"Lee Loader" reloading kit

salzo

A while back I posted a topic about wanting to get into reloading.
Before getting anything, I want to get together with someone who reloads.
I have been getting anxious, and was combing through a catalog which had a product called "Lee loader reloading kit.". It is a little tool that is advertised as "everything needed to reload one caliber". This tool comes in several calibers, and I was wondering if anyone has experience with this product. Are they any good? Do they work? Id like to get one to satisfy my urge to reload until I get started.
Alo, I saw in one advertisement it said "does not work for semi auto rifles". Why would it not work for semi autos?
Thanks.

"Sometimes the people have to give up some individual rights for the safety of society."
-Bill Clinton(MTV interview)

Big Sky Redneck

Salzo, if you want to get started the best way is to buy a RCBS kit, it will give you everything you need to start minus the dies. The RCBS kit is a great foundation for expansion and will last a very long time. Sometime you are going to be west of Harrisburg on a weekend let me know, I will set you down on my bench and show you how to turn out quality reloads, I have dies for a lot of different cals, all you wil need is brass if I have none.

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Real men use little bullets.

22WRF

I see no reason why you can't load for semi-auto. I have loaded with them in several Cal. 38 Spl. 30/06 and 30/30. The tube mag of Win 94 30/30 requires a good crimp just as you would for a semi-auto.
What I didn't like about them was seating the primers. Beating them in with a mallet they will go off leaving you a bit nervous for while.
Adding a nutcracker primer seater would take care of that. I have sold them off on auction as I went to a RCBS Press.





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cowdoc

salzo
i started out with lee reloading kit that included press,scale, powder measure,and a few other things i have since then replaced everything with rcbs equipment rockchucker press, powder measure, scale and ect.
once you start reloading it will become a new hobby that is addictive as shooting...so you just as well spend the money for the better equipment now. imho ps. the lee equipment worked fine but the rcbs stuff is better imho.
doc

aglore

After you get your press of choice let us know what you will be loading. I know I have dies and bullets for some cartridges I don't own anymore and would be willing to part with for nothing.

AlleninAlaska

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muley

salzo.....ditto what these guys said. I've been reloading since the early '60s and I've still got the first RCBS single stage press that I bought. Actually, it isn't the first. The first was dropped onto a concrete floor and cracked where the handle joins the press. About 20 years later, I visited the RCBS plant in Oroville, CA and told them about it. They told me to bring it in and I did. They replaced it free of charge. I've been using their products ever since and have been happy with them. Check out their website that I've listed below if you haven't already. Good luck. www.rcbs.com

muley

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offeror

Funny. I heard serious reloaders bought the Dillon 550.

- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

Big Sky Redneck

Offeror, as much as I am wanting a Dillin progressive I cannot fathom the idea of loading high quality rounds that are loaded to absolute perfection in each and every aspect. I want a Dillon for loading .223s for the Bushmaster and plinking rounds for handguns but when it comes to my rifles they get loaded on a single stage.

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Real men use little bullets.

salzo

Hey Fellas-Thanks for the help, and the offers.
When I do finally get a "real" set up, I am probably going to go with something like RCBS, a single stage.
But the LEE product I was talking about, was this little $15 tool that comes in specific calibers. For example, this tool(which could fit in a glove compartment)will come in .243, and this tool can be used ONLY to reload .243.And it does the COMPLETE reloading process for the .243 caliber. It looks like the whole thing can fit in your hand.
I am definately getting an entire set up, but was thinking about getting one of these lil things to keep me preoccupied until I get totally set up. I thought it might give me a better understanding about the make up of a cartridge, and doing a few cartridges with this might help me with understanding the "anatomy" of a cartridge, and how all the components work.

"Sometimes the people have to give up some individual rights for the safety of society."
-Bill Clinton(MTV interview)

offeror

salzo --
Now you know I don't know everything. Hahahaha! I hear it takes a big man to say 'I don't know.' Well, when it comes to reloading, I don't know. I take the best advice this board has to offer. Some day, I'll get into reloading. I hear you save a lot of money when you sweep all those cartridges up after a session....

- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

posh

About your specific question as to why the ad said the Lee loader may not work with semi autos: This loader neck sizes rather than full length resizes, as with most sizing dies. This means that the case isn't brought back into specifications for that caliber, but is the size of the last chamber in which it was fired. This can cause problems in an auto loader with a smaller chamber especially since you don't have a bolt handle to "muscle" it a little. If you only shoot one rifle in that caliber neck sizing is a plus because the case is fire formed to fit that rifle and lasts longer because it isn't stressed along its' full length by full length resizing. That Lee handloader in combination with a good scale will produce as precise a load as any other loader. I keep a couple of them around to produce small batches of precisely weighed charges.

gruntled

The Lee loader is VERY slow but if you are only going to load a few rounds you can have them finished by the time you would get a press set up. I have some that are probably fourty years old & still use them for very short runs.

Iconoclast

salzo, *if* you are going to load only a little ammo for a few calibers for a few weapons for casual shooting, you can do the Lee. However, once you have the press, you can add more calibers for about the same price as each Lee kit. The Lee is the Yugo of reloading tools, serviceable but the barest of bones. You still will need a decent scale & other things. And like someone else said, I never was impressed with hammering the tooling to set primers. I simply cannot recommend this outfit with a straight face.

RugerNiner

While we are on the subject, someone please compare Dillion to RCBS.

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v35

Don't get the Lee Loader. It's a crude, Mickey Mouse deal. Lee does have a single stage hand press though that was a takeoff on an old Handipress that doesnt require a bench and can be taken to the range.
You will also want a measure and a scale . No way around it because you will be unhappy using a dipper and low end loads.

YankeeClipper

I started w/ a Lee Loader in 1970. I was a college student and didn't have much money. But now there is alot of used equipment out there so you might be better off to start that way. I really don't recommend the stright pistol cases. But the bottle neck rifle arn't that bad. Give me an e-mail if you have any questions you want to visit about. rubenj@imine.net

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jonk

I have a Lee O frame press that I started with and it is still my only 'real' press; I also have one of their C frame presses but find it is just too puny to do the job though it is good for decapping or seating, just not resizing.

My take is this. Lee presses aren't as robust as RCBS or Dillon but do the job as well. Their dies aren't as fancy but do the job.

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WyomingSwede

Get the Lee start up kit...has the press, scale ,and everything. You will be happier with that than the Lee loader.Runs about $75.00 swede

WyomingSwede

Iconoclast

R9'r - re: RCBS v. Dillon . . . .

Just my take on it, but . . . .

A single stage press set-up (and I think RCBS is by far the best) will allow you to load just about anything except shotshells. You can form obsolete / expensive brass from other cases. It is not as fast as a progressive tool. I can only speak to what I have, which is the Dillon 650. It is a great piece of equipment. I can easily load 500 rounds of straight wall handgun ammo every hour, taking time to check powder weight, OAL and other quality / safety items regularly. It takes much longer to set up than a single stage press because every operation must be ready before you start. So if you are experimenting with loads, it is not the thing to use. I don't use it for rifle loads. You have to lubricate the brass, which picks up dirt if you use the auto feed. You give up a considerable amount of time if you don't use the auto feed. You still have to lubricate & clean the brass. I don't shoot enough rifle rounds in any given caliber to make setting it up & going through all the BS worth the effort - for me. So for rifle, I stay w/ the single stage. I also believe I have somewhat better control and certainly a better 'feel' (literally) for what is happening with the single stage. Further, the powder slide designs are not very compatible with the IMR type powders I prefer for rifle ammo.

There's not much to choose between the two companies in terms of quality, engineering or customer service. Both measure 99 to 120 on a scale of 1 to 100 in those departments for the products discussed above. I think the design of the RCBS *progressive* presses is not as good as Lee's, and Lee is nowhere as good as the Dillon. I started w/ the RCBS RockChucker and have had nothing - nothing!! - but happy results with that press. If I could have only one tool, then it would be the RCBS w/o a second thought or regret. When I finally gave in & bought the Dillon after almost 25 years, I thought I'd died & gone to heaven. But it's not for small runs or rifle ammo.

richbug

I started on one of the $75 lee packages... midway has them for about $67 now, that plus a set of dies for 10-30 and you are in business. I actually like the lee die better than the rcbs because i don't break the decapping pins all the time. In comparing Dillon and RCBS. they are both the cadillac of their own worlds. Dillon the progressive world and RCBS the single stage one. On the other hand I can load .5 MOA ammo on my LEE loadmaster all day...getting myself to shoot that well is an entirely different matter.

ndbilly

salzo - v35 nailed it with the scale comment. Had a Leeloader for the .357 years ago and, yes, it was tedious, but I knew that going in. What I hadn't realized was how much variation was possible with the powder scoops. If you need a scale, you need someplace to set it up which means you need a table or a bench which means you might as well get the intro single stage press and be happy. I haven't priced scales lately but it seems to me that you could be cranking out high quality reloads, all in, for under $150.00, including a decent quality scale. As with anything else, there's an endless river of "gottahaves" once you get rolling but you can add them as time and $ allow. My $.02.

kimberkid

RCBS & Dillon are (IMHO) the only choices.

If you are just getting started, buy a used RCBS press if price is a concern ... you'll never regret it and it will always be worth $50 or so, and it will always be of use ... buy a good digital scale as they are much more accruate and faster ... then, learn the process.

If you start shooting massive amounts or time is limited THEN buy a Dillon, its more expensive but worth it. As noted above, you can turn out 4-500 straight wall pistol rounds an hour or 250-300 rounds of bottle neck rifle ammo an hour because after the first 4, every throw of the lever produces a finished round capable of sub-MOA accuracy.

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