A review of reloading presses

[Grenadier]

Very good article, regarding the positives and negatives for each of the bigger brand reloading presses out there. Lee, Hornady, and Dillon, are each covered.

http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf


Basically, confirming what I've seen throughout the years, that Dillon and Hornady are a cut above Lee, although are they worth 2-3 times the money spent? Hmm...

 

[K31]

...and so did the great Lee v. Dillion (or Lee v. RCBS, or Lee v.fill-in-the-blank) come to Martialtalk.


My father used to shop the bargain bin at the hardware store. You know, the "Any tool for $5" bin? Consequently I didn't know that a screwdriver shank was not supposed to twist (and remain like that), for instance, when trying to loosen a tight screw.


I then took "Industrial Arts" in middle school and learned the concept of buying a good tool, once, the first time and keeping it for life.

I've probably replaced every piece of reloading gear that I originally bought with my RCBS kit with the exception of my Rockchucker and hand priming tool. It's not that RCBS is not good stuff, on the contrary, some of the stuff I replaced with RCBS stuff. Otherwise, what I replaced it with worked more efficiently or was more labor saving.


Lee stuff for me has been hit or miss. I have one Lee die that functions perfectly, another that never worked right and their customer "support" was less than useless asking me to try stuff that I told them in the first email about the problem that I already tried. I recently bought a Lee "perfect" powder measure because I wanted an inexpensive powder measure to use for dropping filler on light loads. The powder measure as assembled would scape the mounting bracket when it was used. This created a gouge in the aluminum body of the unit. I thought that maybe I had mounted something off-center but I checked and there was no play in the mounting holes.


RCBS on the other hand sent me a replacement for a case trimmer handle that was bent in shipping as soon as I called. No questions asked, literally. What is remarkable about that is that I neglected to tell the person who answered the phone what model trimmer it was for (they made about 3 manual trimmers at the time) but the right part showed up at my door.


What I find interesting about this article is the authors assertion that in these
debates that no one sticks up for Lee. My experience is exactly opposite that. Dare say something about Lee and you'll be bombarded with apocryphal tales of how Lee is the greatest and if anyone dares spend more they're crazy. They usually contain a statement like, "All I have ever used is a Lee xyz press, I'm on my second one!". Huh?


If I'm on my second RCBS press assume my house was swallowed by a volcano while I was away.


One thing about the article I find amusing is "so the Lee looks more attractive in their space." Sorry, if you're into reloading for the esthetics I think you probably need another hobby.