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Out of curiosity I purchased a set of 7.62x54 Russian Lee loader dies the ones you use with a mallet.
I have just spent a very enjoyable afternoon neck sizing and re loading using the Lee loader dies with a Arbor press I had to make a mandrel to seat the primers because the one that comes with it is to long for the Arbor press. But great fun and all done at the kitchen table.
I need some more of these clapclap party2 :cheers:

Alpha1 wrote:Well you are welcome to it my freind but I would not touch most of Lee stuff with a barge pole.
I have tried it over the years and very quickly got rid of it and replaced it with what I regard as better quality kit.
My re loading is now a lot more fun and a damn site easier.

:55:
:lol: :lol: clapclap

I had to fettle them to make them work with a Arbor press machining was needed to make them some were near.
Not the sort of thing the ordinary re loader is equipped to do me thinks.

So yes I admit there are three items of kit I would use the Lee hand held press is handy for the odd experimental stuff the auto prime is OK ish all though I have snapped the handle off two of them the Lee loader die set is a nice bit of kit although the build quality is a bit iffy.

This one works OK but only after I made a new primer seating mandrel and altered them to work with a Arbor press using Le Wilson equipment.

The rest of there stuff is poo. All though people do give the cast press good reviews but I have never used one so I would not know. I did recently buy a cheap Lee press can not remember what model it was about £30 for a project I was working on. It is utter rubbish its chucked in the corner of my reloading den I don't ever want to touch it again.
But if you people want to use the stuff be my guest.

I will swop the press its brand new for a second hand set of .303 or 38 special Lee loader dies.

The one thing about Lee dies is they are bloody hard, I have been modifying quite a few different dies recently for people with specific needs and one was to turn a Lee RGB de-capper into a universal de-capper. I had to resort to a carbide cutter to open the bore up as it was so tough however it machined nicely and is ready for many years of use. In fact it turned out so well I am tempted to modify one for myself.

A strange request Lee make a universal de capping die why did they want a RGB die turning in to a universal de capper.

A set of RGB dies is under GBP16 and I was modifying the seater so they asked me to build a universal at the sane time. It was 10 mins work so no hardship and the customer was very happy

I use Lee dies -- always have and not one problem ,I think with presses you gets what you pay for ,£35 for a basic press to get folks started is all that's needed ,Lee primer tools are excellent and last for thousands of primers without being fiddly , I think there's a touch of snobbery about some aspects of reloading .I have a basic RCBS JR press I've had for 30+ years which has loaded thousands of both pistol and rifle rounds ,I'm not an ammunition manufacturer --- I assemble ammunition for my use and do so economically.There's nothing wrong with Lee stuff !

Lee's dies are one of their better products, their collet dies are the best neck resizing dies bar none, but they do need somme fettling to start with to get them operating to spec. Their bullet/boolit seating dies do leave a lot to be desired though.

Lee loaders are very good at what they do, I collect the older Target loaders with the inside neck reaming and priming tool parts, inside neck reaming is a bit out of fashion currently but my Lee Target loader makes the most consistent and accurate .222" ammunition I have ever loaded and I have used dies from all the top accuracy die makers and the Lee Target loader gives the least run out of them all. The old Lee priming too with the screw in shellholders is one of the most sensitive priming tools around and is still sought after by benchrest shooters who know its merits.

Using a powder dispenser I can do 50 rounds on just over and hour with a Lee Loader and that isn't rushing. Handloading isn't a race and there is not place for speed but it just goes to show that the Lee loader isn't a slouch either.

BTW The Lee Loaders are neck size only dies in bottleneck calibres.