Lee Precision

[Hi-Speed]

Lee Precision customer service is very professional. Their tech service is very helpful and always available to assist - they know their product very well. They’re the way American companies used to be. I still use Lee equipment for my revolver needs. I have always liked their Factory Crimp Die (FCD) and have been using them since their inception - I use .358 bullets with Starline and Remington cases and the FCD never swages them...cases chamber like a dream. The rifle FCD collet puts a factory type crimp on my Thutty Thutty loads...all nice additions to my reloading bench.

My 223 Remington gets spoiled with Redding (body sizer only) and L. E. Lewis dies when I need the accuracy to reach 300 yds ground squirrels!

Sorry for the rambling.

Enjoy your weekends

[380AUTO]

When purchasing dies I don’t worry about how much they cost. Yet I always go with LEE for all my dies I love them

[BigAlofPa.]

Lee fan here too. I have no complaints.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I am a Lee fan boy. I have many red Presses and many Lee dies. They have many great and unique designs in their products ...but not everything Lee makes is a great design.
I am not a fan of their Seater Dies for rifle, the design of how the seater plug is loose/sloppy is a sure way to get runout, especially with boolits. I have replaced most of My rifle seater dies with BR seaters made by Forster ...or their predecessor.

[Iowa Fox]

I started with a 12ga lee loader 1963, it was a Christmas present from Mom & Dad. Killed lot of Iowa pheasants with the loads so I have a soft spot for the company. I own reloading stuff from just about everyone, blue presses on down, K&M, Sinclair. I still buy Lee stuff. One thing I wish is that on their 4 die collet set is that the full length sizing die was a body shoulder bump die like the Redding. I'm not sure just how hard it might be for them to open up the neck on the full length die to make it a body die. It just seems counter productive to have a full length sizer that pulls the necks out of whack with that great collet neck sizer.

[JBinMN]

The dealings I have had with Lee have been excellent. I have only had to call them once about a bad product. It was a mold that had been drilled with some of the cavities just barely off center, but enough to hang boolits up every time I cast with it. I called them & IIRC, they sent me a mailing slip to send the mold back & a few days later I rec'd a new mold that was just fine & worked out right.

The other times I have called with questions they were polite & helpful. They even sent me a part for free for an older Lee Safety prime that had a black "old style" pivot & need the newer white one. It came in the mail a day or two after I spoke with them.

I don't know about all the folks who get on them about their service, their products, etc., but I have not had the same experiences as the ones that complain.

While I have other mnfrs products that I use, I am not going to stop using Lee anytime soon, since they have done me pretty good and up til now have been very happy with them.

[RED BEAR]

I started off with lee products been great for 40+ years see.no reason to change. I will say anything not lee is rcbs because of customer service.

[Gillie Dog]

I have reloading tools and equipment from a lot of manufacturers, Forster, Hornady, K&M, Lee, Lyman, RCBS, Redding, Sinclair and Wilson to name most. Every one has worked as advertised and the very few I had a problem with were replaced by Redding, RCBS and Lee with no questions or problems.

That said, most tools are Lee because they do the job as well as the others designed for the same task, for the best value and their customer service handles the rare issue promptly without a problem.

I also see no reason to change at this age and I have all I need for the foreseeable future anyway.

YMMV

GD

[L Erie Caster]

I use a lot of Lee dies, mostly for handgun. I really like the Quick Trim. It is easy to set, inexpensive and although slower than some, not bad for small quantities of brass.

[MrHarmless]

I use a lot of Lee dies, mostly for handgun. I really like the Quick Trim. It is easy to set, inexpensive and although slower than some, not bad for small quantities of brass.

I use mine for large quantities of brass. I tried hand cranking lathe style trimmers, and while they were super accurate they just took too darn long for plinking ammo. It's at an awesome price point - functionality intersection.

Lee is awesome.

[onelight]

I am another Lee fan a few days ago I went to the Lee sight to order a bullet seating die for 40 s&w since I was paying shipping added a few items on the classic turret and few parts for the auto breech lock pro that looked fragile just in case (I have had no problems with either) there was no charge in the shopping cart for any of the small parts I added.
That is great service after the sale :drinks::drinks:

[Bazoo]

I use some lee products, the hand press being the most used. I don't like the design of their decapping arrangement, makes it more difficult to remove the expander to clean the die compared to Lyman or RCBS. That said, I'll use them if I got them. I use the dippers a lot and their powder funnel I like better than others I've tried.

I had a push through sizer that had a bad gouge out of it in the inside. They paid shipping to return it and replaced it.

[TNsailorman]

I am not a Lee lover or a Lee Hater. I started out loading with a Lee Loader because it was all I could afford at the time. It was a 30-06 and had the old metal powder dipper with it. Some of the more accurate ammunition I ever loaded was with that little set. I gradually added more sets as I went along. They make some reliable tools and then some that don't work too well. Their seating dies being a good example of what they make that I do not use. I will always be grateful to Mr. Lee because without his company it would have been several years before I would have had the money to afford to buy most of the equipment that was being offered back in the day. I still have a Lee Loader for every shotgun, rifle, and pistol/revolver that I own and I still use them on occasion. I still use his case trimmers(set up with an electric drill) and boolit push through sizers. I have never owned one of his presses but that does not mean there is anything wrong with them, I just bought other brands and see no reason to change. My personal opinion is that the more reloading companies manufacturing reloading gear, the better. I just hope that the day never comes that we have to give up our rights to own, shoot, and reload firearms. james

[1hole]

I have some fifty die sets from all current and many defunct brands; they all work.

I prefer Forster/Bonanza B.R. OR Redding Competition dies for my few highly accurate rifles but they are too costly and offer no on target advantage for many rifles. When I get new dies I have come to prefer Lee's, including their well designed seaters, for my less accurate rifles.

Those of who are turned off by Lee's floating seating punches don't understand that the punches ONLY push the bullets in, the alignment with the case necks is achieved by Lee's tightly fitted die throat. The floating punch will drift directly above bullet noses as they rise in the die; no conventional seating stem I know of is precisely fitted enough in the neck to do better.

That said, all dies work fine for most of us. Tastes and preferences aside, I have found NO user advantage to any conventional die brand. Use them right and we can get pretty much the same (average) on target results from any conventional dies.

[robg]

All my dies are Lee now ,my molds are mostly Lee .they do a good job why pay more?

[Green Frog]

Lee Precision is the 1962 Volkswagen of reloading. It’s not the prettiest or the fanciest, but it works quite dependably, it’s affordable, and if something on it does happen to break, it will be cheap and easy to fix or replace. Can you do some things more precisely (or “better”) with different, higher priced tools? Probably. But by and large the Lee equipment does what you need with a minimum of fuss or expense. 8-)

My only caveat to the above statements is that in my experience, the more complex the tool, since it is built to a price, the more likely the user will be to be dissatisfied, witness the progressive presses... they work, but many folks find them to be very finicky. :-(

Froggie

[onelight]

Just loaded 200 , 45 colt on my Lee classic cast turret press timed the last 50 starting with unprimed cleaned cases , saftey prime loaded pro auto disk full of red dot , 50 rounds took 13 min 6 seconds , smooth running little press it has to be one of Lee’s best products.:-P

[Livin_cincy]

Just loaded 200 , 45 colt on my Lee classic cast turret press timed the last 50 starting with unprimed cleaned cases , saftey prime loaded pro auto disk full of red dot , 50 rounds took 13 min 6 seconds , smooth running little press it has to be one of Lee’s best products.:-P

I keep looking at a progressive press and pull back for reasons you covered. I am not sure how you would make a squib on this press. Pistol calibers are not exhausting or hard on your shoulder.


I have a case kicker / ejector. I would say it gives 50 more rounds per hour.

The Breech Lock Pro press appeals to me. It seems very simple and will double a turrets out put. If I were to start over I would probably choose it for handgun calibers.

[kmw1954]

The Breech Lock Pro press appeals to me. It seems very simple and will double a turrets out put. If I were to start over I would probably choose it for handgun calibers.

I have one and have been using it and now have shell plates for 380, 9mm and 45acp. I find this press to be a hybrid of both the old turret press and the Pro1000 which I also have.

[onelight]

I have one and have been using it and now have shell plates for 380, 9mm and 45acp. I find this press to be a hybrid of both the old turret press and the Pro1000 which I also have.
Great description of the auto breechlock.
I have been using mine on the pistol calibers that I have a lot of brass for ,I may load 500 to a thousand at a session of mixed range brass that needs to work in assorted guns the 4th station with a factory crimp die makes this simpler for me. I also prefer the safety prime system over the priming on the pro 1000 or the loadmaster i have loaded many thousand on each.
The classic cast turret doess all my depriming it seems to control the primer waste better than any press I have used. I also use it for my low volume loading 44 , 45 colt , 32 s&w 32 h&r and 327 fed. I find the turret press relaxing compared to any of the automated presses I have owned.
Centerfire rifle still goes to the old Orange crusher.
Bottom line I do all this for fun I don’t need 600 rounds an hour , some do lots of good choices these days.

[kmw1954]

Great description of the auto breechlock.
I have been using mine on the pistol calibers that I have a lot of brass for ,I may load 500 to a thousand at a session of mixed range brass that needs to work in assorted guns the 4th station with a factory crimp die makes this simpler for me. I also prefer the safety prime system over the priming on the pro 1000 or the loadmaster i have loaded many thousand on each.

Bottom line I do all this for fun I don’t need 600 rounds an hour , some do lots of good choices these days.

My impression is that this press should find a nice niche among those looking for something a bit faster than a Turret but also not quite an all out progressive like say a LNL AP or a Dillon 650 or even the LoadMaster.

I like the versatility that can be gained by adding the case feeder with the red collator and I also have coming an RCBS tube feed bullet feed die that I hope to use in the 3rd station. I also believe many will find the Safety Prime easier and more reliable to use than that of either of the other two Lee Progressive presses. Lastly this press can be run with the advance rod removed and indexed manually.

My biggest wish would have been if they would have made the shell plate carrier all metal like the Pro1000.

[onelight]

I like the versatility that can be gained by adding the case feeder with the red collator and I also have coming an RCBS tube feed bullet feed die that I hope to use in the 3rd station. I also believe many will find the Safety Prime easier and more reliable to use than that of either of the other two Lee Progressive presses. Lastly this press can be run with the advance rod removed and indexed manually.

My biggest wish would have been if they would have made the shell plate carrier all metal like the Pro1000.
I use the case feeder and collator and it works well.
I have only loaded a few thousand rounds on mine to this point and the plastic cover under the shell holder has been no problem I actually find it easier to clean and it is cheap enough that I ordered a spare in case I had a problem.
Look forward to a report on your setup with the bullet feeder..