what type of reloader would you suggest?

[CrustyFN]

Show me a thread about a dissatisfied RCBS user. They are not there.

They are hard to find if you don't look for them.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=628541

http://forums.handloads.com/archive/...s.asp?TID=2850

http://www.shootersforum.com/handloa...-problems.html

[Edward429451]

Oh, well sorry if I was misleading. I was talking about RCBS's bulletproof Rockchucker. Not the pro 2000 or their turret press which I have no exp with.

You kind of made my point though, no die threads, no single stage RCBS threads. The progressive stuff that RCBS is making now may be iffy also and so if a progressive is desired, why not go to the brand that started it all and has the best progressives (Blue).

Look at RCBS's line pre-progressive. It's bulletproof. You screw a die into it and it works without fail unless it's abused. Their dies too. I have never had any problem with RCBS dies that wasn't operator error induced.

RCBS's specialty is the Rockchucker and their dies.
Dillon's specialty is progressives.
If you want trouble free operation, there is no debate. Lee loses. Buy once, save the frustration, or the money you save on Lee you can buy some frustration with!

[dacaur]

Oh, well sorry if I was misleading. I was talking about RCBS's bulletproof Rockchucker. Not the pro 2000 or their turret press which I have no exp with.

So what is your actual experience with lee presses? My guess is none, or perhaps some with a lee progressive, because the lee single stage and turrets are about as trouble free in operation as it gets, coming from my actuall experience, not second hand. Ive not seen anyone have problems with them that weren't operator induced....

Come to think of it, there was a recent thread about RCBS dies, with the OP lamenting perhaps he should have just got lee dies just sayin....

[scsov509]

FWIW, I don't think in my years of reloading I've really heard much in the way of complaining about any single stage presses from any company. A single stage press is a pretty simple tool, so there's not a lot that can go wrong with it. So, when I talk with new reloaders I usually suggest a single stage press of whatever fits their budget.

If it were me, I'd buy the more inexpensive Lee press and then spend my money on some of the other accessories where I think the differences are more pronounced. IMO, a single stage press is a single stage press. Powder measures, hand primers, scales, etc on the other hand as a whole different story. YMMV...

[Edward429451]

I've never stroked a Lee press in my life. I read the threads though. Sure seems to be a recurring topic. Lees not all bad. I use their dippers and never had a problem with them, and I use two of their FCD dies and they work good.

I never had a problem with Lee dies, oh wait, I own one set of Lee 41 Mag dies, and 21 sets of RCBS dies. Perhaps that explains it.

[jagwire]

For a single stage press go with the Forster/Bonanza Co-Ax. It is more expensive (about $265). But as quickly as reloading presses pay themselves off it is well worth the extra money. I've had the opportunity to use several other single stage presses and I will name names. Hornady lock n load classic, RCBS rockchucker, a Lyman single stage and a Lee. In my opinion the Co-Ax is easily the best of the bunch. I am not biased toward any one brand. My reloading setup has dies and tools from every one of the manufacturers I mentioned earlier. Forster's advertising is pretty much non-existent so you dont hear about them as much, but a top quality product nonetheless.

[dickttx]

If I didn't like the Lee equipment I wouldn't buy it.

[CrustyFN]

I've never stroked a Lee press in my life. I never had a problem with Lee dies, oh wait, I own one set of Lee 41 Mag dies, and 21 sets of RCBS dies. Perhaps that explains it.

Yes it explains a lot. It tells me your opinion about any Lee product is worthless. Like the opinion below.

"If you get a Rockchucker press, you'll never have to take part in a how do I make my red thing work thread. You can get on to learning to reload and bypass all the crap."

[dacaur]

^^That^^

Its funny how generally the people who speak the loudest against any given product are the ones who have never actualy used one... Hearsay and assumptions seem to make some people speak louder than they would otherwise....

I dont get how you can, with a clear conscience say "IMHO, any brand except Lee." when you have never even used one....
How can anyone older than 12 have an opinion on something they have never tried? My 3 year old has opinions about things she has never tried, and 9 times out o 10 when I make her try it, it turns out she DOES like it, who would have think a 3 year old would LOOOOOOOVE broccoli?

Try a lee, you might like it.

[dmazur]

bamalefty -

I'm sure nobody is intentionally ignoring your post. I'm not a moderator, but I do believe your post might not be in line with one of the few rules for use of this forum -

4. Mangling of the English language whether through ignorance, age, sloth or intent diminishes and embarrasses each of us, and is disrespectful to the reading membership. Posts which are indecipherable due to inability to translate thoughts into coherent written statements will be deleted without explanation. Recidivists will be removed.

I would try again, as your own thread (instead of hijacking this one) and use some punctuation to break it into sentences and paragraphs.

Lots of helpful, friendly folks here.

[Edward429451]

Now wait a cotton pickin minute. All it says that I've never used Lee presses is not that I have no experience, but rather that I have comprehension and critical thinking skills...

I get on here and read Wah, my Lee press...and it's thread after thread like that...and you suggest that I need experience the Lee Frustration to understand? Ha! I have comprehension my friend and understand your red problems without being there. Then my critical thinking kicks in and I go hmm, a guy could bypass all that frustration by buying a different color. Dick Tracy I am.

You guys can buy anything you want. If you like to tinker and save money, then perhaps Lee is for you. But if your just starting out and need to minimize your chances for problems, perhaps Lee is not for you.

(Boy, you guys are proud of your Lee stuff aren't you?)

[Sparks1957]

I get on here and read Wah, my Lee press...and it's thread after thread like that...

Sorry, but I've been reading page after page of this particular forum reading people's experiences with various reloading equipment (as I'm doing my homework), and I just simply don't see "thread after thread" of complaints about Lee equipment.

And you've never used it yourself? Hardly a credible opinion about it, in my opinion. Sorry.

[ScottRiqui]

Sorry, but I've been reading page after page of this particular forum reading people's experiences with various reloading equipment (as I'm doing my homework), and I just simply don't see "thread after thread" of complaints about Lee equipment.

Same here - in fact, when it comes to the Lee Classic Turret, the consensus here is overwhelmingly positive - almost embarassingly "love-fest" / "echo chamber" positive.

If I didn't have a LCT myself and appreciate just how great they are, I'd probably write it off as fanboyism, but they really *are* that good.

[dickttx]

The Lee bashers remind me of when I was looking for a bass boat in the mid 70's. Every dealer I talked to said they were better than a Ranger. No one ever said they were better than a Kingfisher, etc, etc.
I bought a Ranger.

[Edward429451]

That seems to be true about the turret presses. I'll give you that.

I'm not bashing Lee dies either. I said they work good. I do not hear complaints on the dies or the LCT.

Perhaps thread after thread was not the best way to say that because it's so subjective. I've been on the board for longer than you have and have been reading threads a lot longer. Trouble with Lee threads are there.

You Lee owners are taking offense to this and seek to try to paint me as some kind of basher. Why is that? SHouldn't new reloaders with questions be steered to the best stuff? Perhaps you can't afford the green stuff and it burns you up that others might? Thats the wrong reason.

RCBS Rockchuckers ARE better than Lee single stage presses. Dillons ARE better than Lee progressives...Wth? Let's not be biased for the wrong reasons. Just because your old Datsun truck is what you have doesn't mean he shouldn't get a Ford if he has the money. It's good that you're proud of your Lee stuff, but, jeesh!

[dickttx]

One of the forums recently had a poll on die brands. Lee had more than 50% of the total votes, out of seven or eight brands. Not very scientific, but pretty indicative of peoples results with them.
And, as previously stated, most of the bashers have never used the equipment they are bashing.
Actually I have only ever had two pieces of reloading equipment that did not work correctly, a case trimming tool (lathe type) and a die type collet bullet puller.
In my job, and in reloading, I always figured that if it did not work right then I was doing something wrong. And that always proved to be the case, except with the bullet puller.
In reloading I am not concerned with a lot of measurements of cases, bullets, primers, etc., I just want them to feed and fire. And with my Lee equipment they always do.
In my other life as a reloader, more than 40 years ago, I had very good, very expensive equipment that worked very well. At that time Lee only made the $9.95 loader and a few gadgets. When I got back into it a couple of years ago I only wanted to load for handguns and needed a little faster equipment. After reading the VERY POSITIVE posts about the Lee equipment I bought the LCT press and accessories and a 4 die set of Lee dies. I soon replaced all my RCBS and Lyman dies with the Lee 4 die sets. Not because they didn't work, but because the Lee dies work better with the LCT. Can't say I have a single complaint about the equipment if I do my part. And I am very glad to pay substantially less than for most other similar equipment.

[Mac Sidewinder]

I am just about to pull the trigger and invest in some reloading equipment. Because of this I have poured through these (and other) boards looking for the "best" equipment recommendations I could find. The only thing I have seen against Lee equipment is that the progressive is finiky and can cause the inexperienced problems. But guess what? I have seen that same complaint with just about every color of progressive.

I haven't seen anyone with a Lee Classic Turret talk it down. You can't call me a dedicated user/fan since I haven't owned anything yet but so far I think I am going to invest in the red one.

Mac

[TNT]

To each there own I knew nothing of reloading and I just went out and bought a Dillon 550B, of course when I started 15yrs ago it was not as expensive, still time consuming and when you reload you cant help but to either piece it all together or wait until you have everything to get started

[Sparks1957]

I've been on the board for longer than you have and have been reading threads a lot longer. Trouble with Lee threads are there.

Ahh, now you're going to pull rank in the attempt to defend your opinion? Cheap shot.

I noticed you are qualifying your own earlier posts quite a bit, so now some Lee equipment isn't maybe so bad, even though you've never used it?

Sorry, I'm not going by your opinion when I buy reloading equipment in a month or two

[dunerjeff]

The biggest thing is most people will always think what they bought is the best,no matter the color. I really would like to see how many would continue to buy and praise Lee if it was the same price as say RCBS or Hornady. I also have a question about how many that say Lee is the best,have they actually,TRUELY,used the other brands? Yes I know some have and say the target can't tell the difference ect...

My take is, yes I HAVE bought Lee, 2 out of three products failed to work as they are suposed to ,the third is clearly poorer workmanship(which is why the other two failed. I have 11 sets of dies of one other color and 4 sets of another,and non of the others have failed to work as they are suposed to.(one does rust way to easy though) My bad luck to get the only three bad ones? Maybe? I can guarantee it wasn't "operator error" . I've loaded way to much with the "others" with no problems.

The fact that I'm acually a machinist(21 years) and a big part of my job is quality control. I can see defects and bad machining,rough surfaces,out of tolerances,ect.. If anyone truely looks over products the way I do,they could see why Lee is cheaper. But that also doesn't always mean that they won't work or even do a good a job as the others,it does mean that they made the stuff faster or pushed cutters farther and cut some cosmetic processes to keep prices down. It can be a good thing(better value for the customer) or a bad thing(more defects or issues).
That is my take on the world,everyone here is a grown up and free to chose what they like.

[Sparks1957]

My take is, yes I HAVE bought Lee

Thank you. Now that is a posting that I can respect, because it based on actual experience with the product.

[Edward429451]

No, I was accused of not doing my homework and so I made note of the fact that I've been here reading help me threads longer than you have, and perhaps that would explain why I feel this way.

I'm qualifying my earlier statements because I do want to be fair. Some Lee stuff is ok, and some isn't. I've been saying that all along. A press is like a cornerstone to a reloading room. Don't make the cornerstone junk. Lee's ancillary items are fine but don't scrimp on the press.

I had fun with this thread but you sound a little upset. Don't buy a cheap press just to spite me, that's childish!

[Sparks1957]

Don't buy a cheap press just to spite me, that's childish

You need not worry about that, friend. What I will base my purchase on is the opinions if people who actually buy and use the equipment.

However, the Lee Classic Turret is the leading contender right now in my research, due to volume of loading I'll do and the fact that it can be used single-stage... a pretty unique set of qualities that fit my needs.

[SIGSHR]

One caveat is to check the specifications for each press and see what cartridges they CANNOT handle. As an example, I bought the RCBS 4x4, it cannot handle the 45-70. NBD, gave me an excuse to buy the Lee AND Lyman hand presses, and the minuscule number of 45-70 rounds I load does not overtax them. I also find the lee and Lyman hand presses good learning tools.

[oneounceload]

I am not as experienced as some here, I have only been loading for 35 years, so take that as it is,

Lee is like your first car -you want the cheapest thing that can manage to do the task, before you get a bigger budget and move onto the gear that will actually last and produce top ammo

Lee is made, built and priced, for the entry level person, and for that type of person, it does an OK job..........but if you look at the folks who are serious about their accuracy, or their volume, or similar, you will see that they have moved onto products from RCBS, Dillon, Hornady, Redding, Forster, etc and in the shotshell realm, the Lee Load All II is a joke..... MEC, DIllon, RCBS, PW, Spolar, etc..... RULE that realm

Since you are new, go ahead and get the Lee, realizing that once you get your feet wet, and you want better production in the terms of accuracy or volume, that you will soon be moving up to better quality brands

Welcome to another fun side of shooting