Lee "Load All II"~any good?

.22LRGUY

.22LRGUY

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Hey guys~any of you use one of these? With my new-to-me 16ga., shell prices have me contemplating reloading for it...but I have ZERO experience. (ZERO with shotguns...lots with reloading for rifles) Cheap machines, YouTube vide make it look pretty easy..but slow. Any input is welcome.

Thanks!
 
I am a 16 gauge fanatic. The problem with reloading for the 16 is finding the components and then managing the cost of shipping (sometimes from the US) for the components. Federal's 1 OZ. Game loads run about 12.00 a box at Canadian tire across the country. Unless you are trying to develop a better 16 gauge no tox load or other specialty loading I find it does not pay to reload 16 gauge. I have and use a Lee Load All II in 16 gauge and it works well. But as I said with powder and component prices through the roof I feel the factory loads (in most cases) will be less. Seek out a gun shop that will order you a case or two of whatever 16 gauge ammo you want. They will often offer a by the case discount. That's how I buy mine.

Darryl
 
I think unless you plan on doing quite a bit of shooting, reloading likely isn't worth the bother. As mentioned, see what kind of a price you can get by the case.
You aren't talking vintage, short shells are you? What kind of a gun?
 
As to the Load-All II, yes they are easy to use and work fine. If you stay with a big name brand hull, you'll find lots of recipes. Just do a search on "shotshell load data".
 
Thanks for the input guys, greatly appreciated.

gunsaholic said:
I think unless you plan on doing quite a bit of shooting, reloading likely isn't worth the bother. As mentioned, see what kind of a price you can get by the case.
You aren't talking vintage, short shells are you? What kind of a gun?
Click to expand...

Ithaca 37. (see other thread in the forum :) ) I plan on shooting some clays to practice for the upcoming grouse season...but maybe 10-12 rounds. Probably not worth the hassle.
 
I started with a Load-All (12g) and it was ok for my initial venture into reloading, it was pretty much given away with some components I bought to get started. Ive since graduated to another loader that works better for me, but the Lee provided me an inexpensive and simple starting place.
 
Keep your Remington and Federal hulls as they both load very well. Components for reloading 16 gauge cost the same as any other gauge pretty much. You live in Ontario which means you have access to Hummason. The only reason to reload is if you can get away from retail prices IMO. You will need to shoot that gun a fair bit to make up for the initial setup costs of reloading. For low volume shooting, the Lee Load All should do just fine. You can try the EE for a bit to see if some MEC presses show up. If you live near Epps give them a call because I think they still give 10% off on shot shells when you are buying 10 boxes at a time (does not apply to budget target loads).
 
I still use three different Lee Load All loaders mostly for low volume buckshot and slug reloads but not the newest ones with plastic bases, those are junk IMHO.
All mine are older with steel bases....
 
I'll second what gunrunner8 said, I use 2 Lee Load Alls for all my reloading. The difference between the Load All & Load All II, is the 2 has a plastic base with a bin to catch spent primers and could be converted for the different gauges, the plastic flexes too much. If you're looking for a Lee watch for a Load All 1 in your gauge, I got my second on on EBAY for about $20 shipped.
 
I've worn out 2 lee load all 2 in 12 ga. Easy cheap and they work. I've averaged close to 30000 rounds for each. With powder and lead prices so high I stopped reloading except for hunting loads
 
Last year at the Winnipeg Wholesale Sports outlet they had there a Mec 600 brand new for 200 bucks. I waffled on it due to componet issues...mainly wads. Check Ebay as well, now and then a used 600 appears there. 16, 28 gauges and 410 bore are the only shotguns worth loading for theses days.
 
Got three of them 12ga, 16ga, and 20ga. They work great for me and is a great way to get into reloading at a very low price. Especially when you consider that they are a third of the price of the next entry level reloader.
THey throw powder reasonably accurately, I've never had it out by more then .4 grain and thats with Promo, Unique is a little more accurate I find.
 
I loaded a fair amount some years back with a LoadAll II 12ga. They worked really well with Winchester AA hulls. I did some experimenting with oddball el cheapo hulls, but found AA's were the best. Can't recall using Remington hulls, but I probably did. One neat tip I gathered was to place the hulls to be crimped under a lamp to warm the open end up slightly. Even just holding them in your closed hand worked.
 
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