RCBS / Lee

[wildfowler.250]

Folks can anyone advise on here if possible please, are the shells holders from RCBS interchangeable with Lee kit? AI on a google search says they are but I trust the folk on here who use the kit more.

Was going to buy a ‘cheap’ lee hand primer tool for the .222 to save switching back across from the RCBS one and keep that set for larger cals. Wasn’t entirely sure if I’d need a new shell holder for the new kit?

Is the Lee kit alright? I was quite surprised that the RCBS one is about 3x the cost of it.

Thanks!

 

[Bavarianbrit]

The Lee hand primer tool has shellholders without the snap in collar they are just flat (use google to see them) Loads of folk use Lee dies and are happy with them, as am I.

 

[finbar]

Rcbs are the top end of reloading gear I have just bought the 505 scales
To be fair the lee beam scales served me well
Now loading for the 17 hornet so needed to be that lil bit more precise

 

[enfieldspares]

LEE HAND PRIME TOOLS USE A FLAT BASE SHELLHOLDER. AS OTHERS HAVE SAID.

As regards loading ammunition this:

In supposed practice it is said that the heights of one maker's shellholders are not quite the same as the heights of other maker's shellholders. And that each maker machines their dies to then work correctly with the height their shellholder is.

This is then why...in supposed practice...you can have a result where even though a die is screwd right down to contact the top of the shellholder the shoulder on the case or the "web" at the base of the case is not set back enough or resized enough.

Best practice is use the same maker's dies with the same maker's shellholders.

In terms of kit I like the Lee Collet Sizing dies, the Lee Factory Crimp dies, the Lee yellow plastic powder scoops and the Lee Hand Priming Tool. I don't like Lee dies soleley as I don't like their lock nuts with the rubber inserts. I prefer to set a die then lock the lock ring so that I can then remove it and replace it knowing it will always be at the length the lock ring has set it at.

FINALLY - AN "ON THE PRESS" DIE SUCH AS THIS LEE RAM PRIME TYPE BELOW IT WOULD MAKE NO DIFFERENCE IF HE USED X, Y, OR Z SHELLHOLDERS IN A PRIMING TOOL THAT USESD SNAP IN TYPE SHELLHOLDERS. INDEED LEE STATES THIS.

Ram Prime

Lee Ram Prime fits all brands of single station presses, for both large and small primers. Uses the Universal Shell Holders

leeprecision.com

 

[wildfowler.250]

Thanks folks, I just ordered the shell holder as well. Trying to save £5 but probably not worth it in the long run.

 

[moeggesit]

I still use a 35 year old Lee Hand prime with round trays and it works perfectly. I bought a new model, just in case, and I’m not particularly impressed. Maybe it will be fine but the lids seems fiddly.

Lee generally makes great gear.

 

[8x57]

I still use a 35 year old Lee Hand prime with round trays and it works perfectly. I bought a new model, just in case, and I’m not particularly impressed. Maybe it will be fine but the lids seems fiddly.

Lee generally makes great gear.

I too have both the old (round tray) and new style (square tray) hand priming tools, and just like you I much prefer the older style of tool as it just seems to work better.

Personally I wouldn't go so far as to say that Lee make great gear. Much of it is O.K. gear, and some of it is quite innovative but certainly not the quality of RCBS. There again you only get what you pay for and Lee is definitely orientated towards the budget end of the market.

One of the benefits of the RCBS hand priming tool is that it uses standard RCBS shell holders and not a different type of shell holder that the Lee system uses.
I particularly mention RCBS shell holder because the hole where the primer plunger comes through is bevelled and those by other makers such as Lee are not. In the past I've altered other makes of standard shell holder by bevelling the hole so that it can be used with a RCBS hand priming tool.

 

[moeggesit]

I too have both the old (round tray) and new style (square tray) hand priming tools, and just like you I much prefer the older style of tool as it just seems to work better.

Personally I wouldn't go so far as to say that Lee make great gear. Much of it is O.K. gear, and some of it is quite innovative but certainly not the quality of RCBS. There again you only get what you pay for and Lee is definitely orientated towards the budget end of the market.

One of the benefits of the RCBS hand priming tool is that it uses standard RCBS shell holders and not a different type of shell holder that the Lee system uses.
I particularly mention RCBS shell holder because the hole where the primer plunger comes through is bevelled and those by other makers such as Lee are not. In the past I've altered other makes of standard shell holder by bevelling the hole so that it can be used with a RCBS hand priming tool.

Yes you could qualify it that way, there is a few Lee products I prefer over any other manufacturer (I think they’re great), just like there are some Lyman I prefer over either of the above, but RCBS quality is very high and I have an array of their kit.

I have not found any Lee products which does not do what it says on the tin.

 

[8x57]

Pretty much ditto, as like you I've got kit from a mixture of manufacturers. Also like you there are a couple of Lee items that I prefer over other makes, for instance I got rid of my Lyman case trimmer because I found the Lee case length gauge system to work better for me. ( Not saying it's better just that it works better for me.)

However I have had a problem with one set of Lee dies which were replaced by them, and I did manage to wreck one of their single station presses when the casting simply came apart when resizing. The press was over 20 years old and owed me nothing.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

No one manufacturer makes the best version of everything, and every manufacturer (probably) has something that they either do uniquely or better than anyone else. Whether that is Lee FCDs, Forster lock rings for the Co-Ax press (also a strong contender for a best-in-class product), Imperial sizing wax (Redding), etc, etc.

I have dies from Lee, RCBS, Lyman and Hornady. The RCBS dies are likely the best made, certainly the heaviest, but Lee will always be my first choice because I like the way they separate bullet seating and crimping, and I like how much more easily stuck cases are able to be removed from them than dies with a a threaded neck expander/depriming rod. I use RCBS, Lyman or Forester lock rings on most of my Lee dies though, as the Lee lock rings are crap (IMHO).

I routinely mix manufacrers between dies and shell holders, and all my non-Lee die sets have a Lee FCD. I have not found it to be a problem, with one exception, when using a Lee Ram Prime and RCBS shell holder, occasionally the shell holder will "ping" the spring assembly and flip the primer resulting in one or two upside down seated primers... Very odd, but easily avoided.

 

[Muir]

I have used both over the last 50 years. RCBS is more problematic these days. I go for Lee first. -Muir

 

[Cyres]

I have 2x Lee round primer tools. One for SRP other LRP.
Faultless and now have 2 sets of case holders to fit them.
I like the fact you can feel the primers going in and bottoming out.
D