Lee 45ACP, 45AR dies. Can it load 45 Win Mag

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jmmitc06

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So I am about to get a 45 winchester magnum handgun and of course reloading for this caliber is a necessity. My question is will my Lee dies for 45ACP / AR as the insert in the dies specify load 45 win mag? I would think so given the similarity of 45 win mag to 45 acp, but if they bother to list 357 maximum on the the 357 dies, I'm surprised they don't list 45 win mag. Just wanted to double check my assumption so I don't get the gun and then sit around for dies.
 
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Short answer, yes. You can also load .45 Colt, .454, .460 S&W, .45 Schofield, etc, etc, etc.
 
Go to Lee site and check model numbers for the 45 ACP and 45 Win Mag die sets.
 
I would concur as I use 45 colt dies to load my 45 Win Mag.
 
Winchester 45 Win Mag brass uses a different shell holder then 45 ACP, Starline 45 Win Mag brass uses a 45 ACP shell holder. I use Dillon and RCBS 45 ACP/AR dies for my 45 Win Mag loading.
 
You probably can, depends on the die set. You really can't load 45colt on proper 45a dies. The od case dims are not he same. The win mag falls in between, but you could get by with cap dies.
 
Thanks for the input. They are different item numbers but other threads on other forums seem to suggest they will work as well. So I'll try them and see, worst case I can't take the new toy out for a few days.
 
jmmitc06 said:
Thanks for the input. They are different item numbers but other threads on other forums seem to suggest they will work as well. So I'll try them and see, worst case I can't take the new toy out for a few days.
Click to expand...

Do tell what is the new toy?
 
A LAR Grizzly Mark 1. Been wanting a high-power non-revolver but I have too much pride to buy a desert eagle and not enough patience to wait for a coonan.
 
Congrats on your new toy I am betting you'll be smiling ear to ear after the first round.
I have two MkI's one is set up with a 357 caliber conversion the other in 45 Win Mag.
 
I load that caliber, as well as ACP and Colt, and have a gun that uses all three. When I got ready to load the mags, I tried the ACP dies, and it would work-sorta-I called Lee and they have a separate die for the mags and it works great.
 
MY Lee .45 Auto dies load .45 Win Mag just fine--for both me and my son. The only reason I can see for a "dedicated" .45 Win Mag die is the same as for a dedicated .357 Mag die--you can then set up the PTE die as usual (otherwise, it has be be a LOT further up as it is made for the shorter .38 Spl. case) and the seating die has to be further up so the crimp section doesn't contact the longer case.
Neither is a problem, but some folks care about the "aesthetics" of their dies...
 
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I don't have a .45Winmag , so can't answer directly. But since .357Max was mention in passing , I can adress the principle.

I had used LEE .38spl dies for both .38 and .357 Mag. , no problem. When adding .357 Max also , there were issues. The dies were backed out so far to be barely in the press. And with some long bullets , the seater ran out of travel. From what I understand , .357Mag dies would have worked , but the extra difference from .38 is too much.
 
noylj said:
MY Lee .45 Auto dies load .45 Win Mag just fine--for both me and my son. The only reason I can see for a "dedicated" .45 Win Mag die is the same as for a dedicated .357 Mag die--you can then set up the PTE die as usual (otherwise, it has be be a LOT further up as it is made for the shorter .38 Spl. case) and the seating die has to be further up so the crimp section doesn't contact the longer case.
Neither is a problem, but some folks care about the "aesthetics" of their dies...
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I don't have those scrooge mcduck dollars so I go with whatever works lol.
 
No class has kept me from going. But I have all the trial loads worked up, 2400 and 296. So excited for next wednesday to go shoot!
 
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