Lee vs RCBS dies

[hometheaterman]

So I'm considering getting a new set of dies. I see the Lees RGB dies are about half of the price of the RCBS standard dies. Is there anything better about the RCBS or are you just paying for the name? Can you crimp with the Lee dies? I see the more expensive set of Lee dies comes with a factory crimp die. Is this the die set I'd need if I wanted to crimp?

[Xfire68]

You can crimp with the bullet seating die in Lees sets but, it is recommended to do the crimp with the Factory crimp die. The Factory crimp die also sizes the round while crimping to be sure the round will chamber properly. I have only used Lees dies so I can"t say that RCBS is worse, same or better. I can say I have had great luck using Lee dies in the past and with my newer setup as well.

[geetarman]

I have used Lee dies. They got me started in reloading.

That said, RCBS, Redding and Forster are light years ahead of Lee.

[DavidAGO]

I use both RCBS and Lee dies; in some cases, I use a mixture for some calibers. for instance, I use the Lee sizer for 38/357, but I like the expander die from the RCBS set. For wadcutters, I seat with the RCBS, but crimp with the Lee factory crimp die. For SWC, I seat and crimp with the Lee die.As far as the finished product, I see no difference. I have come to like the Lee lock ring with the big O ring; the allen set screw in the RCBS dies seems old school now. I do also like the deprimer system in the Lee dies, I have broken too many RCBS pins to like them. I don't think it makes a hill of beans of difference which die set you buy; they all are of good quality and do the job. For me, the price difference makes the choice clear, now I buy Lee dies. To answer your last question, you can crimp with the Lee seater die, it is set up no different than the RCBS dies. I do use the Lee factory crimp die with just a couple of calibers.

DavidAGO

[physikal]

I am fairly new to reloading so keep that in mind.

I have a mixture of RCBS and Lee Dies. To be honest, in some cases I like the lee dies better. The way they setup the decapping pin is pretty nice so it's "unbreakable". It's obvious with the lee dies that they cut corners in certain areas. Like their die locks, they don't have a set screw like the RCBS dies do. I miss that. But really I just take them off of the RCBS dies that I don't use often and put them on my Lee dies.

IMO, you cannot go wrong buying Lee dies. They are good quality. They get the job done, and they have great customer service. The only time you may consider straying away from Lee dies is if you are extremely anal about how everything is made and you want the match grade stuff. That's not to say you can't make match grade ammo with Lee dies, I really wouldn't know. But I just assume that RCBS and them make match grade dies for a reason.

The thing I really appreciate about Lee dies is if I happen to pick up a new gun I want to start reloading for. I can go drop 25 dollars on a set of Lee dies to try it out and get started loading for that new gun. It's better than dropping 40 or so on some RCBS. It really isn't that big of a difference when you think about it. But if you just spent a few hundred on a gun, and the reloading materials for it, every dollar you don't have to justify to the wife counts. hah.

[Doodlebugger45]

As far as the quality of the ammo they produce, there is no difference at all. I have several of each brand. Mostly I bought RCBS when I couldn't find the Lee dies in that caliber locally. I have to admit that there does seem to be something "special" about the RCBS dies. They just seem to look and feel a bit different, but maybe that is psychological because I had to pay more for them. There are some differences in the locking mechanism and the decapping pin system, but you get used to it fast. Like I said, I mostly buy Lee just to save a buck, but I have nothing against spending for the RCBS if that's all that is available for that caliber.

I have a couple of the FCD for .357 and .45 LC. At first, they seemed pretty cool and they work well, but being lazy, I have pretty much quit using them because it just adds another step. I just crimp with the seating die, even for the .480 and .454 and it works pretty well.

[RidgwayCO]

The only Lee die I use regularly anymore is their universal decapping die. All of the other Lee reloading dies I bought (to save money...) have since been replaced by RCBS dies. Wait... that's not correct... I also still use the Lee factory crimp die on my .223 reloads.

[sonick808]

rcbs dies are light years ahead of Lee ?

news to many of us....

the micrometers are pretty, but light years ?

[William T. Watts]

Since no one else is going to take the plunge for RCBS I guess it's up to me, I prefer RCBS dies, if they aren't available I'll purchase Redding or Hornady or Lyman or Forester etc and not think about Lee. I'm a long time handloader 40+ years that has used all of the dies available to the hand loader. Lee is at the bottom of my list and yes I have used them, in fact I thought my RCBS dies were worn out and discarded them and purchased Lee reloading dies to replace the RCBS dies that were pitched. Then I found the Lee dies were soft and scratched easily and the ammunition I loaded wasn't up to my usually standards. It turned out I didn't have a die problem but a vision problem, my new glasses did the trick. The new multiple set of Lee dies purchased wouldn't produce the accuracy from my rifles I was accustomed to so I replace the Lee dies sets with RCBS dies and haven't looked back. There are to many quality reloading dies available from other manufactures that I would never purchase Lee dies again. I have never broken a decapping pin in a RCBS resizing die in 40+ years either, I believe you get what you pay for and I'm willing to pay a bit more for quality! IMO! William

[physikal]

Woops. Deleted.