Anybody else noting super poor quality of Lee moulds lately?

[dualsport]

Does anybody really expect low priced Lee molds to be 'as good' as much more expensive molds? I have a bunch of molds, many Lee's, and I get my money's worth. A casual shooter can buy a Lee 6 cavity for his .38 and be set for life. I really like the new style, too.

[Tom W.]

Cut the Q.A./Q.C. guys a little slack. They don't inspect every mold.....

That being said, I just recently sold two Lee molds to a gentleman here, molds that I have had for some time. He seems to be happy with them, or at least I haven't hears any negative replies. I have Lee molds that I bought many many moons ago, from a single cavity gc 30 cal.model that shoots cloverleaves from anything I load it, a Ranch Dog mold that my rifles don't like, to two molds, a 6 cavity that is really nice to the last 2 cavity that the alignment pin was loose from the jump. I should have sent it right back to Midway, but just took a punch and moved some metal so it stays put now. For my .45 ACP and my 9mm, the Lee molds are excellent. I just shoot paper with them mostly, but offhand @ 25 yards my Ruger really likes the 230 gr bullet. My handgun hunting bullets all come from RCBS molds. As for other Lee products, I've had my share, but ended up selling the dies that I had in favor of RCBS, Redding and Hornady. I have the Lee bottom pour lead pots that I've had for I dunno how many years, both the 10 and 20 pound models. So for me, it seems that the dies are the only thing I really didn't like...

[mac60]

Does anybody really expect low priced Lee molds to be 'as good' as much more expensive molds? I have a bunch of molds, many Lee's, and I get my money's worth. A casual shooter can buy a Lee 6 cavity for his .38 and be set for life. I really like the new style, too.

The way I look at it - in 1 casting session if I get 500 or 600 boolits the mould is paid for. I don't have 1 Lee mould that hasn't given me several thousand good shootable boolits. I've gotten my money's worth out of every one.

[otter5555]

i have always had good luck with lee molds and have am still using some that are decades old. i did just return a new lee mold to amazon. when closed you could see your hand on the other side. the replacement they sent was perfect.

[Sticky]

Had pretty good luck with my first two new Lee dies, but.... alas... Just broke in a new 358158TL mold and didn't get three casts out of it before the pins started to walk back in the mold holes and it started casting offsets.. LOL

Cheap, work well, when they work. Off to the shop to fix this'n now and try it again...

[Frank V]

I'm thinking very seriously about getting a Lee mould in .41. Trying to decide whether to get the 195gr SWC or the 210gr SWC TL? I've never had a TL mould, but like the heavier bullet over the lighter. The 195gr bullet is a pretty looking bullet from the pictures though.

[Sticky]

I have two Lee TL molds, one pistol and one rifle.. this came out of the 358 mold after a little work on it today.. 158gr SWC TL..



I have had great luck with my 309230TL rifle mold, it has cast perfectly from the start, no issues at all.

[Animal]

I just got my 3rd Lee mold in the mail today. My fifth mold to date. This thread has made me paranoid that I'm getting a crumby mold. I just spent about 2 hours with a light, magnifying glass and a couple of #2 pencils trying to deburr the cavities. I've never paid this close attention to the other molds I have. This one did have some pretty significant burrage on it. I could see most of it without a magnifying glass. As best as I can tell, the halves line up okay. Once I finished removing the burrs, I washed it in a hot bath of water and Dawn dish detergent. She sure is a purdy mold now. I hope that what I did lets the bullets drop with a fair amount of ease and the bullets come out at least as concentric as as my other two Lee molds.
Someone mentioned that a Lee mold is a "mold kit". I think I can sign on to that concept. The three Lee molds I have cost about the same as my one Saeco 2cav. I don't think my Saeco can do much more than my Lees.

[Frank V]

Sticky, I like the looks of those!

[3 gun Gus]

I get 40 to 50 k out of a 6 banger. This is a great value!