Interchangeable Dies

Frequently, dies from one caliber may be used to load other calibers. Due to the locations of crimping shoulders, the operation may only work for dies of the shorter caliber to the longer. You may notice a label depicting the shorter die in your set for the longer version of the cartridge, we do this to reduce costs.

Even though some dies are interchangable, in many cases, different shellholders are necessary. You can see a complete list of shellholders under “Case Preparation” then “Shellholders and Calibers”.

45 Colt – 454 Casull *
44 Special – 44 Magnum
38 Special – 357 Magnum
30-30 Winchester – 30 Remington
357 Magnum – 357 Maximum
38 Super – 9mm Largo
44 Russian – 44 Special
40 Smith & Wesson – 10mm – 41 Action Express
32 Smith & Wesson – 32 S&W Long – 32 H&R Magnum **-.327 Fed Magnum

*The 45 Colt expander die will also work for the 454 Casull by backing the die out approximately two turns to compensate for the difference in case length.

**Lee dies allow the use of .308 bullets in the 32 H&R Magnum. The other bullet diameter commonly used is .311 and that is the expander that comes with the set. To use .308 bullets, it is necessary to purchase an additional expander and turn it down to .308. This can be done using a drill press and emery cloth or if you buy the additional expander from the factory, Lee will do it for $10.00.