LEE IS CRAP

[Delkal]

I will go way out on a limb here and say EVERYONE should start out reloading with a lee single stage press kit. I did and eventually upgraded most (still use and prefer my older style auto prime to the RCBS) but Lee stuff works and it will get you started loading for under $150 with a die or two. You will pay for the kit quickly then you can decide if you want to continue reloading or if you don't have the time. Even if it sits in a box most of the time you can use it to load that hard to find / obscure rifle cartridge. 30-40 Krag?, .300 savage? No problem, buy some common .30 caliber bullets and save $1 a shot.

The Lee kit is probably not the best if you are reloading common handgun cartridges or a .223. Then it is best to buy a progressive but that is going to cost you big bucks (and you will still need a single stage press for some rounds).

[SgtRecon]

The large majority of my equipment is Lee , and I have no complaints, My presses are 2 Lee Pro 1000 progressives that I run my 45 ACP, 40 S&W and 223 on I have a 6 station turret Lyman and a cheap C&H single stage. with the exception of dies all of it was bought used at shows, Craigslist and classifieds here and there, I probably have less invested than someone with a single Dillon and I'm running four presses, I haven't bought factory centerfire ammo since the first ammo drought after the Kenyans first coronation. I also am running .41 magnum 30-06 and 30-30 so far, .357 and 9mm soon

I do run my Lee progressive a bit unorthodox as it was designed, the priming system on the Pro 1000 is barely adequate,and since I love the bling of wet tumbled brass, I size/deprime and hand prime off the press, I run clean primed brass in the first station to bell mouth and drop powder, seat bullet in second and Lee factory crimp in the third, this works for me, and the effort in the ram action is very easy and fast without sizing/depriming. I have had a few surgeries in my right arm and have trouble with the effort sometimes required in the first conventional stage as designed

My loading life is as follows, I spend my summers decapping / sizing / trimming/ (if needed), tumbling, priming /bagging brass out on my deck with my favorite refreshments and the grill going strong... come winter I sequester myself in my room (I live in a house full of females, except the dog, he joins me there ) and start loading my stashed bags of shiny primed/prepped brass

I see a lot of hobby snobs slighting Lee Equipment on line, sure its not Dillon or Redding, but they work and if on a budget will make perfectly serviceable ammo, I have loaded thousands of rounds using Lee

[Badger Tuff]

My lee auto prime handle broke too and I cobbled it together I only use it when I have to. But I bought the Lee Ram Prime and it works great it's not as fast as the auto prime like all the other Lee products I have it gets the job done.

[brian]

have lee presses, dies, and priming tools. have never been too fond of the priming tools.
the current generation of the auto prime is junk.
the first gen was ok
i really liked the second gen...which is probably why they discontinued it.

[glc]

I just got the Lee Auto Bench Prime. Time will tell how well it holds up. Midsouth is selling it for 23.95. If it turns out to be crap, no real loss.

[abner13]

Great ideas , brought out in the finest zinc casting. Their stuff has all the quality of a Hi-Point. It works , but feels cheap and lasts , how long?

Granted , the main idea behind reloading is to save money and Lee stuff is the cheapest out there. Some folks can't see spending more money , and that's understandable.

As a toolmaker myself , I hold stuff to a higher standard. Redding , RCBS , Hornady , Dillon.

[abner13]

have lee presses, dies, and priming tools. have never been too fond of the priming tools.
the current generation of the auto prime is junk.
the first gen was ok
i really liked the second gen...which is probably why they discontinued it.

Had a first generation. Broke a few levers. Got free replacements no problem.

[762xIan]

Haven't had any issues with any of my Lee stuff. Slowly upgrading as time goes on, RCBS and Lyman stuff.

Still use my Lee hand primers I have 2. No issues at all.

Question? Are you trying to prime military brass with a crimp?

[Delkal]

Question? Are you trying to prime military brass with a crimp?

Or did he have the large primer insert installed and was trying to seat small primers? Thats the only way I can see a primer going in sideways.

The Lee hand primers only need a slight push with your thumb. Anything else and there is something wrong. Don't force it.

[glc]

I just got the Lee Auto Bench Prime. Time will tell how well it holds up. Midsouth is selling it for 23.95. If it turns out to be crap, no real loss.

Well, I used it to load a couple hundred 40 S&W and 45 ACP and three hundred 5.56 cases. If the primers would feed into the "trough" part of the tray properly this little thing would be simply awesome.
The primers constantly bridge where they funnel into the trough. Annoying as hell! I even removed a bunch of the "ridgies" near the bottom. They really aren't needed there anyway. It made a bit of a difference, but still having to constantly tap the tray to get them to move.

I think I'm going to totally eliminate or modify, the piece of plastic that you slide for "open", "lock", "on". That is the problem. Actually, the whole tray design is pretty crappy.