[locutus]

I, too, have been reloading since 1965. both as a hobby, and for 5 of those years commercially.

And after extensive experience, both hobby and commercial loading, I could never, in good, conscience, recommend LEE equipment to anyone.

It just doesn't even come close to the quality of the other brands.

And yes, it will work, and load safe and shootable ammo. But put it side by side with Redding, Dillon, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, etc, and the difference in quality is quite obvious, even to the untrained eye.

Sorry guys, but in reloading equipment, as in everything else in life, you get what you pay for..

[Txhillbilly]

Originally Posted by locutus

I, too, have been reloading since 1965. both as a hobby, and for 5 of those years commercially.

And after extensive experience, both hobby and commercial loading, I could never, in good, conscience, recommend LEE equipment to anyone.

It just doesn't even come close to the quality of the other brands.

And yes, it will work, and load safe and shootable ammo. But put it side by side with Redding, Dillon, RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, etc, and the difference in quality is quite obvious, even to the untrained eye.

Sorry guys, but in reloading equipment, as in everything else in life, you get what you pay for..

I beg to differ!
Opinions are like A$$holes,Everybody's got one.

Now with a Progressive type reloader,you are correct,but with a Turret press,I'd rather use a Lee than the stuff that RCBS and Lyman produce.Both of those brands only support the turret in the center,and the turret will always move when you push the cartridge into the dies.
I have tried them all,and setup dial indicators to record the turret movements.While none were really great with new equipment,I'm sure that with age,those numbers would really get farther out of being centered than I'd care for.With the Lee,the turret plate is supported from the outside of the ring,and although it does move,it is constant,and doesn't change.

I like/have products from all of the reloading mfg's.They all have some products that are made better or work better that another brand does.
But a Cast iron press by RCBS/Lyman isn't any better than a Cast Iron press by Lee.

Some friends/shooters of mine won't use anything for reloading unless it's painted green.They only use RCBS Competition dies,and are very anal about their ammo.We had an argument about reloading equipment one day,and they bet me that ammo out of my equipment wouldn't shoot as good as theirs.
I wrote down all of their loading data,and loaded some ammo exactly to their specs.We went to the range,and the ammo that I loaded with my Lee Turret press,and with Lee Deluxe dies shot just as well as the ammo that they produce with their equipment.
Was it luck? No,I don't think so,I've always shot really well with my ammo.

If you like a certain brand of reloading equipment,that's great. But to say that Lee's isn't worth having,your either a brand snob,or have only had some bad experience's with something that they made at one time.
Anything made by man or machine can break or have problems,and yes I've broken a few things from just about all of the reloading brands.That doesn't keep me from using other things that they make.

[robocop10mm]

I will support Hillbilly on this one, kind of. Lee makes some products that are on par with green or orange. Their dies work well. I use dies from RCBS, Lyman, Dillon and Lee. I have no complaints with any of them. I happen to use Dilon RL450, an RCBS Jr. single stage, a Lyman 450 lubrisizer and a MEC shotshell loader. I would have no reservations in using the Lee single stage or turret press. I would avoid the Lee progessives. Lee bullet molds are good products. Their handles leave a bit to be desired, but the molds are great values.

[willfully armed]

I don't recommend the steel top.

A laminate old kitchen counter is what I used. Won't conduct electricity, won't let oil soak in won't rust....

[BodySnatcher]

Okay, so I need to pick up some green and orange paint.

The steel I have for the bench top is 25 years old, and still has no rust on it.

Now the issue of conducting electricity... I'll have to think on that.

[tiberius10721]

You made some good choices with the equipment you bought. Do not let anybody tell you that your lee turret press is not a good press because its not built as heavy duty as other presses. This silly argument was settled many years ago. The fact is All modern day presses are way overbuilt for the amt. of force needed to reload ammunition. When you get a chance buy a chronogragh this will help give you a better idea of what is going on with your reloads as far as fps and pressure. I have a lee turret press which i have used for 12 years without any problems.

[willfully armed]

Originally Posted by BodySnatcher

Okay, so I need to pick up some green and orange paint.

The steel I have for the bench top is 25 years old, and still has no rust on it.

Now the issue of conducting electricity... I'll have to think on that.

Now, a good layer( or ten) of oil based high gloss on that plate.....

[ktmboyz]

+1 on the Chrony, not absolutly needed but very valuable to figure out where you are with you loads. but you can get by with out that for a while,, put it on you x-mas list

Another if you plan to hunt with your rifle loads would be primer pocket sealer, and a primer pocket cleaner.

[Vikingdad]

A steel top is fine for modern smokeless powders but as I understand it if you ever use black powder steel is a big no-no.

I think a lot of these opinions differ because of the volume of reloading they do. I did have a Lyman turret press that I inherited and it was nothing but trouble for me. It had seen little use with the previous owner and virtually none with me. I gave it away. I kept the RCBS Rockchucker. My main press is a Dillon 550B. I am new into reloading though. Just been doing it a couple of years. I also have an RCBS Ammomaster progressive that I have used a few times. It seems to be a good press.

Keep your eyes open and who knows what you will end up with.

[sarg1c]

you might want a dry mica neck lub kit....again, lee makes one as well as others. also I like the Lee factory crimp dies....