Is Lee an ok brand for reloading ammo?

Question

I want to start to get into reloading, but I don't have much money to invest right now. I'm wondering if Lee is a good enough brand, since I can afford their reloading kits. Or do you know a better brand for the same general price? Any info would be great. Thanks.

Answer 1

Lee is one of the less expensive brands, but they DO make good equipment. I think they still make the 'handloader' set but I suggest starting with a single stage bench mount press as they are not too expensive and will do until you find out IF you really need a bigger, fancy unit.

Note that in MOST cases, other major brands of dies are interchangeable with lee dies.

I use a Lee for MOST of my reloading, but have found that for 1 round, I prefer the RCBS dies and use them in my Lee press. (20 years old and STILL working well)

I have a separate press for shotshell loading, ALSO a Lee.

I DO suggest however that you by a GOOD scale rather than use the lee 'dipper' set. Especially with the 'long grain' powders. A properly used balance scale will work just as well as a fancy electronic scale for all but the most 'critical' shooter, for less than 1/2 the cost, as of the last time I had to buy a new one. (for 'light' handgun practice loads, I use a rotary powder measure and weigh every 10th charge.)

I load 410, 20,16, 12 and 10ga shotgun; 38spl, 9mm, 357, 45LC, 44mag, and 45ACP handgun, and several different loads for rifles in .220, .308, 30-06, .444 marlin, and 45-70.
I ALSO cast some types of my own bullets for the various weapons and also round ball and various bullets for my BP weapons from .32 to .50 caliber.

AS with anything else READ AND FOLLOW all safety instructions.

Answer 2

Lee is just fine. Lee dies are the most used dies in commercial loading operations. Lee presses are fine unless you're forming a lot of cases, the aluminum just doesn't stand up under the continued heavy stress. You can also wear the aluminum out where the ram passes through the press--but it takes a while. (I still own the same aluminum c-press I started with and still use it for certain operations.) I cannot endorse the Lee Auto-Indexing Turret Press because of how fast the indexing bushing wears out. It isn't difficult to change, but extremely irritating. I routinely reload 1,000 round runs of pistol ammunition (.38 Special, .45 ACP and 9mm) and recommend the Load Master press for this purpose. By the way, if you watch the u-tube video, none of the loads I reload re-size the neck of the brass with the mandrel of the decapping die. I've also never broken a Lee decapping pin--I know people who have, but I haven't--can't say the same about my RCBS and Lyman. So my simple answer is, buy Lee (get carbide dies if they are available), if you like reloading and feel the need you can always buy something else.

Answer 3

For a beginner lee's are just fine... If you want to re-load a high volume of ammo get you a multi stage setup like the
LEE DELUXE TURRET PRESS KIT it lets you reload over 200 rounds per hour..... Lee is fairly inexpensive and a great way to start..... You can spend a fortune on rcbs or dillon and find out later that you dont enjoy reloading.... It can be very time consuming and tedious finding good powder bullet weight combos..... So start out cheap then upgrade if you enjoy it.........

Answer 4

I'm not overly fond of Lee dies. I've had some misfortunes with their .45 ACP dies.

In general I prefer RCBS equipment, but Lee does make some good budget priced equipment. I suggest you spring for a good RCBS 505, or 510 scale rather than use Lee's dippers for your powder weighing. The scale is much more precise and in my opinion more reliable.

RCBS is a little more expensive than Lee, but not much more, and I consider the extra money to be worth while.

Doc

Answer 5

Lee equipment is universally accepted as the standard that everyone else judges theirs by. Plain and simple.

*Every* maker of reloading equipment in the past twenty to thirty years has manufactured theirs to match Lee's and everyone of them will still use Lee dies.

99% of the reloaders in the US will harp on how good their RCBS or Hornady or Lyman etc etc etc yadda yadda yadda press is....and yet still have/use Lee dies. Fact is, the press is nothing....the dies are what count. Those press makers know their customers will be using Lee dies and they make them accordingly. If they *didn't* have the ability to use Lee dies, the company would die over night and we all know it.

Lee is the by far and wide the most prolific of inventors/manufacturers when it comes to die sets and other reloading equipment. If Lee invents it today, RCBS and Horny whatever will rush theirs to the market seven years later and brag on how "they just invented it".

If you're just wanting to try your hand at reloading without spending too much cash, try the Lee hand press first off. You can get them at Midway for less than $30 and they'll load pretty much anything you want to load. Dies come separate, of course. Or, you can wait another three years or so until RCBS/Horn/Lyman etc rush theirs to the market and claim they invented it.

Answer 6

OK is exactly what Lee is. You'll get shootable loads, but you'll also wind up replacing everything instead of upgrading. RCBS is not that much more expensive, and you'll happily use a basic Rock Chucker press for the rest of your life even if you upgrade from it later.

Answer 7

check out this video on youtube

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GXYx2lZ9qDM

it shows some of the shortcomings of lee dies compared to other makes

Answer 8

Lee is awesome* You won't be disappointed.*