Need Help Deciding ~ Reloader

[Divernhunter]

There is a good reason the dies are cheaper. They are cheaper made. You will need to get real locking rings for lee dies and as such the cost savings is not that much. The lee service sucks compared to RCBS or Hornady, for dies and presses. If you keep them for many years as so many people do this is important and often overlooked buy customers shopping price alone.
Do yourself a favor and buy a RCBS or Hornady(or Redding/lyman) press and especially dies. Also be sure to buy the carbide(or nitrite) type pistol dies so you do not have to lube cases.

[ahren111]

I received a reply to my inquiry and they said the lee classic single stage handles the .416. It looks like I can get both presses for about the price of the RCBS, plus the dies are much cheaper. I think I will start with the lee turret. Thanks for all the info!

My press will be here Tuesday I'm excited!

[SixPointEight]

There is a good reason the dies are cheaper. They are cheaper made. You will need to get real locking rings for lee dies and as such the cost savings is not that much. The lee service sucks compared to RCBS or Hornady, for dies and presses. If you keep them for many years as so many people do this is important and often overlooked buy customers shopping price alone.
Do yourself a favor and buy a RCBS or Hornady(or Redding/lyman) press and especially dies. Also be sure to buy the carbide(or nitrite) type pistol dies so you do not have to lube cases.

you don't need to buy lock rings for the lee. Their design works fine and is cheap. I readjust my dies every time I change them, but provided you turn the lock ring to screw/unscrew the die, it doesn't change the measurements

[Cowboy T]

I received a reply to my inquiry and they said the lee classic single stage handles the .416. It looks like I can get both presses for about the price of the RCBS, plus the dies are much cheaper. I think I will start with the lee turret. Thanks for all the info!

I'd say you made a very good choice. The Lee Classic series of presses are tough, heavy, and make excellent ammo. I have a Classic Turret, which I think is the cat's meow overall for a press. That Classic single-stage will do any 50 BMG-style (including .416 Barrett) round, all the way down to .25 ACP if you want.

There was a comment about Lee dies being less expensive because "they're made cheaper". The implication here, of course, is that they're of inferior quality to the "other brands". I have to disagree with that. Lee dies make excellent ammunition. In one case, a guy using a Lee Collet neck-sizing die set a record for 1,000-yard competition that stood for several years. I see no reason not to use Lee dies, given that they've provided me with top-notch performance.

The use of charged language like "real locking rings" also makes me kinda chuckle. Lee's locking rings do a dandy job of holding the dies in place, rest assured.

Oh, and Lee's given me great service every time I've ever called 'em, which hasn't had to be very often.