Lee RGB (really good buy)dies --lesson learned

[mangycoyote]

I want to start off by saying I'm not a reloading expert. I wanted to share my experience with these dies.
The dies cost me 20 bucks. The FS die worked well and im still going to use it unil I have enough to replace it. The real issue I had was with the bullet seating die.
I am loading Barnes 72 gr hp. Inside the die there is a fine step that would catch the very top of the bullet. It would two things, it would deform the bullet and If I forced it it would bend the neck. It would take me longer to seat the bullet than to measure powder.
A non HP bullet might make a deference. Lee addresses this issue on their website it can be fixed for 10 bucks. That's not going to happen on 20 dollar dies.
I'm not what others have experienced with this die set. But for me I'd pass next time and buy better dies.
good dies are worth their weight in gold but don't have to cost a fortune. Good used dies are always an option. But again trying to save money buy used may end up costing more too.
I've found a forster benchrest bullet seating die. I paid 50 for that die and a RCBS neck sizer die.
Benchrest die is well worth the money. The cool thing about forster is that it guides the case all the wa up.
!

 

[NBK]

There are many good dies out there and I have used most. I have to say that I like the Redding dies best. I do like the older RCBS dies as well. It surprises me that Lee won't address the issue for free. Particularly when you noted that they are aware of the problem. I have used Lee carbide dies for many pistol cartridges and they have performed fine.

I would send them pictures after another conversation.

 

[Snake Charmer]

You get what you pay for, IMO Lee is entry level gear and not meant for precision, its simple stuff for the occasional reloader.

 

[uplandfam]

That's strange. I use lee and have used them on literally 1000's of rounds of 223 and over 1000 300 savage and over 1000 243 and many more pistol rounds 45acp 44-40 32 mag 32-20 and never had any kind of problem. They should take them back or atleast replace them with something that works.

 

[mangycoyote]

I started reloading with lee equipment becuase it was affordable. But now that im reloading more i see the need to buy quality. I happy with the deal I got on the other dies. So im happy either way.

 

[White Smoke]

My dies are RCBS and I've been really happy with them, and they're not that much more than Lee's. The only change I have made to the stock dies was to switch out the locking rings with cross-lock rings. IMHO, the cross-lock rings lock more securely and there's no thread damage. I have had some problems in the past with the standard locking rings, even after I put a lead shot under the set screw. Once I get my dies set, I don't want them moving.

 

[mangycoyote]

I use rcbs also definitely good dies. I just picked another rifle in 243, so I'll be playing with the seating a lot more. I agree once you find that sweet spot you dont want change anything.

 

[josecasillas]

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