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May 3, 2020
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Looking at buying dies for reloading my 32-20
its for non competition shooting from 25-200m max and varmint shooting.
is the Lee 90751 set good enough for loading cast bullets ? I know it’s ok with jacketed bullets as I have some other Lee dies .
id be a fool not to ask as you all have more experience in these guns than I have.
looking forward to you answers
BASC member
Generally, you should be OK. The only caveat is if you are reloading a bullet diameter a bit larger than normal, you may need a neck expanding die to keep from shaving the bullet when seating. The RCBS cowboy sets expand the neck a bit more, just for that reason. I use the Hornady Custom Grade dies to load .313″ lead bullets, with no issue.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
WACA #10293
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rwsem said
Generally, you should be OK. The only caveat is if you are reloading a bullet diameter a bit larger than normal, you may need a neck expanding die to keep from shaving the bullet when seating. The RCBS cowboy sets expand the neck a bit more, just for that reason. I use the Hornady Custom Grade dies to load .313″ lead bullets, with no issue.
If this is an issue after full length sizing all you need is a tapered punch to open the mouth just enough to get the bullet started. The press will do the rest.
November 7, 2015
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Unabashed fan of the RCBS Cowboy dies. Before they came out I generally had to find an expander or have one made for cast bullet projects. Cowboy dies are a better value and I like that the sizer dies only do minimal resizing. I haven’t tried the Hornady dies rwsem mentions but I can see them helping in future projects.
One note abut the 32-20 cases; you’re going to crush a few. 
Especially if you’re using WW brass. They were pretty scarce when I crushed my first one so I was much more careful going forward. It’s not a cartridge we’re going to load in bulk so take it slow at least until you get a feel for it.
32-20 is a sweet cartridge for the caster/reloader. Just a little dab of lead and a few grains of pistol powder. I use a NOE clone of the Lyman 3118 mould.
Mike
A friend of mine uses and swears by the RCBS Cowboy dies. I have no first-hand experience with them.
I have been using the Lee 3 die set that you refer to, for several years now. They work great, and the powder-through expander die has a built in adjustable belling/flaring function that will bell the case mouth for use with cast bullets. I myself use jacketed bullets but still flare the case mouth slightly to ease the bullet seating, as the case mouths are very thin and therefore fragile.
The one word of advice I can give for reloading this caliber (and goes double for 25-20) is to go slow, and make sure the brass is centered exactly under the dies….. these two calibers are extremely easy to crush if not centered properly when they go into the die.
Other than that, the Lee dies are good to go and produce good quality ammo. Just go S L O W. 
May 3, 2020
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I already reload .17 fireball so am used to minimal lubricant and taking my time
BASC member
TXGunNut said
Unabashed fan of the RCBS Cowboy dies. Before they came out I generally had to find an expander or have one made for cast bullet projects.
The Lyman “M” die, supplied in their 3-die sets, has been made for that purpose (using a shoulder on the expander plug) since before CA shooting was conceived.
November 7, 2015
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clarence said
TXGunNut said
Unabashed fan of the RCBS Cowboy dies. Before they came out I generally had to find an expander or have one made for cast bullet projects.
The Lyman “M” die, supplied in their 3-die sets, has been made for that purpose (using a shoulder on the expander plug) since before CA shooting was conceived.
Thanks, Clarence. I’d forgotten what Lyman called that die. Didn’t know they came in sets, I just order the expanders. The custom expanders conveniently fit the M-die. I’m not a Cowboy Action shooter but I’m grateful for some of the products that have been developed for them. Lyman has always catered to the cast bullet shooter, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that they put the M-die in their die set. Learn something every day. Thanks, Clarence!
Mike
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