Lee Equipment

[Pigslayer]

Over the years I have always purchased "Brand Name" equipment that had a "Brand Name" price tag. Here & there I have bought some Lee equipment such as case trimmers & of course the Lee auto prime which I love. In actuality I have always been impressed with Lee's quality for the price but still bought little of Lee's equipment. Recently I bought a new (Old Stock) Lee Challenger press on Ebay for $40.00. I use it for my pistol calibers and for bullet seating . . . It's a really nice press! I do have a cast iron Lyman orange crusher press for my bigger rifle cartridges . . . a good press with plenty of leverage.
Tonight I recieved, in the mail a Lee 7MM bullet lubricating & sizing kit for what, $17.00 + shipping on, yes, Ebay.This is a really slick unit! Now before I get too far, I have a Lyman #45, Lyman #450 & an old Modern Bond lubersizer. Why wouldn't I just buy a die & top punch for one of the Lyman sizers? Well, My 7MM I do love even though full power loads are brutal! It isn't a gun that one would "plink"with. I can shoot my .270 Win. all day long, but 10 shots out of that 7MM & I'm done. I generally shoot a Hornaday 162gr. SBT with 59grs. IMR 4831 powder. It's a bull. And since I broke my neck in a car accident two years ago, I get a little cautious.
I would like to shoot it more often . . . just to shoot it. So I decided to shoot a cast bullet just to give lower power loads a try but did not want to invest in a $26.00 H&I die plus a $10.00 top punch & a $80.00 Lyman bullet mold plus postage. I know . . . what's the real difference . . . probably little. Try not to figure out my logic! So, I bought a $19.00 Lee mold & the Lee Lube & sizing kit. You know what? I'm impressed with the quality of Lee's stuff and to beat all, it does exactly what Lee says it will do, maybe no more but certainly no less. I'll be buying more of Lee's equipment.

[Char-Gar]

I am always glad to see a man happy with what he had paid his money for.

[Wally]

Over the years I have always purchased "Brand Name" equipment that had a "Brand Name" price tag. Here & there I have bought some Lee equipment such as case trimmers & of course the Lee auto prime which I love. In actuality I have always been impressed with Lee's quality for the price but still bought little of Lee's equipment. Recently I bought a new (Old Stock) Lee Challenger press on Ebay for $40.00. I use it for my pistol calibers and for bullet seating . . . It's a really nice press! I do have a cast iron Lyman orange crusher press for my bigger rifle cartridges . . . a good press with plenty of leverage.
Tonight I recieved, in the mail a Lee 7MM bullet lubricating & sizing kit for what, $17.00 + shipping on, yes, Ebay.This is a really slick unit! Now before I get too far, I have a Lyman #45, Lyman #450 & an old Modern Bond lubersizer. Why wouldn't I just buy a die & top punch for one of the Lyman sizers? Well, My 7MM I do love even though full power loads are brutal! It isn't a gun that one would "plink"with. I can shoot my .270 Win. all day long, but 10 shots out of that 7MM & I'm done. I generally shoot a Hornaday 162gr. SBT with 59grs. IMR 4831 powder. It's a bull. And since I broke my neck in a car accident two years ago, I get a little cautious.
I would like to shoot it more often . . . just to shoot it. So I decided to shoot a cast bullet just to give lower power loads a try but did not want to invest in a $26.00 H&I die plus a $10.00 top punch & a $80.00 Lyman bullet mold plus postage. I know . . . what's the real difference . . . probably little. Try not to figure out my logic! So, I bought a $19.00 Lee mold & the Lee Lube & sizing kit. You know what? I'm impressed with the quality of Lee's stuff and to beat all, it does exactly what Lee says it will do, maybe no more but certainly no less. I'll be buying more of Lee's equipment.


Most buyers of Lee products are happy & content with them. The company does cater to those that have issues. If one considers the cost, they are typically a good value.

[EMC45]

I like Lee.

[DLCTEX]

Their Classic cast presses are a bargain and rate with the best of any brand.

[VA Shooter]

I have the Lee Breech lock press and like it alot as a matter of fact i like every Lee product that I have I have 6 cav Lee mold that I like But the Lyman I have I think just feels like It's better quaility

[Sonnypie]

I like my Lee equipment just fine.
I only reload 2 calibers right now, 30-06 and 45 ACP.
Both get tumble loobed boolits sized in Lee push-through dies.
Narry a complaint here.

I also cast 3 boolit styles in Lee molds. And another in a Lyman mold.

[keyhole]

The first Lee bullet mould I bought was specifically for the 8 X 56R Steyr. The mould plus sizing die kit was about $40. It was my first experience casting rifle bullets. The bullets shoot as well as military out of my rifle, so I am very happy. It gave me a reason to keep shooting the Steyr instead of getting the stuffing kicked out of me with the military ammo. The low price of the Lee mould and sizing die kit allowed me to try cast bullets in a rifle that otherwise would probably not get shot much at all.

[Cowboy T]

Without Lee Precision, a whole lot of us would've have been able to afford getting into reloading in the first place, let along casting.

Richard Lee, you may be a shameless self-promoter, but you got a whole lot of us started, so thank you!

Is it the "best" gear? No, not necessarily. Dillon progressives are certainly built more sturdily. However, I find Lee's Pro 1000 to certainly be "good enough" to turn out lots and lots of ammo.

With casting, I don't know a better value than Lee's 6-cavity moulds. They cast terrific boolits and do so at a torrid pace, with very few rejects. There's no way I could keep up the same pace with the steel moulds made by the other companies, even their 4-bangers.

[1hole]

"You know what? I'm impressed with the quality of Lee's stuff and to beat all, it does exactly what Lee says it will do, maybe no more but certainly no less. I'll be buying more of Lee's equipment. "

Amazing what we can learn about Lee's tools - and money we may save - with just a little bit of real experience rather than listening to the smears.

Any intelligent buyer should recognise that most of Lee's stuff is designed for the low to moderate volume shooters (not 'beginners') but even that has exceptions. I consider the Classic Cast press - and Classic Turret - to be the best presses in their classes reqardless of cost. (And I say that as the user of a Rock Chucker, which I would NOT have bought if the Classic Cast had been available in 1987!)

On average, Lee's dies load ammo of equal quality to any other conventional types. Their hand primers work as well as any but cost much less. That simple case trimmer system is very consistant, easy and fast to use. The "Perfect Powder Measure" isn't perfect but it actually works as well as any and better than most with coarse tubular powders. Etc. The Safety Scale is highly accurate, very sensitive but a general PITA to use because it's so damp light.

[Powellcole5490]

Without Lee Precision, a whole lot of us would've have been able to afford getting into reloading in the first place, let along casting.

Richard Lee, you may be a shameless self-promoter, but you got a whole lot of us started, so thank you!

Is it the "best" gear? No, not necessarily. Dillon progressives are certainly built more sturdily. However, I find Lee's Pro 1000 to certainly be "good enough" to turn out lots and lots of ammo.

With casting, I don't know a better value than Lee's 6-cavity moulds. They cast terrific boolits and do so at a torrid pace, with very few rejects. There's no way I could keep up the same pace with the steel moulds made by the other companies, even their 4-bangers.


SF liberal with a gun,

I watched your videos on how to disassemble, clean, and reassemble my Lee Pro 1000. Thanks great video. I'm not too sure if I would be able to get my press back together without them.

[mustanggt]

I have alot of reloading equipment from all the manufacturers and Lee gives you the best value by far. All of my pots, I have 5, are Lee. Many dies all work as good as the others. I started out with quite a few of their moulds and they work. I have some ranch dog moulds which I believe are better than the run of the mill moulds. If all I could get or afford was Lee I'd be happy. They would be able to keep me shooting no doubt about it.

[Rokkit Syinss]

I've had many Lee items over the years and they work well enough for most things. Some may wear out quicker than other brands but those tend to be what I'd consider consumable tools anyway. Good bang for the buck as long as you realize you are not going into any kind of high production mode with them.