Pros & cons Lee boolit molds - opinions please.

[Bogonion]

Less expensive, but what about performance, accuracy of casts, maintenance and longevity?

[tazman]

I have little bad to say about Lee bullet molds. They work fine as long as they are not abused. They can be easily damaged if struck too hard or dropped on hard surfaces.
I have Lee molds that are decades old and still work fine. A little lube on the locating pins and they will last a long time.
There are a couple of mold designs that don't work as well as I would like for their intended purpose. These are some of the tumble lube designs intended for high pressure cartridges such as 9mm. The tumble lube designs for 38 Special and other lower pressure cartridges work fine.
My six cavity molds rain boolits. Some I run through a sizer and some I do not. It depends on the usage and the size of the particular boolits.
Some Lee molds will drop a bit undersize with some alloys. This can be corrected using techniques found on this site. Most work just fine.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Bogonion
Welcome to the forum.

Lee has some good designs and if you know how to cast and have a gentle hand, you will make good boolits for many years.
Be sure to lube the sprue plate...that's really the only maintenance needed.

There is a ton of threads about Lee molds and people's experiences with them, a fella could write a book about them. You'll quickly learn some people love them and other people hate them. My experience has been that if the caster doesn't use it correctly, they will likely have problems and may destroy a good mold.

[rancher1913]

you get what you pay for.

have numerous lee molds and they work.

have numerous mp molds and they work better.

[centershot]

I agree with JonB. I have a friend who swears at Lee moulds, calls them junk, a waste of money. I've pointed to my shelf full of Lee moulds numerous times and told him that if he took better care of them instead of using them like they were a hammer, he would get better service from them. But, to some people, everything looks like a nail, soooo...........

[243winxb]

Have used.

Saeco

RCBS

Lyman

Lee

Just bought 2 new Lee this year. Not as good as the other, but a better price.

After 2 - 10 lb pots of 9mm. Lee 2 cavity needs repair. I just put it away for later.

[Bigslug]

I've bought two:

First was a big 300-ish grain .45 2-cavity that I purchased not to shoot bullets from, but to make samples of untested alloy that would hardness test more accurately in usable form than ingots.

Second was a 1-ounce slug mold.

The .45 serves for what it was purchased for. It casts a good bullet that I'd be fine shooting if that was the plan, but it inspires about ZERO confidence if I thought it had to hold up to producing serious quantities; the slug mold needed some form of repair almost immediately - one of the roll pins, if I recall correctly.

I can not speak to their 6-cavity molds - only to that they're about $60, and that you can get roughly the same thing from NOE for about $30-$40 more and be assured of high-grade goods.

Lee generates some mixed feelings - I like their dies; the factory crimp die rocks; their case trimmer setup is simple, cheap, and works great. If you're flat broke or travelling, the Lee Loader lets you generate servicable ammo for about $20. OTOH, most of what I know about creatively assembled profanity came from dealing with one of their progressive presses.

Bullet molds are what I consider "hard use" reloading gear: they get thermal cycles, require occasional whacking with a stick, and require handling with welding gloves, which doesn't always lend itself to being super-gentle. I'm not gonna knock 'em much as guys seem to get good results and decent mileage, but considering the "not much more" for NOE and M&P, I would submit that buying "as cheap as possible" might be a bit of a false economy.

[quilbilly]

I have a lot of Lee molds and a few each of Lyman, NOE, Mihec, Saeco, and RCBS. I have never had a problem with the Lee molds though I occasionally have to tighten screws. They make pretty good boolits when paired with one of the Lee push-through sizers. I especially like them because, after a light smoking when new, they turn out acceptable boolits so quickly with very little warming time compared to brass or iron molds. The NOE aluminum molds are clearly superior but a lot more expensive. One practice I have is, whenever I start casting for a new caliber and Lee makes a mold for it, I will buy the Lee mold to see if the rifle/pistol likes cast boolits first before getting something more expensive. I have a rifle or two that clearly prefer boolits from a Lee mold which is nice. BTW - Welcome to our happy fraternity.

[DocSavage]

Could never get Lee molds to cast a decent bullet,I have aluminum molds from NOE,Accuate and Aresenal more money but no where near the headaches getting them to work.

[murf205]

I don't have any 6 cavity Lee molds either but I can tell you that the 2 cavity one's I have used made really good boolits, especially for the money involved. The 240 gr 44 cal GC mold is one of the most consistently accurate in all the 44's I have tried it in and a 310 gr 44 mold that works like a charm in my Ruger SRH. The 175 gr Truncated Cone 40 cal mold is a really accurate one in my 10mm Colt Delta Elite. PC'd, it slides up the ramp slicker that grease, no disappointments. I have 252 gr and 300 gr 45 cal molds that shoot as good as anything. Bottom line is, you have to do your part and The Lee 's will work fine. I've had mine for quite a few yrs but I try not to abuse any mold, especially since they are aluminum and therefore a bit more delicate. Custom mold makers do make some pretty sexy molds and I personally like 3 and 4 cavity but I still use Lee handles on them. Welcome to the forum, you will like this place. There are lots of great people here that have a world of knowledge and more that willing to help.

[BudRow]

For the most part, I have found that the Lee design in a given caliber is never a bad choice.

[Targa]

As for function, they work just as well as the others.

[Conditor22]

I have many old Lee molds that still work great ----- treat them right, keep the pivot point and alignment pins lubed, don't beat the **** out of them and they'll last a LOOONG time.

Some of Lee's stuff isn't as "Bullet-proof" but with a little TLC they'll last a long time

[1hole]

I only have a few Lee molds but they work good, as well or better/easier than my iron others because of being a bit less tempature sensitive and they're MUCH lighter. Molds made of any material are precision tools and they should be treated as such.

I often see comments that other molds are better but I've never seen anyone try to justify that "better". Guess my old iron Lyman molds would be a bit more versatile than my Lee's if I wanted to drive nails with them ... but I don't. ??

[Tim357]

Lee molds make good bullets. I do not care for the newer design molds that have the minimum amount of material in the body. I much prefer the older one that had more mass. Other than that, no complaints

[MrHarmless]

Lee Molds are how I got started, and they still make up the majority of my molds. The 6 Cavities make pistol bullets really fast, and at about half the price of other brands. Their QC might not be perfect, but their customer service is always solid. If somethings wrong with it, they'll replace it.

In terms of bullet design and selection, it's a little less varied than some shops that do smaller runs, but you never really know if a design will shoot well in your gun until you cast a batch and shoot them! Personally I think they're a great way to get into the game.

[charlie b]

I have to admit that I am biased toward Lee stuff in general. If not for their products I never could have afforded to start reloading, almost 40 years ago.

Have had many Lee molds. They are perfect when you need a lot of different molds for various guns. The 6 cavity molds are nice for higher volume use. I love the sprue lever on the 6 cavity molds.

But, if you abuse them even a little they can become useless. The screw holding on the sprue plate is one of those. They are easily stripped out and if you remove it to do something like 'flatten' the sprue plate, then it will probably loosen easily during use. Some folks have drilled and tapped for a setscrew like those in the Accurate and NOE molds.

Accuracy? Well, I cast bullets with Lee molds for almost 20 years before I ever bought a sizing die for my pistol bullets. Just cast, lube and shoot. Pan lube was a bit 'messy', but it worked fine.

[Tar Heel]

I have many Lee molds as well as many other molds. I have no problem whatsoever with the Lee molds. Follow the instruction sheet that comes with them and they will last a long time. Only had one that had a defect at the sprue cut point on the sprue plate and I fixed it pronto with a new sprue plate. I am still casting with a Lee mold (my first) I bought in the late 80's in 41 caliber.

Bottom line: Great price - Great molds. Treat them carefully and correctly.

[Winger Ed.]

I've had a few over the years. They work, but don't take well to abuse and being banged around.

If I was going to make boolits for something that I wouldn't shoot just a whole lot, they'd be my first choice due to the lower cost.

[jim147]

Almost all of my molds are Lee. I can't say I've had a problem with any of them that wasn't my fault.