Lee Bashing.....NOT

[Tar Heel]

Fired up my new Lee mold today and it WORKED JUST FINE like the other dozen or so did. I can't believe it! I followed the enclosed directions, cleaned the mold, lubricated the hinge and pins, smoked the cavities and what the heck, it worked as advertised! Fancy that.

Let's see.....read directions, follow directions, lead at correct temperature, preheat mold, and BAZINGA....PERFECT BULLETS. In fact, the first two bullets to fall from the mold were perfect.

120798

[melloairman]

I do not own a 6 cavity Lee but I am more than happy with my 20 plus 2 cavity molds . Marvin

[georgerkahn]

Beautiful boolits! Kudos to you! A getting-old codger, my stable of cast-iron moulds seem to get heavier with each and every casting session. You've encouraged me to perhaps invest in a Lee...
BEST!
georgerkahn

[twc1964]

That boolit looks like the .452-230tc? I bought a 6 cav recently and these slugs are killer! Super accurate boolits . Luv em

[Bzcraig]

Them be some fine boolits!

[retread]

The newer Lee 2 cavity molds are great, especially the price. The older style (I have several) I am replacing with steel or new Lee molds. I hate having to check them for proper closure every time I close them. Lee has many great products out there, I own several. When price is a consideration, Lee can be a viable option.

[GoodOlBoy]

good lookin bullets! But obviously since it worked you did SOMETHING wrong! Oh wait Lee molds work fine for me too!

GoodOlBoy

[TXGunNut]

Whether we like it or not, at the end of the day most of us know that Richard Lee knows more about casting and loading than 95 percent of us. Some folks make better stuff but Lee consistently makes quality equipment that gets the job done. Show me a loading bench without at least one Lee tool and I'll show you someone who doesn't understand reloading.

[jmort]

99.99999%

[Slow Elk 45/70]

++1 for Lee equipment , they do us a good service and help a lot of new casters or people on a budget to be able to enjoy our insanity:cbpour::redneck:

[monge]

With out LEE I could not afford to reload or shoot!

[Tar Heel]

That boolit looks like the .452-230tc? I bought a 6 cav recently and these slugs are killer! Super accurate boolits . Luv em

They are the 401-175-TC bullets. They cast at 181.9 grains in #2 alloy.

[seaboltm]

With out LEE I could not afford to reload or shoot!

No doubt. I own a lot of Lee equipment. Works fine for me.

[N4AUD]

I just got a new Lee mold. Followed the instructions and it worked fine, just like the others I've bought in the past.

[Poygan]

I have around a dozen Lee molds (no six cavities), a turret press, two of their hand priming systems, several sets of dies, a universal primer. their flair tool, and a number of case trimming sets. Are there better tools available? Yes. But, Lee makes very workable tools are very reasonable prices. Good value for the money in my opinion.

[Echd]

I will say I am using a good number fewer Lee molds nowadays, but I think their aluminum molds "break in" and start casting keepers faster than anyone elses. Probably because they're so fast to heat up, but still, I always thought it was nice they went from cold to working.

[burrkiss]

I have 6 lee molds and the only one that didnt work properly was due to a ID10T error. Not Lee's fault.

[Jack Stanley]

I have a couple six cavity moulds and they're ok for the job I ask of them and the price was right . Not likely I'll turn in a couple of old Lyman and Ideal four cavity moulds though Once up to temp the old four cavity twenty-two mould makes a bunch in a hurry . Other LEE stuff I have too , not a lot but I think TXGunNut has the right take on LEE stuff .

Jack

[GP100man]

Richard Lee`s tools have put more & more shooters loading & casting than we`ll ever know !!!

I`m in the fall season of my life & while my hands (wrench turnin life)won`t let me shoot as much as I`d like I still enjoy casting & reloading as much as ever.

The newer style molds (of all makes)made from aluminum makes casting a much more enjoyable aspect of shooting.

I was very thankful to see Lee step up the quality on the 2 cavity alignment system to the present set up , I now consider the 2 holers a lot when purchasing now.

GP100man

[jmort]

That is why Lee Precision is #1 reloading company.

[dubber123]

You knew one would be coming along soon to chime in, so it may as well be me :) LEE stuff generally works well, They even produce the occasional gem. By the rules of business and production when you try to make something for less than anyone else, the percentage of junk out the door goes up. Doesn't matter what your original goals were, thats what happens. I have an absolute PILE of LEE molds. Back when LEE was the only game in town for our group buys, I bought a LOT of them. Some were winners, some not so much. Their production molds are no different. A pretty looking boolit that is .003" out of round is still a junk boolit to me.

I applaud LEE for their efforts, and will continue to buy their stuff when appropriate. I don't expect the level of quality from them as I do when I pay much more for an NOE, Accurate, LBT, etc. nor should I.

[Duster340]

Hey Tar Heel, nice looking bullets. No surprise here though. I have a variety of Lee molds, included a couple of the old style single & doubles (.44 WC) and every one throws very nice boolits. I use mostly doubles since I enjoy my casting sessions and am in no hurry to finish LOL. At less than $20 a pop I can try various styles/weights etc without breaking the bank.

Be well all.

[Tar Heel]

Here you go. Thanks to the Lee 401-175-TC mold, my 10mm is back in service. Oh yea...don't forget to polish your bullets...you get more speed that way.

120853 120854 120855

[websterz]

They are the 401-175-TC bullets. They cast at 181.9 grains in #2 alloy.

I have the six banger version of that mold. Makes a mountain of beautiful boolits in a big big hurry!

[cbrick]

Show me a loading bench without at least one Lee tool and I'll show you someone who doesn't understand reloading.


Really? Wow. Good to know.

Rick

[Leadmelter]

I have used Lee Molds 2-6 cavity. No problems that could not be easily solved.
For the money, they may not last forever but give good boolits until then.
Leadmelter
MI

[Tar Heel]

Really? Wow. Good to know.

Rick

Now you boys behave! Go polish some bullets or something. :popcorn:

[Lead Fred]

Some of Lee stuff sucks, some dont

I swear by Lee Classic loaders, cant give away Lee perfect series junk

I have several Lee molds, have replaced them with better shooting ones.

[cbrick]

Now you boys behave! Go polish some bullets or something. :popcorn:

Why would anyone polish bullets and what could that have to do with LEE?

Rick

[BAGTIC]

All my Lee bullets are round. Of course I measure them after firing instead of before loading.

[Tar Heel]

Why would anyone polish bullets and what could that have to do with LEE?

Rick

Absolutely nothing to do with Lee. I was attempting to be funny and/or defuse your attack on TxGunNut. Guess that didn't work out too well. Have a good evening sir.

[Tar Heel]

You know...if the moderator is reading this, please DELETE each and every one of my posts and pictures. This forum is really going to the dogs with all the attacks, meanness, bickering and BS. I guess post counts greater than 10K is the whole point now. I wonder if some of those folks actually cast bullets and reload.

You will not see my sponsorship money next year. You all have fun ripping each others throats out. I am going to go cast bullets.

[9w1911]

On my budget, PCing boolits sure do size round with a Lee push through sizer.

[MT Chambers]

That is why Lee Precision is #1 reloading company. Air's starting to get a little thick in here at the Lee Love-in.

[jmort]

I heart Lee Precision.

[cbrick]

Absolutely nothing to do with Lee. I was attempting to be funny and/or defuse your attack on TxGunNut. Guess that didn't work out too well. Have a good evening sir.

Really? What attack was that? Please use the quote function and place my post here where I attacked him or anyone or anything.

Please do that.

Rick

[cbrick]

Bottom line is that LEE lovers are more radical than the so called LEE haters which by the way, there has been very little of in this thread and what little there has been has been pretty mild.

Rick

[TXGunNut]

Now you boys behave! Go polish some bullets or something. :popcorn:


We're just having a little fun, Tar Heel. I thought that would get a rise out of a few folks. ;-) Rick's not the only one here who can't make Lee tools work for him. As much as I like Lee products I can't make their dies work for me but I have the same problem with Hornady. I'd be pretty surprised if there's not a Lee tool somewhere even on Rick's bench, but I could be wrong.

[TXGunNut]

Really? What attack was that? Please use the quote function and place my post here where I attacked him or anyone or anything.

Please do that.

Rick


I didn't see anything like that and hope no one else felt that way. I'm sure Rick and I don't agree on a few other topics either but that's what a forum is about, I'd hate to hang around a place where we all agreed on everything. I understand and respect Rick's opinion of Lee products. One thing I can say for sure is that Rick casts a darned fine boolit and also takes a darned fine photo to show us how it's done.

[cbrick]

Rick's not the only one here who can't make Lee tools work for him.

Why would you say that? Are you assuming I'm not smart enough? You already said if anyone doesn't have LEE tools they don't know reloading. So it's because they're not smart enough they can't make them work?


I'd be pretty surprised if there's not a Lee tool somewhere even on Rick's bench, but I could be wrong.

When have you heard me bash any of LEE's reloading tools. You assume a lot.

As for making LEE tools work, I don't buy any tool to "make them work". I buy tools to use them, not mess with them until I can make them work.

Your posts proves my point about LEE lovers.

Rick

[TXGunNut]

Why would you say that? Are you assuming I'm not smart enough? You already said if anyone doesn't have LEE tools they don't know reloading. So it's because they're not smart enough they can't make them work?-cbrick

No, I didn't say you're not smart enough. We all know better than that. I'm assuming nothing, I'm using your preferences to prove a point. Just because Lee tools work for me doesn't mean they work for everyone.

[cbrick]

Actually there are LEE reloading tools that I recommend fairly often. Not molds but the push through sizers, handles etc. I have never said anything negative about LEE reloading tools. LEE molds? That's a horse of a different color.

Rick

[TXGunNut]

I'll admit I've apparently had a good run of luck with Lee moulds but I can't make a set of Lee dies work, no idea why. Been reloading for over 30 years but only casting for a few, have no idea why some stuff works for some follks and not for others. I like their sizers and handles too, even a pretty big fan of their trimming system. Their Zip Trim system looks like a silly pull toy but it works quite well for me.

[robg]

lee is still the best value kit around

[cbrick]

lee is still the best value kit around

For some that is no doubt true.

Rick

[1Shirt]

Have a Lyman 4 cav 148 gr. WC mold. Casts a great blt, but weighs a whole lot more than a 6 cav lee with 150 gr. blts. The older I get the more I appreciate convenience and alum molds.
1Shirt!

[MT Chambers]

The truth is, when I use something that works perfect I don't have to come on here and tell everyone on here about it, I paid good money and I expect it to work perfect ie: Star, Redding, Saeco, RCBS, etc........ Lee users get on here anytime something goes right.

[cbrick]

The truth is, when I use something that works perfect I don't have to come on here and tell everyone on here about it, I paid good money and I expect it to work perfect ie: Star, Redding, Saeco, RCBS, etc........ Lee users get on here anytime something goes right.

120995

That's funny. Why is it so funny? Because it's so true.

I read very few threads with LEE in the title because most of them are identical. They read - I have this LEE _____ (fill in tool here), how do I make it work. That's followed by several pages of what great tools they are.

Rick

[Pinsnscrews]

I'm a tool for even reading all of this thread...:kidding:

[MT Chambers]

The thread is here for your amusement.

[Charley]

By the tone of some posters, I'm not sure I even want to get involved with this, but here goes anyway. On my bench, I have Dillon, RCBS, Lyman, Lee, CH4D, Redding, and several other brands. For molds, I have Lee, Lyman, RCBS, SAECO, H&G, Palmetto (from the old Dixie Gunworks days), and a couple others. Guess what? They all work! Every mold, just like every firearm, differs in what works best with that particular tool. Learn what each responds to, and troubles will be greatly minimized.

[TXGunNut]

By the tone of some posters, I'm not sure I even want to get involved with this, but here goes anyway.-Charley

It's a matter of expectations, IMHO. Quite frankly at this point I'm not a good enough caster or shooter to take full advantage of everything a high quality mould has to offer. I do have a number of the higher quality moulds but the Lee moulds I have meet my needs in most cases. Most are Ranch Dog moulds and I firmly believe Michael was able to hold Lee to a bit higher standard than their norm. I marvel at the value represented by a $20 Lee 2-cavity mould. My friend cbrick has higher expectations and is a much better caster and shooter than I am. Rick evidently has no use for Lee moulds because they would hold him back from his goals, they don't meet his expectations. I don't have a problem with that. I have similar issues with Lee loading dies even though admittedly my sample size was quite small. I prefer to buy RCBS, Dillon or Redding dies because I know they are top shelf and since they'll likely outlast me I don't mind paying a bit more for a higher quality.
Other companies may in some cases make better tools than Lee but if all my Lee tools were to disappear tonight I wouldn't get much casting or loading done. I appreciate the value represented by Lee tools but quite honestly the price is secondary to the quality and innovative design in many cases....but that's JMHO. If you disagree I'm OK with that. I'm here for adult discussions of boolit casting and I find it difficult to learn from somebody I agree with 100% of the time. I have immense respect for Rick and several other members of this forum, even if I do aggravate him from time to time.

[cbrick]

Rick evidently has no use for Lee moulds because they would hold him back from his goals, they don't meet his expectations.

Expectations? It's like I said in post #40.


As for making LEE tools work, I don't buy any tool to "make them work". I buy tools to use them, not mess with them until I can make them work. Rick

I've had LEE molds, each one was worse than the last. Could I make them work? Of course but that's the wrong question. The question should be . . . Was it worth it to MAKE them work? For me the answer to that is no and I've bought my last LEE mold quite a few years ago.

Rick

[35 shooter]

There are at least two lee tools i won't be without. One is the hand held press, the other is the universal flaring tool. All my reloads are assembled with the lee hand press now and i like being able to load anywhere with it.
The groups are just as good with the hand press as with my rcbs rock chucker. Works great for working up loads at the range.
At least in my case, i got much more value than i paid for...lol i do try not to drop my press though. I only have one lee mould, so jury is still out on that for me so far....seems like they can't see daylight through it when it's closed but i can.
They sent it back in the same shape i sent it to them in. Looks like i'll have to fix that myself.
Most accurate boolit i've shot from my derringer so far though just like it is.

[GoodOlBoy]

I guess I am way too odd the man out. Yes I own more Lee tools than anything else (no I don't have to MAKE them work they work fine). And I have rarely had a issue with a Lee mold, but I know others who have. That being said my single stage press is a RCBS. My dies are combinations of Lee, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, etc. I do prefer Lee Classic Loaders for most of my work, but resizing is best done (for me) in a press. I do own molds other than Lee. I have at least one RCBS die set (30 Remington) that has been replaced by RCBS MULTIPLE times and STILL has issues. Does that mean all RCBS is junk? Heck no. But it did sour me enough on them and the customer service issues I had that when the next die set came up to buy it was a Hornady New Dimension set, NOT a RCBS set. Why wasn't it a Lee? Well I have had zero issues with Lee with straight and tapper wall cases. BUT after using a Hornady New Dimension set for .270 Win I just started buying them for any bottlenecks, particularly after the 30 Rem RCBS issue. Lee makes great and MUCH less expensive shell holders for many calibers. BUT I have had a couple of calibers where the Lee shell holder just wasn't right and so I bought what was right.

Bear in mind that any given machinist for any given company can have a bad day just like we can. Doesn't mean the whole company is garbage. I think there is far too much Lee bashing around, and I think there is far too much praise for many companies that don't really deserve it. But in the end to each his own. If it works for you it does, if it doesn't it doesn't.

I think guys are reading alot into each others posts, and I think everybody has a bit of a raw **** and a chip on their shoulder now and then depending on topic. I just hate that all the pics got pulled down before I got a chance to drool over them.

GoodOlBoy

[casterofboolits]

Lee tools got me into casting. I fed my IPSC needs for two years with a pair of Lee two cavity moulds and the ten pound lead pot. Lee allows a cash strapped youngster with two young daughters and a VA mortgage to get started. Lee single cavity mould, pan lubing and a "beat" thru size die

Are there better tools? Yup! I have them now.

I just gave that lead pot and several Lee two cavity moulds and a Star lube sizer, and a lot of advice to the grandfather of my great grand daughter. He's turning out some great boolits and is hooked for life!

[Moonie]

I have mostly Lee tools, and lots of Lee molds. I don't have a problem with a $20 or $35 dollar mold with slight fixable issues. I DO have a problem with a $125 mold that has issues. I have a NOE 5 cavity with a single sticky cavity, I rarely use the mold so it isn't really worth it to me to do anything about it. I have 2 A.C.E 6 cavity molds, one was damaged during production and QC didn't catch it. The replacement was the wrong diameter, AFTER I made sure Josh knew which diameter I wanted before the replacement was agreed to. With a $20 or $35 dollar mold you expect to have to leement them, I've only had to do that with a couple of mine. For the majority they work better than those 2 custom molds at considerable more cost.

Yes, I have priming problems on my LoadMaster, but it works well with that one exception and is amazingly fast now that I'm using the Hornady bullet (boolit) feed die with my PC boolits. My Pro1000 works flawlessly, my 4-20 drips occasionally but not bad, and it is a number of years old now. All my Lee dies work as well as the others but I don't use the FCD for pistols, but do for rifle rounds.

[harley45]

I have several of the 6 cavity molds that I use when I cast plinking bullets, they all work fine and do what I want, I also have numerous sets of LEE dies that seem to for the past 20 years reload accurate ammunition for me. I always tell a new reloader to start with LEE equipment as it does get the job done for a small initial investment!

[slim1836]

Without LEE I would not be casting or reloading.

Slim

[cainttype]

LEE offers an inexpensive, entry-level option, for most reloading related necessities. Many new hobbiests get started, with one aspect or another, using LEE equipment because of the minimal investment.
LEE should be appreciated for that fact alone.
To attempt comparing LEE with almost ANY other manufacturer of reloading equipment, of any type, is inviting redicule... It's difficult NOT to be able to find a better alternative to anything LEE offers, if the price point isn't the determining factor.

[MBTcustom]

Lee has made several tools that I consider top notch in the design department, and good enough to excellent in the materials/workmanship department. These tools stay on my bench and I use them all the time and I enjoy them very much.
Examples include:
1.Factory crimp dies (those used on rifle cartridges which are totally diferent than the pistol variety people like to bash).
2.The Lee hand priming tool. I've tried several, but the Lee is the easyest to load and use, it's light in the hand, and very well designed.
3.Lee 6 cavity molds. By far, the best six banger that has ever been devised by man. None of the ones I have gotten needed "leementing" or anything of the sort. They work, and they work well. I just wish I could get the same thing in brass with a steel sprue plate! (sigh)
4.Lee 6 cavity mold handles. Honestly, these are just really great tools! Easy to use, and easy to modify to fit any mold perfectly.
5. The Lee hardness tester. Ive checked mine against calibrated instruments, and while it strays slightly on the upper and lower end of the spectrum, in the hardness that I usually run my alloys (10-30 BHN) it's very accurate and repeatable.
6. The Lee loader. Don't get me started on the epic awesomeness of this tool! Not only does it do what it's supposed to do, and do it well, for cheap, the design is infinitely customizable to any configuration I desire. I have made one of these kits from scratch for a couple of my wildcats, and I even made the only one you'll ever see that reloads the gigantic 500Jeffery. I have started more people into reloading with these inexpensive and effective tools than I have any other system. It's easy to use, easy to understand, and make ammo that is more concentric than anything a standard die set could produce due to the guided boolit from the top, brass from the bottom design. Someone who gets started with a Lee loader has both an appreciation for a more automated reloading setup, and a standard to judge it by.

Now that said, there are quite a few things Lee makes that you will never see on my bench.
Powder measure: junk
Scale: junk
Loadmaster: dangerous junk
Two cavity and single cavity molds: junk that can make decent boolits sometimes. (I will caveat this by saying that I will often buy a two cav Lee mold to try a design before buying a real mold.)
Actually, if there was anything else Lee made that I was truly impressed with, it would be on the like list up yonder. These tools here were all of genius design, but I believe they cut quality so deeply, that the design was compromised in the process.

All in all, I'm not in anybodies camp. I was raised and taught to reload on a bench that had nothing but RCBS and Redding on it. Since then, I have acquired a regular fruit salad of colors. Both reds, both greens, grey, and all three blues (that's Dillon, Pacific, and Star) I have use for all of them, and find complete satisfaction with none of them.

[TXGunNut]

I think my first Lee tool was the Auto Prime, wore out a few over the years and even kept a new spare in addition to one set up for each size primer. My mentor sold me on being able to feel a primer seating in the pocket. I've had a new design primer sitting on the shelf for awhile, getting curious about it. Back when it was feasible to reload 12ga shotshells I used a Load-All to good effect, still have it around here somewhere.
I'd forgotten about the hardness tester. Getting harder to use every year but it tells me what I want to know if I'm patient. The case trimmers that index off the shoulder don't make sense to me, that's why I like the Lee Trimmer system...even that silly looking Zip Trim. Works as fast for me as a cordless drill, a bit less clumsy as well.
I only have a few 2-cav moulds, one was a test mould to see if my .45's liked the design and another design is not made in a 6-cav. My ball moulds are 2-cav as well and they keep my frontstuffers well-fed and happy. I don't like the old alignment pin system but if I do my part and pay attention to mould block alignment they work just fine. None of the guns they feed are picky eaters, basically plinkers and fun guns.

[GhostHawk]

Well I got out of guns, reloading, hunting etc when I got married almost 19 years ago.

Last January I got a big piece of, well lets call it early inheritance. Since then I have been investing slowly but steadily in a few guns, molds, sizers, lead pot, the works.

#1 on my "I love Lee" List is my hand press. I have a small inexpensive bench press, my Lee flaring tool pretty much lives in it.

My Lee hand press gets used for everything from boolit sizing to full length resizing of full size rifle cartridges.

Because it is a hand press it educated me pretty quickly on a few things. Like the need for lubrication, like cleaning the insides of my dies every so often.

If I had to shell out 90-100$ per mold I would have 1, and I would feel like I was still paying for it.
Currently I have 3 and I'm looking hard at #4, and in my opinion molds #1 &2 have totally paid for themselves, having created something close to 1000 rounds.

My newest mold a .358158 TL round nose arrived, got cleaned, got the leading edge of the sprue plate lightly filed smooth. Chambers lightly smoked and the sprue lubricated, before the pot was hot the mold was ready to go. The far cavity throws perfect bullets almost instantly. The close one likes lots of lead poured on the sprue plate to keep it hot. Ok, I'm listening, I can do that. 50 some nice boolits later I said that is enough for today, and shut it down. I had probably cast a total of just over 60, so a few culls, but It is teaching me how it wants to be used.

The new boolits got sized, lubed (Not TL yet, but will experiment with it soon) and a couple of dummy rounds made.

After doing a lot of reading about 158 gr boolits in 9mm (38/.357 will be coming after christmas) and the majority saying it doesn't work I decided to test for myself.

Well hate to spill it to you, but they sure appear to chamber just as smoothly and just as deeply as a factory round.
Yes it passes the plunk test.

So yes I will try out a very limited trial run of 5 or so, 3 grains of Red Dot, CCI small pistol primer, 158gr Cast boolit sized to .357 and loaded into a once fired 9mm brass case.

FYI Lee sizers look to be still throwing a smidge small. Just checked my finished boolits and they are all showing .356 which explains why they chambered. (Note to self, don't size for the .357)

To have done all I have done in the last year without Lee, I would have to have spent 3-4 times as much money for each and every tool.

That being said, sometimes it is worth it to spend the money. Like my RCBS Universal priming tool, No shellholders, easy to switch between large and small, works perfectly, and looks to last a LONG time.

Conclusion, there are many paths, choose wisely.

[John L]

How do I view an attachment? Each of those here take me to a page that says invalid attachment, contact.....
I would sincerely like to see the bullets.

John

[TXGunNut]

How do I view an attachment? Each of those here take me to a page that says invalid attachment, contact.....
I would sincerely like to see the bullets.

John

Something odd going on with links and stuff with me tonight but my firewall is going off like a shotgun on an Argentinan dove hunt.

[KuunLB]

lee makes it possible for us noobs to get in the game without having our lights cut off :)

[tmanbuckhunter]

I have a bunch of lee stuff, some of it I hate, a lot of it I love, but it's not my first choice. With that being said, I have a bunch of lee molds that work really well but now that I'm much more experienced and know what I'm doing I'd much rather have higher quality molds. Lee will get you started, and that's exactly what it's good for.

[captaint]

Everybody raise their hand whose first mold was NOT made by Mr. Lee.........

[ShooterAZ]

My comments on all this....I have quite a few Lee molds. All of the ones I currently own cast well. BUT...I have sent more Lee molds back to Midway than I currently own. Midway is great, no questions asked. Now that I have discovered NOE, I probably won't be buying any more Lee molds. You get what you pay for. Lee still needs to focus on quality control in my opinion, but still is capable of making some keepers.

[sparky45]

Lee has made several tools that I consider top notch in the design department, and good enough to excellent in the materials/workmanship department. These tools stay on my bench and I use them all the time and I enjoy them very much.
Examples include:
1.Factory crimp dies (those used on rifle cartridges which are totally diferent than the pistol variety people like to bash).
2.The Lee hand priming tool. I've tried several, but the Lee is the easyest to load and use, it's light in the hand, and very well designed.
3.Lee 6 cavity molds. By far, the best six banger that has ever been devised by man. None of the ones I have gotten needed "leementing" or anything of the sort. They work, and they work well. I just wish I could get the same thing in brass with a steel sprue plate! (sigh)
4.Lee 6 cavity mold handles. Honestly, these are just really great tools! Easy to use, and easy to modify to fit any mold perfectly.
5. The Lee hardness tester. Ive checked mine against calibrated instruments, and while it strays slightly on the upper and lower end of the spectrum, in the hardness that I usually run my alloys (10-30 BHN) it's very accurate and repeatable.
6. The Lee loader. Don't get me started on the epic awesomeness of this tool! Not only does it do what it's supposed to do, and do it well, for cheap, the design is infinitely customizable to any configuration I desire. I have made one of these kits from scratch for a couple of my wildcats, and I even made the only one you'll ever see that reloads the gigantic 500Jeffery. I have started more people into reloading with these inexpensive and effective tools than I have any other system. It's easy to use, easy to understand, and make ammo that is more concentric than anything a standard die set could produce due to the guided boolit from the top, brass from the bottom design. Someone who gets started with a Lee loader has both an appreciation for a more automated reloading setup, and a standard to judge it by.

Now that said, there are quite a few things Lee makes that you will never see on my bench.
Powder measure: junk
Scale: junk
Loadmaster: dangerous junk
Two cavity and single cavity molds: junk that can make decent boolits sometimes. (I will caveat this by saying that I will often buy a two cav Lee mold to try a design before buying a real mold.)
Actually, if there was anything else Lee made that I was truly impressed with, it would be on the like list up yonder. These tools here were all of genius design, but I believe they cut quality so deeply, that the design was compromised in the process.

All in all, I'm not in anybodies camp. I was raised and taught to reload on a bench that had nothing but RCBS and Redding on it. Since then, I have acquired a regular fruit salad of colors. Both reds, both greens, grey, and all three blues (that's Dillon, Pacific, and Star) I have use for all of them, and find complete satisfaction with none of them.


Not anymore. With the mods by "magic mike" out of Texas this machine WILL rival my Dillon 650 on loading quality ammo. That's www.mikesreloadingbench.com . He's a fantastic Engineer and a Match Benchrest Shooter. Check it out.

[dkf]

Everybody raise their hand whose first mold was NOT made by Mr. Lee.........

My hand is raised.

[cbrick]

Everybody raise their hand whose first mold was NOT made by Mr. Lee.........

That would be me, not the first or 10th or 20th or 30th or . . .

Rick

[MT Chambers]

My first mold was a Lyman, the first of many and won't be my last.

[FergusonTO35]

Overall I like Lee very much. Their die sets, Pro Auto Disk measure, and molds are my most used reloading tools. Their presses work really well for being so cheap. I upgraded to a Lyman only because I got a great deal on it and then sold my Challenger for more than I paid for it. Some products I think are done better by other companies. The Lee scale is, I think, a good concept poorly executed. It is too small and hard to read. The Perfect measure leaks powder more than others, is gritty in operation, just won't work at all with some powders. My RCBS Uniflow measure and scale are way better.

Lee push through sizer dies are great but not much use without a complimentary way of lubing. The only bullet lube system Lee currently offers, to my knowledge, is LLA which isn't suitable for every application. It's rather odd that most of Lee's bullets have conventional lube grooves when Lee doesn't offer a suitable way to lube them. Given how Lee can come up with a cheap, simple way to do everything I don't see why they don't offer any other way to lube boolits. They even make lube sticks for lube sizers, for goodness sake. I finally broke down and bought a Lyman 450 because I just don't have time to pan lube anymore and Lee is apparently not going to try anything in this regard.

[KuunLB]

welp, my first mold is gonna be a Lee, can't say i'm sorry, i just hope i get one of the better molds. just ordered it. can't wait.

[jayjay1]

Well, the 6-cav molds I have are way more valuable, than the 2-cav molds I have.

But what can I say?
The bullets, dropping out of LEE molds or others, which are costing the multiple, look and do pretty much the same.

Casting with a LEE 6-cav mold for three hours, what comes next?
But doing the same with an iron 4-cav, and I´m almost done.

[MBTcustom]

Everybody raise their hand whose first mold was NOT made by Mr. Lee.........

My first molds were RCBS, Lyman, and Hensley & Gibbs. Used only them for about 15 years before I decided to try an aluminum Lee mold. It was a RB mold, and felt junky as heck, but cast good RBs. Didn't think much of it, till I found castboolits and see so many people actually buying these molds and making them work.

[dragon813gt]

Everybody raise their hand whose first mold was NOT made by Mr. Lee.........

Raises hand. I've only bought a few over the years. After finding this site and the custom makers they were all sold off. To say I had bad luck w/ them would be putting it lightly. I'm glad others can make them work. My money is better spent elsewhere.

[GhostHawk]

My first mold was actually a Lyman round ball double cavity in .445. After that I played with a lot of different fishing sinker molds. Love the do-all molds. I have a lindy type walking sinker that does from 1/8 oz up to 2 oz including 1/4,3/8,1/2,5/8 and up. Once molded a couple of whacks on the anvil with the big hammer flattened them nicely for river fishing. If you fish a river much you quickly learn that anything that you throw in there will sooner or later not come back.

So I learned to do the minimalist approach to fishing.

I do wish that Mr Lee had something in between his cheap molds and the competition's expensive ones.

Something in the 50 dollar range with bigger blocks, better fit, finish, hardware.

[jmort]

"Not anymore. With the mods by "magic mike" out of Texas this machine WILL rival my Dillon 650 on loading quality ammo. That's www.mikesreloadingbench.com (http://www.mikesreloadingbench.com/) . He's a fantastic Engineer and a Match Benchrest Shooter. Check it out."


I was thinking the same thing. That is a great site. But, he notes that most people will have problems with their Loadmaster. His mods/fixes make the Loadmaster a viable option and fantastic press.

[TXGunNut]

Everybody raise their hand whose first mold was NOT made by Mr. Lee.........

(Raising hand) First few were Lyman, Ranch Dog moulds were my first Lee moulds. Still prefer Lyman over Lee but that likeley puts me in a minority around here.

[TXGunNut]

lee makes it possible for us noobs to get in the game without having our lights cut off :)

That may be true but there's a possibility of false economy if you're buying a tool that eventually has to be replaced with the same or a more expensive tool. Some Lee tools fall into that category, most do not. There's also the possibility that a noob may lose interest or load/cast very little and a tool that wouldn't hold up for a hardcore user would fill the need for an attractive price. As I mentioned before there are some Lee tools that don't work for me but they work just fine for almost everybody else, apparently.
Without a doubt Richard Lee has brought many innovative tools and more than a few new people into this reloading/casting game. I can afford any reloading tool I want, quite often it's a Lee so there's more to it than a great price, IMHO.

[bbqncigars]

There are some things that Lee does well enough for me to use. Examples are: Classic Cast press (used for .50BMG loading), some of their dies (25-20WCF, .50BMG - odd thread size but better tolerances than RCBS), original Auto Prime hand primer. Some facets of Lee's designs are questionable, but I find that true for most reloading tool companies. I started reloading with the original Lee (whack-a-mole) Loader, then quickly moved up to a CoAx press that I still use. A lot of Lee stuff is such that it will keep the average bubba in ammo without breaking the bank.