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Are shellholders interchangeable between brands of dies?

I have lost the Lee number 4 shellholder that came with my .223 dies.

I have Lyman's x26 that came with their .380 die set.

Both Lee and Lyman list .380 and .223 as using the same shellholders.

I know the height of the shellholder is critical in determining the headspace distance on the shoulder of the .223 case, so I wonder?

I see Lee sells a set of shellholders they say is universal, but they do not say across other brands of dies.

3 Answers

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    7 years ago
    Favourite answer

    Shell holders are like reloading dies, they're going to work in virtually every modern single stage reloading press. Yes you can use brand X shell holders with brand Y dies.

    Source(s): I've been reloading since 1982.
  • 7 years ago

    I confirmed what you said by

    comparing the Lyman shellholder with a Dillon shellplate for .223 and they do make the same dimension.

    I am about to do case prep on about 6000 cases and I was kind of freaking out over this because I couldn’t imagine screwing up so many cases. A new shellholder is only four bucks, but at least now I know I can keep going for tonight’s project. Thanks' much, both of you who answered!

  • Andy
    Lv 7
    7 years ago

    A shell holder is a shell holder. As long as it's the correct one for the caliber it will be fine. The brand of dies has nothing to do with it.

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