next step up from lee

[xd45forever]

I've had mixed luck with Lee. A lot of it self inflicted before I found this place! I still have most of them and banger is spot on the Lee 6cav will drop boolits like rain! I moved up to some lyman' s very good molds but the crown jewels of my comparatively small collection are my NOE'S I say save up a little and invest in a very fine mold!

[MT Chambers]

Re: next step up from Lee..........most anything!

[dragon813gt]

Re: next step up from Lee..........most anything!

Yep, spend the money for a NOE. It's money well spent. I gave up on Lee a while back and am happier for it. Spending more money for no frustration is completely worth it IMO.

[Brithunter]

Am just thinking that for my small scale casting that a couple of Lee double cavity moulds might be just the ticket. Am looking at 900368 the 170grn flat nosed 30 cal mould. Number 900371 the 185 Grn .312" mould for my 303. Yes a better custom mould might be better but the money is simply not there for NOE or similar. Still have to get a sizer working so needs the dies and lube it will be slowly ...slowly on this project. Will most likely order direct from Lee as prices here in the UK are somewhat steep. Just checked and the two moulds from Brownells UK division costs £52:50 which is $77:49 at todays rates.

Will check with Lee and see what they charge for export as have ordered dies direct from them in the past at a saving. Last set was the 280 AI dies.

The Lyman 200 Grn 303 mould 0.314" dia costs £90.30 = $133.28USD on Brownells UK site and that is a chunk of change. The problem is although there may be plenty on the US ebay site there are none or almost noneon the UK ebay site and ebay vendors do know how to charge of international shipping.

[waco]

I know the OP said money was a factor. I get that. I have Lee, Lyman, RCBS, NOE, Ideal, and Ohaus molds. But for my money Accurate molds are the way to go. NOE are nice, don't get me wrong, but Accurate will cut the mold to YOUR specs with YOUR alloy. This takes all the guess work out of it. Plus, if you don't see something in Tom's vast catalog, design your own at no extra cost. It's a win, win, win.
Waco

[richhodg66]

In the grand scheme of things, NOE molds don't cost very much more than others and are much better. I'm kind of making the move to get as many of the NOE gang molds for the calibers I shoot and replace the others.

I used to hate Lee molds, got a few six cavity ones which are good molds. Since then, I kinda figured out how to get a couple of the two cavity Lees to make good bullets (both .45-70 bullets). I haven't tried one since they started the steel index pins in the two cavity molds, but it has to be an improvement.

In case I didn't make it clear, with NOE, you get more than you pay for in my experience, Just a little more $$$ and better selection and casting.

[John Boy]

What are some good molds that are the next step up in price range from lee

Depending on the caliber mold(s) you want - used Ideal molds on eBay. Plenty of handgun calibers and rifle calibers, the prices are higher

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I think I have made the decision to go with accurate, now as far as longevity and durability, as in assume I could never buy another one, would you still go alum. or brass, or steel, I think I would rather spend a little extra care on steel since I would think it would last the longest