Lee Precision vs RCBS Reloading Dies Which is Better? 

I'm so happy. My dad just bought me the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit, for Christmas. I couldn't be happier!!!!

I was given a single stage Lee press a number of years ago by someone on a local forum. After using that press for a bit, I discovered a crack on the original cast aluminum connecting link and a few other things like the lever clamp. Went on their site and ordered all the parts to repair the press and update it with newer non-cast pieces. A day later, I get a phone call from a really nice lady at Lee who wanted to ask me what I was doing with the parts, then told me I had actually missed a few critical pieces on my order. She added them to the order and I had parts in hand a couple days later. Have always had excellent experience with Lee. Yeah, I certainly understand they're not the gold standard... but their stuff gets the job done!

I've delt with rcbs customer service people several times, great service and people are the best.

Both great companies

I like it when the service person on the phone knows what they are doing. Usually I get some guy in a call centre in India. When you ask for someone who speaks English, they say “I speak berry good eng-a-lish sir”.

I love my Lee presses, but I’ve always been kinda wanting more with my dies, gonna get rcbs next.

DEUCE AND GUNS... LEE replacement shipping is free, if you call them. Shoot lots and stay safe.

Just to let you know Dillion stands a 100% behind their products. You break anything on the press just call tell them what is broken and they send it out. I have only had to use the customer service once so far. I am looking at a new set of Dies and I'm thinking of going with the ribs dies. Tyvm for your video. Very informative.

Enjoyed your video... keep them coming!

Well damn, great minds think alike. I use a Lee turret press and most of my dies are now RCBS due to the superior lock ring. Most of my casting equipment and dies are Lee too.

My only issue with RCBS dies is that they don’t have a powder through setup like Lee has. My lee 9mm set has the mouth expander die and on top of it sits a lee auto drum case activated powder measure. RCBS doesn’t have anything like that.

I'm a bit late, but customer service representative cost money and for the most Lee Precision is cheaper than RCBS. It's cool, either way honestly.

I like lee and RCBS they are both great companies and they both are very important to the reloading industry. There are products by lee that are better than RCBS, dillon and Reading but no one talks about that, on the other hand RCBS has products that are better than lee,hornady, Reading and others ,they all have place in this industry. Brian at RCBS is one of the best people that I've ever talk to about reloading dies and questions. Remember we have raw Freedom in the USA. Thanks

, Hornady is ranked with RCBS, for the cost and replacement, Lee however is cheeper and charges shipping on their replacement parts. I get better accuracy out of RCBS and Hornady than what i get out of Lee by a large enough margin to avoid buying certain Lee products such as their presses that do not cam over, or rifle dies that are so rough inside that your brass looks like hell after resizing. However that being said, Lee pistol dies are very good and their hand primer is as well as the bullet sizing dies and bullet molds but for warranty and precision for the value RCBS and Hornady is the way to go.

I have not experienced the famous RCBS warranty or guarantee. I bought a Rockchucker reloading kit as a Christmas present for myself in December 2013. It came with their entry level powder measure. I did not use it immediately, stored it away for several years. I was a beginning reloader and used the press and some of the other stuff but did not use the powder measure that came with the kit. When I finally broke the powder measure out to use it, it had rusted. I called RCBS expecting they replace it based upon "how great" the RCBS warranty is. The RCBS customer service person was a d*ckhead. He told me they would not replace it. Since then Ive become unenamored with RCBS and I buy mostly Hornady, with a few Lee specialty items. Ive also found Lyman reloading gear good, especially for brass prep. I reload mostly for service rifle. I like how Hornady has catered to the expansion of service rifle target competition in the last ten years, Hornady has really expanded their game in the last ten years. RCBS has IMO, sat on their laurels. Why should I buy reloading dies from RCBS that cam over when I can buy Hornady dies that dont cam over and work the brass the same? Its less work on me and less stress on my bench and press. Lee stuff is OK and I have some of their stuff, my impression of Lee is they have an old school approach which is cool. RCBS...they make some good stuff but their time has passed and they have an attitude.

You could have talked to a live person at LEE if you called !

It was the rcbs that broke in the first place. I heard no mention of any lee broken parts. I guess don't see your logic is all.

I have tried RCBS email it does not work, I tried three times to get a order number for a cover for the primer tool, and was never contacted, so I bought a Lee priming tool

I may have to switch from Lee to rcbs. I have always paid the shipping from Lee.

RCBS always for me.

RCBS is able to lower prices because of overseas manufacturing

Must have been a Lyman yellow jacket.

I tried a set of lee rifle dies and a set of lee pistol dies... both sets were replaced with RCBS shortly after. The thing that pissed me off the most, other than when I was trying to using the dies, was lee almost makes a decent die. Unless the dies are going in a tool head or has its own designated press the lock rings are a joke. The sizing dies from both sets worked just fine... no complaints there. And the added shell holder was a nice touch. After that the pistol dies went downhill. Both the expander and factory crimp dies shaved brass from the case mouth and I had to smack my press handle to get the die to release the brass. Took the expander die apart and it was rougher than a sharpening stone... not polished at all. Finished that batch up and quit using those dies. Since I quit using them I never checked if a person could get a seater for flat nose bullets but would of been nice to been included. Now as for the rifle dies go the seater die was fine but wish it had the option to crimp... which brings me to my problem with the set. The factory crimp die was unusable as the case mouth never made contact with the collet after being trimmed with the lee trimmers and using the included shell holder. Needless to say I was pissed! After cashing in a whole lot of brownie points with the wife so I could buy more dies for cartridges that I just bought dies for... I went back to the ol' faithful green... RCBS!

cant say for sure but theres always the chance if you actually called lee they may have sent you them free too, no? i mean maybe they set up the web page just so you can get them even outside of business hours or whatever and have to charge something to keep people from just needlessly stockpiling free shit? who knows.

is that the johnny's reloading bench guy

Im offended that i seen that press in the background, i tell you it gets my blood boiling. Im just kidding around, but it really wouldnt surprise me if someone did

Great video, thanks for the insight! I have a large number of reloading dies from RCBS, Lyman, Lee, Redding, and Hornady and for the most part have had excellent service and results from all of them, especially Redding. When I first acquired a set of Lee dies with the O-ring locks I thought this was a step in the wrong direction. I have since found out that the O-ring lock rings, if just turned slightly snug, will help achieve better over all cartridge and bullet concentricity. The O-ring allows the dies to float slightly thus assuring better over all alignment of not only the case to sizing die but also case to bullet concentricity is improved during the seating process. If used properly they will be a blessing, not a curse.

I used to shoot IPSC many years ago and had a Dillon Square Deal for loading my 45 and 10mm stuff. Was a good press except that it had a cast aluminum (or pot metal, or whatever it was) lever arm. I broke two of them. Seems the upward stroke pressure for seating primers eventually cracked it near the base. Dillon replaced the first one no problem, but after it happened again, I ended up making one out of steel and never had another issue. Fast forward to recent years, I now use a Lee Classic Turret press. Love it. I take the drive rod out so it doesn't auto index so I can run loads through each die sequentially, then just rotate the next die I want by hand. When/if I acquire a new caliber and dies, I just order a new turret top plate ($12.99) so I don't have to pull all the dies out to use the new ones. I've been using Lee dies and have had no issues with FL or neck sizing and once bullet depth is set, seating bullets has been incredibly consistent. I did buy the Lee universal decapping die to pop out primers and will mount that on either the little Lee Breech Lock press ($45) so it's task specific, or considering that new APP press they have that can auto feed cases, use dies in either the top or bottom, great for bullet sizing too and more automated prep work...and it's a reasonable $110. The Lee bench mounting plate system is also great for quick changing out the press for the priming tool, or another press, or whatever. I guess what I'm saying is, overall, I'm pretty happy with the Lee stuff.

I use lee they are more user friendly.

used to use a lee pro 1000, friggin thing broke more than once, warrenty replacements ONCE after that I was told I had to BUY the replacement parts. RCBS Rock Chucker, NEVER broke it. Dillon 550b, Awesome, I Love it. warrenty replacements for non-consumable items (once I had to pay shipping in a flatrate box) btw, I bought my Dillon used at a yardsale for less than I paid for the lee pro 1000 new.

One of the reasons my reloading bench is covered in a sea of green.RCBS for the win. Thanks for sharing

Both are good companies! I honestly just buy the best any company has to offer. I have Hornady, Lee, RCBS, Frankford Arsenal, and Lyman reloading equipment. Only company I have dealt with is Lee and they are excellent! Bought there cheap single stage press for like 35$ on amazon. Got it and took it apart, cleaned and lubricated it, and put it back together and mounted it to my table only to discover it was missing a bushing to put a die in. I know for a fact I never messed with that part of the press so I checked the box and had nothing in it. Emailed lee customer service I just provided pictures and an explanation and they were nice enough to send me a bushing for the press for free! Really refreshing to see a company take responsibility and make things right!

I personally only use LEE due to the fact that the LEE dies come with a shell holder and a factory crimp die.

Yesterday I emailed Lee because I was missing a little plastic part I needed to install an autodrum upgrade. I asked how I get one. I was notified it was on the way. No charge.

I fucked up my Redding 223 decapper which is part of the sizing die due to my own incompetence (I don't remember how but it bent) and I asked her if I could order a new one and they just sent me a new one free of charge. That was neat.

I've always used RCBS. Never had an issue with them. Ever.

Iv had lee dies for a couple years. Never needed the warranty, just used them... so kind of a moot point in my mind. Broke a decapper once, my fault, bought a new one. If I can't afford a $6 pin, you shouldn't be reloading. Also I add hornady rings to all my dies, so rings are moot

I had two times that I needed warranty repair parts from Lee. Both times, I contacted them about the problem, and they shipped me four of the part at no charge.

However, you pay much more for RCBS so, $6.50 shipping occasionally seemed wise.

Lee Precision parts page: leeprecision.com/parts RCBS website: rcbs.com The RCBS 300 blkout Dies I use: amzn.to/2Vt1t6F FYI - This is a 100% unsponsored and unaffiliated video. Both Lee and RCBS only know me as an average Joe paying customer.

You mentioned you spoke with a real live person at RCBS but you did not call Lee?

I've been reloading for a little over a year and I have a lot of Lee dies, and I've had no issue like you said just paying shipping for the mandrill. However if you have a problem with your press and they have to replace the casting due to failure they charge you $80. Plus shipping. RCBS no questions asked they'll just send you whatever you broke and if you have an issue with the Press they will send you via email a shipping label to return it and though either fix it or replace it for free.

Whose got $100 plus per set of dies

Wow, you like repeating the shipping you paid for Lee, don't you. You said you can "break anything". I believe you -- knocking dies together in this video, stripping threads, breaking decapping pins, etc. You strive to see how much you can spend on reloading equipment -- so you strive for Dillon; I try to see how much I can save on reloading -- I buy Lee. You also did not mention if you were comparing Lee's carbide dies to whatever RCBS has; I always get Lee's carbide dies. But, hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion -- because this a HOBBY!

Every case I have stuck in a die was in an rcbs die. If rcbs was the only option I would buy their dies. Go cheap or expensive, the middle of the road is where you get run over. You'll either be happy with how little you paid for lee or you'll be happy with how awesome dillon or redding dies are. With rcbs you'll be pissed you bought them and pissed that you still have them.

I don't know what prompted you to compare these two. RCBS is in a different class all together. I wouldn't give up my RCBS single stage press for anything. I love single stage because I enjoy being involved in every step of the reloading process. RCBS means quality, reliability and goodness. My RCBS Rock Chucker will serve my great grand children.

I know the reputation of "Dillion" for THE BEST quality products. BUT, not all of us need (or can afford) the Rolls Royce of reloading gear! I've used RCBS, Lee, Lyman, Hornaday and others that cost WAY LESS, but seem to get the job done in a quite satisfactory manner!(For me, my family, fellow shooters at the range and other Club members!)

Rcbs brass lock rings are brass and do not lock tight. Lee is easier and stays tight from my experience. I’m not a fan of Rcbs especially the seating dies. Don’t want to use a screw driver. Lee has a knob

I guess the time has changed. It seems that replacement parts are no longer free from Lee. But their customer support is still great. I always get very fast email responses from Lee.

Informed and interesting narrative......thanks. Another way of looking at reloading equipment occurs when you realize that each brand makes certain items that really stand out from the pack. Therefore, using brand x press with brand y dies and brand z powder measure, not to mention case prep equipment, is most likely going to be the best overall setup and perhaps even the best value. Maybe not always but, for the everyday loader I think it likely applies.

Honestly I have had great luck with several manufacturers of reloading equipment. Lee which i have many sets of dies and RCBS also. Redding service is also very good. I have ordered set straight from RCBS and they arrived ok but looked as if the shipping guys played football with them in the warehouse, box was shattered inside , RCBS sent me a new box and offered new dies also. The dies were not damaged and being a rather hard to get caliber, frequently out of stock I kept them.

The Lee seating die is fantastic. The Lee decapping die sucks! The Lee factory crimp die is fantastic. The Lee expander die sucks!

I use Lee, RCBS, & Lyman tools and I enjoy them all. but I reload on a budget and most are used and all three have awesome warranty & customer service.

Good video you are very right about Dillon I’m sure I have a 550C and just started reloading 357Sig and Dillon wants 235.00 just for the 3 set of dies so I’m going Hornady and lee on my RBCS turret press going to be less for the hole set up then the Dillon dies.

I've had excellent results from both brands, along with Redding. Never had any warranty claims with any.

Not mention RCBS has better quality products. I am getting rid of my lee dies. No matter how much I tighten the screw for the decappimg pin always slips after just a few rounds. Also like you mention about the washers. RCBS for the money, hands down better customer service and better product. I have that LEE torrent press and love it. Just not thier dies.

Don’t say, “cheap.” Say instead,”less expensive.” I’ve both, each have slight differences that work too the better of circumstances.

Dillion dies aren’t That good….. A lot has to Do with the Reloader & not The equipment. I’ve made great ammo from Lee & Forster. All boils down to Preference.

Lee s/h is high. That said, rcbs costs alot more to begin with, so your still paying. I wanted a Lee .17 dipper. It was free, but they wanted $10 to ship a tiny piece of plastic that could have been mailed in a .42 envelope. But I have had great experiences with Loading with Lee products.

I know this is old, but I'd pay 6 bucks to keep from having to call someone.

If you want a really rough set of dies buy the cheapest ones starting with L. Buy RCBS. Much smoother.

I wouldn't mind paying the $6.50 if I get the parts for no charge.

Lee is great for pistol calibers, but for rifle rounds they leave alot to be desired, there press flex to much trying to bump shoulders on bulged brass, they work for general reloading, but for precision reloading they are a no go, dillon is great, Redding is better in terms of dies

The brass set screws on my RCBS carbide die locking rings stripped. I called them and they sent me a whole new set of 3 die rings for free. That said , I don't like the RCBS locking rings. The set screw dinged up my threads a little and as I mentioned the brass set screws stripped. So I replaced the RCBS Die Rings with Hornady Die Rings that have the pinch style rings instead of the set screw rings. Haven't have any troubles since. Nice video , thanks for sharing. JT

Actually I ship lots of products all over the world, shipping cost can vary for nothing if the company has enough profit margin to cover the shipping cost which is also but not always in some instance added to the cost of the product or the company works out a low cost deal per package for shipping with the shipping service. RCBS customer service is second to none, as far as Lee, when I have to order parts I get several and don't mind paying the low shipping cost.

Work brought me to McMillan sniper school for a few weeks, we got to walk the manufacture floor and I was surprised to see Dillion presses being machined there. They are sent back to Mike Dillon and sold under the blue label. McMillan machined is what your buying. It’s all great US made products,!

I love this video! Exactly what I needed to hear, LEE TURRET PRESS RCBS dies. Liked, Subscribed and hit the notification bell. Thank you!

dont have a ton of die sets 4 lee's and one rcbs. But i did notice that my rcbs die set rusts like hell, i oil all of them when i use them and when i put them away.

RCBS is an awesome company, great quality products and their customer service is par none. I have to deal with lots of companies with the various things I do and RCBS has the best customer service of any company in the world. That is not to slam LEE in any way.

Dillon will charge you for small rifle Decaping pins!!!!! I just recently was Decapping some 556 well I came across some cases from the former field and stream. Well thoughts cases have a small flash hole and I didn’t realize what was going on till I snapped off my last pin. So I call Dillon to explain what had happened and they said yes those are 7 bucks per pin. I ended up ordering 7 of them because the last time I ordered from them it took 2 months for my stuff to arrive. With that being said as much as I like Dillon equipment I think I’m done with them. As for RCBS no questions whatsoever asked anything I ever needed was taking care of. Great company with one hell of a warranty system. 10/20/21 was when I had to order the Dillon decapping pins

Lee dies are horrible..except fir two.The universal decanting doe and the crimp collet die

I use Lee mostly. But have a couple of small based RCBS die sets.

Thoroughly agree and even my lee press has broken... the casting around the mounting bracket broke... guess what press is replacing.... rock chucker

Just what I needed, thanks for the vid man. I just picked up a RCBS rock chucker, guess I'll stick with RCBS dies.

Lee lately are leaving scratches on my cases, Not as good of product as I used to be old ones are much better

I had a bad set of RCBS 30 30 dies years ago. The neck runout was absolutely ridiculous and noticeable just holding a case in my hand. Got them replaced, but it proved to me that at least at that time, their die machining process was faulty, to put it politely. Lee and Lyman, never a problem.

Son You think Dillon dies are the best??? You ever heard of Redding my Boy

I just called Lee and got a replacement for free. Probably just the website set up.

I prefer the split type lock ring over the RCBS type.

Been using RCBS since my Dad taught me to reload and never had an issue, but it is very nice to know that if I ever do have an issue it will be taken care of.

I have used both, prefer LEE. If LEE doesn’t have it my second go to is Lyman, their products are extremely well built, work well and Lyman has been building reloading equip,Ent longer than anyone.

Dos RBCS dies warnty carry person to person. Say by a set used. See lot up for sale used for 25cto 30 a set

Great great video as always! I was looking into lee reloader kits and now i think i will look into rcbs also! Thanks again Deuce. Keep up with the videos please Sir.

I use both with no problems since the mid 1970’s on and off.

RCBS is the only way to go just as good as a Dylan

First comment? Lol. I wouldn't call RCBS budget, but overall I can agree RCBS has helped me no issues when I called them. Also, I find that RCBS has more options if you want more options (cowboy dies, small base, things like that)

All my Reloading rcbs

I like my Lee dies better than the RCBS dies, but the one time I called RCBS about my old case trimmer that was out of production & they shipped me a new part, express delivery, free. I've never needed to call Lee CS, so far. Then again the only Lee products I have are dies. The reloading kit I bought when I got started reloading on my own was RCBS so I have a bunch of RCBS stuff.

Nice to know, thanks.

LEE wins by a MILE.

Lee isn’t free for me

Thanks for the video, I am glad you shared this with the world. Two good companies IMO. They both make quality products and they are each unique. Great to see good customer service. Have watched tons of your videos and really like your channel. Subbed today.

RCBS IS THE Only Way

Thanks for sharing!

Lee and RCBS might be Low to Mid Range but then there is Frankford Arsenal. Now some people love F-A stuff and they are usually sub Lee prices but I've heard their customer support is nonexistent.

I'm in Australia so we don't enjoy the excellent service you guys do. The only trouble I have had with reloading equipment (since 1981), for the 13 years prior to that I just used Lee Loaders ) is a Lee 44Mag shell Holder which had a small chip out of the part that holds the rim and occasionally let a case escape. I just chucked it and bought another. The other problem I have had is with an RCBS FLS die in 222 (the first die set I ever bought along with my Rockchucker Press in 1981) and a Redding FLS Die in 223. Both stick a case every now and then, probably a half dozen times over the past 30+ years. I have solved the problem by buying a couple of new sets of Lee RGB dies. The amount of reloading I have done over those years, never ceases to amaze me so I have no complaints. I didn't like the Lee Lock Rings at first and was forced to use them when I bought a Dillon 550 press. There wasn't enough room for the traditional style lock rings. They work fine if you adapt to them. When Unscrewing the die or finally screwing it into place, hold the ring and the die body together. Once the ring is free of the press surface, you can just turn the die using the die body. The patent for these rings is shared with Dillon. Their posh rings are the same. Good video, thanks.

I like them both

Two days ago I called RCBS for an issue with a case trimmer that was given to me as a gift. I swear that I spoke to the same guy on your recording. He was amazing! Knew what I wanted before I was done explaining it. Same story. I know what you need, just need your address. I am new to reloading but WOW! RCBS, you have me hooked on your products and service.

I have had the same exact pleasurable experience from both these companies on different parts that were actually more expensive than pins. Both companies were stellar. But I will tell you that Wilson, Forster, and Whidden all have very similar scenarios. So you can't go wrong with any of these companies. All five companies are fantastic! I also have to give a shout out to BAT and Dave Manson. Both of these are stellar as well.

Just received a new 2 die set of RCBS dies for reloading 223. Started using the resizing/primer removal die today in my Lee Loadmaster press and it worked well for about 20 cases until the decapping pin broke. Not sure why it happened, but called RCBS and their customer service rep immediately said she would send me several replacements for no charge...not even shipping ! That was a pleasant surprise as there was no hassle whatsoever. It is great to see RCBS stand behind their products and provide such good customer service. The small base die resized cases perfectly and I checked them with the Sheridan slotted case checker...headspace right on the money. Can't beat that. Thank you RCBS !!