Recent improvements have been made in growing large, oriented lead iodide (PbI2) single crystals for room temperature X-ray detector applications. The effect of ampoule design on the growth of crystals by the Bridgman-Stockbarger technique was studied. Crystals, optimal for detector fabrication, were obtained using a necked ampoule with a 60-degrees bend. This ampoule produced single crystals with the c-axis parallel to the axis of the ampoule.