Will_ Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 What do people think of the classic Lee Loader? I thought handloading would be a couple of years away for me because of the start up cost of equipment. But I've seen the classic Lee Loaders which look brilliant and appear to be a very good price, and I'm keen to hear what people think of them, and the quality of the ammunition that they can produce. I would be using it to produce .308 ammunition for 1 bolt action rifle, mainly for F class target shooting, and would be producing roughly 40 rounds every couple of months. (N.B. When getting into handloading, I would be instructed, and initially supervised by a friend from my gun club.) I'd also be keen to know what else might be needed... (Primer pocket cleaner, chamfer tool, neck cutting tool, recipe book...?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCetrizine Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 If you get the classic Lee kit or the anniversary kit then you get everything you need except dies. The only thing that I would immediately replace from the kit are the scales. The Lee ones aren't awful but they are hard to read. I'd replace those with RCBS 505. I've reloaded .223, .303, .300AAC, and .38 special on my Lee press with Lee dies for years and they have made ammunition that is good enough to win me several club level competitions. I recently replaced my Lee .223 dies with some nicer Redding ones and there is improvement so if I was starting again, I'd spend a bit extra on nicer dies from the start. For the money, you can't go far wrong with the Lee kit and it will last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drum Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 If you mean the one where you load with a rubber mallet then I used one year's ago and to be fair it loaded good, accurate ammunition. It's slow of course and you really need to use brass which has been fired in the same rifle as it is neck sizing only. There are better, faster ways of home loading but for the price of the kit it's worth a try. You can always upgrade later as funds allow. You will need a scale and a hand primer too as priming with the tool provided is very hit and miss, no feel at all whether the primers seated or not. Drum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I once compared 40 rounds each of ammo loaded for my .223 Howa using once fired, same LOT brass (fired in the Howa) loading 40 rounds in my RCBS bench gear and 40 rounds in the Lee Classic Loader. For all intents and purposes, accuracy was identical. From once fired brass to loaded round in the Lee was 1minute, 20 seconds once I got rolling. I like them and have one for many of the chamberings I load for.~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will_ Posted December 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 If you mean the one where you load with a rubber mallet Yes, those were the ones I was speaking about. http://leeprecision.com/lee-loader-308-win.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will_ Posted December 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 it loaded good, accurate ammunition. I once compared 40 rounds each of ammo loaded for my .223 Howa using once fired, same LOT brass (fired in the Howa) loading 40 rounds in my RCBS bench gear and 40 rounds in the Lee Classic Loader. For all intents and purposes, accuracy was identical.Thank you for the replies. Accuracy is my main concern. I think I may be getting one for Christmas now with some scales, a rubber mallet, and maybe a hand primer. I'll probably get a set of callipers too. Would the primer pocket cleaner, chamfer tool, and neck cutting tool be worth getting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drum Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 You will need a neck chamfering tool, primer pocket cleaner/uniformer, I found when I used the Lee loader the necks never needed trimming very often but good practice to have at least the ability, if needed, to trim the brass to a uniform length. Drum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewsh Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 They just work If you can find a zero erro target loader it comes with all the case prep tools and a hand primer Prefer a wooden mallet myself Still use one every now and then When I started I only used scoops, better accuracy than factory ammo every time. I worked up a spreadsheet for scoops vs weight for different density powders across three calibres Worked very well https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zIPPB-S8_zAH0IOjVtyEXSAO2u9QI5ZS_C4gZBxHDIA/htmlview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grum87 Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I found the creation of this bad-boy sped up production with the old classic..... I never made live ammo with it, I was using them to make inerts to fund fresh club ammo before I got my ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryh Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Grum Neat solution to the mallet!! What is that, a tooling clamp? Used the Lee classics years ago, but was for pistol and before i needed accurate pistol so cannot comment other than 'they work'. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grum87 Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Grum Neat solution to the mallet!! What is that, a tooling clamp? Used the Lee classics years ago, but was for pistol and before i needed accurate pistol so cannot comment other than 'they work'. T Yeah, its a quick release vice I used to use when working on golf clubs. Bits removed, re-orientated, and crudely fixed to some woodwork. It worked great, and best of all I stopped getting moaned at for all the hammering noise in the house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steyrman Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 just bought one in .17 remington from America used them for .243 .22 Hornet and .223 they do the job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will_ Posted January 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 I ended up getting one with a case conditioning kit and length gauge for Christmas. It seems like a really tough, simple, and fairly cheap way to get into hand loading. Thanks for the advice, I'm glad I got one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 If the Lee Loader doesn't quite perform as accurately as other reloading options this is more than compensated for if you take it to the range and watch the expression on the faces of onlookers as you hammer the primers in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will_ Posted March 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 If the Lee Loader doesn't quite perform as accurately as other reloading options this is more than compensated for if you take it to the range and watch the expression on the faces of onlookers as you hammer the primers in. I can imagine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 When i was a kid it was a common sight to see shooters assembling loads with a Lee Loader at the range. I still do it at times. ~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaggletooth Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 When i was a kid it was a common sight to see shooters assembling loads with a Lee Loader at the range. I still do it at times. ~Andrew I've started reloading for my .222rem with one of the Zero Error Target models, and I'm getting half inch groups @ 100 yards. It's hard to believe something so simple can be so effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 I've started reloading for my .222rem with one of the Zero Error Target models, and I'm getting half inch groups @ 100 yards. It's hard to believe something so simple can be so effective. The only differnce between these and the arbor-press operated straight line units used by BR shooters it that these are made for generic use whereas the BR guys have them made for their specific chambers. I gave thelocal pastor a Rem 700 .222 and a Lee Loader. His groups are bug holes. He still uses it. The Zero Error tools are nice. I also have one in .222 and one in 30-06 also. Note that the instructions refer to setting "Seating Depth" instead of "COL" or "OAL". That's the way I learned it. A handloader's length dimension notes were in decimal parts of an inch, noting the depth the bullet was seated into the case.~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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