By Gavin Gear, Ultimate Reloader
One of the challenges with picking up a “new” cartridge to reload is finding the right dies at the right price. .25-45 Sharps is becoming more popular with AR-15 shooter and reloaders, and the industry is responding with new products that give reloaders more options. One such example is the new .25-45 Sharps dies from LEE. This “Pacesetter” die set includes a full-length sizer/de-primer, a dead-length bullet seater, and a Factory Crimp Die- everything you need to form .25-45 Sharps brass and reload .25-45 Sharps ammunition for your AR-15. These dies are “Very Limited Production” – but I’ll note that Midsouth Shooters Supply has these dies for ~$35. and they are in stock as of today! That’s about 1/2 what other .25-45 Sharps die sets cost!
If you are curious about LEE rifle dies, I posted an in-depth write-up that covers pretty much every detail you can think of. I also posted the following in-depth write-up that covers .25-45 Sharps precision reloading from start to finish, a great resource if you are going to use these LEE dies to load .25-45 Sharps:
.25-45 Sharps AR-15 Part 5: Precision Loads with the MEC Marksman
As noted in that article, I found once again when testing the LEE dies how critical it is to chamfer case mouths after forming brass as pictured here:
The cartridges I loaded with the LEE dies turned out great, and of course I tested my sizing/forming die setup with my L.E. Wilson case gage to make sure dimensions were correct.
I can’t wait to shoot some of the ammunition loaded with these LEE Pacesetter .25-45 Sharps dies- I’ll keep you all posted with how they work out!
Thanks,
Gavin
