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Who Makes the Best (or Worst) Reloading Equipment?



What do you prefer?

This article starts with a discussion about Lee Precision.

Some reloaders poopoo Lee products, claiming that what they make is substandard. To the people who hold that view I say, Lee could not have remained in business for over 60 years if that was true. They have some so-so products, but other companies are similarly afflicted.

Regardless of what you prefer, it’s always good to keep up to date with everyone’s equipment. If you see something and believe it’s junk, don’t buy it! We all have different needs and expectations. Everyone has a budget. So if you do not care for RCBS, Lyman, Redding or Lee, read about their products and stay current anyway. Sometimes, innovation comes from the strangest places!

The rest is here. Who Makes the Best (or Worst) Reloading Equipment?

Excellent article!.. Although I do not have anywhere near Steve's extensive experience, my observations are very similar. There is a place for brand loyalty, but careful mix and match works best for loading gear.

I have a bunch of different stuff, a 50 year old Rock Cucker, an old Texan and a Lee hand press ( for changing OAL at the range) are my mainstays.
I used a Lee hand priming system for about 40 years bt now use the RCBS priming tool as well as their case master.
Fir trimming I much prefer the Lee lock studs and my drill press.
I use several different brands of dies but Redding. RCBS , and Lee are prominent.
I use a Harrel, and an old Lyman 55 for charging.
Scales are an Ohaus and a Redding that my father used when I was young- the price on the box is $14.00!LOL
I also have a Montana Arms BP measure, and Lee's scoops that get used regularly for my BP cartridge guns
Cat

Thanks, fellows. I use the Lee scoops too, Cat!

You’re right about the mix and match, Paul. It’s amazing what has come home over the years. All the best.

I still do my most of my loading with a Herter's cast iron C press that I bought in 1965 for around $13 and change. Bought a second off Ebay years later. They work forever if you keep them clean and lubricated. The problem with Herter's presses is the proprietary shell holders. Fortunately, I have a good assortment.

Being located near Higginson Powder, a distributor for Lee, I have accumulated a fair amount of Lee reloading products. I also have some Hornady, Lyman, RCBS and Redding equipment. They all produce usable ammunition. I have run across some anti Lee reloaders and bullet casters that spout the same rhetoric that one can find posted by Lee bashers on the internet. One bullet caster having never used a Lee bullet mould went on at great lengths about the inferiority of Lee products. For me the products perform as they should and I will keep using them.

Nick

Most of my stuff is RCBS which I purchased 45 years ago. The RCBS trimmer (cutting head) is a pos, so I have a Forster trimmer which I like, I put a drill on it.
I only have a couple Lee products....Crimp dies and a Ram prime, great products.

Some of the LEE products are quite innovative, though sometimes QC or execution are not that great. But they are affordable, and a good value for the price. I've used quite a few Hornady products that were poorly designed and/or poorly executed, but other innovations were great. I think whether its RCBS, LEE, or whoever, they have their strong products and their weak products.

Of the stuff in the article, the only thing I can say is a terrible product are the Satern funnels. The problem with them is the brass insert and the aluminum cone are not tightly fit and get even looser with time. Powder would get in between and you never know how much powder you lost. I switched to the Area 419 funnel set from Satern because like the author, I don't like plastic funnels because of the static.

Speaking of Area 419, they are very expensive as a company for most every product they make but all products are top quality and well-designed. I especially like their modular shell holders.

I had written my impression of Lee's Auto Bench Prime - their latest one - twice. When it first came out and one year later, after they made some improvements.


This was one of those times when Lee disappointed me. I have no proof of this, but I felt they released the Auto Bench Prime prematurely and let consumers test it and report their complaints. They addressed those complaints and released an updated version. I bought the updated version and it does work. They fixed the tray and feed ramp.

I have mostly RCBS equipoment but mostly I get what I can afford at the time. have a number of Lee tools and no complaints. I think a lot of people complain about them never having tried them and just figure for the price, they are junk, just not true!

I have been fortunate to grow up in a family of reloaders. Dad and his brothers and even his sister reloaded rifles, handguns and shot shells. Received the benefit of them using various brands.

Redding is my primary choice for most reloading equipment. That said, I also have dies from RCBS, Lee, Hornady, Lyman, Dilon and Herters. I have molds from RCBS and LBT. For several years I used the Lee hand priming tool, but I was having to replace them too frequently. I was loading a lot more than I do now and the plastic parts would fail. I went to RCBS with good luck for a number of years. Now I do all my priming on my Redding T-7 press.

RCBS the best for the money

I have only read the initial post. I am sure that the disciples of the "One True Brand" will dominate the responses.

Having now read the thread to this point, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by the responses so far.

It's nice to have a polite discussion. Thanks all!!

A more appropriate question for you Redgwell is who makes the best Covid booster?

You pretty much nailed it. Like I said earlier in the thread, Lee wouldn't have lasted 60 years if everything they made was junk. It might be a Chev vs Caddy sort of argument. Most people would rather be seen driving around town in a Caddy.


That's cool. No one in my family reloaded, but we had a few shotgunners.

😂😂😂

I have an RCBS Rock Chucker, mostly used for de-capping and pulling bullets now. A Redding T-7, for loading my rifle rounds, and a Dillon 650 for pistol stuff. I would buy any of them again, and would recommend them.

Bullet molds. Maybe not the first thing you think of when talking reloading equipment...but I am curious, has anybody else run into current production (last 6 yrs or so) Lyman molds being wonky and casting bullets that don't mike round? I bought 2 different molds and was very disappointed, for almost 3 times the money than a Lee mold you'd expect a very good bullet. I have several old Lyman's that of course, are great. I have inspected, miked, measured, experimented with changing technique...still stumped. I know it's impossible, but it's almost as if the blocks were not bored as a pair or the locating pins were pressed in crooked. Anybody?

Of the presses, I think almost any will do, but I will only use small ones, like the Lee C press or my small Lyman, for light duties.


Good question.

Soooo, newbie to reloading here! Love the article Steve.

I have likely chosen the worst time to take up loading but here I go! I have been hunting for pushing 50 years, saving brass/hulls for much of that time. None of this has to do with the ammo shortage as I am well stocked. I simply decided to start up a new hobby.

A while back, I decided to take up loading for my shotguns with Bismuth being my chosen shot. Picked up a MEC set-up, powder/hulls/wads/primers and of course, Bismuth. All recommended by Wil Bilozar after much consultation and research. My Silver Pigeon 20g loves the loads.

Last fall, I decided to ramp it up a bit and start to load for my 22-250. Now, I am still putting together my loading room but I have a Hornady Lock N Load Classic kit, Ultra Sonic cleaner. It also included the latest Hornady manual. Previously, I have been picking up manuals from a few companies. Along the way, I have snagged various bullets, some new brass and primers. Thanks to a very generous friend I have some powder, un-open of course, that he gave me. And a few other odds and ends I can use to barter with. Should be acquiring Hornady dies shortly. I have some RCBS dies I purchased years ago.
I have a Frankford Armory De-capper so I can sit in the living room or at my desk on nights and de-cap the brass I saved. (It might take a bit of time lol)
There are a number of other tools I have as well by various makers.
Eventually, I'll load for my other guns but the 22-250 sees the most use year round.
Great thread guys.
Jeff

Nice article! My father in law was an RCBS guy who has some Lyman products also. I inherited his stuff and it seems fine to me but I’m new at it.

Thanks Jeff and Bill.

I think that all hobbies are good for the soul. Some, like reloading, have additional positive attributes. Whether it's target shooting or hunting, "rolling your own" tailors your loads to a specific situation. A situation that you understand and is unique.

There is no doubt that some bullets perform better than others, but that improvement is dependent on the cartridge used, the animal hunted and the distance of encounter. And I would add, how well or poorly you place the shot. This last thing is the big unknown on boards like this, or even conversations with friends. You must trust that the storyteller is accurately relaying the information to you - especially if it is a criticism of a scope, bullet or cartridge.

The same can be said about die sets, presses, etc. Were they used correctly? These unknowns make great conversations at the gun club or over a campfire!

When I started reloading long ago, my Dad bought me a Used LEE Turret press, I still use it. That was well before I started Cowboy Action shooting, that was 16 years ago. I had a choice to buy one Dillon press, OR buy two LEE Load Pros, and have money left over. I shoot .45's the wife shoots .38s, Not too hard of decision. After a few State Championships between the two of us, I can say the LEE presses must do O.K. I also have RCBS dies,, a Lyman case trimmer, A Dillon balance scale, and a Hornady electronic scale. And a few things from varied other companies, and a few homemade "tools" for drop tubing BP. Is all the equipment I own the "best"? All I can say is it all works well for what I ask it to do. I know I ain't the best shot in the world, but I have a good time punching holes in targets, or knocking birds out of the sky. Yup, I do shotshells too.


KB

Steve, I think your right about hobbies being good for the soul. When i see so many aimless young people, I can't help but think how much better off they would be if they found a hobby to occupy their time!

Thanks. You can do it by yourself or with others. My grandkids and I often work for a while in the reloading room. It’s a great way to spend time with them.

I like many I started with a Lee Anniversary kit Everything you needed except for dies for $125 from Wholesale Sports. Way less than the RCBS kit here in Canada. The Challenger press kept breaking the pot metal toggle links on with collet dies. It was common problem , so the solution was out there, a handle off the 1000? turret press. A cheap fix. That's how they are made now. I replaced it with the Classic Cast when they came out . My only complaint is with my RCBS bullet puller jamming into the 50 cal bushing and loosing it. Just to try something different I got a used Lyman T-Mag . Kubota orange looks much better than the original pastel orange. It was sloppy and I don't think it was wear rather loose tolerance. . I was able to get most of that out with shim stock. Latest ones have screw adjustment. I found a early ugly brown Co-Ax . I like it a lot. Of course I made up a spent primer tube for it. I even bought Forster seating dies for it. As the early ones don't have the clearance for the taller Redding seaters. It was too much hassle changing handles.

I have Lee, Lyman, Redding, Bonanza, Hornady and RCBS dies. A collet will hold an expander much more centered than a thread. (I was saying this long before Lee picked it up for their advertising) . Threads at the price of dies are not going to be high precision . To get around this I add a small O-ring to get some self-alignment. For a while Hornady made real nice expanders for RCBS dies, I wish I had picked up more sizes.

I set up my son with a reloading kit . For a powder measure I gave him my plastic Lee when I bought their Cast one. The plastic one worked better.

I'm reloading shotgun shells so I'm using a 1000gr Lyman beam scale. It's the poorest made of the three I have, the others are a RCBS 5-0-5 and a Lee. I have even bought and use check weights.

I have a mixture of reloading equipment from Forster, Lee, RCBS, Redding, Hornady, and Pacific. I pick and choose to find the best tool for the application.

Does anyone use a mandrel die or adjust their collet die so that the case neck is maybe 2 thou undersize? ex. 222 or a 223 mandrel for a 224 case?

You can chuck your mandrel in a drill and remove a small amount, maybe .001” or less, with sandpaper or Emory cloth.

You sure can. I just wondered if anyone resizes a fired case just enough to have the finished neck a couple of thou under the bullet size. Say, .222 for a 224 case or .306 for a 308.

Doing the above rather than using a typical sizing die which sizes the neck down too much and then expanding out to its finished size with an expander ball.

Usually, after the expander ball is pulled through, the case neck is often still too small in diameter. This can make bullet seating more of an effort

Bonanza dies used to be known for their minimal neck sizing dimensions. This created all sorts of difficulties for people who wanted to turn case necks; there was not a lot of room for error.
When the 6 BR Remington was first introduced, the chamber neck diameter was .266. Bonanza made dies which sized to .262. This worked great. One could turn the necks to .011 thickness and get just the right amount of sizing. I built a few BR's and used the Bonanza dies for them. A year later, I ordered some more dies and found that they now sized the neck to. 258". I phoned them and asked what the hell. I was told that Fred Sinclair made his 6BR's with a .262 neck and he recommended they start producing dies which sized smaller. I said it made more sense to me to go with Remington's dimension but they were married to the new dimension from Sinclair. My suggestion that they sell me an extra set and send it to Fred Sinclair for use as a suppository was noted but not acted upon. Nonetheless, even with their tendency to listen to the wrong people, Bonanza made some great products and their dies were excellent.
I have dies from, RCBS, Redding, Bonanza, Pacific, Echo, Herters, Lyman, Lee, Wilson, and Hornady. I also have some I made. These are kind of like a Wilson with threads. I still use the RCBS Jr. press, which I bought in 1971. I also have a Lyman hand press and some original Lee Loaders. GD

I mix and match! Lee products are always awesome though I don't use a ton of Lee stuff. For me its the Lee neck dies and powder dispensers. I'm hooked on the Forster Co-Ax press. I love the Redding bushing dies although a bit spendy. For years I've been considering the Forster Bushing bump neck size dies. If I had it to do over again I'd probably keep it simple with a forster body die and Lee neck die for the necks. The micrometer seater dies are a must have for me. I have a great appreciation for 3 thou seating depth increments the micrometer makes it simple. I trim necks every time. I've found that it greatly helps with keeping ignition consistent. I won't be without a power trimmer that spaces off the shoulder instead of the full length of the shell. A powder dispenser that is accurate is a must in my world. I don't feel like meticulously measuring out powder! I settled on the RCBD chargemaster lite a few years back and have been very pleased.

I don't have any loyalty at all. I look for the best from all companies and go from there. I will say that Hornady has put out some very good offerings in the last few years.

I use RCBS (dies), Lyman (press, tumbler & case prep), Lee (collet and other dies, powder measure & primer seaters), Redding (shoulder bump dies), Forster (seater dies), K&M neck turning & Hornady (beam scale and case measurement & prep).

I started out with RCBS and Forster stuff. They all make some good stuff, they all have some duds here and there. I have some great Lee products, have and have had a few duds from them. There are a few RCBS products I have that I'm not thrilled with, it'll work, but, not a fan of the way it works. I can say the same of some Hornady stuff, have some good stuff, some I don't like the ergonomics of, one that was a true dud, and it wasn't a cheap product. I haven't had any beefs with Redding or Lyman, yet. 98% happy with Forster, one or two things they could tweak, one is just the result of things being "universal", which has its quirks, nothing that is universal really is, there are some things they don't do, some they don't do as well as they maybe should.
And when it comes to buying kits these days for beginners, only ones I'd spend the money on are RCBS or Redding, and even then, I'd rather buy individual brand items.

I don't think having more choices is bad, but it sure can be confusing.

Back in "the good old days", before there were a lot of specialty reloading tools, I think there was more brand loyalty. I remember those days with fondness (and some disappointment). It was a great idea being able to assemble my own ammunition, and beat paying big bucks for 20 cartridges at the store. I could make my own? Is that even legal? Then someone pointed me at the reloading section at the gun shop...I started with Lee Loaders, but that just led to harder drugs, er, bench mounted presses.



Having reloading kits was "the bomb"! I didn't actually use that expression, but...How cool was it to get almost everything you needed in one box? You know what I mean.

When you listen to people talk about their first reloading experiences, you could be listening to someone describing their first car or buying their first rifle. There was this innocence, excitement and a huge sense of adventure. It was cool telling your friends about what you got and what your plans were. They would ask questions and got caught up in the zing. It was a mark of independence.

Maybe that's a little corny, but reloading was new and fresh.

By then I was hooked. Magazines and older reloaders were to blame. Having a kit wasn't nearly enough. I needed accessories. People you trusted endorsed different equipment or some new doodad. X dies. Zip Trims. Inline bullet seaters. Universal decappers. You get the idea.

My first new press mounted die set was a Lee full length, two die set in the round box. Then I heard about neck sizing. I was unaware that my Lee Loaders neck sized only, so I started looking for press mounted neck sizing dies. This was before collet dies. They used to say that neck sizing markedly reduced group size. Some gunwriter said so. It must therefore be the truth! Stand aside Father Bill. My new testament is Outdoor Life!

The magazines turned up the heat. If factory ammunition could be relied upon to deliver two or three inch groups, imagine how much more successful you'd be if you reloaded! You could cut those groups in half AND it was cheaper!

Of course, I read everything there was about rolling your own. I talked with friends about the latest techniques. I went to the gun shops, gun shows or the gun club telling anyone who would listen about how much better my rifle shot with reloaded ammunition. Then I joined the military and became an armourer. Crazy!

Do you have a runout gauge? Check out the Harrel powder dispenser. C presses are garbage. Get an O press, or better yet, a Forster Coax! Get a heavy wooden bench and mount your press to it with big, jeezily bolts! You're not using Remington bulk bullets are you? That's crazy! Spend more. Get more.

Since then, I've collected a lot that was new, the greatest and the best. Wow!

In the beginning, all I wanted was to save a few bucks. What happened?

My first impression of reloads when I was traded a bunch of 30-06 brass for a box of reloads . This was in 1980. I had just bought my first rifle, a Remington 700 BDL, and had been practicing at the local rifle range/garbage dump. My group size went from 5" to 2 1/2". Offhand, at 100 paces with iron sights. I was very impressed with the quality of reloads. I didn't think much of my shooting though, I was still missing. Life goes on and I had couple of teenage boy to take hunting. A couple of more 30-06s, a R&G club membership and boxes of 30-06. This was expensive, time to reload.

I didn't get the latest gadget disease , but I did get the odd ball rifle caliber affliction. If I could find dies and brass, it was a go. I did give up on 6.5x57 and had the barrel rechambered to the much more common 6.5x55.

I get the oddball calibre affliction. I have it too. It wouldn’t be as bad if I lived in the US. Some things are easier to find, but things like 225 Win cases or timely deliveries of 308 diameter 303 or 7.62x54r barrels are more difficult up here. I asked a number of Cdn sources about barrels and most couldn’t deliver because they didn’t have the reamers.

I have a 300 HAM’R barrel coming and managed to score 100 pieces of brass, but we truly are the poor cousins here. I understand that manufacturers and distributors will supply the bigger markets first. Being patient is a virtue.

The post 911 world is challenging in many respects.

I use Lee, but as a beginner I simply don't know the difference.