Thinking of ditching LEE Dies

[flashhole]

Did you ever consider that your gun may have an overly generous chamber and the Lee dies are conforming to SAMMI standards and it's you gun that is out of spec?

[starnbar]

As some others here have stated I have lapped a few of my lee dies due to generous chambers and they work just fine just my two cents worth I have sets of all most every caliber and dies of every make they all do what they are supposed to do nuff said.

[6bg6ga]

Bottom line...you get what you pay for and I won't take it any further.

[jcwit]

Bottom line

Value is still to be had and not by high cost of item.

Seriously doubt anyone on this forum drives a Rolls Royce!

[6bg6ga]

Some manufactures don't know what value is. I suggest purchasing another brand.

[jcwit]

Then again some do!

Your option as to what you purchase!

[Recluse]

But I bought a deluxe 45 colt die set from Lee and like most of their other dies, it really over works the brass. Internal neck diameter of .445!! My 255 grain RNFP's are sized to .452. That's quite a squeeze. The die set does come with a .450 expander which is nice, but the initial sizing IMO still works the brass too much.


I used to be satisfied with their dies when I first began reloading as a teen but through the years as I have learned and refined my reloading practices there really are much better options and well worth the added expense. Edited for tone, sounded like I was really bashing LEE. They do make some great stuff but I guess some sets are better than others...

I have a set of 45 Colt dies from Lee that I purchased many years ago. To this day, I fire very little 45 Colt so the dies get used very little. They do a superb job and I have no complaints, especially with the full length sizing and flaring dies. In my opinion, Lee's weakness in dies continues to be with their bullet seating dies and it seems to have only gotten worse with their newer generation of dies as has their QC.

These threads always go one way. Maybe I'm lucky, but all of my Lee dies are in spec. Or should I say w/in a spec that l'm happy w/. Minimal run out and results on target that are good are what I care about.

I would not be happy w/ the brass sizing down that much. Go through the online warranty claim on their site. I've had good luck w/ it the few times I've had to use it. Hopefully their response is the one you want to hear.

I've got older Lee dies I purchased via mail order from over thirty years ago that are dead-nuts on in the specs and function flawlessly. Several of the sets have seen heavy use--as in having had tens of thousands of cases run through them with zero problems or issues.

But the more recent stuff, especially in the past decade. . . not so impressed. Lee's QC continues to be spotty at best, sloppy to non-existent at most. More disturbing is some of the "push back" that is received when you get the wrong CSR on the phone and the tone of the conversation is that you are the problem, not the equipment. But quality and calibrated micrometers and calipers don't lie. . . I don't like hearing from them that "all I need to do is rub some 300 grit wet sandpaper in/on/around. . ." If I have to finish the job to make a product within spec and usable, then there was no QC the day that product left the factory.

I've just done away with that process by moving many of Lee's products to the "if there are no other suitable options for a reasonable price" place in the line of purchasing order.

They (Lee) also make some dies that are the best out there or the only ones out there. The Collet Style Neck Sizer and Collet Style Crimp Dies are the best there is. They are also the only ones there is.

Randy

I do like my Lee collet Neck Sizer dies--especially for somewhat rarer cartridges like .303 and 7.62x 54R. Never an issue with them.

[popper]

Good to see you back.

[atr]

I have one set of Lee dies and they work just fine....
I also have two sets of old Herter's dies that I still use..
Except for those three sets of dies all my others are RCBS...
I especially like RCBS because of their quality and their service. RCBS is great when it come to replacing damaged or worn out parts.

[abunaitoo]

I use all Lee dies for cast Boolets.
It's so easy to size the neck larger for larger diameter boolets.
The sizers are cheap enough that I can experiment what size works the best for different rifles.
Also cheap enough so I can modify them to my needs.
I do use RCBS for jacketed, but don't shoot much of those anymore.

[noylj]

.45 Colt cases come in a WIDE range of case wall thicknesses and that over-sizing is quite common for ALL companies. This is why you use an expander to bring ALL case IDs up to the target point.
Never lost a case yet from over-work that I can tell.

[Andy]

I do hate their lock rings, just replacing the lee lock rings with the hornady ones on each set alone makes up the difference in price for most of the sets (once you factor in the free bullets). I'm glad lee offers things at such a low price though, as it helps people get into the sport or reload for a caliber that they might not otherwise so they are filling a niche that is valuable, it is just not for me.

[flashhole]

I had mixed feelings about Lee die rings too. Then years went by and I was using them for various reloading projects. The more I used them the more I appreciated what they offered. Now I use Lee die rings on all my dies.

[jcwit]

I make my own lock rings and drill a hole and tap it it for a set screw, small piece of lead shot protects the threads on the die.

Access to a mill supply is advantagious.

[troyboy]

The best thing about this been hashed out many many times is RECLUSE. Good to see you back

[mdi]

Just wondering, what's the purpose of the OP? No question, just a complaint. BTW I have a RCBS 9mm seating die that's just plain !@#!!. I tried the die in my Co-Ax and it can"t get less than .004" variation in OAL. Junk. I don't think I'll ever buy RCBS dies ever again....

Sorta, maybe, could be...

[troyboy]

I mustn't drink and type. I'm sure most get the jist of my earlier post.

[Recluse]

I do hate their lock rings, just replacing the lee lock rings with the hornady ones on each set alone makes up the difference in price for most of the sets (once you factor in the free bullets). I'm glad lee offers things at such a low price though, as it helps people get into the sport or reload for a caliber that they might not otherwise so they are filling a niche that is valuable, it is just not for me.

I failed to mention that Lee has come out with something (fairly) new that I definitely like--their "quick trim" dies and case-trimming system.

Holy mother of mariachi midgets riding mini-bikes!

My oldest daughter has discovered the Winchester 94 in 30-30 and the "plinking" rounds I load up for it (170FN pushed by 10 grains of Unique). Youngest daughter has discovered the Mini-14 and 5.56mm. Those Lee quick-trim die and cutter set-ups are the cat's south-end for doing moderate to large quantities of case-trimming in a short amount of time.

According to my calipers, they (the trimmers) are quite accurate as well.

For my accuracy stuff, I still trim and work cases one at a time, carefully and thoroughly. But for my plinking brass, those Lee dies and trimmers are incredible.

[Jeffjmr]

I wanted my Lee .45 Colt dies to size to .480 OD. Being carbide, I hesitated to tackle this myself.

Sorry I don't remember if they charged me or not, if they did it was reasonable, but I sent it back to Lee and it came back sizing my brass to exactly .480. Problem solved.

[6bg6ga]

My mailbox remains empty. I think OP was joshing us.

I'll look and see if I have a Lee die in my junk box still. If my memory is correct I purchased a 9mm crimp die only to find that it was causing havic with the case mouth. I quit using it and simply bought a new crimp/seating die from RCBS.

Granted you can either get a good set or a bad one. Generally the quality of every die set was better 30 years ago than it is now simply because now days they are concerned with getting more product out the door and to hell with quality. Honestly I have tried other peoples Lees dies and their simply not for me.