I got a new set of Lee dies this weekend and have two questions.

1). I think the neck sizing die isn't sizing the neck small enough. I can push the bullet into the case with my fingers (not all the way but a little bit). Is this normal? My previous die made the neck smaller, to the point that I can actually feel the difference in friction when seating the bullet...?

2). I measure each round for OAL after seating the bullet, before putting it in my ammo container and I have noticed a small variation in OAL. What I mean is if I load 10 rounds one will be 2.356 another 2.360 etc.. Is this acceptable? What is the standard acceptable variance with bullet seating?

Are you using the same amount of pressure on each round? If you push real hard some of the time and not as hard you could get a slight difference. Or pushing down twice on a single bullet? Just a thought. check to make sure your die is tight and not moving when you seat the bullet.

I had the same problem with a set of Lee 243 win. collet dies.I ended up taking a few .000" off mandrel.I have several sets of Lee dies this was the only collet die set I had.All the other die never gave any problems

OK the standard set of Lee dies risizes the case and neck and pushes the primer out on the down stroke. On the up stroke it pulls the sizing button (little round button above the decapping pin) thru the neck and is supposed to leave the neck uniform and about .002-.003" smaller than bullet diameter. That way when the bullet is seated there is resistance and it holds the bullet firmly. Sometimes the expander plug is a little too big and it expands the neck to much. So now maybe one .001" of tension is present. That's why you can push the bullet deeper into the case with you fingers. First thing to do is unscrew the decapping stem and take you micrometers and see how big the button is. If you are loading .224" bullets it should mic about .221-222". I had a set of 243 dies that did the same thing. The expander button measured .242".

The easy home fix; I took the expander stem and chucked it in my drill and set it on the low speed setting. Take 800 grit sand paper and gently hold it to the expander ball and squeeze a little. Then mic it sand a tiny little more and mic it. It does not take a lot to remove .001-.002". Put the expaned stem back in the die and see how it works. Worked like a charm on my 243 dies.

I will try that with the drill and sand paper. After reading your post and considering it, im fairly certain that's my problem. The full length sizing die that came with the set works fine but the neck sizer is the one giving me trouble, so until I get time to fix it, I will just full length size.

Also, I will try to be as uniform as possible when seating my bullets and see if that helps. Thanks.

if you are measuring oal from the bullet tips....they can vary several thousanths between different bullets in the same box. some tips are longer, some shorter etc.
my prefered method is using the stoney point bullet comparator(might be hornady brand now?). it comes with a set of 6 collets that are used for different calibers, and it attaches to your dial calipers. it measures from the ogive of the bullet, which is MUCH more consistent(although i doubt perfect to the thousandth).

Guess I should have read a little closer. LOL<LOL<LOL But the same application applies for the neck sizing die. That's the beauty of handloading. Tinkering and learning to make the best laods as possible. Almost as much or more fun than shooting. Did I just say that. LOL<LOL

KYODE is right the seater stem has a hollow or "hole" and seats the bullet off the ojive at the same place each time, not off the point. The bullet as it's made will very in form a little even from the same forming die in the same lot of bullets. So if you are measuring from the point of the bullet to the base of the cartridge the OAL will very some. The .004" you are seeing is very acceptable.

OK, I guess I automatically assumed they were the same length. Again after thinking about it that makes a lot of sense. The bullets simply couldn't be the same down to the thousandths. Good info as always! Thanks.