Lee Molds are better!

[Jerry11826]

Lee Molds are better than Lyman, RCBS, Saeco, and H&G.

I had used Lee 2 & 6 cavity cavity molds for a number of years when a “shooting buddy” of mine decided to “pack it in”. He was in his 80's and had been shooting for 40+ years. Got up to the Expert class shooting NRA bullseye pistol and was having trouble competing / winning in the NRA Marksman class - that and his health made him decide to “pack it in”. Kind of sad. He wanted to sell his stuff and I bought 20 to 30 molds from him for $75.00. He had the brands mentioned above. About 8 - 10 of them were .45 and included the famous H&G 68 in a six cavity. The rest were a mixture of 9MM, .38, .32 and a few round ball black powder molds. All of the molds appeared to be either cast iron or steel.

The molds had been used a lot, but were well cared for! He was / is a meticulous man that, thoroughly cleaned and lubricated them after each use. He stored them in plastic news paper bags sealed with a twist tie. I would say they were “as good as new”.

Anyway - decided try the old molds. What a pain! Cleaned them properly with brake parts cleaner, put them on an electric stove, at medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes and then started casting. This is the same drill I use for Lee molds. The first 10 - 15 mold breaks produced garbage. Then bullets started to get better and better until they were producing very good bullets. But no better than Lee bullets. Another problem was that “after a while” they got too hot and took a long time to “cool down”. Also, the bullets did not want to drop out of the molds easily. It took several “sharp raps” with a rubber hammer to get them to release from the mold.

The molds were also heavy - especially the six cavity molds. It really does get tiring when you are in a long casting session.

Gave several of the molds to friends and finally sold the rest to a gun shop owner for $250.00. Wish I had been on this forum when I sold the molds. I had no idea that so many forum members loved these old molds. I would have probably have gotten a lot more.

I am not saying that Lee molds will last longer. Some of the old molds may have produced 30,0000 + bullets. I would think my most used Lee six cavity has made at most 20,000 bullets.

Even if I still had the old molds - when I go do a long casting session - my choice would be the Lee molds - the bullets are just as good and there is a lot less “hassle”.

Now my friend still has his Star reloading tool - He could not bear to part with it! It has all the “bells and whistles”, case feeder and dies for .45 ACP and .38 Special. I “pick up” my friend and take him to the range twice a month. He sits on the bench and watches us shoot the bullseye and PPC matches. He has asked me if I wanted his “Star tool” - and I told him to keep it for at least a while.

I would imagine, it will not make any better ammunition than my Dillon and Lee tools - and I would feel bad about getting something I would never use - he would be “better off selling it on the internet.

Anyway - the point of this long rambling is to state I think the Lee molds are better than all the old classic molds - and then some!

Keep’em in the X Ring -

Jerry

[wiljen]

I'll take all those pesky molds you bought for $75 and even let you make a $25 profit if you wish.

[Christian for Israel]

the only time i've gone with other than lee molds is when i couldn't find the bullet profile i wanted from lee. even then, cast iron molds are such a PITA when you're used to lee's aluminum molds that i rarely use them.

[MT Chambers]

To each his own I guess, I won't use Lee molds unless I absolutely have to....they fall apart in my hands! The fact that steel ones heat up and don't cool off fast enough is a good thing, as it helps keep the temp. consistent, and if they heat up too much just add another mold to cast with. The soft aluminum, alum. screws, alum. screw plate, on the Lees cause galling, even the screw holding the sprue plate down usually breaks when you try to loosen or tighten it. I don't have any of those problems with the alum. on NEI or Mountain molds, they use a much harder aluminum.

[454PB]

I own a little of everything, but mostly Lee. I bought the first one the year they were released, and I still have it.

I owned a four cavity Lyman 429421 for a while, it about wore me out. I sold it and began using nothing but 2 cavity moulds run in tandem. Using this method, I can produce 3 to 4 hundred boolits per hour, and 1000 a day is plenty for the rate I shoot them up nowadays.

I've not lost one yet, and some have cast well over 10K boolits.

[anachronism]

To each his own I guess, I won't use Lee molds unless I absolutely have to....they fall apart in my hands!

That's pretty much been my experience too. I've never had one survive a year of regular use without something breaking. I'm amazed when some of you guys tell how old some of your LEE moulds are.

My iron moulds, brass moulds, & LBT moulds are still in great condition after decades of use.

[Heavy lead]

I'm not a Lee basher. I have Lee reloading equipment and casting equipment and like it. With that said I much prefer iron, steel, NEI aluminum moulds to Lee, even though I do have some Lee moulds and they work. I've bought some throw away Lee's and recently some throw away Lymans. I'll return them once, but life is too short to keep returning stuff. Give me a RCBS or a GOOD Lyman anyday of the week though for getting me a lot of good boolits. I'm of the opinion that people put way too much storage oil in iron moulds. The moulds I use regularly never get anything done except some bullplate on the sprue, top of mould and alignment pins, sit them on the Lee 4-20 while it's heating up, throw the first few (10 or less) back in and cast em up.

[stubshaft]

I generally use Lee moulds for BP shooting and pistol bullets for plinking. The exception to this rule is my Ranch Dog mold, and I consider that aas a semi-custom mold.

[cajun shooter]

Wait until you send one back three times over a 6 month period and they never get it right, Lee kept sending the same mold to me that would drop 449-451 in 45 Colt. I told them my Colt was a 454 to no avail. I use some Lee products but will never buy another mold from them.

[Springfield]

If you want a mould that you will never have to tinker with then get a steel mould. If you want a lighter mould that will allow you to cast 800-1000 an hour without wrecking your wrists and forerams get a 6 cavity aluminum mould. But be forewarned the you will eventually have to replace the pivot screw, and use some sort of set screw on it. And you will have to be much more careful with it as they do damage more easily. But with care an Bullplate sprue lube, and preheating, you should be able to get over 40,000 bullets from a mould, like I have, and not have to worry abut them rusting and getting ruined. . All MY custon ordered moulds have been made properly, it is the ones I order from other people that don't always cast proper size.

[Dennis Eugene]

I'm to cheap to spend my hard earned money on Lee molds. Dennis

[405]

I'm to cheap to spend my hard earned money on Lee molds. Dennis

Well said in few words!

While I like a few Lee products such as the push thru bullet sizer, the inline neck collet case sizer and their 6 cav. handles are good for the money.... some of their stuff is on the "cheezy" side. Lee molds are not very high on my "A" list

[shdwlkr]

I have lee, lyman and Rcbs they all have there place in the world of reloading and casting bullets. When you take into account the cost of each they are pretty much the same good molds for the price. You might need better then Lee if you cast a large amount but I don't most of the time I cast a few hundred that last me awhile before I have to cast again.

[Echo]

I really don't understand people complaining about steel/iron molds being too heavy. I built up my Lyman and SAECO furnaces with 1bys so the molds slide in at the correct drop distance from the bottom spout - so no need to hold the mold up, just set it down on the spacer. Six-gang and four-gang ferric molds are no problem.

[Recluse]

I've got over a dozen Lee moulds, and of them, only two have required additional "tinkering" to drop good boolits. I had two "new Lyman" moulds that still will not drop even halfway good boolits for the sucker, er gentleman, I traded them too.

I'm okay with RCBS moulds, but I like the fact that for $20, I can get a two-cavity mould with a boolit design I like, spend maybe an hour tops "Lee-menting," and then get tens of thousands of boolits out of it well on down the line. When my casting sessions are over, I set the Lee moulds on a shelf outside to cool, then back in their box and then inside a Rubbermaid shoebox. Never had one rust yet.

Damndest thing too. The targets, steel plates, sillouhettes, and small game I shoot didn't seem to be offended that what hit 'em was a boolit that came from a Lee mould. . . Not sure they knew the difference between the Lee boolits and the RCBS boolits or the old Lyman boolits.

I look at boolit designs, and then buy the mould. Lee happens to have a lot of designs I really like.

:coffee:

[Huntducks]

Some guys shoot nothing but Remington others nothing but Colt or Ruger but you open my gun safe's there is a mixture of everything and same goes for my moulds, one thing you won't find anymore at my age is a mould over 4 cavity I had some 6 & 10 Cav steel mould that I sold a few years ago they were great when I was in my 20's-30's & 40's but beat me to death after that.

I have 8 lee mould all are older 20-25 years and they cast outstanding bullets to this day just wish RCBS made a 3 Cavity like Saeco, my best bullets come from RCBS moulds IMHO better then any of my H&G which are 2nd both stay hot and don't over heat and there sprue plates are beefy and cut right thru with little effort, but my Lee moulds are right up there.

[jdgabbard]

To each his own I guess, I won't use Lee molds unless I absolutely have to....they fall apart in my hands! The fact that steel ones heat up and don't cool off fast enough is a good thing, as it helps keep the temp. consistent, and if they heat up too much just add another mold to cast with. The soft aluminum, alum. screws, alum. screw plate, on the Lees cause galling, even the screw holding the sprue plate down usually breaks when you try to loosen or tighten it. I don't have any of those problems with the alum. on NEI or Mountain molds, they use a much harder aluminum.

I cannot agree with this statement more. I use Lee, but only because I needed a type of boolit for a caliber, and couldn't (at the time) afford to purchase a Ideal/Lyman, H&G, RCBS ect.

I will say, for the price, Lee has a good product. And they drop decent boolits. But there is nothing I find better than casting with a good solid mold. I just wish I had more.

[oldhickory]

Well, I own a little bit of everything and no complaints about any of them. I did wear out a few LEEs during hard casting marathons, but for the price, I won't complain a bit.

[FISH4BUGS]

Lee Molds are better than Lyman, RCBS, Saeco, and H&G.
Jerry
Hey Jerry, I'll buy all those crappy H&G moulds from you. Just let me know what you have an what you want for them.
Surely you must be kidding us, right?....to each their own.

[Jerry11826]

FISH4BUGS - No I am not kidding - However I sold them all, 25 I think, to a local gun shop for $250.00 or $10.00 per mold. Didn't realize there was any market for them - but I guess it is like the Star reloader I discussed - When you tell some one they can't have something anymore it instantly increases in value -

I really believe the Lee molds are better - must be a few others that think that ways also - because when it comes time to put their money up - they buy Lee molds - the cast iron and steel molds do work well, but the Lee molds work just as well or better for a lot less money.

My only regret is I didnt know about this site - I would have probably cleared about $1,000 more.

Oh well! Such is life -

Keep'em in the X ring,

Jerry

[Springfield]

Personally, I think LEE "moulds" are fine. It's the tiny little sprue plate pivot and the barely held in place alignment pins I have trouble with. So I get my new LEE mould, stake the pins in place, replace the pivots with decent size larger ones and set screw them in place. NOW I am ready to cast a few thousand bullets at a time.

[Lloyd Smale]

you need to put away the drugs and close that wiskey bottle. A lee mold doesnt even begin to compare to an rcbs let alone a h&g.

[theperfessor]

I like Lee molds, especially the six cavity ones, but when I buy one I plan on investing a little time and effort into "fine-tuning" it to operate smoothly. But I enjoy the work as part of the casting hobby, and I've had to do this with non-Lee molds at times also.

But when treated well and not abused they can last a long time. The biggest help, especially on the one and two cavity versions, is to sit the bottom of the mold down on a flat surface when closing it. It reduces the wear caused by the funny alignment pin method Lee uses.

After screwing up a couple of Lee two-holers I figured out that most of the wear was caused when closing the mold, so I do it gently now. I do this now with all my molds, even my steel Lyman, SAECO and RCBS molds.

[RugerSP101]

Well said in few words!

While I like a few Lee products such as the push thru bullet sizer, the inline neck collet case sizer and their 6 cav. handles are good for the money.... some of their stuff is on the "cheezy" side. Lee molds are not very high on my "A" list
My Lee ingot mold is a joke. Works but has a quarter sized area that looks 'cracked' that is very obviously a molding issue.

My Lee mold lost one of the guidepins after less than 1500 castings. It did a great job on the bullets, loved it otherwise, but I'll be looking around for a different brand next time.

My Production Pot iv seems to be well worth the $60 I paid, as do the dies, the sizer and the ram prime as well as the hand press.

I think SOME Lee stuff needs to be better but some of its well worth the money.

[Springfield]

Maybe not but there aren't any 6 cavity steel moulds available that I know of and NO ONE will cut a Big Lube(tm) BP bullet mould except LEE, not a 6 cavity aluminum. And certainly not for 60 bucks. Ferraris are better quality then Mercedes which are better than Audis which are better than Chevies. Doesn't matter. What matters is what will work for your applications and budget. And I drive a Ford Ranger with 197,355 miles and it is all original (except for the starter). And just so you don't think I always buy the cheapest stuff, I have a Magma lead pot and 3 Stars. I use what works and don't get too hung up on names or prices.

[shdwlkr]

If you want to discuss quality in anything the first thing that has to go is price as you can pay a lot of money and get junk or you can pay a fair price and get something that has been made well.
I have several molds something like forty and they are made by Lee, Rcbs, lyman and some others but I don't care what the name of the company is when buying a mold I want a mold that will cast a good bullet, well maybe hundreds of thousands of bullets at a price I can live with notice I didn't say afford because that is very relative depending on how flush the bank account is at the time of need and then purchase.
I know folks that don't like any of the molds currently made and get all their molds custom made nice deal if you can afford it but me I have to make my pennies go as far as I can so I have a collection of different molds because of where I bought them and when.
you can't compare a aluminum mold to a metal one because the material isn't the same but you can compare the bullets that come out of those molds as that is something that should be the same. How round is it, what is the weight average it casts, how hard is it to cast with, any issues with the casting and lastly how long did it last and how many bullets did it cast. These are all things we can tell and work with.
If you don't realize the mold material determines to some extent the life of the mold you haven't cast enough bullets yet. I have one cheap mold that I have used for 30 years and it still works, I have most likely only cast a few thousand bullets with it but that is what I expected when I got it and one reason I didn't pay a kings ransom for it. The intended use of the mold should also go into the mix and help to determine the correct price.
Now having said that I have found some old molds that I am paying more then current mold price for because they are not made anymore and I want them so the price works for me. If I didn't have to have them then I don't think I would waste my money but I do so there it goes.
Kind of like me and lever action rifles I find one and it meets some strange need of mine and I have to have it. doesn't matter if I already have one it has to come home with me. Yes I have enough cats, dogs, kids; seems they end up at my place too.

[GP100man]

want to add to the other posts :that lee has let people cast & enjoy a different aspect of the sport or hobby that otherwise would`nt have if only hi dollar molds were offered!!

GP100man:castmine:

[shdwlkr]

GP100man
Yep I forgot that point thanks for pointing it out

[Explorer1]

Lee moulds work, they are not the cream of the crop but more than functional.
Wish I could say the same for their customer service! Have been waiting an order for essentially 2 years now! First they took the cash and said all was well.......they lost some paperwork and put the order at the end of the line AGAIN.......
Will be the LAST item I purchase with the Lee name on it!

[hammerhead357]

Springfield, I think you will find that Ballisticast still sells 6 cavity iron moulds. Not for 60.00 for sure but they are avialable and I think they will custom make moulds but it will cost a lot. When H & G was still in business I had them cut a few 8 and 10 cavity moulds for me. They are great to use and turn out huge amounts of boolits, but you have to use a mould rest and I never pick mine up except to move them from the preheater to the rest which is a heat sink or the other way around.....Wes
Oh and I do use some lee moulds as well as other brands and have been mostly happy with all....

[Springfield]

I used to get tired with Lyman 4 cavity moulds, can't imagine casting with 2- 6 cavity moulds for 3 hours at a time. Like the previos poster said, steel is steel and aluminum is not, so you shouldn't expect the same performance. I'm anxiouxly waiting for Mihec's brass HP mold, never tried brass.

[hammerhead357]

Springfield, when I was casting as a commercial caster I would cast for 5 to 6 hours per day using the 8 or 10 cavity H & G moulds. Since I didn't lift them for every cast I didn't tire out but my ankles and knees would because I cast standing. I don't cast commercially any more so I don't have that to worry about. I do still like to make large quantities of boolits so I still use my H & G moulds when I need them.
I also had a magma bullet master but didn't like the way it treated boolits so quit using it....Wes

[Springfield]

I cast sitting down, and I can do 1400 an hour with most moulds using 2 LEE 6 cavs. I could go longer but I choose not to, this is only a part time job, no need to kill myself. I consider myself primarily a leatherworker and do the bullets as "extra". When I can do enough leather work to fill the day I will stop the bullets. Never used a bullet casting machine as I can do more by hand casting. When they make a 2 mould machine that holds 4 cavity moulds I may switch over, assuming I can get the Big Lube(tm) moulds cut in steel. Bullet casting can be hard work, and then you have all those bullets to size!

[hammerhead357]

Springfield, when I was casting as a commerical caster I could cast at a rate of 1800 plus per hour. I used 4 pro melt pots set up with 2 as premelt pots and used old lino ingot feeders to feed them. I am glad you can cast that many per hour setting down I couldn't. Is there a page that I can look at the Big Lube boolits? I can't seem to find it if there is....Wes

[chemist308]

I'm very new at this and am buying Lee molds exclusively because I can AFFORD them, and am trying to get my stuff together before some politician does something really stupid and tries to serialize ammo... I'm glad to hear it was a good choice. But from what I'm reading, it may not be a bad idea to invest in more than one...

[shotman]

Lloyd--looks like you were WAY out voted. How long can anyone cast with a H&G 6 cav. Not too long, In a 45cal it weighs 6lbs. I have all of the major companies molds Lee is good but the best, I have is a LBT will out cast all the rest. Ranch dogs is next rick

[armyrat1970]

I'm very new at this and am buying Lee molds exclusively because I can AFFORD them, and am trying to get my stuff together before some politician does something really stupid and tries to serialize ammo... I'm glad to hear it was a good choice. But from what I'm reading, it may not be a bad idea to invest in more than one...

Of course if you can afford it, it wouldn't hurt to get two molds for every caliber you cast for. It also depends on how much casting you do. I only use Lee single and double cavity molds and have had very good results with them. Almost all of my handloading equipment is Lee and all of my casting molds and furnace are Lee. You may need to clean and tune the Lee molds before using to drop good bullets but others here that have higher priced molds say they had to clean and tune them also. If you cast a lot it is good to have two molds as you can let one cool down a little while using the other and not slow down your casting process. You have to make sure you follow the directions for lubing and smoking the cavity. Don't use anything but a wooden match to smoke the cavities.
The only product I have found from Lee so far that I didn't care for was their Safety Powder Scale. A little to finicky to set up and use. I replaced it with a Lyman D-7 I purchased off EvilBay several years back. I also have a Hornady Powder Trickler only because Lee does not make one. Their case trimmers take a little getting used to but once you get the hang of how to set them they trim to length every time.
Had a problem with an 8x57 die from Lee once but it was my own fault and had it replaced. I personally have never had a problem with Lee's customer service.
My next purchase from Lee will be their factory crimp die but I will not get it directly from Lee as the cost is to great. Will buy from Midway or whoever has them cheaper.
You won't go wrong with Lee products as long as you don't abuse them and care for them.

[dromia]

I have a lot of Lee moulds, most of them are GBs so that I can get a bullet that no other manufacturer makes moulds for.

If I have a choice between Lee and any other manufacturer for the same boolit then Lee would be my last choice.

The exception to that is their hollow base moulds which I've found to be very good.

Lee's six holers are better than their two holers.

Like all lee products they trade off their innovative design against poorer quality materials, finish and quality control to bring things in at a price that gets a lot of people casting and reloading.

Also if you like fettling as a hobby then Lee is for you. Sometimes I liken Lee stuff to kit based reloading tools that need finishing off to work.

Lee definitely gives value for money most of the time but obviously at the expense of top notch quality and therefore their products cannot be considered as such as their moulds require more work and effort to drop fine boolits.

Just look at all the Lee fettling threads here.

[Springfield]

Hammerhead: Go to www.biglube.com to look at all the Big Lube moulds. After 6 hours of casting 1800 an hour you musta really needed a beer! I can't go any faster as the moulds just don't stay hot enough, probably a bit easier with steel.