lee loader?

[BHP FAN]

I started my reloading hobby with a .45-70 Lee Loader. They can't be beat.

[Lead Waster]

I like this http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=480380

It's the little bench mounter lee press AND reloading manual. Or maybe it's the manual, plus the press?

You'll need a manual ANYWAY, so why not get this and a press?

[The King]

My early experience was with the lee loader, 20 at a time 300 win mag, for practice prior to hunting. They work fine, but V slow, and limited.

But, as above, you will want a scale, possibly a trickler, a priming tool, a manual, a case trimmer, related clean up tools, primer pocket reamer, flash hole chamfer tool, and neck turner, electric case trimmer, electric scale, dillon 500, no 600, no 1050 series with all the add ons... At least I did.....

[Chief-7700]

My early experience was with the lee loader, 20 at a time 300 win mag, for practice prior to hunting. They work fine, but V slow, and limited.

But, as above, you will want a scale, possibly a trickler, a priming tool, a manual, a case trimmer, related clean up tools, primer pocket reamer, flash hole chamfer tool, and neck turner, electric case trimmer, electric scale, dillon 500, no 600, no 1050 series with all the add ons... At least I did.....

We have both followed the reloading equipment food chain that leads to Dillon.
For now I have paused at the XL-650 level.

[Vanilla Gorilla]

If you want something cheap and simple, this next step up is a much better choice:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=410804

A Lee Loader will load only one type of cartridge. By using standard reloading dies the Lee Hand Press will let you reload many different cartridges. If you later buy a full-size bench-mounted press you can use the same dies.

I had one of these they work great I loaded hundreds of rounds with it the best part of it is it uses the same dies as a normal press so when you do decide to upgrade you don't have to buy dies

[Lead Waster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeEl9wZyabc

Here's a video of Richard Lee using the Lee Loader, making a single round in 40 seconds. Of course, he's a pro!

There are a few more long winded videos about the same thing. I'd watch this quick one, then watch the long winded ones to see what's going on.

[Masterdebater]

bought one in .223 and decided to just get the 50th ann. model, just need a bench now! but i agree i was fearful about discharging a primer, if u can, the cheapest id go is the handloader, but for about 130 bux u get an actual press and everything to go with it. better bargain if u ask me...

[sniper5]

Loaded thousands of rounds with Lee Loaders when I was younger. Still have a small collection of them. Although now I use a turret. Setting off a primer is a VERY rare occurrance and just makes a bang and the rod bounce a little if you are hanging on to it. Surprises you a little but not any kind of disaster. Just use light taps and a plastic tip mallet and you should be fine.

BTW, primers are not all that easy to set off outside of their normal mechanics. They did a Myth Busters episode where they drilled cavities in plates of metal and positioned primers in them seated like the back of a cartridge casing and tried to set them off with hammer blows to see how much force it took. They beat the plates to crap and deformed them all over the place with multiple blows from hammers ranging up to 4 or 6 lb single jack sledges and never set off 1 primer. They finally gave up.

[joedogboy]

If you want something cheap and simple, this next step up is a much better choice:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=410804

A Lee Loader will load only one type of cartridge. By using standard reloading dies the Lee Hand Press will let you reload many different cartridges. If you later buy a full-size bench-mounted press you can use the same dies.

I have one of these (I refer to it as a "nutcracker", but "thighmaster" is also appropriate) but I use it almost exclusively to remove spent primers.

Even though I have a Dillon progressive, I like to remove used primers, clean the cases a second time, then manually prime the cases with a hand primer before using the progressive press for the other steps.

[jr916]

I bought a 7.62X54R Lee Classic Loader to start my reloading hobby (mostly for loading lead-free hunting ammo so I don't have to pay $80 for a box of 20), and it's been great for me. I've used friends' presses and its just more fun to do the more hands-on approach with the Lee Loader. I felt like it helped me understand the mechanics and principles of reloading better than a press setup (others might disagree). You MUST buy a scale and a good reloading manual, and don't use the "measuring rod" to measure the powder by volume. With a scale to measure by weight and Manual (Lee's Modern Reloading is great), you can make all kinds of loads to fit your needs and experiment with what works best in your rifle. I also like the fact that the neck-sizing-only means each case is fire-formed to my specific chamber (helps accuracy). Unless you need to reload for a large # of guns, a large # of calibers, or you need to make 1000s of rounds quickly, I'd highly recommend the Lee Loader as a way to begin experimenting with reloading. My .02