Want to start to reload

Brianma65 said:
Lee costs about 20% less...

But the quality is 50% less... ha ha

I have one set of lee dies,and I HATE ! them
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Rifle dies? Their pistol dies are great. 45-70 is straight wall, so I'd be inclined to buy Lee carbide dies for that calibre if it existed (it doesn't).

For straight wall cartridge dies I go with Lee carbide whenever possible. For bottleneck I guess more expensive dies are in order.
 
VinnyQC said:
Rifle dies? Their pistol dies are great. 45-70 is straight wall, so I'd be inclined to buy Lee carbide dies for that calibre if it existed (it doesn't).

For straight wall cartridge dies I go with Lee carbide whenever possible. For bottleneck I guess more expensive dies are in order.
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Rifle.

I think you buy for the future, not buy cheap now and then upgrade later.
I’ve been down that rd,and it’s very expensive.
If he doing 45-70 now, chances are, he’ll be doing many more caliber ,in the near future.
 
Just a question, don’t mean to offend anyone.

It appears that,most of the Lee supporters have many,many years experience.

So I was wondering,do they like the Lee stuff,because that’s all they’ve ever known or used?

Or what am I missing?
I see occasional threads pop up ,with Lee press issues,etc.
 
All, thanks for the information... It seems that the Lee kit is well received by the majority of you, I think that will be the direction I will go. Also will look for some used tools the kit might be missing. This is a great forum!
 
To get started on reloading 45-70, this is the basic tools you need:

1. press
2. primer seating tool (most presses come with a primer seating attachment but if not you need to buy separate)
3. 45-70 reloading die set
4. scale
5. loading block
6. powder funnel
7, case prep tools (need inside/ outside chamfer tool, primer pocket cleaner)
8. optional: case trimmer kit (use LEE trim guide and cutter - about $10-$15) (you likely don't need to trim 45-70 cases anyway, but...)
9. optional: small scoops to pour powder in cases and scale (LEE Powder Measure Kit is handy and inexpensive)

You might want to add a tumbler and other stuff later but that is all you need to get started loading and learn the ropes.

You'll also need brass, bullets, primers, case lube, and powder.
 
Brianma65 said:
Just a question, don’t mean to offend anyone.

It appears that,most of the Lee supporters have many,many years experience.

So I was wondering,do they like the Lee stuff,because that’s all they’ve ever known or used?

Or what am I missing?
I see occasional threads pop up ,with Lee press issues,etc.
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I think you're being a chit disturber. :)

CGN is like all the other forums - there is a preponderance of exaggeration, wasted emotion, and arm-chair expertise. There are many people who have spent more time arguing about reloading tools than they have actually reloading. Some of them have thousands of posts. Arguing about reloading is a lot more interesting than actual reloading for many people. :)

LEE makes some good stuff and it's not all "junk". There are better quality tools that will last longer and sometimes do a better job but LEE is OK and a good price for starter level. LEE single stage presses are as good as any, period. LEE scales and powder measures are not great and for that reason I would avoid the kits, but thousands of people use them and there is no question they work.
 
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yomomma said:
9. Lee dies come with powder scoop.
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yes. also extremely easy to make something yourself.

i often use the Lee powder measure kit scoops because they are fast and good enough for a lot of reloading, especially 45-70 and such. You wouldn't use them for match grade ammo maybe, but in an open sighted 45-70 it will be ok. v
 
jethunter said:
To get started on reloading 45-70, this is the basic tools you need:

1. press
2. primer seating tool (most presses come with a primer seating attachment but if not you need to buy separate)
3. 45-70 reloading die set
4. scale
5. loading block
6. powder funnel
7, case prep tools (need inside/ outside chamfer tool, primer pocket cleaner)
8. optional: case trimmer kit (use LEE trim guide and cutter - about $10-$15) (you likely don't need to trim 45-70 cases anyway, but...)
9. optional: small scoops to pour powder in cases and scale (LEE Powder Measure Kit is handy and inexpensive)

You might want to add a tumbler and other stuff later but that is all you need to get started loading and learn the ropes.

You'll also need brass, bullets, primers, case lube, and powder.
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Thanks that is a very helpful list.
 
Brianma65 said:
Just a question, don’t mean to offend anyone.

It appears that,most of the Lee supporters have many,many years experience.

So I was wondering,do they like the Lee stuff,because that’s all they’ve ever known or used?

Or what am I missing?
I see occasional threads pop up ,with Lee press issues,etc.
Click to expand...
I use a Lee press, mainly because the two fellas that have helped show me the ropes use them, and one of them has been a lifelong reloader and has probably forgotten more than most of us will ever know. You can spend a lot more money to arrive at the same result with other presses but if you are taught properly, you will be able to turn out ammo just as good as what is made on any other press.
As far as dies and accessories go, I use a combination of different brands that I sourced out as I needed them. Ive bought most of my dies at gun shows, and $25.00 is the most Ive ever paid for them, some were brand new, never used . I got a Lee balance scale, like new in the box for $10.00 If you look around you can find some equipment at a fair price.
 
Brianma65 said:
Just a question, don’t mean to offend anyone.

It appears that,most of the Lee supporters have many,many years experience.

So I was wondering,do they like the Lee stuff,because that’s all they’ve ever known or used?

Or what am I missing?
I see occasional threads pop up ,with Lee press issues,etc.
Click to expand...

I use Lee stuff and other companies stuff. Most of the Lee stuff is just as good but less expensive. As I said, for pistol dies, you can't get anything as good for 2X the money. I have tried lyman, hornady and RCBS, and they're not any better, but you don't get a similar kit for the same price. The Lee 4 dies kit comes with a shellholder and a factory crimp that others kit don't come with. I have a set of Hornady dies for 50AE because Lee doesn't make carbide dies for 50AE, but I would dump the hornady in a hearthbeat if Lee produced carbide dies for that calibre.

Their single stage press are just as good as the other brands. I'm not sure what the "press issues" are, I've never had any problem with mine. A couple pieces were missing when I got it (bought used for super cheap) so I got them for free from Lee's website, no fuss. Their Beam scale is arguably crap, but I've never had one so I don't know. Their hand primer seem a bit crappy and require different shellholders, so I have a lyman that works 100% and would buy another one even if this one broke right now.

Their progressive press might not be as good as the dillon or hornady, but they're half the price and still work pretty well if you don't mind making minor adjustments from time to time. I make 500 rounds per hour on a loadmaster that cost me about 300$. The Pro1000 seem really crappy, I wouldn't pay much for one.

At the end of the day, if it works, it works. And you can always get something better for more money. I believe most people who use Lee equipment just started with the low budget hardware to see if reloading is for them, and since it works, they just keep going with it. Most reloaders do it to save money, and if you have to buy equipment that's too pricey, it doesn't make sense.
 
Magellann said:
I use a Lee press, mainly because the two fellas that have helped show me the ropes use them, and one of them has been a lifelong reloader and has probably forgotten more than most of us will ever know. You can spend a lot more money to arrive at the same result with other presses but if you are taught properly, you will be able to turn out ammo just as good as what is made on any other press.
As far as dies and accessories go, I use a combination of different brands that I sourced out as I needed them. Ive bought most of my dies at gun shows, and $25.00 is the most Ive ever paid for them, some were brand new, never used . I got a Lee balance scale, like new in the box for $10.00 If you look around you can find some equipment at a fair price.
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Thanks for the answer... makes sense.
I wish we had gun shows around here.
 
Brianma65 said:
Just a question, don’t mean to offend anyone.

It appears that,most of the Lee supporters have many,many years experience.

So I was wondering,do they like the Lee stuff,because that’s all they’ve ever known or used?

Or what am I missing?
I see occasional threads pop up ,with Lee press issues,etc.
Click to expand...

Lee equipment has done everything that I have asked it to do. There was only one issue which was that it was not seating the bullets for my .223 deep enough. One email and a week later I had a a free, longer seating stem.

So short answer, never had an issue with Lee for the type of shooting I do.
 
yomomma said:
9. Lee dies come with powder scoop.
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Lee dies coming with a powder scoop is pretty much the equivalent of spam coming with that little key that helps you avoid using the use of a much faster and easier can opener in my opinion.....

I started with a lee kit, but ended up going to all rcbs...... lee stuff gets the job done, I just find the presses to be sloppy and the cast was starting to break at the base on mine.....
 
I have reloading equipment from Lee, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Redding, and i find Lee to be the cheapest of them all, i might be wrong but that's my personal opinion.
 
I've been averaging 800 rounds per month for 3 years so far with my Lee turret press. Mostly .44mag and 9mm but other calibres as well. I'm up to 8 turrets now, 1 dedicated for prep and the other 7 loaded with die sets all pre-set the way I want them. 5 of them have risers for the Lee autodisc powder measure. With this set up, I can switch from loading one calibre to another in less than 5 minutes including verifying COAL and charge weight. Progressives may be faster but nowhere near as versatile. Their perfect powder measure works just peachy after a short break in period when the internals get a fine coating of graphite making the loading of bigger rifle rounds much faster than measuring and trickling every single round.
Call their stuff cheap and nasty but they have some well thought out designs that perform.
 
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