Lee Loader .303 British Cost Savings and Questions

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Jackstay

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Hello,

I was wondering what the average cost savings would be if I were to buy a Lee Loader for .303 British per round. Is hand loading as therapeutic and relaxing as everyone says it is? Is it worth the effort and is it fun developing new rounds? Besides the obvious of primers, powder and bullets, is there anything else I should consider purchasing along with the Lee Loader? A book or a tool perhaps? Any answers to those questions would be greatly appreciated.

Best,


Jackstay
 
Lee loaders are great for keeping it inexpensive and simple. But reloading grows into a nasty time consuming and expensive habit. Be warned, once you start.....
 
check out the reloading forum

if you only plan to load a few rounds of 1 caliber or you are tight on space a lee loader is a good idea, you will most certainly want to get a reloading manual or several, and read them thoroughly, and it is really better to get a scale as well
significant improvement can be made by getting or making a reloading tray, the factory ones work good, and are cheap, but bring a case to your sporting goods retailer to make sure they fit nice in whatever brand you get as they are usually "universal" so it may not hold the case very well, you can make one by getting an block of wood or plastic an inch thick or so (old cutting board?) that is flat and smooth so it doesn't rock or tip and drilling holes to fit the cases. the other good tool to have is some kind of powder funnel, the lee ones fit over cases or into the loader, i recommend filling the case outside the die/loader so powder doesn't get caught up and then over charge a case

i also think a hand primer is a good way to go because its very easy to crunch primers with the lee loader priming method

to wildly guess at prices, your loader is about $40, 1000 primers is about $40, 8 pounds of powder is about $250, and 1000 jacketed bullets is about $350 which gives you 1000 rounds for around $700 for premium ammo tailored to your rifle, ever found loaded ammo for less than $1 per round? plinking ammo can be made even cheaper, nearing 10 cents a round if you go to cast bullets and light charges
 
I believe the Lee Loader comes with a very basic data sheet and a powder scoop. The data sheet will tell you what powders are suitable for use with the scoop and various bullet weights. Bring your own hammer/mallet. If you want to get any more complex and work up loads of your own design you'll need a scale to weigh your charges and a good source of info. A reloading manual or at least some data from a reputable powder manufacture. (Alliant and Hodgdon seem to have a decent resource area on their sites) A half decent caliper wouldn't hurt either for checking dimensions. If you're reloading brass multiple times a case length trimmer will eventually come in handy too.
As for finding it relaxing and therapeutic, it kinda depends what you find relaxing and therapeutic. I get sort of lost when I'm on a reloading binge. Sit down, double check your load data, tweak the dies, check the scale and start pulling the lever. Next thing I know, it's two AM, the scotch bottle is down a couple glasses and I have to get up for work in three and a half hours....
 
I've used Lee Loaders for decades. With just the basic kit you will have no problems. There are other bits and pieces you should get to extend your reach. Case trimmer, primr pocket reamer etc. I use one for 303 British and general cost is between 50 and 55 cents per round.
 
I started over 40 years ago with a Lee Loader for 30-30. I kind of haphazardly collect them now. I probably have 15 or so. I loved reloading with my original one, but haven't done any with it for many years. Great way to reload. Not going to break you, and will give many hours of pleasure and cheap shooting. Casting your own bullets is a good thing too. :)
 
Biggest problem you will encounter is a source for 0.311 or 0.312 bullets. None to be had as far as I have searched. I expect 0.308 bullets will work about as well in a 0.303 as they do in 7.62R - OK but nothing special.

The main difference is there is a plentiful supply of moderate accuracy milsurp. ammunition for 7.62r which makes it uneconomic to reload given the limited benefit.
 
Wouldn't say reloading with a Lee Loader is therapeutic and relaxing, but you will get ammo tailored for your rifle with one. Slowly. You won't save much money either, but the endless search for ammo goes away. You search for components instead. It is extremely gratifying when you fire a really small group using ammo you loaded though. You get a big stupid grin that takes hours to come off.
Do not use the scoops, buy a scale. The scoops can vary the powder charge plus or minus a full grain. You also must have a manual. Lee does no testing of their own, but use Hodgdon's data. Either out of their manual or off their site. Ignore the .308" bullet diameter they list.
And you must slug your barrel first. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure from .311" to .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" the barrel is shot out
.308" bullets are the wrong diameter bullet for either a Lee-Enfield or a Mosin-Nagant.
 
Depending on what type of shooting you are doing, the scoops are fine if you are not worried about match quality. I use them and can keep the loads plus or minus a grain or 2 at the most. Compare that to surplus 7.62 x 54r at plus or minus 5 gn. If you are shooting 1 to 200 meters a grain isn't going to matter a whole hell of a lot.
I just went to the Tradex site this morning to buy some 303 bullets and they are out of everything. They had 150 gn last week and I think they were the last of the supplier sponsors to have any. I have a few hundred left but I think I will reduce my 303 shooting or start to cast bullets. The only thing I cast for now is my 577 snider.
 
sunray said:
Wouldn't say reloading with a Lee Loader is therapeutic and relaxing, but you will get ammo tailored for your rifle with one. Slowly. You won't save much money either, but the endless search for ammo goes away. You search for components instead. It is extremely gratifying when you fire a really small group using ammo you loaded though. You get a big stupid grin that takes hours to come off.
Do not use the scoops, buy a scale. The scoops can vary the powder charge plus or minus a full grain. You also must have a manual. Lee does no testing of their own, but use Hodgdon's data. Either out of their manual or off their site. Ignore the .308" bullet diameter they list.
And you must slug your barrel first. Lee-Enfield barrels can measure from .311" to .315" and still be considered ok. Over .315" the barrel is shot out
.308" bullets are the wrong diameter bullet for either a Lee-Enfield or a Mosin-Nagant.
Click to expand...

The scoop works fine for plinking purposes. Contrary to what Sunray says, you will bring your cost down significantly from the $20 or more per box .303 runs these days. It's also pretty straightforward to locate .303 ammunition at every sporting goods store and small town gas station in the Western half of this country.....not sure what the 'endless search' for ammunition is all about. .303 bullets for reloading purposes are a tad scarce right now however. Several of the major US components makers have temporarily shut down production of .311/.312 bullets until the panic buying throttles down.
 
I've got one for a .303 I use when I can find .311 bullets (doesn't happen often). I started out with that, then I went to a Lee Breech Lock Challenger kit.

Be warned, reloading becomes an addiction!!!!:D:D:D:D
 
marc_j said:
Biggest problem you will encounter is a source for 0.311 or 0.312 bullets. None to be had as far as I have searched. I expect 0.308 bullets will work about as well in a 0.303 as they do in 7.62R - OK but nothing special.

The main difference is there is a plentiful supply of moderate accuracy milsurp. ammunition for 7.62r which makes it uneconomic to reload given the limited benefit.
Click to expand...

This is the main problem with loading .303 these days. 99.999999999% of bullet production is going to the ultra-popular calibers like .223, .308, 9mm, .45, etc., so it's basically impossible to find anything for the "oddball" calibers.
 
I get satisfactory loads out of Lee Loader kits for my 7x57 and 270.

Get a scale. I borrowed one and measured my scoop loads and maybe it is just me, but they were very inconsistent.

I got a nice 2nd hand RCBS 5-0-5 for $30 at a gun show and feel much more confident now in the accuracy of my powder charges.

A hand primer would be good too. One of my kits came with one but it was worn out.

Is it fun, relaxing and a nice hobby? No. Not for me. Just a chore like changing the oil on the truck or taking the garbage out.

But I can make loads I want with the bullets I want.

Is it cheaper?

If I hadn't already spent money on more powder and bullets than I really need for my 270, I'd rather just use factory ammo. I don't shoot it for fun, I just sight it in and go hunting.

With the 7x57 the rifle I have is finicky so making tailored loads makes sense. Besides, the factory fodder is rather underloaded for old military surplus 7x57 rifles and I can make loads that are compatible with my relatively modern rifle.
 
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MD said:
I get satisfactory loads out of Lee Loader kits for my 7x57 and 270.

Get a scale. I borrowed one and measured my scoop loads and maybe it is just me, but they were very inconsistent.

I got a nice 2nd hand RCBS 5-0-5 for $30 at a gun show and feel much more confident now in the accuracy of my powder charges.

A hand primer would be good too. One of my kits came with one but it was worn out.

Is it fun, relaxing and a nice hobby? No. Not for me. Just a chore like changing the oil on the truck or taking the garbage out.

But I can make loads I want with the bullets I want.
Click to expand...

Another option is getting a jewelry scale or something of that sort. You can get a decent digital scale for pretty cheap from places that sell stuff for smoking.

The problem with the scoops is powder is measured by weight, not volume. Anything that is not spherical will not scoop consistently because the amount of air space between powder grains changes each time.
 
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