Beginers Equipment Advice?

[tinkerfive]

Hey guys I've been thinking about getting into reloading and this equipment came available.

 

The guy has several pistol and rifle dies to go with it + measures and case polisher etc.

 

I wanted to know if you think this is a good machine and what you think it might be worth.

 

The guy is asking $250.

 

Should I jump on it or take a pass?

 

Thanks much!!

Tinker

[AzRednek]

PASS!!

[oldfart]

Hey guys I've been thinking about getting into reloading and this equipment came available.

 

The guy has several pistol and rifle dies to go with it + measures and case polisher etc.

 

I wanted to know if you think this is a good machine and what you think it might be worth.

 

The guy is asking $250.

 

Should I jump on it or take a pass?

 

Thanks much!!

Tinker

I use the 3-hole Lee turret press (#90933) and rarely have any problems. I tried the 4-holer and found that it just didn't fit my operation. Among reloaders the Lee seems to have a bad reputation but I haven't found any real reason for it. I suppose if I were forming .308 brass from 30-06 I might break something but it's easier to just buy .308 brass.

As to the price: $250 is a bit high unless he throws in a bunch of dies that you need. The press can be bought for $71.98 + S&H Directly from Lee. Good (not superior) dies can be had for less than $30 a set. A vibrating case polisher will run you about $50 and a RCBS 5-0-5 scale can be found at a gun show for less than $40. The Lee "Perfect Powder Measure" looks like a classic POS but after properly breaking it in it saeems to throw loads about as well as any other. It'll cost you the grand sum of $30 from Lee.

Whenever someone asks me about reloading, I tell them to buy used stuff to get started. Not everyone likes sitting at a bench, pulling a handle and concentrating on small tasks for long periods of time. If you go out and buy a Dillon (which someone will suggest) you can lay out $660-$800 before you're ready to go. That's fine if you continue to reload but if you decide it isn't for you you don't have a bunch of money invested in specialized equipment.

[karlunity]

I have been using "Lee" gear for years and see no problem with it.

(I have reformed 3006 to 8mm and other rounds with mine with no problem. : ) )

 

I prefer the RC BS powder measure, but that is the only major"non-Lee" piece I use.

 

I would say that the price is a bit high.

The Midway USA and Lee sites both have Lee starter kits for less.

You can get a new tumbler, brass cleaner, for 40 bucks and the Lee dies run about $25 new.

Make sure you get "carbide dies" if you load pistol. You won't have to lube the case.

 

I would give "Lee" a call. They are honest folk and will tell you what you need.

 

Karl

[AzRednek]

Take a look at Ebay. Common items go cheap, just verify the shipping costs first. There is a seller on Ebay that sells drop shipment packages directly from Lee for less than can be had anywhere else. Be carefull though, sometimes egos get in the way and dim witted people bid more for used than it costs new. About a year ago I put a set of Lee carbide 38 special, ran it for 2 weeks, first week beginning at 10, second week 5.00 and never got a bid. I was charging 4.00 for shipping.

[tinkerfive]

Thanks much for the input, it is much appreciated!!!!

 

So if you had to make a recommendation, what would it be?

 

Some of the guys at work seem to think more highly of RCBS.

 

Tinker

[Racepres]

Tinker: I have been reloading since the late 70's... FWIW I like lee stuff!! Works great, costs less... RCBS works at least as good... costs at least twice as much!! Personally ... If I were to start over I would go used, and get the best "deal"... If in a hurry just buy lee, and forget it... JMHO. MV

As for your original question... too high$$

[Doble Troble]

I agree with Racepres. Start with the Lee Anniversary kit and a set of dies in the chambering that you shoot the most. Get a reloading manual. They all have their strenths and weaknesses. I use the Hornady manual most often, but I don't think its necessarily better than others - you need to have at least one to get started. Get a pound of powder that looks good from your reloading manual and 1000 primers from someone local if you can.

 

Load some ammo. Shoot it. Chances are you'll have lots of ideas about what to do next. Don't push it and be safe and you'll be on your way to a rewarding hobby that will consume as much time as you have to devote to it. Ask questions when they come up. You'll get good answers here and elsewhere.

[karlunity]

With the exception of the "perfect powder measure" I have found Lee equipment to be as good as any.

 

Karl

[roscoedoh]

Lee dies are every bit as good as RCBS, Forster, Hornaday, etc. None of us are benchrest shooters or own benchrest rifles. Therefore, none of us need to be able to control load quality to the Nth degree. And because of that, those $20 Lee dies sets are great!

 

I load everything with Lee dies and use a Lee four station turret press roughly 90% of the time I'm at the bench. Lee makes some good, affordable equipment and they're customer service is pretty good as well. Do not let the lower price of Lee equipment fool you into thinking it is lower quality as well.

 

Try Lee. I think you will like it.

[littlecanoe]

Karl,

Can you compare the perfect powder measure to a more expensive type ie the type that you use instead?

I'd like to know as I haven't been satisfied with mine and don't know which way to go. It could help a new fella narrow down choices in used equip also.

 

Thanks

LC

[fritz]

"With the exception of the "perfect powder measure" I have found Lee equipment to be as good as any.

 

Karl"

 

 

I agree, and although I never used the Lee Perfect measure, I did have one of their older disk measures. It leaked powder all over the place, and since then I have stuck with the RCBS powder scale and just weigh out the charges for rifle cartridges. For pistol and .223 cal rounds, I use the Lyman 55 measure. I have found it to be pretty reliable, and good enough for volume use ammo.

 

I only load small batches of rifle ammo, and I want each round to be the same.

 

fritz

 

[oldfart]

Regarding the Perfect Powder Measure: It won't give you repeatable results right out of the box, it has to be used awhile first. I think it has to do with getting a proper coating of graphite on the moving parts or something like that.

I've probably got twenty pounds of powder through mine and if I want to just run off a bunch of blasting ammo I won't even check the weights, knowing that they're all within +/- 0.2 grains. When I'm loading for target ammo I weigh every load anyhow, letting the measure drop a slightly light load then "dribbling" it up to what I want.

Frankly, I think I could get the same results out of any other measure but I'd have to pay more to do it. The Lee is about $30 from the factory. Sinclair will be glad to sell you a Harrell for between $173 and $234, depending on the model. I can buy a lot of powder, primers and bullets for that kind of money.

[CSANSO]

I am with the OldFart on this one.. Depending on the powder I am using the charges I am getting will very from +- .2 gr. The larger the powder the less accurate it becomes. Powders like varget, the alliant powders the short cuts from imr and hogden, as well as all the ball powders can be thrown with very small differences in charge wieghts. Working with RL 22 just yesterday, I think I threw three in a row that needed only one stick of powder from the trickler to be dead on the mark on the scale. Of course the chances of that are possible but I don't think people put as much time into the Lee measure to really get the thing to work. I also have alot of Lee items besides the measure. I like there dies(rgb dies best buy on the market), presses and I have a primer as well. The only thing I do not like is the scale, That is one piece I wish Lee would have thought about a little more before putting in his kit. I think it can do the job, I just don't like it . I have a 505 from rcbs and rcbs case prep tools but I found a kit on ebay that was a steal so got them instead of lee. MY 2 cents. MS8mm

[Racepres]

To "break-in" the lee measure in a hurry.. I ran some of that powdered mica that I dust case necks, and cast bullets with, thru it.. straightened it up enough for my use, though I admit to prefer the old pacific dual [interchangeable] cavity powder measure, probably cause I been using it since the early 80's!! For a scale the digital one on the front of the new midway flier looks so darn tempting that I bout got me one, and I don't need another digital!! MV

FWIW I just got done resizing a small lot [50] of 222's while watching the game, using that little bitty bench mounted press from lee.. It does alot of these smaller tasks for me, cause it fit nicely on the little portable bench I got, and it was really ..really, cheap... I mean inexpensive, Don't do no large rifle cases w/ it tho.. it is too much labor!!

[eric123]

I like my LEE powder measure...but I trickle in the last few grains if I am looking for top accuracy...I bought mine as soon as it came out...I have dies made by just about every manufacturer and all are capable of turning out good ammo...

[karlunity]

I have a RCBS power measure that I picked up at a sale.

 

It is smoother than the "perfect power measure" in operation and I think that that makes it quicker to load ammo.

 

I also have a RCBS hand priming tool.

 

I like the safety feature that the Lee does not have.

 

Other than that it is Lee all the way.

 

The only other problem I have with Lee is that my darn press WILL NOT wear out.

 

I want to buy the New Lee press but my old one won't wear out!!!

 

Karl

 

[Bennypapa]

You may want to shop around.

 

Take a look at Wideners reloading website.

I have bought from them in the past and their prices on Lee equipment seem pretty low.

 

Bennypapa

[odies dad]

For what it's worth, I really like my Lee turret press. I don't use the auto index, but it is really easy to change dies.

[fritz]

" I don't use the auto index, "

 

I don't use it either, because it is a piece of schitt. It works for a while, then gives you more headaches than a bottle of ripple.

 

Earlier in this topic Karl mentioned the Lee Perfect Powder Measure, which is also a piece of schitt. But I use the Challenger single stage press even today. Lee should stay with the simple tools if they intend to make them so cheaply.

 

fritz

[Doble Troble]

I've got a Lee turret press that I can't wear-out. I use the auto-index feature but I'll admit that you do have to keep it lubed (I use lithium grease) and it requires an adjustment every few hundred rounds. There are some good "how-to" videos on the Lee website that show how to set-up the indexing mechanism: Here are several of their help videos. When I follow their instructions, my equipment works.

 

They came-out with an update a couple of years ago that allows dispensing primers with a trigger device. You've got to set it up, but once you do I can't imagine being able to load ammo much faster with a progressive.

 

I use the autodisk powder measure, except that I don't use the disks - I got the adjustable charge bar that allows fine-tuning. It throws Unique within 0.2 gr and its very rare to weigh a load that isn't within 0.1 gr - with flaky Unique this is no small feat.

 

But I wouldn't have been successful with this turret press if I hadn't had a single-stage for a while. You've just got to start slowly before you trot. I'm thinking about starting to run with a progressive at some point.