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Lee Precision


Hoss

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Just a little shout out for Lee. I use a Loadmaster, about 3.5 yrs old. some 17K rounds loaded on it. was having some primer feeding issues. talked to Lee, after seval questions they think I likely wore out a couple of parts in the system. they are sending them to me for free. I know everybody brags on their Dillons and their "no BS" warranty, but Lee has always treated me right.....for 1/3 the money!

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3 minutes ago, Hoss said:

 I know everybody brags on their Dillons and their "no BS" warranty, but Lee has always treated me right.....for 1/3 the money!

 Why slam Dillon? <_<

Two can play that game:rolleyes:-When was the last time you saw a Lee booth at a major SASS event?<_<

OLG

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1 minute ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 Why slam Dillon? <_<

Two can play that game:rolleyes:-When was the last time you saw a Lee booth at a major SASS event?<_<

OLG

Don't know that I did slam Dillon. They make fine machines, no doubt. I was just pointing out that Lee also makes fine machines, and they also stand behind their product.. And they do cost significantly less, and don't make better bullets.

 

I've only been to state level matches in Texas. Haven't seen any press manufactures at any of them.

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Hoss.

     I reloaded for about 7 years on a Lee Pro 1000, made many thousands of rounds. I found the Pro 1000 to be reliable, if not a little finicky, especially the primer feed. I did upgrade to a Dillon about 9 years ago and have been very happy. Overall, I would have to say Lee makes good equipment and although I never have had any warranty issues, I have heard they do stand behind there product. Glad you're happy with your Lee. Like the song says "If it makes you happy, it cant be that bad". Best of luck.

 

Irish Tom.

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I have used Lee single stage presses since 1986.  I figure that I have loaded about 130k rounds in that time.  About every five years I buy a new Lee press and retire the present one to deprime&prime tasks.  I don't have a thing against blue presses and really like their catalogs, but red presses  will likely be my choice.

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23 minutes ago, Tom Bullweed said:

I have used Lee single stage presses since 1986.  I figure that I have loaded about 130k rounds in that time.  About every five years I buy a new Lee press and retire the present one to deprime&prime tasks.  I don't have a thing against blue presses and really like their catalogs, but red presses  will likely be my choice.

When are you gonna yourself a Christmas present & get a Lee Classic Turret ? :)

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Had a Lee Pro 1000 had being the key word....Lee was very helpfull in replacing parts and guiding me to get the machine finally running. Once running it did make a nice bullet...finally. Traded my friend a bag of shot for it as he lost patience to get it running. That was going to be a secondary machine to my Dillon 450. Sold the Lee and the secondary machine is a Dillon square deal set up for small primer and the 450 for large primer. To be fair there has been a time or two the square deal has given me fits..

 

Hochbauer:FlagAm:

 

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With the sole exception of a Redding crimping die for .44-40, I've been using their dies since 1976 and I've never had a problem.  I did find that their hand primer is junk - the RCBS model that doesn't need a shellholder is far superior.

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51 minutes ago, JohnHenryQuick said:

With the sole exception of a Redding crimping die for .44-40, I've been using their dies since 1976 and I've never had a problem.  I did find that their hand primer is junk - the RCBS model that doesn't need a shellholder is far superior.


I bought my son a Lee Auto Bench Prime for his birthday. Next I'm gonna buy me one for my birthday.

 

 

autoprime.JPG

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1 hour ago, Yusta B. said:


I bought my son a Lee Auto Bench Prime for his birthday. Next I'm gonna buy me one for my birthday.

 

 

autoprime.JPG

 

Happy Birthday!  :D

 

I like the almost vertical positioning of the tray on that one - if the primers slide through the channel more reliably than the hand-held model, then it ought to serve you well.  This is the model I use:

 

 

 

RCBSHandPrimer.jpg

 

EDIT: This one doesn't need a shell holder - it automatically fits all sizes and the only thing you have to do is screw in the correct ram for the primer size.  I thought the "fingers" that hold the shell looked flimsy, but I've been using it for 9mm, 38, .44-40 and .45 Auto for about 3 years now and it works like a charm.

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14 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 Why slam Dillon? <_<

Two can play that game:rolleyes:-When was the last time you saw a Lee booth at a major SASS event?<_<

OLG


When your product is the least costly you don't need to push it as hard.
They could double their price, still be cheaper, and spend that extra income in marketing and such.

I had a loadmaster, have a breechlock challenger single stage. Hand primer and some other bits. No complaints.

My 650 cost me $1100 and I had the dies. To conver tto loading 223, just to CONVERT it, no dies, is gonna be $175ish.
I spent maybe $300 to get into loading on a loadmaster, dies and all.

For the cost of $175 I'm debating my options...SS seems slow..

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2 minutes ago, JohnHenryQuick said:

 

Happy Birthday!  :D

 

I like the almost vertical positioning of the tray on that one - if the primers slide through the channel more reliably than the hand-held model, then it ought to serve you well.  This is the model I use:

 

RCBSHandPrimer.jpg

 

 

Yep, ONE of the ones I have owned. :)  Still in search of the ultimate hand primer.

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I used a Lee for 10 years and it did the job well. As I started to shoot more the plastic gears in it wore out. I could have fixed it but I got a Dillon because of the extra loading I was doing.

 

IMHO If you don't shoot a lot or want to save money the Lee's are a great option. If you shoot a LOT and want a lifetime purchase with a warranty the Dillon is hard to beat.

 

This is a pressing subject!

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I had bad luck with a Lee Pro 1000. It was my first reloader and I admit that my steep learning curve might have been part of the problem however, as another poster stated, it was persnickety by any measure and required constant fiddling. I now have an XL650 that runs reliably and predictably and I have zero complaints about it.

 

i do not want to dismiss anyone's positive experience with Lee, I just don't share it.

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I started with Lee and if recall correctly they were bought out and get replacement parts became hard and use to be you would never break a primer punch pin then all of a sudden you look at it wrong and it broke.  Ike their dies I still try to but Lee dies first especially their four die sets for handgun ammo.  But I hated their prime setup must use gravity feed tubes they use vibrating discs.

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1 hour ago, Blackey Cole said:

I started with Lee and if recall correctly they were bought out and get replacement parts became hard and use to be you would never break a primer punch pin then all of a sudden you look at it wrong and it broke.  Ike their dies I still try to but Lee dies first especially their four die sets for handgun ammo.  But I hated their prime setup must use gravity feed tubes they use vibrating discs.

I have ordered some parts as spares and they charged only shipping. Never personally tried to get something that was out of stock.

 

Been using Lee dies for over 30 years,  broke one primer punch on a rock in the case. A die set every couple years.

 

Hand primers are more reliable than any automatic system, in my opinion.

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5 hours ago, Blackey Cole said:

I started with Lee and if recall correctly they were bought out and get replacement parts became hard and use to be you would never break a primer punch pin then all of a sudden you look at it wrong and it broke.  Ike their dies I still try to but Lee dies first especially their four die sets for handgun ammo.  But I hated their prime setup must use gravity feed tubes they use vibrating discs.


Hey pard, are you the Blackey Cole who I used to shoot with at the Colorado Cowboys???  I see you're in NM now, but were you up here a while back?

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