Why doesn't Lee get the the respect it deserves?

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  • ART338WM

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Jun 2, 2013
    426
    18
    Not trying to pick a fight, but I might be wrong but when ever I'm at other similar reloading forums and opinions of reloading dies or equipment are asked for it seams to me Lee reloading equipment gets rather badly bashed. Now I am by no measure a reloading expert, but over the 30+ years I've been reloading I have acquired reloading equipment from pretty much every one from Foster (co-ax press) RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Redding, Lee, PACT and several who's names I can not at the moment recall, and I can say in all honesty none of it ever turned out to be junk and I reload for 8 different rifle and 5 different HG calibers.

    In regard to Lee I own allot of their equipment from dies to case trimmers to presses to hand primers and all have served me well. I have used and still use Lee Collet dies to reload my most accurate rifle ammunition in .35 Remington .338wm, .300wm, 7mmstw, 7mm-08, 6.5x55. I have also used Redding dies to achieve the same level of success but not more and Redding dies cost about 2x as much.

    Granted I am not a competition lever shooter or reloader so my results and experiences with not just Lee but all of my reloading equipment is limited to hunting and recreational shooting to distances of 400 yards and less, but for the average shooter and reloader such as I, based on at least 25+ years of using Lee dies and equipment I can find no reason to fault Lee equipment in any way.

    I especially love the Lee Collet and factory crimp dies along with the Lee Quick Trim Deluxe. I will openly admit the Lee lock ring they put on their dies suck and I replace them with ones from Hornady, but other than that, I have always been completely satisfied with Lee reloading equipment.

    One post made regaled a story where a person claimed he received no less than nine consecutive defective die sets from Lee. Now while I am no statistician I would have to think getting nine defective items of the same type of equipment in a row would be if not impossible would be considering all the variables involved when buying reloading dies, bordering on millions if not tens of millions to one in terms of odds.

    Without doubt Lee purposely by design fills a niche by making extremely affordable reloading equipment by maintain the lowest prices in the industry, but in my experience that in no way equates to producing as so many have termed "junk" reloading equipment. I have no experience reloading for long range rifle so to those trying to remain sub moa from 800 yards to beyond 1000 things might be different, but for reloaders such as myself who reload for recreational shooting and hunting I don't see how anyone can term Lee as "junk".

    Just my .2c worth.
     

    87iroc

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Dec 25, 2012
    3,437
    48
    Bartholomew County
    It serves a niche as you said. I own 2 Lee presses. The Classic Turret which I started on and keep around for non-high volume calibers. I also own a Load master. The Load master requires tinkering to make it work right and I fight sporadic flipped primers and no primers. It works great for the 250 bucks I have in it. I have loaded several thousand rounds of 9 mm on it for competition. Have learned its personality. Clean it every so often(every 500-1000 rounds I tear it down and clean debris out of it). Every once in a while, it starts acting up. I have learned the feel for when a primer goes in right. I am seriously considering, if I don't go Dillon, doing the camera trick someone posted about a couple weeks ago.

    The guy that got 8 sets of defective dies. I'd venture to guess he was very picky on the dies and they couldn't make him happy if they gave him the dies.

    Back to the Lee Presses. I have determined that if you don't like to tinker with your stuff and just want it to work....that's why people go to other brands. I don't mind tinkering, but am considering stepping up to Dillon 650 just because I can a) afford it if I want and b) I would like something that I can reload quicker on. Whether I actually do it anytime soon is a question. The Loadmaster is working fine for me...just not as fine as I'd probably like for high volume reloading.

    Lee is gonna set you back 250-275 for a Loadmaster. On the Dillon, for the same setup, it would cost you 900(give or take 50). That's a press and case feeder. Is it worth over 3X the cash...we will see...but I'm sure after I get over the sticker shock I will be happy with it.
     

    Dentoro

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Nov 16, 2010
    670
    43
    Fairland
    I have a Lee press. I load for 1/2 dozen or calibers. About 1/2 my stuff is Lee. I am happy with it. I prefer RCBS dies, but that most likely has to do with being the calibers I reload with are RCBS and it being a comfort thing. I have never had a problem with any of them. I only load a couple thousand or so because I have single stage though.
     

    sloughfoot

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    26   0   0
    Apr 17, 2008
    7,153
    83
    Huntertown, IN
    I have used Lee since 1971 when I bought a 38 special Lee Loader for 38 special because I had a bunch of 38 brass kinda suddenly. My reloading rooms are full of Lee equipment. Progressive, turret, and single stage. I have other dies but, I always go back to the Lee dies.

    I am a competitive shooter, rifle and pistol, and Lee equipment has never held me back from attaining any of my goals. I use Lee dies and a presses for my 1,000 yard match ammo.
     

    wingrider1800

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Dec 27, 2014
    3,134
    133
    Harrison County
    I also have equipment from several manufactures and I agree that the lock ring sucks on the dies but that is no deal breaker for me. I've been reloading for almost 40 years and I don't have a problem with Lee products, especially for the difference in price.
     

    Vigilant

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Jul 12, 2008
    11,659
    83
    Plainfield
    When I reloaded, I started with a Lee Progressive 1000. Didn't take long to break it, and went straight to a Dillon 1050 and never looked back. Now reloading doesn't, or isn't cost effective for me so...
     

    x10

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Apr 11, 2009
    2,711
    84
    Martinsville, IN
    Not being a debbie downer but my experience with Lee is negative, I had a turret, a c-frame, and a pro 1000,

    the turret had so much slop in it that rounds were very inconsistent and the bearing at the top just kept getting worse. the C-frame press actually broke in 2.

    The pro1000 i used for a couple years and wore it out, loaded maybe 10,000 rounds on it. The back vibration bar for the primer jiggler wore flat and stopped jiggling. Everytime a round jammed it stripped out the ratchet thing in the center of the press. Did you ever wonder why they sell them in 3 packs.

    https://www.midwayusa.com/product/4...press-pro-1000-press-hex-ratchet-package-of-3

    I went from Lee to hornady and rcbs then I finally went to dillon, I went to the square deal b first

    and there is no comparison between the Pro1000 and the SDB

    Then when I went to the 550 and then the 650 there's no going back.

    That being said at one time I drove a chevy chevette and it did have 4 wheels and an engine and got me around the state. but I would hate to go back to it.

    If the Lee equipment gets people into reloading then I say it's a win. I think the rancor comes from someone saying their Lee is as good as brand XXX we just need to accept that it's not as good other equipment that doesn't mean you can't use it to good effect.

    Buy what you want, enjoy it.
     

    d.kaufman

    Still Here
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    128   0   0
    Mar 9, 2013
    14,716
    149
    Hobart
    Im new to the reloading game so i started cheap. Got the Lee Challanger breech lock press kit and a set of lee dies for 223 along with a Lee case trimmer. I went the cheap route knowing im probably only going to reload, maybe, 50 rounds a week. Just wanted to jump into the scene now that i dont feel i need to keep stockpiling ready to go ammo. So far I've only loaded 300 rounds but am satisfied with the consistency of the rounds ive produced. I use the quick lock bushings so i dont need to readjust, and have been checking every 5th round for the specs im expecting and all have been perfect. Hopefully holds true for 1000's more rounds, but for now as a newb to the reloading scene, I'm very happy with my purchase of Lee products
     

    Gluemanz28

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    29   0   0
    Mar 4, 2013
    7,430
    113
    Elkhart County
    I run a dillon XL650 but all my dies are LEE. I have had good luck with them except for the set of 45 dies I bought. I contacted LEE and they sent me a replacement part for the dies since they were brand new.

    I did find out that the lifetime warranty isn't as good as I thought though.
    You have to pay for the freight to ship the dies there.
    Then you have to pay for 50% of the retail price plus return shipping.

    Once you pay all the the shipping and 50% retail you can buy new dies cheaper.
     

    TECKS

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Nov 30, 2014
    298
    18
    SPEEDWAY
    Because it cost less. Many equate lesser price to be of lesser quality. All of the Lee products I've purchased have been great for the purpose they we're purchased for. Luckily reloading is a niche market, and if your not producing a quality product you are done...
     

    oldpink

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Apr 7, 2009
    6,660
    63
    Farmland
    The only presses I've ever used were (first) an RCBS Rock Chucker and (now) Rock Chucker Supreme, but my 10mm dies are Lee, and all four handgun calibers I load for have their Factory Crimp Die because it's just that good.
    I also used their now discontinued Auto Prime II (press-mounted) to load all of my ammo until I upgraded to the bench-mounted RCBS APS that I now use, an improvement, although the Lee priming system worked pretty well, with some quirks.
    Their FCD is definitely a cut above just about any crimper out there, and although I haven't ever used it, I've been told that their collet dies for bottleneck cartridges produce excellent quality rifle ammo because of their design.
     

    1911ly

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Dec 11, 2011
    13,419
    83
    South Bend
    I have lots of Lee Dies and a couple Challenger Breach lock hand presses. I also have RCBS and Hornady dies. All work well for me. If I ever feel the need to go with a progressive I'd probably go Dillon, but I load more high power rifle and shoot for match grade. I don't think I am going to get the accuracy I can one at a time with my hand press. I weigh cases and sort by weight, times reloaded. So I for the moment the Lee is just fine.

    Maybe when I start doing a bunch of pistol I will look at the Dillon.
     

    ROLEXrifleman

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    54   0   0
    Feb 7, 2009
    1,767
    84
    NW Indiana
    I think Lee does get all the credit they deserve. Ask anyone in reloading and they will most likely say lee is a solid low cost product that gets the job done. And thats all they are, so what other praise are you looking for?
    I've dealt with the CS and it's ok at best when compared to other reloading companies.
    Their dies are just OK when compared to others companies
    Their presses.........................


    See the trend here, they are an OK company and their pricing reflects it. It's ok to be ok but don't expect to be treated like the MVP when your just a utility player.
     

    Leo

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Mar 3, 2011
    9,733
    113
    Lafayette, IN
    I also have equipment from several manufactures and I agree that the lock ring sucks on the dies but that is no deal breaker for me. I've been reloading for almost 40 years and I don't have a problem with Lee products, especially for the difference in price.


    Hornady has the best lock rings, using a pinch bolt design that locks solid and does not stress the threads. The RCBS where the set screw damages the threads is a terrible design. The "O" ring friction nuts on LEE dies are ok if you purpose to twist the ring and die out at the same time. It is not like you have to torque them like head bolts on a diesel truck.

    You can buy the Hornady lock rings seperately. I use them on most of my dies.
     
    Last edited:

    Leo

    Grandmaster
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    30   0   0
    Mar 3, 2011
    9,733
    113
    Lafayette, IN
    Like Sloughfoot says, there is nothing wrong with the Lee dies, and I have proven it both in a tool and die shop cold gauging room and in competition.

    I gave away a new LEE LoadMaster press, (to a brother inlaw I don't like) so I am not saying everything they make is my favorite. Don't much care for their beam balance scale either. My primary single stage press is a Redding Boss, but the little Lee Challenger stays handy for loading small qualities of pistol caliber rounds from time to time.
     

    bocefus78

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    39   0   0
    Apr 9, 2014
    2,023
    63
    Hamilton Co.
    I run a classic turret in a ton of calibers and a pro1k for 9 and 40.

    Other than the priming system on the pro1k, everything been 100 percent reliable and accurate. Well ok....the Lee scale is absolutely crappy to use but I think we all know that.

    I now prime off the press for the pro1k. Hole 1 is powder drop, hole 2 is a hornaday bullet feeder die, and hole 3 seats and crimps. 500 rounds an hour is possible.
     

    two70

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    19   0   0
    Feb 5, 2016
    3,725
    113
    Johnson
    It's human nature. Some people buy tools adequate to the job and are happy. Some spend much more for tools that are overbuilt and or have additional features and are happy. Both are correct but some of both feel their choice should be everyone's choice. Still others feel the need to justify their choices.

    Personally I have a Lee single stage press and a hand press along with two Hornady LNL progressive presses. They all get the job done for me. I use dies from Dillon, Lee, Hornady, Lyman, Redding, and RCBS. Most of them are either Lee or Hornady because I find these two the easiest to use/adjust and usually see no reason to pay more when they get the job done.

    Buy what works for you, upgrade as necessary and don't worry about what other people think.
     

    shibumiseeker

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    49   0   0
    Nov 11, 2009
    10,707
    113
    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    Most of Lee's stuff is ok quality for the money. Their dies certainly. Their single stage and turret presses as well. Their progressive presses not so much. Some of their accessories are great, some not so much. Their customer services is random. Sometimes they take care of you, sometimes it's "you're on your own sucker!"

    I run two of their turrets and two of their .50bmg presses and dies along with an RCBS Rockchucker. Probably 90% of my reloading gear is Lee and has been for many many years with tens of thousands of rounds loaded on them. Every now and then I upgrade something as I see fit, but for the most part it works well enough, and for a beginner reloader who doesn't want to make a huge investment initially it can't be beat as even if they decide they love reloading and want to go all out money-wise, they can always use their Lee stuff.
     
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