Lee 30 M1 carbine powder through expanding die

[drone]

Does anyone load for 30 M1 and, if you do, do you use the lee powder through expanding die. If so please help an old boy out and advise how far up in the die in mm does the case go before the operation is completed.
I want to insert cast bullets into a bottleneck 30 cal I load for and am wondering if I could possibly use this die for neck prep as I use it on my all straight cased loading and think it's an excellent product. FWIW the case neck length on the case in question is 12mm.
Currently I gently tap a tapered punch into the case neck to slightly bellmouth it.
Many thanks in anticipation.

[bradaz11]

the case goes all the way in. so no, you can't use it, as you won't fit a bigger dia case in there. just buy the long or short rifle expander die that does the same thing.

[markie]

Lee do a universal expanding die (90798) £17.00 from Henry Krank, and they have them in stock.

[dromia]

The Lee expander die is useless for cast bullets, tapered expanders deform the base of the bullet. They were designed for condom bullets not cast.

You need a parallel sided two step expander "M" die style for cast bullets, NOE doe them in multiple sizes and they fit in the Lee expander body.

[markie]

The following is cut and paste directly from the Lee site.

Lee Universal Flaring Die gently flares the case mouth to accept cast bullets without shaving. Includes neck plugs for .22 cal through .45 cal

I'm sure it will do a better and faster job than the tapered punch he's using at present.

[dromia]

Well if you want to believe advertising hype then that is up to you.

Lee only want to sell stuff not truly help you to reload.

The thing is you need to think through what the tools are doing and not blindly accept the advertising twaddle.

It should be obvious with a modicum of imagination and intelligence to see that forcing a soft lead bullet into a tapered neck will give a taper to the base of the bullet with all the attendant tragedies that will bring.

The advertising is true in so far as it will allow you to seat bullets without shaving although they fail to tell you that 'twill also feck up your bullet base, but then they wouldn't pull in the sales to the gullible.

Why advocate a tool that won't do the job when there is one that will do the job and has been specifically designed for seating cast bullets.

[markie]

Appologies for my lack of imagination and intelligence. Being a bit simple I tend to believe that generally compaines that offer products that won't do the job don't last long. Lee have bee only been around since 1958 so I expect they'll be going down the tubes any minute now. I mean it's not like they have a reputation for quality gear amongst shooters......... apart from the simpletons like me.

Sir have you ever heard the phrase "Horses for courses"? Some of us don't expect tack driving accuracy from every shot, others will only accept the ultimate performance and both are valid choices.

I do actually own and use a universal expander and it works great for me..... but then again what do I know.

[dromia]

Obviously not a lot when it comes to cast bullets especially with the closed mind and unwillingness to learn you seem to have about the subject.

Lee are like any other company their primary motive is to make profit.

Like any other company Lee make good stuff and not so good stuff, Lee's market place has always been putting out stuff at a low price relative to other players in the market.

Their dies for example are just fine as are their powder dispensers both of which I use but some of their other stuff leaves a lot to be desired. Sometimes innovative design but a lot of their products are compromised to meet a price point.

Looking on youtube and seeing the multitude videos on how to get Lee stuff to work, should tell you all you need to know about Lee products.

As you have implied you have low expectations for your shooting then inadequate tools will no doubt fulfil that aspiration for you, however not all handloaders have that same "ambition" and advocating an inappropriate tool for all the reasons I have explained, which you choose to ignore discussing, conflating the argument with Lees's business model so as to avoid dealing with the problem of the taper dies.

There is nothing wrong with ignorance, we are all ignorant usually about different things, revelling in that ignorance and trying to defend it is all a bit sad for you really.

Ignoring your conflation and defensiveness the fact still remains that tapered neck expanding dies are a far from ideal tool for expanding case necks for cast bullets and should not be recommended for that purpose when clearly there are dedicated, more appropriate and far superior options available.

[Alpha1]

I use NOE expanders they are excellent I am not a fan of the Lee offering.

[dromia]

To bring this back to the OP NOE do powder through expander dies that fit the lee bodies in a variety of diameters.

However the best route is to buy "M" die expander plugs to suit your bullet, first step should be 2 thou under bullet diameter, second step should be 2 though over diameter, the other main benefit of the "M" style expander is that it creates a step for the bullet to sit on thus ensuring it is seated square to the case and concentric to the bore.