Lee Collet Die question

[buffalorancher]

Will a 243 Lee Collet Die work for a 6-284?
Thanks
Lance

 

[kraky]

I don't have a 6-284 but I have some stuff here to theorize. I have a 243 collet die and some 284 brass. The collet die is wide enough to take the wider body of the 284 brass. But from looking at cartridge drawings the 284 is .125" longer from the bottom of the case to the beginning of the neck. I would say you will have to put a .125" or slightly thicker washer on top of your shellholder to activate the collet BEFORE that 284 case gets too far up into the die.
I actually have a 300 wby collet die that was giving me trouble because the bottom of the collet sleeve had "peened over" from use/abuse. I always have to put a washer on top of the shellholder now or the collet tries to grab on the shoulder of the case. Hope this is understandable.
I'm 99% sure it will work for you. Actually this washer trick is something I might work with to try and leave a small portion of the neck unsized at the base to better center the case in the chamber....then I will do a .001" headspace with a body die.

 

[AKI]

I have used Collet dies on a couple of odd cartridges and wildcats, shortened (e.g. 7BR for 7x33 Sako, 260 Rem for 6,5BR), as is, or with a washer/washers to get the proper distance. It´s the distance between shell holder and neck shoulder junction that has to be _slightly_ longer on the die than on the case. If it´s too short the case body will bulge and the cartridge might not/wont chamber. If it´s too long only a small part of the neck will be sized and grip the bullet. This might or wont be a problem, far less than too thin a washer.

According to CIP figures: The minimum washer thickness is .1 with the 243 Win, but would be only .016 with a collet for the 6mm Rem.

As the 243 Win collet is made for a cartridge with 20° shoulder, and the 284 has 35°, the washer _may_ have to be thicker than that to avoid contact out on the shoulder edges.

This might seem like too much, but when the quirks are straightened you have a neck sizer as good as any of the standard ones.

 

[buffalorancher]

Thanks for the replies. I had a 6-284 built on a Mod. 70 action with an ABS barrel, Lone Wolf stock, and a NF 5.5x22. So far I have been loading with the el cheapo Lee 2 die set. So I've got god knows how much in the rifle and $20 dies. I haven't measured run out but I thought I might try to neck size only and everybody seems to like the collet die. There isn't any place close to look at one but for the price I think I'll give it a try.
Thanks
Lance

 

[James H]

You do know that LEE will make custom collet dies including seater and shell holder for $54.00 including shipping.
http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/custom.html

What part of NE are you in?
I'm in South Cental.

James

 

[buffalorancher]

James,
The custon die route is the way I'm gonna go. You can't go wrong with the price compared to the other options. I live north of Bassett.
Lance