I see everyone praising Redding, RCBS, and other dies, but most people seem to frown on owning Lee dies. Can anyone actually say that in side by side comparisons, Lee dies actually produced less accurate ammo?

I know I'm gonna get clobbered for this, but I'm new to reloading, so you'll have to pardon my ignorance!!

Well Saw, it's like this for me. I personally can't say anything bad about Lee first-hand, based on my lack of using them. It's just that Redding & RCBS have always worked so good for me that I've seen no reason to change. Until I get that reason, Lee just won't be a part of my gear. And with other, proven, equipment, if I did ever have a reason to change, it wouldn't be to Lee.

Some things are a given, and some things are arguable. But, even if guys argue about whether Leupold, or Burris, or Nikon, or whoever makes the best scope, they don't even have to consider going to a Tasco or Bushnell if they ever feel the need to change.

I guess I'm like that with Lee products.

Everything you're not going to like about Lee, you'll see up front, I believe. Some of their stuff is made of cheap materials, almost always adequate to the task. Most of their stuff is inexpensive. Most or all of it works. Some of it works better than anything else anyone makes for less than ten times the price: Lee factory crimp die; Lee Target Loader (now owned by the long-defunct Mequon Corporation); Lee Cheap-Piece-of-Shit Powder measure that measures long-grained powder more accurately than any other powder measure; Lee Auto-Prime; original Lee hand priming tool. That's probably about half of the list.

Look at their stuff. If you don't gag, it will probably work just fine.

If you have a place to mount a decent press, you probably will want to buy a better one than a Lee, although I haven't had any trouble with mine. I bought it because it came in a box and didn't need to be mounted. Another cheap-looking POS that does what it's supposed to!

Recono, you hit it dead nuts on. Take the Lee collet die: it is the best thing since indoor plumbing, but why didn't he make the thing so it would last! FWIW, Dutch.

I know a guy who is truly a rifle and reloading loony. He obsesses over the little stuff, has tons of time and money tied up in his sport and is VERY analytical when it comes to reloading. He tested dies some time ago and afterward started to slowly replace his dies with REDDING dies.
I tried the Reddings as well and in a few calibers they did make a positive accuracy difference for me as well. I'm unaware of ANY lee dies on this guys loading bench. To me that speaks volumes.

Other than their crimp die I have no Lee dies either. They have never impressed me.

FN

I've never done a side by side test to see whether one brand of die gives better (more accurate) results than another. But I have used both Lee and RCBS dies, and I cannot tell any difference between them in terms of results. The Lee dies do seem to be better polished than the RCBS ones. In my opinion the Lee seater die has a better seating-stem adjustment than does the RCBS.

I own several of their handloaders... and "friends" have donated some of their dies... hey, wait a minute.. lee had the quickest available 7.62x54r around, so I've used their dies.

works okay... rather have hornady, but that's because I have a couple of the micrometer seaters.
jeffe

I currently own die sets made by Lee, Redding, RCBS, Lyman and Hornady. For target grade ammo I believe the Redding Collet Neck Sizer and Comp Seater Die to be the most precise by a wide margin.
For typical FL die sets, the Lee is every bit as good as the rest, IMO. Their Factory Crimp Die is fantastic for it's purpose. A good friend recently closed his commercial ammo business but for the past ten years he ran nothing but Lee Pro 1000(?) progressive loaders. He tried various other makes but always came back to the Lee models, I recall him having about a dozen of them.
They stand behind their products 100% and don't charge a fortune for them. Pretty damned good company, very damned good products.

At last check of my bench I also have die sets by all the major players. As far as side by side goes I have set of dies for the .41RemMag. One is a set of Lees and the other is a set of Reddings. I do this because of the difference with the standard loading of 210g-220g verses 250g-300g cast bullets. I just don't like re-adjusting my dies for the long or short bullets. After many 1000s' of rounds I can't tell the difference of the product, and yes I have changed settings around usually when I clean the dies I swap the settings. I guess the real proff came as the result of a "house cleaning" accident a shelving unit was knocked over and 6 boxes of loaded .41RemMag ammo was spilled on the floor. There were three boxes loaded with the Lees, two loaded with the Reddings and a box that I had purchased at a gun show. So there they were all 300 rounds on the floor. I first tried to seperate them by what they looked like. Gun show stuff was easy, all Remington cases. The other 250 no dice I use all StarLine cases now. They all looked the same, all the same load Sierra 210g/2400/19.5g so I just picked them up and re-boxed them. My handguns didn't know the difference as they all shot as usual. Does this prove anything? For the "hate Lee at any cost" crowd probably not. For me it didn't make any difference cause I'll keep buying what I need when I need it no matter who makes it. I have ZERO product loyalty.

I have mainly RCBS dies and one set of CH4 dies and 1 set of lee dies in .44 rem mag. No drama with the lee dies & I have loaded probably a 1000 rounds of .44 rem mag with them to date. RCBS dies look more durable however. I will not use reloader special RCBS dies I will only use Group A.

I've used dies by all the major manufacturers and have had problems with them all, except one; Lee. I use the Collet die set for all my rifle calibers and they have no trouble producing far superior ammo than the RCBS and Forster match/bench rest dies. I have reloaded tens of thousands of rounds through my .375, .308 and .223 collet dies and they still work as good as new. Redding bushing dies? Forget it! A collet die is less money, does the same thing and you don't end up with a collection of bushings that you will never use. A friend had a Lee make a Collet die set for 7.62 x 54R; he got a custom made die, matched to his rifle for less than the competition wanted for a mass produced die set.

I use a Lee turret press, pro1000 progressive, shot shell loader and a forster/bonanza Co-Ax press. I cannot find any fault in the Lee products that are not present in the competition.

I load .223 on the Lee progressive using a collet die set, groups are just under an inch at 100 yards. This is shooting from prone with a sling! Bullet is the NEI .224-71GC. Bullet run out with the long 75 gr. A-Max is under .0004", when loaded with an RCBS "competition" die set on my Co-Ax press run out was so bad I didn't bother to measure it! And there is nothing wrong with the press.

The Lee autodisk powder measure is an absolute wonder, throwing precisely the same charge from being full to the top to the last drips in the bottom.

I use moulds by Lee, RCBS, NEI, Lyman and LBT and though the Lee moulds take a little more looking after they always make good bullets and any mould will fail if they are abused.

BTW, I am a time served mechanical engineer so i am not impressed with shoddy crap no matter what colour box it is in or how glossy the advertising is. Fortunately I was able to off load the stuff that didn't work onto shooters who only use "quality gear" and wont touch Lee. They're happy, I'm happy.

I have had zero problems with Lee equipment (but have heard mostly negative comments on their progessives, one firsthand, mostly passed-on rumors). If I had to nitpick, I'd tell you that Lee dies and presses will never be mistaken for the product of whatever company it is that makes bank vaults. It is inexpensive stuff, and it looks inexpensive. It works and works well. I hope Lee is in business for a long, long time, because RCBS, Redding, Forster, and Hornady would gladly charge $10 more for every $35-$50 die set they sell if they didn't have to contend with those perfectly good $20 Lee die sets sitting next to their product.

H. C.

I use Redding dies for my rifle calibers with the exception of the 9.3x64 for which I have CH dies. The Lee carbide dies in .38spl and .45acp get much more use and turn out a perfectly good product. Also use a Lee hand primer tool. No experience with Lee presses. Cobalt

I have shot a .4 inch group with my 222 and lee dies and a .246" group with my 6.5x55 and Lee dies, my 7x57 groups around the half inch mark, my 243 was fairly spectacular but that was before I measured properly.

I love my lee dies, they are user friendly and appear to work for me!-

I once had a real aversion to using Lee products. All my stuff had to be the best. You know, Redding, Forster, Wilson, Sinclair, etal. About a year ago, sort of on a whim, I decided to try the Lee Collet neck die to see if I could improve runout in my ammo since I had been reading so many good things about them on this and other forums. Well, to make a long story short, I no longer use my Redding S neck dies. The Lee collet dies make super straight ammo, work the brass less and are easier to use since they require no case lubrication. My only complaint about them is that they sometimes are finished too roughly to work properly. I always polish the internals, removing leftover burrs and tool marks, before putting them into service. Once that's done, however, they work like a charm.

The only other Lee product I own is the Perfect powder measure. For such a cheap little product, it does a very good job.

Recono, you certainly echoed my experience with Lee products. I bought the Lee Anniversary kit (total cost=$74) when I started reloading about 4 years ago. My initial impression upon opening the box was something like, "boy, what a bunch of cheap plastic crapola". After using it to load everything from .32 ACP to .270 Win. I can say I think Lee equipment is the best VALUE today. The funky powder measure? It works GREAT, probably due to the small diameter of the measuring cavity. I throw 2.2 grains of universal clays with it, and the consistency is unbelievable. I would like to add that the optional "ram primer" is great! You seat the primers by pushing up from the bottom as opposed to pulling the ram down onto the primer like an RCBS. The dies are bargain-priced and perfectly adequate, but I have developed a fondness for bullet seating dies that use a "floating stem", such as Bonanza, and Hornady dies. It keeps the bullet in nearly perfect alignment, and makes it easier and quicker to get the bullets seated STRAIGHT. Unfortunately, the Lee dies lack this feature. One thing I've noticed about the Lee gear is everything seems to be very well thought-out. I bought a brand-new RCBS rockchucker at a yard sale three weeks ago and haven't mounted it yet, so there you go.-SG

I can't add a whole lot to what has been said. Lee was the laughing stock of the reloading world when they first came out and I never thought they would survive a week...but they are still here and going strong.

They are a clever company with very inovative ideas. Over the years I've come to use more and more of their products. They all work and most work well.

The only thing I wouldn't have is one of their presses...at least NO press with anything aluminum or light alloy in it. The press is the "engine" of all your reloading and if it doesn't have the strength and leverage to supply your needs...guess who gets to put the extra muscle into each round? A good powerful press is like a good, powerful car. Sure a moped will get you from A to B. If you want to go with Lee products, I wouldn't hesitate to do it...but get you a good "O" press made of cast steel. And the RCBS Jr or Rock Chucker are the most common of the good, strong presses.

As for their dies, they work fine and build good ammo. I do NOT find them quite as smooth as the top brands, but not by much.

All in all, don't be afraid of Lee Products. Most of us like to use the best of what works for us and this usually includes a mixture of products...including some Lee stuff. Some of their items are the neatest and best on the market. Just use your head and you'll be fine.

I have Lee, RCBS, and Redding dies. I have been very happy with my Lee dies.

for rifle reloading I like my redding dies but for handguns Id take a lee set over any and I can afford to buy what I want.

I have Lee, Rcbs, and Lyman Dies. So far, the only problem has been with the RCBS, and they fixed it free, and fast.
Lee has worked at least as well as the others.
I will add, that the factory crimp die, and hand priming tool are also excellent.
I have the Challenger Press It has a set of aluminum arms at the base of the operating handle, that fail on a regular basis. Lee changed the design to eliminate the upper set of aluminum arms a while back. I wish they would do the same for the bottom set. Other than those arms, the press functions well.

I have a set of RCBS 9mm dies and shellholder which I would gladly trade for a set of Lee 9mm dies in the same or similar condition (less than 2000 rds through them).

Scott,

Why?

I do have the Lee 9mm that I will trade you. I do not use them so it makes no real difference to me.

Terry

I have Lee, RCBS & Lyman dies, with Lee doing the brunt of my reloading work. I also have custom-made Lee dies. All the Lee die products are super in my opinion. The only kick I got about the Lee die sets is that the shellholders are a bit sloppy. I actually damaged some brass because of this. I've replaced all my Lee shellholders with RCBS ones and can really feel and see the difference.

Everyone that has had a problem with RCBS products has told the tale of how great they support their products. This has happened with me as well. The RCBS "no questions asked" policy is super. Lee supports their products as well. Maybe not as easily, but it's there.

Other than sloppy shellholders, I'll keep buying Lee dies. Wish they would design and sell a precision seating die !

This has been going on longer than dirt! I have used both in one case, my mother-in-law wanted a small gun for protection after the death of my father-in-law she got a 38 S&W hand gun. I tried a set of lee dies first. The were almost passable, in no way any good. I then got a used RCBS set at a gun show, looked like HELL, but they work 3,000,000 percent better then the excerment I got new from Lee There plan and simple JUNK, JUNK, JUNK!!!

Colonel, Lee rifle dies are OK for the cost. They don't look like much, compared to RCBS, Redding, or Forster, but they work. I get MOA groups from .45/70 ammo loaded with Lee dies. But I am certain they would not laast as long, if one does a lot of shooting.

I have had trouble with Redding dies being too precise in a TN 2 chamber in a falling block rifle I own. Since then I have used both RCBS and Lee dies with no trouble. I've had similiar problems with Reddings in a 7mmSTW Savage rifle also.

I know Redding would go good for it, but I sold the dies and switched to others.

Has anyone else had Redding Die trouble?-------Chainsaw

I have dies, presses, priming tools, etc. from all popular makers.

The first thing I do with a set of Lee dies is throw away the so-called "lock nut" with the stupid o-ring.

Then install a Lyman or other split-type lock ring and use them forever. One set of .38/.357 dies is near the 20,000 round mark, and a set of 9mm is over 15,000(both carbide). One set of .30/06 is 16 yrs. old, unsure how many(thousand) rounds loaded.

My Remington Mod. 742 with a Tasco scope, mounted in see-through rings, shoots 1.25" groups, with ammo primed with a Lee Auto Prime,loaded on a Lee press, with Lee dies.

'Nuff said

I mostly have RCBS dies and use an RCBS press. Originally I purchased Lee dies for my M96 6.5 x 55 rifle- due to the $4 cheaper price over RCBS. I had several major problems with the dies.
1. They over worked the brass. The brass would split on the second or third firing.
2. The bullet seater was rough and caused marks on my bullets. Although minor to some people, the Hornady A-Max bullets were often pulled apart due to the seater (made of rough aluminum) grabbing the plastic tip.
3. The adjustment ring on the die cannot be locked like other brands. This results in a variation in OAL from the first to the last round loaded per session. I feel that this is by far the greatest fault with Lee dies and the easiest for them to fix.

After wading through these problems, I went out and bought RCBS dies for my 6.5 x 55. All of these problems went away immediately and I now have groups about 1/3 the size of those from Lee die loads.

I would be willing to try most Lee products, but I will never buy Lee dies again. I currently use the super cheap and simple Lee case length trimmers. The shells are trimmed perfectly every time. I use my power drill to save my wrists. In my opinion (although quite limited compared to many people here) I believe that for the money, you cannot beat the Lee case length trimmers.

Sawblade,

I started reloading around 30 years ago with an original "Lee Loader" in .45 Colt. Got tired of whacking the whole thing with a hammer and bought an RCBS Rockchucker (which is still bolted to the bench) and a half dozen dies. Later when money was tight and I needed several more calibers, I bought some Lee dies.

Boy, was I impressed. They work swell, are economical, and will make bullets as accurate as any of my RCBS dies. Later when I got a wild hair because I needed many, many, many, rounds for pin shooting and practice, I bought a "Load Master" progressive. Well, being an "A" type, I was slightly unhappy with some of the functions. After calling Lee and talking with one of their engineers, slightly tweaking some parts (polishing, greasing, and fine tuning) it surpassed my expectations. It's cranked out thousands of rounds and continues to function perfectly. The major problems have envolved "operator headspace." Read the flipping instructions first, cover to cover!

Bottom line? Lee makes a quality product and I haven't bought anyone elses stuff for over ten years. And I'm a picky a**hole.

Regards, Eric

[ 07-25-2002, 13:02: Message edited by: Eric ]