What's wrong with Lee dies?

[hill billy]

I see guys who are into loading match ammo saying that Lee dies are no good with no explanation. I have some Redding full length sizers for .223 and .308 and I promptly break the decapping rods in them within 5 rounds, that was 3 different dies. My last Lee .223 full length resizing die decapped 4200 rounds before the pin broke. I have a Lee decapping die so it's not a huge deal, it just adds another step, but I would prefer to resize and decap in one step. So why are Lee resizer's no good? I've seen a lot of good reviews of the collet neck sizer but everyone seems to poo poo the full length dies. Can one of you match reloaders shed some light on this? Are the tolerances that much tighter in the Redding/Forster/RCBS dies?

For whatever it's worth, I do use some decent micrometer seaters because to me the Lee seaters have quite a bit of play in them.

[rabagley]

I have lots of Lee dies (as well as RCBS, Dillon, etc.) but I may be able to shed some light on the confusion.

Lee dies, in general are fine, but:

They don't offer micrometer adjustments.
They tend to be slightly less polished (on the inside) than other brands.
The only die I've had difficulty with was a Lee die (458 SOCOM full length sizing die).

The issue is very simple: Lee products are designed to reduce the cost of shooting. They're for the budget-minded shooter and not for the extreme accuracy crowd. So, for those willing to spend money on equipment that provides slightly more repeatability or durability or whatever, Lee isn't the right press/die/powder measure/etc.

[CSACANNONEER]

I use everything including M2 stuff (high end 50BMG), Redding micrometer seaters, Dillon, CH4D, Hornady, RCBS, Old Western Scrounger, a few others that I can't think of right now and Lee. I tend to buy Lee dies only to load calibers that I don't plan on reloading a lot for, like 25-20, 32-20, 7.62x54R, 8mm, 6.5 Jap, .25acp, .32auto, etc. If I'm planning on loading over 200 rounds a year of a particular caliber and/or I want to load <moa ammo, I will buy better dies.

[hill billy]

I guess it just irks me a little that Redding dies are supposed to be in the upper echelon or middle class and their decapping pins are ridiculously brittle.

[bohoki]

ive never broken one of my lee decappers

i have no complaints with lee except with teh expander bell in my 9mm it causes me to make an anoying kerchunk sound

[cassius]

There's nothing wrong with them. Just your match pals passing along the FUD, without challenge.

[brian01tj]

Broke my first decapping pin due to cleaning media in the case. Out of the 7 or so sets of Lee dies it is the first to ever have a problem. I ordered two new decapping pins just in case. They were $3 each and had them in a couple days.

[Gio]

My Lee Dies survived a Berdan Primed case I received that was supposed to be all Boxer Primed. It just went up and all I had to do was loosen it and put it back down to where I had it before.

-Gio

[hill billy]

My Lee Dies survived a Berdan Primed case I received that was supposed to be all Boxer Primed. It just went up and all I had to do was loosen it and put it back down to where I had it before.

-Gio

That is one of the features of the Lee dies that I really dig. I had a berdan case sneak through on me and the Redding die actually put the pin through the bottom of the shell but it was bent all to heck. Third shell with a new die.

[mrlonewolf]

They work fine, never had a problem with mines, they are strong and really inexpensive to buy and maintain. Somehow I tend to use my RCBS most of the times and stay away from Redding as much as I can, but that is just a personal preference. No complaints with Lee

[Nodda Duma]

I am working up loads for a buddy who owns 35 Whelen but doesn't want to pay $1.50 per round for it.

I usually buy Lee dies, but for this I decided on a Hornady set. What a mistake. A stuck case is inevitable every now and then, and I quickly learned that you cannot easily remove them from the Hornady die (with Lee die you just bang the decapper down with a hammer and punch). I also ruined several cases trying to get the bullet seater to roll crimp properly.

Ended up throwing the Hornady set away in disgust, and have a set of Lee dies on the way.

Maybe I'm too dumb for the fancy dies, but Lee dies just plain work for me.

-Jason

[ar15barrels]

I guess it just irks me a little that Redding dies are supposed to be in the upper echelon or middle class and their decapping pins are ridiculously brittle.

You must have something adjusted wrong if you are repeatedly breaking pins.
It sounds like you have bent the decapping stem so that the decapping pin is no longer centered in the die.
Once a decapping stem is bent, it's going to continue to break LOTS of pins until you either replace it or straighten it.
This applies to all brands of dies too, not just redding.

[hill billy]

When I pulled my last Redding die out of the box last week, I just held it in my hand and tightened the decapping stem and it is visually out of center in the die. That's without mounting it in any press.

[ar15barrels]

When I pulled my last Redding die out of the box last week, I just held it in my hand and tightened the decapping stem and it is visually out of center in the die. That's without mounting it in any press.

Install the die in the press with the decapping stem loose.
Run a case up into the die to get the decapping stem centered in the flash hole.
Tighten the locknut while the case is still in the die.
Withdraw the case from the die.
Remove the die from the press.
Check for a centered decapping pin.
If it's still off center, something is not right.

[freakshow10mm]

I use the FCD in .223 and 375 H&H. All my other dies are Redding. There is nothing wrong with Lee dies. Their setup for the sizing die is a great idea. I use their uni decap for military brass. If it pushes the pin up, I whack-a-mole it back down and go on with life.