Re: Busted my Lee Press
"IMHO I don't believe the results I got with the standard die set are good enough. I have measured ammunition produced by others on RCBS standard dies and it wasn't any better. I can't extrapolate that to a comment about all standard die sets as I don't have any data."
Chanonry, I wasn't avoiding the issue, this is just the first time I've been back to this thread. Due to the limit on my time right now, I'm only going to addrees your comment copied above.
You make my point. On average, Lee, RCBS, etc. common type dies are pretty well equal, in fact I can find no stand out brand at all. Therefore targeting Lee for negitive comments is, IMHO, invalid. Actually, I found them about the same as you, on average. Meaning I there is as much variation between dies of the same brand as between brands. They are ALL made to SAAMI tolerances and that's a range of acceptable dimensions, not a speicific point. So, if we luck onto a set that matches our chamber we have a great set. So I don't laud the brand as the greatest or worst because it's just luck, the next set from the same maker may very well be different!
Honest, valid criticism is always good. But critizing because someone found another set of another brand was slighly "better" in some undefined way is not valid. If they don't like the locking rings, or the method of holding the decapper rod, etc. it's personal taste, NOT valid reason to condem the whole line.
I have tested a LOT of die sets for loaded run-out and find that concentricity is far more dependant on case selection than the sizer (AND how it's used) rather than any seater. The vastly more expensive seaters - Forster and Redding anyway - ARE superiour to other seaters but not by a wide margin - we're talking a couple/three thou here (again, on average) - and many shooters will never notice any difference down range. Thus, compairing the TIR of a Lee seater (or Lyman, RCBS, Hornady, etc) to those straight line seaters with a full body sleeve is a bit dishonest, is it not? And those who isolate Lee as a specific target from the rest are even more dishonest, IMHO.
Actually, all of our die brands are quite good, more than sufficent for most shooters and rifles. I like them all and trade them around until I find the best sizer and seater for my rifles. For them I get a Forster or Redding seater for those few that are good enough to tell the difference. Then, with careful case selection and uniforming, I do find a difference on target but even it's not by a vast margin.
Tool brands are not magic, I can load good ammo with most any press and dies. Reloading technique CAN be magic, white or black!
And, back to the OP, those who slime Lee's aluminum presses as somehow different from other aluminum presses from RCBS and Hornady are also being, at the least, disingenous. Comparing any alum bodied press to a cast iron/steel press misses the point for either type; they are different, made for different users and each type does a fine job for those who need them IF they are used correctly. Reloaders should not all need an iron press simply to prevent us from breaking them, should we??
