Lee Dies

[Hitzy]

Or it’s recent manufactured Winchester brass. It needs all the help it can get lol.

I almost started a thread on how ####ty the red/black bags of Win brass were today.
Loaded some 222, had to trim a pile off the new brass, way too long, and it was fun because the rims were all bent and wouldn't stay in my Lee case length lock on my drill, kept jumping out
Just garbage.

 

[dan belisle]

I almost started a thread on how ####ty the red/black bags of Win brass were today.
Loaded some 222, had to trim a pile off the new brass, way too long, and it was fun because the rims were all bent and wouldn't stay in my Lee case length lock on my drill, kept jumping out
Just garbage.

Had a similar issue, ran the cases through the sizing die to get the necks round before trimming. - dan

 

[444shooter]

I once bought a bag of new .300 WM brass (red/black W-W) and more than half of the cases had neck splits. Contacted Winchester and they had me send the brass to the Canadian distributor and I ended up getting a full refund. Terrible QC.

 

[remington jim]

Or it’s recent manufactured Winchester brass. It needs all the help it can get lol.

So It was you who derailed the LEE DIE thread ! RJ

 

[Canuck65]

I like their pistol dies, and I've found uses for the factory crimp die on straight wall cases. Other than that, I'd stay away from them. RCBS aren't much more money, and they're of a much much better quality.

 

[zuke]

LEE is all I use, and that includes the large series of dies

 

[remington jim]

I got my 7 PRC die set and I thought I would try another set In 30-06 as I have being just using a RCBS 2+die set for years .

The 7 PRC is a 2 die Pacesetter set plus the crimper but the 30-06 is the Ultimate 4 Die set . Gonna give them a try soon as my PRC brass shows up .

GOT My ADG 7 PRC brass and 80 1x fired Hornady brass today . . OCT 4 - . RJ

 

[thump_rrr]

While I'm a Redding man, I still use over 20 different sets of Lee dies and can honestly say there are perfectly servicable and respectable on all accounts. I particularly like their factory crimp dies for heavy recoilers.

Same here.

 

[alpining]

.... And they are not high alloy or plated, so they are prone to rust in humid environments.

For my needs, this is the only negative I can think of. It's not bad, mind you, but it might be important to some people.

Also, FWIW there have been a variety of bushing styles produced over the last decade or so. They all seem to work for me, but they are different and some work better than others for different types of jobs.

 

[Dogleg]

I started reloading with Lee. Their dies are fine. Just not a fan of the linkage on the presses. Cheap pot metal and prone to break. Hopefully they have improved recently.

I started with a Lee 3 holer as well. Sort of got tired of busting it after while, upgrades or not. The replacement parts weren't free and were usually 3 weeks away. I threw it under the bench for the longest time but my son eventually pulled it out and left it set-up for 44 Mag in the dusty 4 hole but fixed configuration that I left it in. After breaking 2 handles off due to metal fatigue he had enough too, and rolled the chair back to one of the single stages for all his handguns. I eventually got him a Dillon 550 on the condition that I never had to load another handgun round again, which is a similar deal to bullets casting for same.

I never loved Lee Dies but for a lot of things they were good enough. Not the best, but I've had worse in some of the big names. The one thing I really couldn't stand is the unbreakable decapping pin isn't that, and if you broke one it was wait for weeks or buy another set of something else.

 

[Hitzy]

I always keep a patch with some smelly VOC oil in the case with my Lee dies, never had them rust as a result.

 

[downwindtracker2]

On their Challenger press, the pot metal linkage didn't play well with their Factory Crimp. The answer was to use the linkage off the 1000 press. It took Lee a number of years to ship them out already done.

Higginson has some Lee die parts, like stem assemblies.

I haven't done it yet, but one of the methods to make 350RM brass is to take a 7mmRM die and cut it to 350RM length , then use as a trim to length die. A cheap Lee Pacemaker 7mmRM set sits on my bench ready for the Zip-Cut attack.

 

[enefgee]

It's good when your brass is tired and is due for annealing, but you don't feel like doing that just yet...lol

Or you're shooting one of those newfangled fully semi auto jobbies with the 30 round clip magazines, and the shoulder thing that goes up.

 

[canx2k]

Good for bargain, I've gotten some cases stuck but mostly due to my own not lubing enough. I like them.

 

[boxhitch]

Lee is sending me a new seater die as the first one had a fault in how it seated pointy bullets.

Lee has come out with a reasonably priced micrometer seater, with the feature of a bullet guide collar, have to think these are as good as any match/fancy named dies?
Crazy sale prices on now too, will be ordering some more
its either yellow or red, no more green here

 

[DGY]

Lee is sending me a new seater die as the first one had a fault in how it seated pointy bullets. first class customer service

Lee has come out with a reasonably priced micrometer seater, with the feature of a bullet guide collar, have to think these are as good as any match/fancy named dies?
Crazy sale prices on now too, will be ordering some more
its either yellow or red, no more green here

Interesting, I have a set of Lee in 30-06 and I found out that the seating die doesn’t do a great job at seating ttsx bullets… I have a set of Forster that does it real nice. Maybe I should contact them.

 

[remington jim]

Lee is sending me a new seater die as the first one had a fault in how it seated pointy bullets. first class customer service

Lee has come out with a reasonably priced micrometer seater, with the feature of a bullet guide collar, have to think these are as good as any match/fancy named dies?
Crazy sale prices on now too, will be ordering some more
its either yellow or red, no more green here

There litlle MIC seater works great

 

[wasrupzuk]

I think many people discount the quality of Lee products in general due to Lee positioning themselves as a value brand and in doing so some of their offerings are less than premium and some people apply that as a blanket over the whole brand.
In my experience their dies are not reflective of this market position; they work excellent and punch way above their weight class.
That said, like all my reloading tools, no one brand is a one stop solution for all situations and I do have several dies from other manufacturers for specific functions on specific cartridges or bullets where the Lee dies had caused an outcome less than ideal (2 that I can think of) and I have some oddballs that Lee just doesn’t make. But they are my first choice on dies most of the time.
Generally any issue I’ve had with their dies was directly attributed to my incorrect use of them and rectifying the issues were quick and inexpensive.
Not a fan of their breach lock bushings, I prefer the Hornady Version and their lock rings work but I prefer either standard hex rings or Forrester co-ax rings for dies used in that press.
Other than that they make very consistent and accurate ammunition for me at a very affordable cost.
Particular standouts are their factory crimp dies and quick trim dies.

 

[boxhitch]

Lee is sending me a new seater die as the first one had a fault in how it seated pointy bullet

My die came back, polished only, but seems to have solved the issue, it has more contact area now