Decapping and resizing.
First let’s look at only decapping.
You can do this with Lee’s Universal Decapper Die. I have been running one on my Load Master for a few years. This die only pushes the spent primer out, it does no sizing.
There are a lot of reloaders that decap their cases and then clean the cases. Especially if you are wet tumbling.
To get the best out of the APP you will use the case feeder and X-Press Shell Holder. This will allow you to decap at an amazing speed. You can even fit Lee’s Case Feeder and Case Collator (for pistol cases) to speed things up more.
Just set the Universal Decapping Die deep enough to just pop the old primer out. The old primers are then neatly captured in the bottle adapter.
To set this up insert the X-Press Shell Holder into the Shell Holder Adapter, screw the assembly into the bottom die carrier. Orient the X-Press shell holder so that the case can pass through it. Turn on the Bottle Adapter and set your Universal Decapping Die in the top die carrier, set the die and away you go.
Easy.
Now on to resizing and let’s tackle the big question.
In the instructions Lee recommends that you do not resize rimless bottle neck cases but also go on to recommend that if you do to only use Lee dies and Lee Resizing Lube.
The reason for this is the new X-Press Shell Holder. Having the case pass through the shell holder is the trick in getting the APP to work so quickly. This however also means that the shell holder has less bearing surface on the case as what a normal shell holder would.
I have resized 9mmp cases without lube and as you know they can be tough to resize. I manage to do this without hassle but I then resized the next batch with case lube…it just makes the process so much easier.
Now with a bottle neck case and rifle dies you need to lube always. Lee Rifle Dies do not have carbide inserts. I can see why Lee recommends not doing this on the APP.
But if you go to the Lee website you will see a video of John Lee sizing military fired cases and if you search Youtube you will find a video of a user sizing 30-06 cases….it also looks like 30-06 is the biggest case you can process due to the clearance.
So as always…use lube!
And if you get a stuck case just remove the die, then undo the decapper clamp and remove the case…Lee dies make this very easy.
To set this up insert the X-Press Shell Holder into the Shell Holder Adapter, screw the assembly into the bottom die carrier. Orient the X-Press shell holder so that the case can pass through it. Turn on the Bottle Adapter and set your Sizing Die in the top die carrier, set the die as per the instructions, lube your cases and away you go.
While testing the above I did run into a problem…the slider did not go back far enough to allow a case to feed from the case feeder. After scratching my head for a few minutes I found that the slider spring was not in the correct position…must have happened while I was setting up so just take note of how it should be…
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So far I am enjoying this press and have not found any issues with it but the testing will continue!
Next we look at the APP Bulge Buster Kit and bulge busting 9mmp.
