Lee Load-All for shotgun shells

brotus2

Has anybody ever used this for reloading shotgun shells? I don't do a lot and am looking for something that gets the job done. Speed is not an issue. It costs 44.99 from Cabela.

Thanks.

CapnMidnight

I load about 4000 12 gauge rounds a year on a Lee load All, it's just as fast as a Mec Jr, and easy to use. I lay my primers on the bench and just push start them after I deprime and size, instead of messing with the primer feed. I bought the change over, and load about 1000 20 gauge a year also. I load 410s with a Mec because Lee doesn't make a 410 press. I think, dollar for dollar for what you want to do, the Lee is the way to go. To improve significantly in preformance over the Lee or the Mec, you have to step up in the price range a bunch. I can load right at 100 rounds an hour with my Load All, but I've had alot of practice.
W.D.

geeguy

With all due respect to Captmidnight, the Load All is very fradgile compared to the Mec. It has a cheap plastic case (not the plastic is bad, just this plastic) and a small base that needs to be very well mounted, leverage is not a good angle. I have had several of these (purchased in a group lot, since I wouldn't waste my money on one) and would agree they can be as "fast" as a 600 jr., but the consistency of shot and powder are not as good and I don't believe the unit will hold up like the Mec and others. If you get one for free (sorry already gave mine away)it's OK to use, but wouldn't waste my money on one.

If your going to only load 1K-2K rounds per year I guess it would be OK, but my 600 Jr. is 48 years old at 10K-20K rounds per year, and still going strong.

Good luck with either direction.

CapnMidnight

I agree with Grant on durability, compared to a Mec. But I've had my Load All 6 years, used it as I described and all I've had to replace is the charge bar, $12.00 if I recall. I just mounted it on one side of my bench, it's pretty handy for me, but I doubt it'll last 48 years.
W.D.

iwannausername

Had one in the late 80s - while it worked, it was not nearly as nice as something made from metal. Something about that handle flexing when you are putting the crimp on ...

Mobuck

I guess it depends on how much loading you intend to do. I loaded a lot of ammo on one of these many years ago. They do require some care with the force applied to the lever and I didn't think they did a great job of crimping. Very useful for loading smaller lots of various types of shells. All the bushings are included and you can experiment with different loads easily.

dakotashooter2

You can probably find a used Mec in that price range (12 ga... others will be higher). Both mine came used and work as good as the day they left the factory.

wpage

Sold my Lee the MEC is better.

Mort4570

They are more durable than ya might think,judging by mine.
however
theya are a pita as far as changing loads/experimenting.You have to dump the hoppers to change the bushings,unless I"m missing a trick there.
the MEC has an after market adj. powder and shot bar that sure looks slick for load adjustment,anyone have one of those?
Used MEC's with all the parts are seldom below a hundred bucks that I"ve seen,new ones pushing 150.00 these days,so their is a big price difference.I douibt anyone could tell the difference in shells loaded on the 2 tho.

shoottatclay

quote:Originally posted by brotus2
Has anybody ever used this for reloading shotgun shells? I don't do a lot and am looking for something that gets the job done. Speed is not an issue. It costs 44.99 from Cabela.

Thanks.

I had a lee when I started out I bought it used they are ok. My opinion if your just starting out or just having fun why not. I move up to the mec 600 jr 11 years ago. The mec is a hole lot better loader period. I load for me,wife, and two sons.

jonk

They do work. However I find the negatives are:

-They leak powder slightly out of the charge bar with most types of powder used in shotgun reloading (flake or granule).

-There is no way to empty the powder or shot and with one lid covering both, no easy way to upend the unit to drain one component at a time.

-The crimp sometimes gets messed up even when you are theoretically doing it all right, or unpuckers a few hours after loading.

Now that said, I only load about 200 shotshells a year. I only go shooting trap and skeet very occasionally. For that kind of usage, it's exactly what I wanted and has more than paid for itself in the 5 years since I've gotten it.

I'd say if I were doing 1000 a year or more, I'd go with someone else's loader.

cobra24

The Lee Load All is a nice machine for the money. I have had mine for 3 months with no real complaints. Just user trial and error. I have been reloading rifle ammo over 20 years on my dads RCBS press. The Load All is mostly plastic, and if not mounted correctly will not function consistently. For those who have trouble with the crimp, I have reloaded different brands of hulls with the same recipe(all same componets and charge weights)and the crimps do not look the same from brand to brand. I have found that keeping pressure on the shell at the crimp stations for a few seconds helps keep the crimp from coming lose. One must remember no matter which brand of press that some will require adjusting the dies and some will require the reloader to get a feel for how it is performing. I have reloaded at least 500 rounds with no problems. As far as changing the bushings with the powder or shot in, I put a reusable wire tie around the lid and die carrier. Then I spring the handle from the hopper, lift it off the square tube and turn it upside down. Once you have changed the bushings, reverse the process. As far as throwing consistent charges, all machines will vary depending on how rough or smooth the operator is. Powder will settle more if more forcefull reloading is done. I have measured many powder charges and found them to be nor more than .3 grains low or high from the charge table for the powder being used. For trap loads, I feel that this is acceptable. If I was reloading steel shot, I would hand weigh each charge. The shot charges have always been spot on. I have the 12 ga. version. I would not hesitate to buy the other two ga. avalable if the need were to arrise.

johnnieray

I have two Load-All's one in 12 ga and one in 20 ga. I use them all the time and won't complain at all. Mounted both on to a 12" piece of 2x6 and c- clamp them to the edge of the bench when using ,just turn it around to change calibres. My wife and I shoot a lot of trap and it's a great little package for a little money. One of the best crimps I've ever seen also.

rhope

Mort4570: You asked about the after market MEC adjustable charge bar. It is a bit of a pain to adjust but if you want to experiment with different loads it will work for pretty much any load you want to try. Because the shot cavity is adjustable you can also compensate for the difference in weight thrown from a fixed cavity with large or small shot.

When I first started reloading the MEC charge bars were fixed cavity (both shot AND POWDER). This meant that each bar was only usable with specific powdwers (like the ALCAN powders that are no longer available). Later came the bars with fixed shot cavities and interchangable powder bushings. After acquiring several of these bars I finally bought a complete set of MEC powder busings. This allows me to try almost any load I want with very little hassle.

jonk and cobra24: I don't think your crimp problems are neccessarily a problem with the press. As one of you mentioned it seems to depend on the type of cases. I have noticed the same thing with my MEC. A number of years ago I bought some reloading tools and components from an old man who told me he no longer did enough shooting and hunting to continue reloading. Among the stuff I got was a Forster (yes, the case trimmer people) Thermomatic. This was obviously designed in the days of paper cases. (For those of you too young to remember, shotshell cases used to be paper and after a few reloadings would have to be thrown out because the crimp became too soft and tattered. If you wanted to squeeze a couple more loads out of them you stood then on a cookie sheet and put them the oven for a little while. This "redistributed" the wax in the paper of the crimp and allowed you to get another load or two out of the case). The Thermomatic is a little electric heater with a circular slot just the right size to insert the mouth of a 12 gauge paper case. It also has a thermostat to adjust the heat. With paper cases you simply heated the case mouth of one case while you loaded the previous one, then you removed that one and inserted another while you loaded that one and so on. But here is the impotant part. It can also be used to heat and soften plastic cases. This seems to make them easier to crimp and the crimp seems to hold better. Also, in some cases the crimp does not seem to be fully "open" after firing. This tool softens AND straightens the crimp, making seating the wads easier. One caution however, plastic MELTS VERY QUICKLY at the temperature needed for paper cases so you have to leave the case in the tool for no more than a very few seconds.

If you load shotshells and you can fine one of these gadgets I highly recommend it.

I don't know if they were made in anything except 12 gauge but if anyone has seen one in 20 gauge I would like to know about it!

rsnyder55

I have a Sizemaster for 20ga and a Grabber for 12 ga. I bought them used 25 years ago when I was trap and skeet shooting and have loaded thousands of rounds through them without any problem. Who knows how many rounds the previous loader used them.

As I shoot multiple shotguns in these guages, I like that these presses squeeze the bases back down to factory spec.

cobra24

rhope: My crimp problems where user trial and error. To be expected for first time. I found that the Winchester wads used in federal hulls with paper base wad was not tall enough to have a crimp that was not dished in too much. From what I understand, this means that it did not fill the hull to achieve the disired crimp. They worked great with Rem. Hvy dove hull (STS type). I will get the Fed 12S type wad or clone of such for the federal hulls I have.