Wow........Lee 2 cav mold, I'm impressed!

[SteveM]

It's been 10-12 years since I've bought a Lee mold, It was a 44-310 rfgc and it was complete garbage.
Last week I was ordering some misc. stuff from Midway and ended up buying a 405gr Lee mold for my newly aquired 45/70 Handi Rifle.
The mold arrived today. I was surprised, the mold blocks are a completely different design than my old 44 mold. I cleaned it with some brake cleaner and fired up my 4-20 pot. It was casting excellent bullets within minutes, the complete opposite of my past experience with Lee 2 cav molds. I ended up with 160 keepers and very few rejects. I'm not suggesting its anywhere near as nice as a custom mold, or even an RCBS, Lyman, Saeco ect for that matter because its not. But for less than $20 I'm amazed how well it works! Did I just get lucky with this one, or are Lee's this good now?
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/stevemikel2/100_2878_zps2a8459c3.jpg (http://s34.photobucket.com/user/stevemikel2/media/100_2878_zps2a8459c3.jpg.html)

[zidave]

I haven't been casting long but the few molds I do own are Lee's. They all cast great boolits in my experience.

[tazman]

Experiences vary as well as opinions on this site. Personally I think Lee molds work extremely well.
I even have some of the old style that work great for me.

[nagantguy]

I have several Lee molds including one ranchdog, have only had trouble with one and Lee replaced it. I know there is a lot of Leementing and such for this old hillbilly I can't spend my money any better.

[Beesdad]

I have purchased at least 10 new Lee molds in the last year.... All have been a pleasure to use. I hope our luck continues.

[largom]

I have some LEE molds that are 20 yrs. old and they cast as well as my Lyman and RCBS. Some molds of all makes have given me trouble until I learned what made them work.

Larry

[35 shooter]

Just bought a lee minnie ball mould last week. It dropped every boolit the second the handles were opened from the first to the last with no tapping of the handles at all. I was impressed to say the least. The only problem was you could see daylight between the mould halves when closed.
I tried fooling with the alignment pins and burrs a bit but no joy. Lee says ship it back and they'll replace it so i'm still impressed with them. It poured beautiful boolits, but just too much out of round. I'll be glad when the new one gets here. As long as they make it right i'll be happy. Probably could have fixed it myself but the hollow base pin hookup was pretty much in the way of everything. Sure can't beat em for the money.

[TXGunNut]

I agree, the new 2-cav moulds are pretty decent. Hard to beat for $20. Have one older style and it was good enough for seeing if that design would work in my 45's, then I ordered a 6-cav of the same design. I have several Lee 6-cav's; mostly Ranch Dog's, and I like them quite well.

[HeavyMetal]

The new 2 cavity design has come along way from the first 45 mold I bought from Lee in 1974, let me tell ya!

I haven't bought a new 2 C but I have bought the 6 cavity ones over the years, including a few Group buys and all have worked well.

If I was going to cast for someone on a real low budget I wouldn't have an issue buying one.

Lee is slowly but surely moving into the 21st century in the customer service division as I see represented by those who post of thier success with getting problems solved.

It's a good thing that Lee really needs to make better as I am sure they will, eventually.

[762 shooter]

My new Bator 55 grain 6 cav does just what I want it to do. Make a lot of boolits that can kill squirrels and rabbits.

762

[jonp]

I have a variety of new and used Lee Molds. The older ones I bought used work fine for me although they are a little finicky at times. The brand new ones cast great from day one. Good boolits, drops easy etc. Didn't have to tinker with them, smoke them or anything just sprayed them with Ballitstol, scrubbed with soap and water then used a Qtip and alcohol and cast. For less than $20 each on a double cavity with handles I think they are a bargain

[JeffinNZ]

How Lee can still turn out US made product at those prices is beyond me. Long may it continue.

[bedbugbilly]

I have used Lee molds for years and have always been happy with the results I get from them. I do prefer the newer design over the old but my older ones have a lot of mileage on the and they still keep putting out nice boolits.

In any production run, you might get some that aren't "up to snuff" - but they'll take care of it. For around $20, I think you get a lot of value. I do have Ideal and Lyman molds and like them as well so I'm not favoring one brand over another. The thing I like about Lee molds is that they are very reasonably priced and they offer a person the chance to try out different bullet weights and designs without breaking the bank. I like to play around with such things and it makes it pretty easy to do. In the long run, if you buy a Lee and just don't like the bullet, etc. - you can always turn around and sell or trade it and not be out a lot of money.

I use a lot of Lee items - and have been very happy with all of them!

[zuke]

I' have several of the old one's, and compared to the new one's, I'm impressed!

[62chevy]

I have 5 Lee molds 4 I've used and yet to be broke in. One is giving me fits but it is probably me a 309-180-Ris dropping COWW at 168 grains. The first batch was all wrinkles and voids, the second slightly better but now the third has good fill on the keepers but sill light in weight. Just have to learn what that mold likes.

[gwpercle]

A double cavity mould with handles for $20.00 that's a deal I like. Even if I have to smooth up a few rough edges. I like the "new" two cavity design. Sure a custom mould would be nice but if you can't afford a Mercedes-Benz a Chevy beats walking right?
The three new double cavities I have cast great boolits, sure I had to get them thoroughly , completely clean and broken in with a casting session or two, but after that ...no complaints here.
Gary

[jimb16]

I've gotten a fair number of Lee molds over the years. I got one that was absolute ****. The rest ranged from acceptable to fantastic. If my first one had been the bad one, I'd never have bought another. But it was probably the seventh or eighth. I prefer Lyman or RCBS, but I will buy the Lee if it is what I'm really looking for.

[Bucking the Tiger]

I have had a Lee 405gr RN for months now and have cast a lot of bullets with it. They look good and shoot very well. A Lee mold does not compare to a first class mold like NOE or Accurate, but for under $20, it is a ridiculous bargain. Lee has made it possible for many to reload and cast with mostly good(sometimes really good)equipment and great prices.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Nice looking boolits! Yes, Lee's are great. They warm up fast and produce good bullets quickly. Their only downfall is that they are a more delicate than I would like. And apparently, I'm a bit of a rough handed klutz.:groner:

[bangerjim]

I have 22 Lee molds and love them all. Would recommend the 2 and 6 bangers to anyone!

Also have a CI mold that I despise. Too heavy, too finicky, too hard to get good boolits out of.

bangerjim

[shoot-n-lead]

I have been using some Lee molds for years and for the price, I do not know where you can get more for the money.

I have Lyman and RCBS that perform well, also.

[murf205]

Glad you had success with that Lee. I have a 44-310 Lee mold and I load 21grs of H110 in my Super Redhawk for around 1420fps average(9 1/2") and it stuffs 'em into an inch @50yds and 2" @100. Kicks like a mule but that boolit will shoot through a Buick! Pretty nice work ya got there in the pics Steve.

[Bzcraig]

They are an exceptional value.

[Whitespider]

I'm not a huge Lee fan... but... those boolits look good.
I've been lookin' at (more expensive) molds for my .45-70 Handi-Rifle and this post made my decision to buy a $20 Lee. Heck, no more than I shoot the thing... I'll likely have 3 years worth of boolits cast by the time the mold is broken-in.
Thanks for saving me a C-note...

[jonk]

Well, I have a gold medal at Perry from shooting a Lee 200 gr bullet out of my 1903 Springfield, and have taken several bronzes with M1 carbines using Lee bullets, while other people are spending $40 a box for match grade bullets. If that tells you anything.

I have had just as much luck with Lee moulds as with any other, and just as much grief; I've had Lyman and RCBS molds that were utter junk, some Lee moulds that were junk too. All companies always made it right if I bought them new from them.

My first mould was a Lee, I got in 1995. It has seen a TON of use, and still works fine.

[3006mv]

Yeah good stuff, I don't have any new molds. I like the slug and buckshot molds too.

[gcsteve]

I have Lee's, Lyman's, Ideal's, an Accurate, a Thompson, a Ranch Dog, and a true work of art from MiHec. They all drop good, usable boolits when used correctly. The issues I have with the Lee's is that as my Lee's age they get loose and worn. They still work, but as another poster pointed out, the are a bit delicate and need help to close properly.

[SSGOldfart]

Personally I think Lee molds work extremely well.
I even have some of the old style that work great for me but the newer molds seem to cast better.

[Texantothecore]

I have all Lee molds and am quite pleased with them, they all drop good boolits. Couple of points:

1. Were it not for Lee I would not be casting. Their equipment works great and it is dirt cheap.
2. Were it not for Lee I would not be reloading. Great equipment at great prices.
3. I think Lee may have taken a lot of the profits earned in the last few years and plowed them back into their factory. New state of the art equipment.
4. Considering the engineering talent at Lee I would look for more advances in the coming years.
5. Lee equipment is cheap enough that I am not afraid to modify it. If you blow it, it'll cost you 20 bucks, a very acceptable risk. The first time I drilled a mold to install a PID it was a bit nerve wracking but it worked really well and taught me a great deal about mold heat and the resulting boolits.
6. In reference to #5, Lee equipment is really good stuff for those of us who like to mess around and modify our equipment to change the way it works a bit.

[jmort]

Lee Fan-Boy. My favorite 2 Cavity is the .358 158 grain RF. Great all around .357 bullet. Have had good results with both new and old style and for $20 you get an incredible deal. I don't know how they do it and turn a profit. I am waiting for replacement sprue plates from .338 Ultra Mag aka Josh ask ACE Molds. Now they are $27.00 molds, new and improved. Recommend you all get some from current group buy.

[gpidaho]

I own ten Lee moulds new and old style, all work well. Do I like my Saeco moulds better? Yes but not five times better For the price Lee is hard to beat. GP