Classic Lee loader

D

D-BOMB

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Hey all,

I am looking for a classic Lee loader kit to give reloading a try, the only place I've found that carries them is whole sale sports but they are currently out of stock.

Would anyone know of where to get a kit?

Thanks in advance.
 
Lee's nomenclature is absolutely horrible, so I would ask what you mean
by "a classic Lee loader kit". Do you mean one of these?
s7_210526_999_03

This kit works for one chambering, and need no press because
it is hammer driven.
If this is what you want, and NoSale Sports has no stock,
try one of the supporting dealers in the top banner.
Cabela's also carries them.
 
I buy my Classic Lee Loaders from FS Reloading in Wisconsin. Theyre about the cheapest and they are just across the road from the Lee Factory.

I have a few calibres and find I load most of my .45-70 with it now.
 
I have a few sets also, I find them fun to load with, but I purchased mine in the US for $20 each, unfortunately the prices in Canada are almost double.

You could always try Higginson Powders, they sell them, but at $38 each :eek:

While your in the spending mood, pick up a scale to replace those scoops.
 
what caliber?- i've got a bunch that i MAY be willing to part with since i've graduated to full presses- if you don't mind used- p/s i'm in the same city
 
I just ordered a .303 British set from cabelas, and I'm kind of looking at a 30-06 set aswell if I like it.

And yes I will for sure be investing in a scale.
 
I see that won't be a problem.

Just so I understand this correctly this is because the rest of the brass is fire formed to that specific rifles chamber? Out of curiousity what would happen if you used the reload in a rifle that it wasn't fired from?
 
D-BOMB said:
I see that won't be a problem.

Just so I understand this correctly this is because the rest of the brass is fire formed to that specific rifles chamber? Out of curiousity what would happen if you used the reload in a rifle that it wasn't fired from?
Click to expand...

Yes, fire formed to the chamber.

If you used it in another rifle, there are various things that could go wrong. Live round stuck in the chamber or case-head separation due to significant differences in head space. I have done it once without issues. I used 1-F brass from a tikka .308 win that was neck sized only in a rem 700 .308 win. Would I do it again? Probably not knowing what I know now. At the time I was new to reloading and didn't want to pull 100 bullets just to FL size.

I only have bolt action rifles, but I read that for semiauto and lever you need to always FL size the brass.
 
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I had kept all my commercial brass before I stated using my Lee Loader, so I had a lot of fireformed brass to each specific rifle to reload with. Eventually your brass will need to be full length sized and your Lee Loader will not be able to help you, unless you have a friend who has a press with the same caliber dies who can do this for you.

This is what limits the Lee Loader and why many people will say buy a press, but for myself I found it an inexpensive way to get into reloading to see if it was for me before I invested a lot of money. I now have a press but still use my Lee Loader once in a while, and my youngest daughter loves using it to hammer out primers for me.

Keep your eye open in the EE for a used scale, there is usually someone selling a nice RCBS scale in great shape for a good price.
 
heavyBullet said:
This is what limits the Lee Loader and why many people will say buy a press, but for myself I found it an inexpensive way to get into reloading to see if it was for me before I invested a lot of money.
Click to expand...

Did it ?

I've never used this type of kit but there seems to be an awfully wide disparity between what you can do with this, vs a press, dies, scales etc.

I personally find that versatility is one of the key reasons I like to reload so while I'm not knocking choices, I'd suggest this kit is unlikely to give you a fair taste of all that is involved in the interesting art of reloading your own ammo.

There are uber cheap presses etc. offered by MidSouth Shooters Supply, for instance, and though I doubt they'd last a lifetime, they may provide a better trial run. Alternatively, depending on the budget, you could purchase the essentials from Redding or Hornady for your trial and if you decide to pack it in, put it all on the EE for 100 bux off your cost and watch it go.

My bet ?? You're gonna get hooked on this just like everyone else does :D.
 
The kits are really simple to use if you are limited space wise. I have personally made very accurate ammo with one. The dippers that are supplied don't really hold/scoop the exact same amount of powder all the time. It can vary by a couple of tenths once you get the technique repeatable. I have double checked with a scale and about 1 to 2 tenths is most common. For hunting ammo this is more than suitable. I have realoaded 308 ammo 4-5 times without chambering issues. With a rythm, I can pound out about 30 rounds in an hour. With a dedicated hand primer tool I can easily do 50+ rounds in an hour.

I don't care for the supplied primer seating (ie rod) tool, I set a few off and it really gets your attention!

I think its a great reloading tool to start with and still use mine even though I have all the other gear, gizmos and gadgets for reloading also.

Cheers
 
I started with a Lee Loader as well, and used it to work up my first hunting load in 270, and it made very accurate ammo - under 1MOA. One advantage to using one is that you can easily take it to the range for load development.

I'll echo a few other commenters by saying - get a decent beam scale like an RCBS 5-0-5 or similar. The Lee scoops are not accurate or repeatable. The other thing you need is a case trimmer to make sure your brass is not too long. Lee makes a very good, and inexpensive trimmer/length gauge combo - costs like $10 (you get the cutter separately from the length gauge for your specific chambering).
 
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