Why Knock Lee Equipment??

[Big Tom]

I think it is like with all other manufacturers - they have great products, good products and not so good products. For me, I do not load more than a 2-3 thousand rounds (no competition, just plinking) of the calibers I shoot, I use RCBS and Lee and both work fine for me.

Tom

[jcwit]

Yep, the "Big Wind of Waseca" as I heard him affectionately called.

All the Herter's stuff I ever tried worked just fine - maybe not the best available, but very serviceable. Dick Lee can tout his wares too, and he's entitled to. Some of it works very well and some not so. I really like the Autoprime tools and use them for all my priming. But not so much the boolit molds...

Every manufacturer claimes their product is good or great. I've never went into a McDonalds and looked at a big sign extolling how great the burgers were at Burger King. Nor into a Do It Best Hardware telling me I should go to Ace Hardware.

[Lloyd Smale]

im probably one of the bashers everyone bashes. Personaly ive got quite a bit of lee stuff and have had alot in the past. Ive got at least 30 of there 6 cav molds and like them alothough i think there 2 cavitys are junk. I think there dies are as good as any and there about all i buy for pistol dies anymore. I also like there auto prime and wouldnt be without at least two of them. I have a couple of there hand presses and use them occasionaly too. there very handy for kicking back at camp and loading a few rounds. Ive owned there older single stage press and wasnt to impressed with it. I had a turnent and it was a decent press for the money. Im sure there upgraded turent is a good unit. thats about where it stops though. Ive had two pro 1000s and a loadmaster and those are mermorys i dont like to visit. you can brag to me till the sun goes down about how they will load just like a dillon or hornady but youll never get me to do anything but chuckle when i hear it. Been there done that. More like comparing a porche to a yugo then a lexus to a toyota.

[frankenfab]

The Classic cast presses are better than most of the competition, including RCBS, and at a much better price.

+1. Awesome press. Their dies and molds are o.k.. HATE their hand primer with special shell holders. Not enough leverage.

[jmsj]

When I started reloading 25 years ago I bought my friends equipment, mostly Lyman and RCBS. When I started buying additional gear I bought a lot of Lee and I have yet to wear any of it out. With Lee equipment I have been able to load many sub MOA loads.
I think their dies are as good as anyones. I have been using the same hand primer for at least 15 years. The turret press I have is serviceable enough and I really like being able to change calibers quickly without having to reset the dies. I am new to casting and only have two of Lee's 6 banger molds, so I don't know the difference between brands, but once I get the tempature right they make good bullets with few culls. Hopefully some day I will be able to afford some of the other brands of molds so I will know the difference. But for now I am really enjoying learning using the Lee molds. jmsj

[Bkid]

I recently bought a Lee Classsic Turret Press. I broke it by over tightening the adjusting screw . They told me that they would send me a new one free of charge,and I admited that I overtightened it. That is great customer service.

[buck1]

If they would just ditch the PLASTIC! They have some good ideas, but then they build it out of plastic!For the most part, Plastic equipment , blows.

[1hole]

"For the most part, Plastic equipment , blows."

Just out of curosity, does that "Plastic equipment blows" include Glock. et al, pistols?

[Bkid]

Well the plastic protects the major parts from breaking from what I was told.

[jeff423]

IMHO: Yes

[Suo Gan]

Every manufacturer claimes their product is good or great. I've never went into a McDonalds and looked at a big sign extolling how great the burgers were at Burger King.

I was thinking you were going to say..."I never go into a McDonalds and expect to get a great prime rib dinner for $7.99!" But I got your point. Lee has filled a niche, its called good enough! They make products that are good enough for average Joe to afford stuff he could not otherwise justify to get in the game without ripping the wallet off his ass. In Dicks book he talks about his product. He extols every conceivable detail into how and why Lee products are superior to other products (And sometimes they are, imagine that!). The fact that he was a blowhard should not cloud the fact that he was a marketing and innovative genius, and I for one am damn glad he came along. I think we should all take off our hats now for a moment of silence. Thanks Dick!

[shdwlkr]

The only bad side to Lee is when we are ordering a group buy on molds and it takes over a year to get them to us. We have sort of taken care of that issue with new mold makers that deliver quality molds at a much shorter time frame and do make the Lee molds look like they are lacking.
I have many items from Lee for one reason and one reason only they met my needs at a price I could afford and that was all I asked for.

[deerslayer]

As a newbe I have to say lee is about all I own and all I could afford. Although I may see a lock n load ap or a 650 in the future but for now I get to shoot because of Lee.

[Salmon-boy]

How many of you bashers use a crescent wrench as a hammer? I'll admit that I do on occasion.. Really though, Lee equipment is about using the right tool for the job..

I haven't used anything else, but Lee Pistol dies seem to be extremely adept at what they do, and for a great value.. The .30 Carbine dies and factory crimp die all seem to work flawlessly..

I've got 3 Pro 1000's but I also don't need to load 500 rounds per hour. Powder measurement on that isn't 100% accurate, but it's definitely consistent.

I have broken a classic aluminum press handle, but for $30, I got the use out of it I needed to in the year I had it. It sure crimped ALOT of 9mm, .45 and .38spcl in that year.

So, yes, I'm happy with Lee equipment. If I shot any more than I do, then I might think of a different system. Personally, I'm not up for stacking primers, so for now, this is where I stay.

[jcwit]

Hated their "perfect" powder measure.

What was your problem with your measure? I have a Lyman #55, a Hornady measure and a Lee Perfect, and get my best throws with the Lee. This is using IMR 4227 powder mainly.

[recycledelectrons]

If you don't have the "knack" to tinker and tweek things then you probably should not buy anything more than dies from Lee.
If you are a habitual tinker like me their products can be made to work just fine. Heck for me that's half of the enjoyment. It doesn't matter one bit what it is or how much it cost, I'm going to tear it apart and put it back together as soon as I get.

I disagree completely. Lee's stuff works, as intended. Hornady, on the other hand, requires a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering before you can get their stuff to work. I hate my Horandy lock-n-load AP. Right now my Lock-N-Load AP is down with no sign of why it won't index correctly. I had a primer stuck in it (the fault of Hornady dies) and after I got that out, it doesn't flip the shell plate all the way to the next station.

I had no problem getting a Lee progressive 1000 press running in 15 minutes. Based on my Hornady experience, I'd give up on progressive presses until I got a Lee press as a gift.

Lee's weak point are their instructions instructions. They tell you what you need to know, and little more.Most of us want to see nice color videos assuring us that we are doing it irght. Fortunately, http://www.you-tube.com fixes that.

I handload, cast, and swage for somewhere in the area of 75 different cartridges. I've never had a problem with Lee's stuff that was not my fault. Paul, you and I just disagree, so much so, that I wonder if you've ever handloaded.

Lee is the only company in the industry that respects your privacy. The will take a money order, cash it, ship your stuff, and never even keep your name on file.

Lee is willing to ship you ANY replacement part you want whereas the high-dollar companies refuse to do so; they demand you ship back the broken part to get a free replacement. I like to put aside some parts for a rainy day, so I love Lee's willingness to ship me a few extra spares for a few bucks.

Lee's stuff is just better. Their decapping system led the industry. I teach handloading classes, and refuse to use anything except Lee carbide dies with their unbreakable decapping pins when teaching newbies.

Yes, Lee is cheaper. I don't know why. I would pay 2x as much for a set of Lee 45ACP dies as I would for a set of Lyman, RCBS, or Hornady 45 ACP dies.

Andy

[johnlaw484]

My Loadmaster worked finde for the first 500 rounds, then things begin to go wrong. I got to where it will not index unless you do it manually.
The Auto primer hasn't worth a **** from the get go. I finally excepted the fact I was going to have to hand prime.

It's still faster than a single stage.

I would love to have a Dillon, but I am broke so I guess I'll just keep chugging along with the Lee.

[old_haidouk]

Lee is just... good enough like a post above was saying. Some of their stuff is junk, like the plastic parts. They look like a new invention prototype. Their dies are good. But look at your pistol dies expanding stem. Not very well finished right? Shaves brass everytime it expands your case. Will those rounds shoot? Sure, but other brand dies don't waste your brass.

[jcwit]

Mine was sticky to operate, made it difficult to throw consistent charges.

Did you miss the part in the directions to run a couple of hoppers full thru the measure as the graphit on the powder lubes the working surfaces of the measure making it work easier.

Lee will work as advertised, just got to follow instructions.

But look at your pistol dies expanding stem. Not very well finished right? Shaves brass everytime it expands your case. Will those rounds shoot? Sure, but other brand dies don't waste your brass.

Odd, none of my 11 different caliber Lee pistol dies shave any brass. How did I get all the good ones and you got all the bad ones?

I've yet to experience where Lee has wasted ANY of my brass. And I've reloaded a few thousand rounds in the last three years. Actually more like 30 to 50 thousand rounds.

[jcwit]

Maybe yours is the greatest thing since baling wire, good on ya, but that still ain't gonna make me like the plastic *** mine was.

Little testy tonight, NO?