets jumped the crimp... bought the lee factory crimp die, and like Doc, never had a problem....

Thanks James for weighing in, feeling better about my Lee dies. As noted I did already purchase the RCBS dies. Does anyone have much experience with them? It is the 3 die carbide set, I only got as far as setting up the sizing die and when I saw it did not go down as far on the case as the Lee die I just went back to using the Lees without trying the RCBS expander or seating dies.

I use the RCBS dies for 454. It is my first straight walled cartridge experience and it seems to be working fine. I'm shooting XTP and XPB so I don't bell the case mouth. I also seat and crimp at the same time with starline cases. i'm shooting ~250gn bullets at ~ 1600fps and they don't jump in a SRH with ~ 300 rounds down range.

Ivoryhunter,

I bought RCBS dies for my 454 for the same reason you did. They were the dies that Freedom Arms sells on their website so I thought why not go with what works for the parent company of the cartridge. If I recall, mine size the full length of the case down to where the case wall meets the web of the case head. I have had no problem with mine.

I have a set of Lee dies for my 45 colt and now for 480 Ruger. I like Docs comment about the "Rodney Dangerfield" of reloading dies! haha I like my Lee dies. In some small ways I like them better than the RCBS because they tend not to loosen up while in a loading session because of the o-ring locking ring. That being said, I am still sticking with the RCBS for the 454. I use a Lee Classic Turret Press and lee shell holder with mine, no problems

Just inspected some of my sized brass and compared it to the Lee sized 480 brass I had in front of me. The RCBS does indeed NOT size as far down as the Lee,

but I haven't experienced any problem due to this.

Thanks for checking guess that is how the RCBS die works. Brass is pretty thick and rigid down near the rim which may be why they stop there.

I don't think its that the die "can't" size all the way down because of the brass tension,its likely just the design of the die itself

I use redding dies for .454 .44 mag and .41 mag all with micrometer seating dies .Ive tried redding profile and roll crimp dies and they're all in a drawer somewhere!I switched to lee factory crimp dies for everything and that was the end of all my problems ever!