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

[Leadeye]

Lee makes good stuff that gets the job done for less money. I've used all the majors over 40+ years and find they all have their place. I will say that the Lee 44-40 factory crimp die is useless, but that hasn't been my experience with all of them. Most work well.

 

[dooshie]

I still use my lee all American to load many size rounds

 

[miguel]

Maybe because they look at reloading a little differently than most?

I mean, they seem to advocate measuring powder by volume rather than weight still, right? Plus the Lee guy is said to be a little grumpy.

Correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[NKBJ]

Some of their molds have been real stinkers.
Their custom sizer dies are super bargains, especially if you shoot paper patched.

 

[VERT]

I really liked the little turret press I had. Sold it to a friend with 4 tool heads with dies so I could buy a second Dillon Square Deal. It was a small, portable press that was easy to change dies. I even liked the auto disc powder measure. Sure it wasn't infinitely adjustable but it threw Win231 consistently. Truthfully that little press would have served my needs for producing cheap reloads.

 

[Ngdonut]

Within the reloading market, Lee takes the position of the low cost provider. Luckily for us, the low cost provider in the reloading market is still good quality.

 

[schmart]

I've had both a lee turret press and a Lee Pro 1000 and loaded on them for over a decade. Both would adequately load ammo, but I did have sporadic problems, especially with the Pro 1000. If I didn't jiggle the primer tray every 5 or so rounds, the primers wouldn't feed properly and I would get rounds missing primers. I also had multiple cases of the power drop hanging up, and therefore not dropping powder. I know it is my fault for not looking into every case but my brother in law ruined the rifling in a nice revolver due to multiple stuck bullets. I guess I should be thankful the drop STAYED stuck and he ended up with a cylinder full missing powder.... Additionally, the auto disk drop system was very messy and I would end up with power all over the bench after a reloading session.

I still use all my Lee dies and really like the factory crimp dies, but I certainly will never look back now that I've moved onto a higher grade press (Hornady LnL progressive). With the Lee presses, I had to futz around every 50 rounds or so and I just got tired of that aspect. With the Hornady, I can load 1000 rounds in a sitting without ever re-adjusting anything. My friends with Dillon equipment have the same results.

Just as with cars, you can drive a Huyandi Sonata coast to coast without problems, but I can tell you from experience, it is MUCH more comfortable in a Volvo. The route may be the same, the time spent may be the same, but the trip experience is much different.

Just my 2 cents.
--Rick

 

[billybob44]

Right on target....

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.

^^^I have expressed the same, other than a Yugo rather than a chevette.
I DO have some (very few) Lee products-several Factory Crimp Dies and a Universal decap die. They work fine for me..Bill.

 

[jstory]

Most all my dies are Lee. I personally think they are great for the money. Same with their presses, which I also use. Almost everything else is green...

 

[grunt soldier]

Lee factory crimp dies are awesome. Same with their decapper once you upgrade it lol. as far as the rest other quality dies are better and I have run tons of brands. The other brands provide much more consistency imo and experience. They work and are a much cheaper option for sure but don't provide the quality as others.

That said again I only run Lee factory crimp dies. Love them lol and their decapper is awesome. They definitely have their place in the reloading room

 

[hps]

Some of their products would fair REALLY well with just a little tweaking.

 

[dyerwatcher]

Reloaded with Lee presses for 30 years. Two different presses. No big complaints. It was what I could afford at the time. Last year I went to a Dillon 550B. Glad I did but recommend lee if your on a budget.

 

[jstory]

Another good deal is Lees molds. I use them exclusively, never have had a problem.

 

[tranders]

I like their dies and molds,but the Lee safety powder measure is garbage.

 

[Broom_jm]

The Lee case length gauge and trimmer tools are an exceptional VALUE, which is quite possibly the best word to describe most of their products.

 

[bobjones223]

Well sat down and played with the Lee Pro 1000 yesterday. It belonges to my brother but i wanted to check it out. Ordered all the goodie to change it over from 45 to 9mm got it all set up and started running it.....ran about 30-40 through and of those had 6-8 with missing primers, upside down primers, or sideways primers. This thing will probably drive me to drinking!

I am going to mess with it some more tonight. Last night I was ready to take a hammer to it and decided it was time to take a break.

 

[Doublehelix]

I am a newbie to reloading, so take this with a grain of salt, but also it gives a perspective from one who is new to this game.

Lee offers an avenue to get going with a decent set of tools. I started with a Lee Classic Turret press, and I actually love it. Someday, I can see the need for a Blue progressive to crank out the pistol rounds, but for now, I like watching and being in control of each step in the process. So far, I have about 2,000 rounds of 9mm through the press without issues.

I started with Lee dies as well, and have already upgraded my sizing and seating dies to Redding. Quite a bit of difference, especially in the consistency of the seating die with regard to OAL and run out. Don't see much difference in the sizing die, at least for the pistol.

I also now have Redding dies for my upcoming .223 loads, and here I can see a huge difference in *both* the resizing and the seating dies.

Does this make Lee dies junk? No, but although they have a place in the ecosystem, they are not up to the level of the Redding dies that I have purchased to replace the Lees.

I think this has been said about a million times in this thread already, but Lee products are a great value, and serve a great many of us reliably and accurately. If I had to shell out the money to go with a higher end system right off the bat, that would have probably dissuaded me from getting started.

I am sure I will continue to graduate from most Lee products, but so far, the LCT press, the Lee Auto-Drum dispenser (not the Auto-Disk), the Lee Factory Crimp Die and the Lee Safety Priming systems are GTG and give me the results I need for a great price.

Long live Lee!!!

 

[oldpink]

No question that Redding's equipment, especially their dies, is a cut above.
I bought their bushing neck die for .30-06 last year, and the workmanship and quality of ammo it produces are immediately noticeable.
They're a bit expensive, but the quality really shows.