I'm an occasional user of Lee products; started with a Lee Loader 47 years ago and still have a couple of them. Don't care for aluminum molds but lots of people like them. The hand presses are darned useful. I use the little Reloader press mostly for priming and with oddball Lyman 310 dies and an adapter. Since I have a couple of massive old single-stage presses the Lee stuff just fills a niche. If I have any brand loyalty it's probably to RCBS. Fortunately the bulk of my gear was bought many years ago and the cost forgotten.

A few years ago I was given a Dillon 550; but it's still in the box. I could make room for it on the bench but I prefer to SEE what I'm doing.

You don't have to adjust it; it already works for all of them. The ones that are longer need to be trimmed, and it trims them. The ones that are shorter don't need to be trimmed and it doesn't trim them. That's exactly how it is supposed to work, and exactly how you should want it to work. If you have some reason for trimming short cases to make them even shorter, you can easily make or buy such a tool.

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Formerly Model520Fan

i allmost bought dillon, does that count?
1992 toyota supra, 7mgte
(i'm just proud of my car)

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sw9ve, 24/7 pro Ds, Hs M4

Sadly clunkered my '89 ex forestry service 4wd pick up for a '09 VW tdi. The truck only got 13mpg and had terminal metal fatigue

Huh??. Never said you did? My next car is gonna be a Forester. Hope it comes in Blue.

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Still Running Against the Wind

My first press was a RCBs Rock Chucker, then a RCBS Jr, and now I have a Lee Classic with the quick change bushings, and I love it. I have mostly Lee dies with a few Hornadys thrown in. I have a Lee Hand Press which is nice for resizing brass while watching your favorite TV show in your living room. I have the auto prime, never an issue with it. I also started with a Lee Safety Scale, I had good results with it once it was set up. Now I use a RCBS 750. My Perfect Powder Measure meters 2400 and Win 231 with no problems.

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Vaya con Dios

2002 PT Cruiser with 250000 got it new . lees deluxe reloading kit for what i paid i am happy.

OMG - Just realized that GEICO commercial with a lady of the phone about to buy a new car has a subliminal message for Dillon embedded.
Probably to offset the "Better Red than Dead" message that the mainstream media and others are promoting.

As for cars, SWMBO and I have two DeVilles and a SLS, but none of them nor the reloading equipment is "Blue" and our combined age is 134 while our Cadillac's combined age is 47 with a combined mileage of 412,257 and a fleet average of 16.5 City / 25.3 Hwy.

Except for my original (now retired) RCBS single stage press, a beam balance and two digital powder scales and a vibratory tumbler, all my reloading equipment is Lee.

I got tired of chasing spent primers and getting pinched fingers, so I replaced the RCBS with a $35.00 Lee Reloader Press for decapping range brass and sizing bullets. I don't cast my own boolits, but I run the cast and swagged bullets I buy through a Lee Sizer and tumble lube them LLA.

I wish the Lee case length gauges were made for minimum case length rather than maximum, but a little judicious filing takes care of the issue. I only load .38spl, .357mag and .45acp and don't load hot enough to make the brass grow longer, so the only time I check/trim cases is when they are new or new-to-me.

The Lee Auto-Disk powder measures have their limitations and idiosyncrasies, but as long as I don't ask them to do things they weren't designed to do they work just fine for me, so my goal is to have one atop of the Lee feed through flaring die mounted in the separate turret plates for each caliber I load with my Lee Classic Turret Press.

Personally, I believe I get more bang for the buck with Lee products. YMMV

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Age + Treachery = JohnnieB

Lee seems to be the Hi-Point of reloading equipment, and I don’t care for Hi-points either. Nothing wrong with a Hi- point but like the Lee equipment.
If that is all you can afford great, but realistically. These comparisons of Lee with higher end equipment are a little lame.
Lee like every other reloading manufacturer is in business to make money. And sells his product at a profit. And this profit is made up with sub standard materials plastic and Aluminum. Over the last 40 years of Reloading and casting, I have owned several Lee items. All have been replaced with higher end items.
Lee equipment works adequately, but I have yet to find any product of Lees that was not finicky.
I am sure Hornady, RCBS, Redding, Lyman, as well as others could bring there prices down too a comparable price with Lee, I am also sure quality would suffer.
If affordability is your main indicator, a new company has flooded the market under the Name (Smart Reloader) looks like a Lee knock off at an even lower price.
I own 3 reloading presses. A pacific I started with 40 years ago, a Redding Big Boss, and a Hornady LNL AP. So what kind of Car do I drive?

Just wondering... beyond the turret and the ratchet parts, what structural part of this Lee Classic Turret Press is aluminum or plastic? Even the ball handle is wood.



Also, please advise where the comparable press from Hornady, RCBS, Redding, Lyman, Pacific, Dillon, etc, etc, is located? And at what price? Pooh pooh Lee all you want, but some/most of their stuff is innovative and well-made.

And I don't give a rat's patootie what car anyone drives...

Only thing close that I know of:
Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

The place they are really different, price. Lee(press only)$104, Dillon(press only)$259.

That being said, the Dillon can be upgraded to the "RL" version while the Lee has a priming attachment that can be added. So, one is at the top of the line, the other can go farther.

Depends on future needs.

FWIW

Since I have both brands of presses, I really have no dog in this hunt. Both have a purpose. I see the Lee as an intermediate step. Not single stage, not progressive.

p.s. I put the Dillon RL550 into the same category though. Square Deal B and XL650, Hornady LNL, with auto advance, primer device, those are progressive presses. IMHO

a van. or Chrysler.
agreed.

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sw9ve, 24/7 pro Ds, Hs M4

No sir, it doesn't work for all of them. The reason for trimming brass isn't just for making them shorter than SAAMI specs, it's a part of making the most accurate, best quality ammo you can get and you can't do that without being able to trim every piece of brass you have.

If you want to reload to save money, buy Lee because it will save you the most money and will give you fairly adequate results. But if you want performance and the highest quality, be wary of what you use. The Lee products that can compete with other companies are close to the same price and you really have to watch what you want and what you are getting.

Skip, I agree that the Lee Classic Turret is not in the same league as a true progressive, although it can be used as a single stage by simply removing the auto advance feature (a one minute job at most). I bought mine to speed up my ammo production compared with my RCBS Rock Chucker, without any decrease in ammo quality. I can easily load 150 rounds per hour, and that includes priming with my RCBS hand priming tool.

Before I bought my Lee Classic Turret I seriously considered a Dillon progressive, but just couldn't justify the expense. And even though I'd been reloading for more than ten years, I wasn't sure I was up to monitoring four or five simultaneous steps. What I liked about the Classic Turret was everything still happened one step at a time, right in front of me. Plus the steps I didn't care for on the single-stage (placing a case in the shellholder and then removing it four different times to get a completed round) were eliminated.

In some ways, I think Lee screwed up by calling it a "turret press." The term has been around for years, and Lee's version is more advanced than the others. The Lee version would more accurately be described as an "auto-turret." I'm saddened when I read somebody write, "But I've got a Lyman turret press, why would I want to use a Lee?" In my mind, there's just as big of a difference between a Lyman turret press and a Lee turret press, as the difference between a Lee Turret press and a Dillon progressive.

I use Lee:

Deprimer
Several dies
Several factory crimpers
Auto Prime

All work well. I also have several case trimmers. They were too slow as my reloading needs grew so I got a Forster case trimmer. I have dies from most of the major manufacturers and the Lee dies work as well as any. The only complaint i have is that I wigh the Auto Prime unit was a little more ergonomic.

There are a few times in my life when I wish I would have said something different that what I did. This is one time though where I wish I would have said what you said!

Great!

I don't know where you got that idea, but if that's what you want to do, just file the pilot of the Lee down until it does it.

I think that the idea behind trimming brass is to not have it too long, and maybe even have it all the same length, but NOT by trimming every case until it's at least a bit shorter than the shortest one you own.

Maybe you should take some of the money you can save by using Lee products and buy a book or two on reloading.

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Formerly Model520Fan

I have a better way, just buy the proper equipment in the first place.

A I can tell that by your earlier post.
B "maybe"???...which you can't do with the Lee trimmer if some are shorter than their guage, or you "improve it with a grinder".
C I'm not saying this is needed, but it is nice to be able to if you want to.

I have plenty of books on reloading and handloading as well and I've read them all too, and not just flipped through the charge tables. As I've stated before, I have a lot of Lee products but I'm not in the hobby just to save money. For the most part I want to make the best quality, most accurate ammunition I can that is tailored specifically for my firearms, which I use no Lee products for.

No, it isn't. It's not nice to do at all, if you want to you don't understand what you're doing, and the Lee can do it anyway, cheaper than anyone else, but you'll ruin a perfectly good $2 or whatever-it-is pilot and have to buy another if you ever figure out what case trimming is about.

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Formerly Model520Fan

You don't even know why to trim cases and you're telling me that I don't know what I'm doing and that I need to buy a book? You seem to think that because I choose not to buy some cheap **** to load with that I'm beneath your abilities? You don't agree with me so you feel the need to take some cheap shots at me? You asked me a question, not to learn something but rather to show how little you know and that you have no interest in learning the difference. Have a nice day and welcome to my ignore list, you're not worth any more of my time.

Why so much animosity towards Lee?
I feel that I load some excellent match quality ammo on my Lee press with my Lee dies, although for some calibers I prefer other dies (the Redding 7.5x55 for example is more in spec for K-31 chambers and my rifle is a K-31) and some moulds(such as a Lyman .430 Keith 245gr) and while I don't use the Lee powder measure or scale, that is likely because I already had excellent RCBS and Redding stuff (but perhaps not, in fairness I can't make a judgement on a product I've never seen in person or handled up close.)

I have seen the Lee Reloader press and in my estimation it is too lightwieght for my purposes, but I don't see much difference between the Lee Challenger and the RCBS Reloader Special I started with in the 80's, and either one I know (with the RCBS) or think (Challenger)is capable of loading as good of ammunition as the operator is humanly capable of assembling.
These are tools after all. They either stay in alignment and lock down and hold settings, or they don't.

The last few sets of dies I've purchased were Lee's and I must say that they work great. I'm not a match shooter, just a hunter and plinker.
The ammo is accurate and the Lee dies are less expensive.

I also have a Lee Load Master that I had a love/hate relationship with.
I saw a mod on that Lee Load Master forum of using a heavier overspring in the priming system. That helped. Then I removed the case feeder and that solved my problems. Now I love the thing.

I think most folks who love their Dillon and Hornady L-N-L's (fine machines) feed their cases by hand. I think if Lee ditched the case feeder from the Load Master many of the complaints would disapear.

Dan

I use the Lee case trimmers for most everything but it is a "fixed" tool with no adjustment. I've got a Lyman adjustable trimmer that I use if I need to trim to a different length. The Lee is quick and easy for my plinking ammo. If I'm making SD or hunting ammo I set up the Lyman. To represent the Lee case trimmer as the "only" trimmer you would ever need would be inaccurate. It's an expedient and affordable tool for beginners, and a convenient, easy to use tool for experienced reloaders within certain parameters.

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Andy

1/ Never been able to figure that one out myself. Lee makes affordable products for the beginner that are accurate and durable enough for the experienced user. Those that want or need "better" equipment are free to do so and for the most part, do so without bad-mouthing those of us that don't share their wants or needs. While those of us residing in US of A live in a Republic, capitalism is and of itself a Democracy wherever it is located and the participants vote with their pocketbooks, so if Lee reloading products were as bad as some claim, they wouldn't have been in business as long as they have. It's as simple as that.

2/ I have a Lee Reloader press, but I didn't buy it to reload with. I use it to size the lead bullets I buy and decap range brass so I can trim them with Lee case cutters that I have modified to the case length I prefer. Having some hands-on experience with it, I think it's strong enough to load straight walled handgun ammo, but being a C-frame design, I'm not sure if it would hold up doing bottle necks and rifle cartridges. Of course, that is a personal opinion rather than an empirical fact.

3/ I totally agree. If the Lee products I own didn't do the job I ask of them, they would be replaced with something that did. While it may be entirely possible that I don't ask my reloading equipment to do as much as others do, or it may be that I've taken the time to learn how to use the specific equipment I own properly, so far it has met my expectations or I have recognized its limitations and accepted them or have been able to modify them so they do what I want them to do. That said, I am satisfied with the Lee equipment I own and will recommend them to anyone starting out in reloading. After that, they can make up their own mind.

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Age + Treachery = JohnnieB

IMHO, Lee gear is what it is. The guy using it is the one who determins the quality of the reloads.

I bought a Hornady 4 die set for S&W 500 a few weeks ago. I was surprised to see that it had a STEEL resizer. What a brass grinder! Horrible even with lube.

I went to Cabela's and bought a Lee 3 die set, with a CARBIDE resizer.

The Lee resizer is smooth as silk! No lube required.

Hornady....$68.00. Lee..... $29!

Sometimes you do not get what you pay for, or looking at it the other way, sometimes you get more than you paid for!

Bob

Animosity towards Lee?

This isn't just about Lee products, go to any thread where someone asks for opinions about any products and you will see the same thing. Everyone has different likes and dislikes and opinions will vary. And every once in a while you will hear from someone that has had a very bad experience with a certain product or company.

And it seems to never fail that someone will get offended because they feel they are being bashed because of what they use. It's got nothing to do with what anyone chooses to use, or what they drive.

What is really happening is that the person who is asking for opinions is being cheated out of his right to ask a simple guestion and get honest results. How many people quit answering these questions because they know they are going to get bashed or trolled for their responses? I was reading a thread the other day about reloading equipment and one guy posted with what he used, and he also stated it was the only thing he had used in the year that he'd been reloading. When other posters said they didn't like what he was using, for various reasons, the first poster got mad and started making personal insults at the others, and the thread got locked. The original poster got no real information to answer his question and neither did anyone else that was reading the thread.

There is an old saying about "opinions". They are like bumholes, everyone has one and they all stink. So don't get your panties in a bunch when someone says something about your favorite, Lee, Dillion, Glock, MIM or whatever, it's just their bumhole speaking.

I am a long time reader. First time poster.
Could I chime in with a few opinions on the Lee stuff? I've been reloading for 42 years (40 of them successfully). My equipment is what I have carefully purchased over the years and it suits my purposes completely. I started out with a pair of old ECHO c-type presses and a Belding and Mull measure. I have helped several non mechanical friends debug and refine their reloading processes. I have been able to form several opinions about a fairly good sized cross section of reloading gear. The opinions are worth exactly what you paid for them:

Single stage O type presses- Any good heavy cast steel type press is always a good first press (Yes they are somewhat expensive). I own an old Redding that I use for rifle resizing only. I haven't tried the new Lee cast press, but it looks really sturdy. The Lee anniversary type presses are good for light to medium duty. I question their ability to endure high stress.

Progressives- Lee is great if you have considerable mechanical abilities, which I have. I don't trust Lee's primer feed. I prime ALL of my cases by hand. If you want a progressive that is almost mistake free, get a Dillon. Spend a few extra bucks and get a 5 station. Loading pistol rounds, you WILL need it. No experience with Hornady and RCBS. Only what I've heard.

Scales- Go for quality. Use a mechanical scale. I am evaluating 3 electronics right now and I will not trust them for production work (I design stuff like this). A marginal scale can cost you an eye or worse. Pacific, Forster, Redding are all great, but the RCBS 1010 is the Rolls Royce of scales. The old 505 is just as good. Cheaper, but they don't make 'em anymore. Lee scale is good for nothing but a paperweight.

Powder measures- A good adjustable mechanical. I haven't been able to make Lee's Perfect powder measure work at all (I've tried 2). I use RCBS for rifle charges and Lee Pro Auto Disk for handguns. The Lee double disk kit is for very large charges, and the micro disk is for very small charges. The Lee adjustable charge bar makes it a bit more adaptable. RCBS, Hornady, Forster, Lyman 55, Redding are all good. Always use a powder baffle. It makes a real difference.

Hand primer seaters- I have used Lee's original hand seater since they were new. I haven't had any problems except normal parts breakage. You should see the size of my forearm muscles. No experience with Lee's new one, Hornady or RCBS.

Sorry for the length. Lotta data. Important topic.

Auto Prime.... Cheesy but it works. I have to remember to take mine off the press. I walk by from time to time & have knocked it off the hanger. Sure I'd broken some flimsy piece of plastic, but no. Work fine, last long time. Guess the stuff is designed to bend not break.

Auto Disc... gotta pay attention. It does hang up from time to time but easily caught if your mind is on your work. I'd like to see it built a little more robustly. WATCH THE OIL! Mine was getting really bad so I gave it a few drops of oil on the pivots. I was SURE no oil could have gotten into the powder path. But it did. Short version I had to pull about 75 .45ACP bullets.

Why oh why Lee doesn't include the adjustable charge bar in the kit I don't know. Some have problems with it, I have not. It works for me with Bullseye, Green Dot & 2400.

I have no problem at all with the Safety Scale. Takes good lighting and a bit of getting used to, but like other Lee stuff, it works. Having said that, I'm very grateful to my wonderful wife for the Lyman Digital I got for my burfday.

Lee Classic Turret press. I just love mine to death. Fast enough for my purposes but I still handle/inspect each component/round at least twice. And it's easily converted to single stage if I want to maybe size/decap a bunch of brass.
The interchangeable turrets make changing calibers quick & easy with (maybe) a few minor adjustments. I hate setting up dies.
I haven't loaded with anything else so i couldn't know for sure, but I just can't see a better bang for the buck.

Dies. C'mon. Carbide dies at THIS price? Hard to beat the Lee Deluxe sets.

My biggest problem with any of my Lee products is that one person has trouble with this part and this person doesn't. My Pro Auto Disk works wonderful with Bullseye. I went to the store and had a guy roll his eyes at me with that. He proceeded to inform me to switch to Unique or I'm going to be making squibs. I rolled my eyes as I have exactly the opposite happen. He sold me the adjustable charge bar saying it was great just like a poster before has said. I can't get it to throw a repeatable volume yet. On another forum I was told that the pistol FCD can change COAL. I have not had that problem. Then I was told it doesn't crimp the same amount each time. Maybe if your brass is too short or too long I guess that could be but no problems for me yet. Now I'm seeing my 200 grain SWC's from a Lee mold get seated at an angle from a Lee seating die. They are great products when they work. But then they go all wrong on you and I can't figure out what the deal is. Why do they seem so fifty fifty sometimes, 100% others, or a complete waste of time the next??? Which is exactly the reasoning for this thread...

Or why don't we just post up Brent Favre type pics...

In 11 years of surfing the internet... well, never mind... sheesh.

But yeah... I would guess Lexus!

My Dillon 550 is used exclusively with Lee Carbide dies. Reason? They're cheaper and they do the job. Some calibers I've loaded 10's of thousands of rounds with and the dies are still in great shape. In fact, I've had no issues with the dies at all. I also use Lee 6 cavity bullet molds and a pair of Lee 10# bottom pour pots for casting. I don't like the alox flavored kool-aid, so I use a Lyman lubrisizer. I've had some of the Lee 2-cavity molds, and they are pretty flimsey, though they do work. The 6-bangers are much sturdier and still not real expensive. There are better melting furnaces, but they cost several times what the Lee equipment costs. One of the little 10# pots I have used since the early 70's. You do get what you pay for; if you're lucky. Sometimes the more expensive equipment just isn't enough better to justify the increased cost. Sometimes it is.

I use 3 Lyman Spar-T turret presses, Lee dies, RCBS hand primer, Hollywood Gun Co, powder measurer, Lyman digital scale and calipers, Lyman Turbo Tumbler and I've made over 35k of pistol and rifle rounds over the past 3 years. Everything works well and was reasonably priced!

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S&W 645, 3913, 59, 669

The seating plug on Lee dies come with generic round nose profile and they usually have a lot of machine marks. Try smoothing off the marks first and if that doesn't work try calling Lee to see if they will either make one cut specifically for the bullet shape or at least make one flat.

For those that use their powder through expander die without using the powder through feature, you can block the expander plug so it doesn't move up and down. This is the part that makes their dies beat a progressive to death and makes my arthritic hands hurt even by itself on a single stage. It might also give you some erratic powder charges on a progressive.

I don't have a problem with their carbide dies, as long as I polish my brass first, and if I do upgrade to a more expensive brand I will buy regular steel dies if I can and use the Lee carbide sizer with them, that is a big price difference.

I started accumulating equipment and supplies for reloading on the Lee Classic Turret a couple of months ago. Started single stage, hand primed, old Ohaus powder measure. Was getting inconsistant powder charges so I bought the Lee Auto Disk Pro. Finally decided to try the auto index feature, so I bought the primer feed. Had read lots of bad about both of these, but decided to try them anyway. For the powder measure I have to use a cavity size about three or four sizes larger than recommended. When I want to start fine tuning my loads will probably get a few more of the adjustable ones.
The primer feed is the junkiest looking piece of equipment I ever saw. Almost returned it but decided to try it. I was careful lining it up as had been recommended. So far I have loaded 450 rounds of large pistol. NOT ONE SINGLE MISSTEP. Easily the best primer feeder I have ever used.
I am using the auto index now and everything is working very well. Have loaded 45acp and 45 colt so far. Going to do 357 next. I Lyman TC die set for 357 and the Lee powder thru die.

IIRC Lee will make a custom die if you send them a boolit. Dirt cheap, too. Like $9 or something.

Been considering getting one for Nosler SJHP. The plug on my .357 die kind of rounds the nose & closes the HP a bit.

I use the Lee auto prime. That's the only piece of Lee stuff that I use. I use it for priming bottle neck rifle cartridges and the handgun ammo that I rarely load in small quantities.

I think the rest of their stuff is fine for beginners who don't know if they will be into reloading for the long haul. Lee equipment is adaquate for the reloader who hunts a little in the fall or certainly for the shooter who can't afford higher quality equipment.

I chuckle when I see the Lee ads that proclaim such and such 1000 yard benchrest record was set by ammo loaded on their equipment. Or the ads that brag up the same thing about their progressive presses. All you have to do is attend a few regional or world class matches to see what a long shot this would be.Try finding Lee eqipment at precision accuracy matches and you might be looking for a long time.

Lee stuff is just OK. If you are reloading lots of ammo (a couple thousand rounds or more a year) and you are using Lee equipment you owe it to yourself to at least try some other brand. You don't realize what you are missing. If you can't afford anything else, that's different.

Dies fine, especially appropriate for me in calibers never used much, giving a worthy cost/benefit ratio. But the pull-type case trimmer must have been made when someone was in a hurry...

Regards,

Dyson

Due to the cost, the only way I could ever be able to own a Dillon would be if one fell out of the sky.

Well, thanks to Belfastman here on the forums, an RL550B did just that! What a Christmas present and what a friend!

After finally getting up the nerve (and the DVD) to put 'er together, I was blown away by the fact that everything that CAN be excellent about a press is all there in the Dillon. And to my mind, incredibly fast. Here's the perspective from which I originate:

The first reloading gear I ever had was bought used from a gunsmith buddy. Included were a set of Lee powder dippers and a Lee Auto-Prime, along with a Pacific single-stage press.

Long story short, the only place where there was room to bolt a press onto a table was about 40 miles away so I didn't get as much reloading in as I wanted. Then I heard about the Lee Hand Press. Everything changed.
I've easily loaded 10,000-plus rounds in different calibers on that Hand Press without nearly a bobble.

In fact, that setup has been kept in an Israeli assault bag and it's my mobile reloading station. I can (and have done so) make loads at the bench and immediately test them.

Point is, they all have their uses and I love 'em all.

The only thing that Lee makes that I would buy again would be their Auto Prime.

Especially now that they have replaced the Zinc internal cam with one made of steel.

I've outgrown everything else of theirs I once owned and have replaced it with RCBS wherever possible.

Drew

I like the Lee dies, don't like their lock rings, though.

The hand held case trimmers are great and inexpensive.

I Don't use their powder measures or scales.

Got a turret and a single stage Lee press, gave the turret to my brother, I prefer the single stage.

I like the Auto-prime II, works fine.

m1gunner, have you ever crushed any primers with your Auto Prime II? Mine wouldn't feed primers when they got low because of the lack of weight pushing down on them. If I was using it on a hand press it was easy to just shake it a little bit to get them to feed, but if used on a bench mounted press I had to use a high tech paper clip inserted in the drop tube to push them along.

For anyone interested, Lee has updated their site.

Jelly,
Thanks for the info! The site looks lots cooler now!


As for the on press priming tool, I have the one that came with my Lee Classic Cast Turret press and it works OK. There are times, depends on the primer I use, that a little "tap" seems to be needed to get the last few out. I don't see that as a problem, some might. The reason is, if I am doing things on the Lee press, I am going slower anyway. Either building a few rifle rounds for accuracy or load development.

I think the Lee 4 hole turret is a great tool for doing this kind of work. Faster than a single stage, more "controllable" during production. Just me though. YMMV

All in all, for the beginner, Lee stuff will work, period. If they are unsure if this is a hobby that they want to continue, purchasing Lee is the way to go. You will be able to get almost what you paid for it when/if you want to sell it later on.

Same can be said of Dillon though. Much more outlay up front. Most starters are reluctant to spend a bunch on something they don't know they will like. Now, for me, I was hooked at first round produced and have been steadily accumulating equipment.

Hi Skip, I learned with the AP II that when I was near the end of my load block to start wacthing the primer tube, but that wasn't the only time it happened. I think they changed the primer trays later but mine would jam up and have to be shaken every once in awhile, (which would sometimes throw primers all over the place), to get the primers to drop in the tube. If you weren't watching this you would end up with a smashed primer even if the primer tray was full.

The old Pro 1000 I had used the same type of primer set-up and, along with the disk powder measure that wouldn't always drop it's powder, it sure took the "progress" out of "progressive".

Talk about accumulating equipment, I was looking last night and found I have five sets of .223 dies, and three sets of .221 Fireball dies. It's too bad that store closed down, they'd sell used RCBS dies and presses for less than new Lee products. Not to mention the box full of used HKS speedloaders I have stuffed in my closet.

To jump back into this thread before it becomes +10 pages =)
The lee safety scale leaves something to be desired for handling use. I feel the grain window is semi hard to read and its impossible to operate one handed. You have to hold the bar with one hand and slide the grain window with the next. Of course you could unlock it but then accuracy goes out the window for zeroing it.

You can however, purchase the dippers and load by volume, then throw it on the scale for good measure. No bad comments about those, but I've only used them at a friends house and do not own a set of my own.
The Lee safety scale Works and for the price of $20 its a steal.

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sw9ve, 24/7 pro Ds, Hs M4

Oh yes, I have crushed one on occasion. I keep a allen wrench next to the press as my "paper clip", and keep an eye on the feed slot.

I am not going for speed, and this works faster than the single load toggle bar that came with one of the presses (probably the turret, don't remember).

I got most my reloading stuff in the mid 80's, and all in all am very happy with the Lee tools I have.

I do like my Lyman powder measure, though.

Do you find it consistently accurate? Ran across an old orange one and was curious before I bought.