"You couldn't give me a Lee die..."

[papa bear]

I have Lee, RCBS and Hornady dies. They all work well. Most of my dies are Lee.
I have found that they work better in progressive presses than the RCBS dies. Since the price is half or less of other manufactures I have two die sets of the same calibre for different uses. I have one set to use on my single stage press when working up loads and another for my progressive press.

I donot like their lock rings, the adjustment can slip when you screw them into the press. I have changed all of mine to Hornady lock rings. They screw tight and have wrench flats if you get one too tight on the press.

I use a lee melter for my casting and it works fine. If you are doing a bunch of bullets you may need to add metal as you go but they work.

I have not used any of their presses so I do not know about them. They have a new press out that looks good and a friend has a Challenger press that he uses.

[Lumpie]

To speak of the merits of any brand of dies would not solve anything. First I would say that I have been reloading for over 50 years. I have, and am most fortunate to own My Grandfathers, and Fathers,as well as the equipment I have bought. I have over 150 sets of dies. They are almost anything you can think of. Now this is what I think about what is for sale today. First thing is when Rcbs first arrived on the scene, their warrantee was the real meal deal. Hollywood, C&H, Herters, Lyman,Redding-Saeco to just mention a few, did not offer the safety in buying, that RCBS did. The Rock Chuck Bullet swadge, just in its name was most appealing. I noticed when Rcbs stoped stamping the tops of their dies,with the date, quality fell off badly. They had found that their warrantee was now digging into their profits. Next step China! Now I have been a machineist, and Tool maker most of my life. I can recognize quality, and Rcbs does not have the quality they once did. The thing that is most funny here is that some of the old time tools, such as Wilson. Will do a better job, than anything they sell today. I shoot 30 Cal Matches in both 308, and 30-06. I have found that the following dies to be the best. 1.Wilson 2 Sinclair 3. Lee 4.Rcbs Match 5 Lyman, and lastly Redding. Now this is just my opinion. May not be gospel. On the Lee lock rings. I order 144 of these. I use 2 on each die that I use. This is what I call the double lock system. Works fine for me, and costs very little in the long rum. Lumpie

[.357]

In my case i don't have access to stuff that my father used (he doesn't shoot let alone reload) instead I use what i can afford. I'm a new teacher (4 years) almost done helping my wife finish her degree so she can start teaching. Paying off my student loans now, and supporting us. I don't have alot of spare money, and now I just found out we have a baby on the way,i'm super excited, so i have NO money. My lee dies work well, my lee dies i got used work well, as do almost all the dies that i have. The only problems i have had i sent back to lee and i got an apology letter and a brand new die. Shoot if you won't take a lee die set for free I sure well. I use what i can afford, and Lee ain't done me wrong yet.

[Char-Gar]

I have had a number of Lee dies that did not satisfy my standards for quality and use. I had some that did. I have only had one die by another maker that did not satisfy my standards for quality and use.

I do not enjoy spending money unnecessarily, as I have never had an excess of it to spend. Because money is so hard to come by, I also don't enjoy spending it on products that dont give me the quality and usability I want. I dispise products I have to work on to bring them up to snuff. I want my equipment to work properly when I open up the box. Lee has disappointed me too often in this regard.

I have no problem with the fellow that prefers one brand over another. It does seem to me that some folks get awfully giddy about Lee stuff and are defensive when others don't share their enthusiasm.

[50 Caliber]

chargar, Use what you like! It matters not one whit to me. I like Lee dies, Dillon machines and accessories, because as you say, "they work right out of the box".

[Marlinreloader]

I have and use many different companies equipement, that work the best for my use. I don't buy LEE everything just because it's LEE or any other company for that matter.

This post is about LEE dies which I like and think work well. Here is a comparison done on you tube that shows LEE's dies work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZEas38vkKg

Marlinreloader

[jcwit]

It would seem to me that if LEE Products Dies encluded were so bad the would be on the brink of declaring bankruptcy and hoping for a bailout from the Obama administration.

[ez4545]

After watching the video from the link provided by marlinreloader, I was a little surprised to see that the Lee outperformed the Hornady.

I had only expected the Lee to perform equally as well as the custom Hornady.

I use presses from several makers, but my favorite is the Loadmaster I use for batches of 45acp. I have 4 adult sons that shoot 45acp and the Loadmaster with Lee dies hasn't failed yet.

bill

[hcpookie]

Pretty dies are a lot like pretty women; they always cost more but they really don't work any better.

Laughed out loud at that one - that would make a good bumper sticker! "Pretty ___ are a lot like..."

[Willbird]

If Lee raised the price, maybe the complaining would stop. they have a great product at a great price. RCBS, Redding, Lyman are all great companys, and way over priced! Lee proved that.
I have seen more first time reloaders opt for Lee products because they dont want to spend the $$ for equipment they may or may not decide to keep. When and if they decide to keep it, they discover Lee will load ammo that shoots just as well,(reliably and accurately) as the high priced stuff.

I don't think Lee proved ANYTHING. They make a cheaper die using cheaper materials.

To prove anything about Reddings price for example they would have to make as nice a die, but sell it cheaper, and they surely do not do that.

Along the lines of what your saying is that KIA proved BMW overcharges for cars.......again, they did not....they made a cheaper car yes, but not of equal quality.

Lee dies are as simple as a die can get, look at the bullet seater die, with it's little aluminum seater plug, with a DRILLED hole in it that is seating your bullet....take apart a Redding or RCBS die....show me the aluminum part with a drilled hole that lines your bullet up as it gets seated........you cannot, because they use a lathe turned steel part to do the same job.

Most Lee stuff is worth what you pay, some is worth more even....but I would never call their dies "Nice".

I have laid awake and wondered is a company was founded, that sold cheaper **** than LEE, what % of their customers would flee to "cheaper than LEE reloading tools" ??


The autoprime is a freaking JOKE.............there is not a mushier way to seat a primer than an autoprime.................and how many people IGNORE the mfg instructions and use brands of primers he says to NEVER use in the tool ?

[50 Caliber]

Who cares what material they are made of if it works well? Steel, aluminum.....what ever. They work, thats what most people care about. when it comes to cars, most people who can afford the BMW's are over compensateing for a lacking in other departments. If the ford gets me were Im going, I dont care. Same with Lee dies, If they get me the same outcome,(loaded ammo that chambers and fires accurately) then Im at the same place the other guy is and have a few more dollars in my pocket for reloading components to boot.

[Radio Flyer]

I have and use many different companies equipement, that work the best for my use. I don't buy LEE everything just because it's LEE or any other company for that matter.

This post is about LEE dies which I like and think work well. Here is a comparison done on you tube that shows LEE's dies work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZEas38vkKg

Marlinreloader

What he shows in the video is why the world record holder was able to load top quality rounds for his feat with the collet dies.

While Lee's stuff may be "less expensive" and made with "less expensive" stuff (all very true, if any of the other companies were half as creative with new ides and concepts that company would be the one to beat, Lee's claim to fame is his mechanical creativity and his price vs. value products.

[Tazman1602]

Man I'd like to know how many reloaders started out with super duper expensive carbide super duty tootie fruttie tools? If not for Lee we might be so few that it WOULD be possible to outlaw reloading your own. I've still got my original hand press that I bought as a newlywed in 1981 because I was going to "SAVE" money reloading. Yeah, right. That's the biggest lie ever sold..............oh I save money all right, but I shoot twenty times as much.

I own almost all brands of dies, molds, etc and none are without their issues. Anyone who thinks RCBS customer service is what is WAS five years ago hasn't had a problem in that long. I've had similiar experiences with Lyman too.

Lee and Dillon are the only two reloading tool companies that I haven't had problems with YET. The good thing about both Lee and Dillon is they AREN'T big companies, they are STILL family owned so no one has to cow-tow to some corporate bean counters. If you have customer service issues with either you can still write a letter to John Lee or Mike Dillon and it gets solved.

The most recent conversation I had with Dillon I asked when they were going to come out with a single stage press -- the answer I got was "never, the Forster Co-Ax is the strongest single stage press ever made if that's what you want". Now that's honesty.

Made in USA??

I think that Lee products are FINE for 90% of the shooting public who just want tools to reliably reload their ammo with a modicum of accuracy and in *most* cases the accuracy from Lee products matches or exceeds products that cost ten times as much.

I DO Like the Red Boxes that Hornady dies come in though..............

[rbuck351]

I have dies by lee, rcbs, lyman ,redding, hornady and C&H and maybe one other odd ball that I can't remember at the moment. My favorite brand is the one that costs the least because I can't tell the difference in ammo quality from any of them. I do like Lee's collet type primer punch as it's hard to bend one if adjusted properly. So if anyone has any of the lee junk they want to get rid of, I'll be glad to pay postage. I have had some problems with there molds, but nothing I haven't been able to fix with Leementing.

[Butler Ford]

I hate narrow minded people.

Rant away.

Yep, I have to agree!! I just can't stand someone who's opinion differs from mine, there has to be something wrong with them.

Lee has a place in the reloading world, it just doesn't have to be on EVERY bench.

[Ajax]

the way i see it is if a new comer want to get into reloading or casting lee is an affordable way to do it. That being said after said new guy has been around for a bit he may decide to go to one of the "better" named companies or he may believe his lee dies are just fine. Slamming one company or another is just ignorant to me, the way i see it is we all have our favourite so no one is wrong or right. I personally like my RCBS, lee and Lyman product and feel they all have their merits and downfalls. Just my humble opinion.

Andy

[jcwit]

Well Andy, thats your opinion.

And in my opinion you're right dead on!

So there!

[jack19512]

My last new Lee mold that I just got from Midway and used for the first time a couple days ago cast some really good looking boolits. I've been casting for the last 3 days and I couldn't be happier.

[johnlaw484]

I also have used most all brands of dies except Dillon. I have had no issues with the Lee dies.
I truly wish I could say the same for their Progessive press Loadmaster. That thing has been a thorn in my side to keep running as designed.

I finally gave up and hand prime my brass. The case feed has to be manually operated and the shell advance also has to be manually advanced. Admittly Lee has attempted to correct the problems, but they soon pop up within 500 rounds or so.

I am starting to think Hornady or Dillon.

[Lee]

Send me your huddled masses, your unwanted Lee dies, your unwashed Lee products. I'll protect you, and take care of these Lee excesses.
PM for send address...........