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Thread: Why Lee?

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigedp51 View Post
    My first car wasn't a new Rolls Royce or a Cadillac it was a 54 Chevy with a moving blanket covering the worn out front seat.

    I started reloading with a Lee loader and then bought a RCBS Rockchucker press in 1973 that I'm still using today.

    Last night I sized 500 once fired military 9mm cases with a Lee die on my 44 year old Rockchucker press.

    "Why Lee" has a simple answer, its a product many people can afford. And not everyone needs or can afford a Rolls Royce.
    Well a lot of old timers that review newer Lee equipment are in about unanimous agreement that the affordable Lee of yesteryear ain't the affordable Lee of today.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Waylander View Post
    Well a lot of old timers that review newer Lee equipment are in about unanimous agreement that the affordable Lee of yesteryear ain't the affordable Lee of today.
    That may be true. But if Lee sees itself as the affordable option they are likely forced to cut corners and cheapen things up to keep prices low.

    This gets back to my original post. A Pro 1000 made of steel with metal gears would probably be as durable as about anything else out there. But it would probably cost as much as a Dillon Square Deal.

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    “The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

  3. #13
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    I have heard good things about their crimp die, but other than that I've heard issues with everything else. Maybe just isolated cases..... I don't see how it's the cheaper option in the long run though. How many people have honestly started reloading, then quit? As compared to those who go on with it, not many I'm guessing. So why not direct people to go buy a rock chucker press, t7, Lyman press etc, a good Redding or rcbs scale along with a uniflow and rcbs dies? That way they have quality the first time around, haven't broke the bank and have equipment that doesn't have corners cut in the manufacturing process? The powder thrower and press might get upgraded down the line, but you can load a lot of top quality ammo with the aforementioned equipment.

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  4. #14
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    Some of the LEE dies are unbeatable. I've got the lowest neck run-out, BY FAR, with the lee collet neck dies. And the Lee factory crimp die is priceless in my .223 production.

    The problem with Lee is that the stuff is often made with cheap materials.... so the dies wear out faster. But again, it's usually under $20 to replace them. I would be unhappy without the Lee Dies I have.
    "What would a $2,000 Geissele Super Duty do that a $500 PSA door buster on Black Friday couldn't do?" - Stopsign32v

  5. #15
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    To quote Glen Zeidecker in his Loading for Competition book " Richard Lee gets up on the other side of the bed
    that nobody else sleeps in", some of his ideas are genuinely innovative.
    Tale his rifle decapping rods, they are essentially full length tapered mandrels that control neck expansion without
    the dreaded chatter from expansion balls even those reversed and polished in a chuck.
    They also now offer undersized mandrel/decapping rods.

  6. #16
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    Its not how fast you mow, its how well you mow fast.

    Its not how much your dies cost, its how well you enjoy shooting your reloads.

    And I started reloading with a Lee loader, a plastic hammer, a single powder scoop and a plastic Lyman caliper.
    Last edited by bigedp51; 05-17-17 at 23:04.

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by markm View Post
    The problem with Lee is that the stuff is often made with cheap materials.... so the dies wear out faster. But again, it's usually under $20 to replace them. I would be unhappy without the Lee Dies I have.
    As you probably know, Lee will recondition or replace anything they make for half new price if you send it in.




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    “The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tokarev View Post
    As you probably know, Lee will recondition or replace anything they make for half new price if you send it in.




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    Rcbs backs their stuff up with unconditional lifetime warranties.

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  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by ubet View Post
    Rcbs backs their stuff up with unconditional lifetime warranties.

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    As does Dillon and Hornady.

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    “The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

  10. #20
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    To echo what others have already said the Lee crimp die is one of the most useful dies I have that's easy to set and forget, and it makes the perfect crimp every time. One piece of Lee equipment I've refused to give up has been a bench mounted Perfect Powder Measure. It's cheap, plastic, but it throws -- as the name implies -- the perfect powder charge every time. After prepping brass, and priming a load of cases I'll set up my seating die on station 1 of a 5 station Hornady progressive press, with a Lee factory crimp die on station 2, and charge all my cases on a Lee powder measure before feeding them into the press and seating a bullet. The Hornady powder drop that came with the AP throws anywhere from .2-.5 gr up or down from where it's set and there always seems to be powder stuck in the neck of the funnel.
    In heavenly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear;
    and safe is such confiding, for nothing changes here:
    the storm may roar without me, my heart may low be laid;
    but God is round about me, and can I be dismayed?

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