Lee 50 bmg dies any good?

[the_worst_name]

Hello, I am in need of a set of 50 bmg dies, and I just wanted to know if the lee dies are worth buying, or sould I go with the more expensive rout and buy a set of rcbs or hornady.

if anyone has used the lee 50 bmg dies could you please let me know what you thought of them.

Midway is selling the lee dies right now for $80.99, and the hornady for $252.99, and rcbs is even higher at $286.99. thats a big price differance.

is there any reason they are so much cheaper? is it because they are just junk and you get what you pay for? or are they just worth it?

what about the lee factory crimp die for 50 bmg?

I just dont want to want my time and money buying them if they are not worth it, please let me know if you think I should go with buying the lee, hornady, or rcbs 50 bmg dies.

Thank you.

 

[ranger335v]

"is there any reason they are so much cheaper? is it because they are just junk and you get what you pay for? or are they just worth it?"

Perhaps the better question is, "Why in the world are the other guys charging so much more for a simple set of dies?"

 

[rg1]

Note that the standard Lee die is 1 1/4-12 thread and the standard Hornady and RCBS are 1 1/2-12 threads. I've heard of few problems with Lee's 50BMG press or dies. I have the RCBS press and dies.

 

[Rich219]

I haven't heard anything bad about any Lee dies. They seem to be an overall great value.

 

[Exposure]

I load with the Lee dies for my 50. The rounds I produce are quite accurate. I have never shot at 1000 yards so I can't really say if they will compete at that distance. However, people on the FCSA forums have had good luck at 1000 yards with these dies.

rg1 brings up the most important point though. The Lee dies are an unusual thread size at 1 1/4-12. Having said that you can have the ENTIRE Lee press and die set for less than the cost of dies from other manufacturers. The Lee press also comes with a bushing to use all standard rifle and pistol dies when not loading for the mighty 50.

Just my two cents, but the Lee setup is a good value.

 

[50 Shooter]

I'll add my opinion for what it's worth...

The Lee is great for someone that's just getting into .50's and wants to load up their own ammo. It will load rounds that will give you good accuracy if you do all your prep work.

Here's where the differences are, the Lee press is smaller then a standard 50 BMG press. As stated already, the dies are smaller but it goes further then that. The throw on the press is also shorter, that means that you have to tilt the rounds to get them into the die and then onto the shell holder.

Next, if you want a neck sizing die you'll have to custom order it from Lee by sending them a piece of your fired brass. As to the smaller dies, you can't get ANY of the larger specialty dies and tools that are made for the regular sized presses. This isn't a big deal if all you want to do is load plinking ammo but if you decide to start loading match stuff you get limited real fast.

If I knew I was going to shoot matches and plink I would skip the Lee and go for a full size press. If all I was going to do was load up plinking ammo and shoot my 50 every now and then, I would buy the Lee.