Full length seating die set up question

[Sitting Bull]

I have a set of Lee dies, I contacted Lee regarding small base dies for my .308BLR and they responded that there was no need for them when using the Lee dies. My question is when I set up my full length dies when the die touches the shell holder I should turn an extra 1/4 to 1/3 then tighten up the lock ring. I have been doing 1/4 turn.
What difference will it make by going to 1/3 a turn?
What happens if I only go as far as touching the shell holder?
Thanks again guys for your responses and patience with some of my questions, I'm just trying to understand the process.
Cheers.

[Dick284]

1/4 to 1/3, that’s hardly worth getting worried about. Maybe go 3/8 of a turn

And yes I seem to remember that Lee dies are supposed to be a semi small base dimension(tighter than a regular FL, but not as tight as a SB)

[Sitting Bull]

So what exactly happens to the brass when you turn in or turn out the die?

[Dick284]

At the extreme you’ll limit or not bump the shoulder back on the case.
The turn past touching the shell holder is an attempt to take as much of the spring out of your press thus maximizing the sizing force exerted on the casing.

Do you have the Speer manual?

If not I’d suggest you pick one up, not for the load data but for the excellent explanations in the front of the book.

Yes even the older manuals have this information.

[Dean2]

The further down you screw the die, the more it shrinks the overall dimensions of the case. It will also push the shoulder, further back. You can't really screw it down more than a 1/4 past touching as your press won't push the case any further into the die, but you can shave one or 2 thou off the bottom of the die or get a thinner shell holder if you want an even tighter re-size.

That said, most full length die already way OVER re-size most brass. For brass shot in my gun, I rarely use the dies even touching the shell holder. If I am FL sizing I want it brought back to SAMMI spec but I don't want to create excess headspace. For the BLR try being a full turn off the shell holder with brass shot in your gun. See if it feeds easily, Keep turning the die down 1/8th of a turn at a time till the sized case chambers smoothly. Lock your ring there. I will bet it is still not touching the shell holder.

[Sitting Bull]

Wow! Great stuff here. Thanks for the education. I will try this when I get home tonight. so no real need to pick up small base dies then?

[elkhunter11]

Follow the advice given by Dean2. If I am using FL dies, I start around 1/2 turn off of the shelllholder and adjust until the case chambers easily. Unless the case is difficult to chamber with the die bottomed on the shellholder, you don't need a small base die.

[260 Rem]

I may be one of the “exceptions” with my sizer die set-up as I try to set them with the shell holder almost touching the base of the die WITH A CASE IN THE DIE. There seems to be enough flex in the linkage that when set shell holder/base contact (with no case in the die) that the case does not get fully sized when the case is actually being resized. Take look when the ram is in the “up” position and you will see what I mean. .... Otherwise, cases are not resized completely which can result in resistance when the bolt closes (sticky). I have no reason to suspect that this set-up results in bumping the shoulder excessively given that my reloads tend to perform consistently. I am carefull to minimize any “under load” contact between the shell holder/die base to be no greater than the thickness of a piece of paper.
Works for me, maybe not others?

[Pathfinder76]

Ideally there should just be crush contact with the ram and headspace controlled by the shell holder.

[Nyksta]

Get some rcbs case lube and a lube pad, and also use a q-tip wetted with lube to get the inside of the necks with just a light bit of lube. rcbs case lube is exceptionally better than lee case lube and will make sizing feel much less difficult. And x2 on deans advice. Turn your die in adjustments until the casing chambers easily, and thats the spot. You can take other fired brass and go up and down in small adjustments to find the exact headspace so it is easy chamber and absolutely no less. You want perfect headspace with smooth chamberings.

[YoteStopper]

I'm far from an expert, but make sure your lever gun is locking up correctly on your loads.