why are lee dies frowned upon by some

[Doctor]

Not everyone of course downs the Lee dies, but why are the rcbs, dillon, hornady dies thought of as better?

what do they do better than Lee and for what kind of shooting would that matter if indeed they do anything better at all?

[technetium-99m]

Lee dies are just fine, so are their handheld priming tools.

Their presses are another story.

[Sarge]

LEE makes great dies. I think the fact some of their other products are marginal at best gives all of their products a poor image. Nothing wrong with LEE dies. Some of the other brands offer snazzy seating dies etc that cost more than a whole set of dies from anybody else. AND they don't do crap to improve the ammo that we need to produce for our game of USPSA. Dillon dies are good dies but I wouldn't call them great. They have some nice features but they can also have some undesirable features as well. For me I found the seating die to be a bitch to adjust in very small amounts due to the course threads so I got a seater die with very fine threads to make the job much easier. And my Dillon sizer didn't size my brass down enough to prevent setback so I got a LEE/EGW Udie and only use the Dillon to do some depriming work on crimped brass.

[polizei1]

I run the 3-die set including the FCD from Lee for 9mm. I recently bought a set of Forster dies for 300blk. I have not used those dies yet, but from an initial look, the Forsters appear to be better made with better attention to detail (de-capping pin, body construction, etc). That said, IMO, the Lee dies are fine, and are pretty darn cheap.

I would agree though, the seating die could be better.

[BeerBaron]

The lee dies are cheaper. some assume cheaper means worse.

yes the finish is not as nice as say a redding die. this does not affect function.

yes a micro adjustable redding seat die is a nice thing. does it do anything useful for USPSA type pistol ammo? I don't think so. that one die costs more than a set of lee.

the lee flare and powder drop die is a little basic.

the lee sizing die is excellent (though I normall remove the decapping rod and use the universal decapper which is also excellent).

the lee FCD is great for reliable USPSA ammo IF (and it's a big IF) you set it up and use it correctly. it doesn't work for all applications.

they do the job just fine. some other dies have some nice little features that make them perhaps more 'usable' but in the end it doesn't really add to the quality of the ammo.

I'd also always suggest not using the lee seat and crimp die to crimp. use it to seat only and it's actually a decent seating die with fine enough adjustment. then use a seperate crimp die (redding, RCBS, dillon or the lee FCD).

[bowenbuilt]

I have been using Lee dies for loading pistol and revolver ammunition more than 35 years. I started with a Lee loader that you beat the cases in and out of with a plastic hammer. I always use a Lee sizing die and the Lee seating die for pistol ammunition. For a few dollars they will custom make a seating stem to fit the bullet of your choice and I really like that. All of my tool heads use Lee sizers and seating dies with a Redding or RCBS taper crimp die. I do not use the FCD on any auto pistol ammunition for crimping but it works great as a bulge buster. I find the Lee sizing dies to size a little farther down the case than most others and most of the time just a touch smaller in their regular off the shelf packages. If you find that you need them sized a little smaller still to prevent setback then the Lee U die is the way to go. I don't know who is poo pooing Lee dies to you but some people would bitch if hung with a 24k gold rope.

Edited August 27, 2014 by bowenbuilt

[RDA]

Lee 300 BLK dies are hit or miss, some have reported they work fine, an equal amount have reported they didn't size the case properly. I use some Lee dies (they get the job done), but I prefer other brands (such as Redding or Forster) due to better quality and/or better features if they are available.

Edited August 26, 2014 by RDA

[ericridebike]

Very happy with all of my Lee Dies (9mm, .223, & .308). They all work perfectly fine for what I need them to do.

[Steve RA]

Ignorance mostly !!!

[Shooter115]

Their O-ring lock nuts suck monkey balls, other than that they are okay. Not the best on the market, but they get the job done.

[Jakobi]

I've never had an issue with the o-ring lock nuts. I actually prefer them to the set screw style. Screw clamp styles are on par. Dillon jam nuts are a PITA.

[BeerBaron]

Lee 300 BLK dies are hit or miss, some have reported they work fine, an equal amount have reported they didn't size the case properly. I use some Lee dies (they get the job done), but I prefer other brands (such as Redding or Forster) due to better quality and/or better features if they are available.

I should have qualified. my experience with dies and loading in general is limited to pistol stuff. I've no doubt if I was loading rifle I might have a different opinion of their product. but for bulk pistol rounds for action type shooting the lee dies are more than good enough.

[bowenbuilt]

For use in the Dillon tool heads take out the rubber O-ring and flip the die nuts upside down. They work perfect on all of my tool heads used this way and just as good as the Dillon's.

[Youngeyes]

I loaded 50 AE with several different dies and they all caused bullet set back. Lee was the only die that sized the case enough. YMWV

[grouptherapy]

I have no complaints with lee dies. All I use. No problems. Just me.

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[L3324temp]

I actually prefer Lee dies for pistol.

[Foxbat]

I like Lee dies a lot. I prefer them over Dillon dies - they require less effort, but work very well.

[grouptherapy]

I use them for pistol and rifle. No complains. Set them up as they advise and you will not have a problem.

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[GlockCanMan]

I use a mixture of RCBS and Lee. The first thing that I do with the Lee dies is take the rubber o-ring lock nuts off and screw on some of the Hornady locking rings with a set screw on them. Once locked down, I have never needed to adjust them.

[grouptherapy]

I set it and forget it. But I'm on a lee turret. When I change caliber I just change turrets. Like ronco says...set it and forget it. I like lee.

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Edited August 31, 2014 by grouptherapy

[yellowfin]

I use Lee for all my pistol loading but prefer Hornady for rifle. The FCD is VERY nice. In .40 and .45 I use their Bulge Buster on every round I load.

[CeeZer]

Tried Lee, RCBS and Hornady myself on 9mm.

Hornady won where the other two were far-far behind.

[Fuelie777]

I use Lee dies on all Pistol items. use the Redding on the taper crimp. When I have jacketed bullets, I use the FCD, for lead no. I also use the EGW smaller diameter die. Works great. I have loaded tens of thousands of ammo with Lee dies. All work well for me.

[joedirt]

I run lee dies in a 650. I didn't like the "bell" on the Dillon dies.

[NuJudge]

If you shoot cast bullets, the Dillon seater is clearly superior, in that you can disassemble a seater die to clean out accumulated bullet lubricant without losing adjustment. Other than that, their dies are fine. I don't trust progressive press priming mechanisms, so I actually prefer the Lee Loadmaster progressive press.