Lee Loaders

[Duncan71]

I plan on purchasing a m-305 in the next little while here, and have been looking at the ammo... im a poor student and can barely afford the gun itself! Anywho, i was looking at those lee loaders in the store the other day, and it seems for a 25 dollar investment if gives you all the tools needed to make your own rounds. Granted im sure these things take many times the amount of time, but my time is not work much! My big question is.. do they work effectively and are they safe? Safety being the most important.. making match qaulity ammunition is of little concern to me, Ill be lucky if I can hit a frying pan at 50 yards. Thanks for any opinions.

Cheers.
Duncan

 

[Workin Man]

They do work,(crude but effective) but they only neck size the case. Apparantly this can cause feed issues with semi-autos. Lee does not recommend them for use with semi's and I believe tube mags as well.

 

[prosper]

They work, but that $25 you spent is totally unrecoverable. As soon as you buy a real reloading setup, you need different tools, and cannot re-use anything from the loader.

I'd suggest you spend $30 on a cheap Lee press and another $30 on Lee dies. Lee dies come with a powder scoop, so you can skip the powder dispenser and scale.

For $60 you have a MUCH better reloading setup, and will be able to retain your investment as your loading bench fills.

 

[Proutfoo]

for semi, I would not get it for the mentioned reason of neck-sizing only above.

The cons of the Loader are:
========================
-slow (to some people)
-neck-size only
-people fear using a hammer to load rounds (does not feel natural )
-priming with it sucks
-chicks (and neighbours if in an appartment) don't dig the sound of a hammer pounding on a piece of steel, especially when it has no useful purpose for them
-loading large amounts of rounds becomes tedious
-crimping is not consistent

Pros
====
-cheap
-proven
-portable
-PORTABLE!
-can load at the range to work up a load because it is portable (eh!)
-neck sizes only, so for for bolt action less brass work for longer life


If I were you, I would get the challenger press or whatever they are selling. I have a hand-press too (because its portable ) but for full-length sizing I don't think I have the required strength since I am a girly-man

But, the nature of a semi makes you want to pull the trigger much more than when you have to cycle the bolt....so you are likely going to want many rounds and the Loader is not really the way to mass-produce ammo. Plus, you will want to properly crimp and full-length-size your ammo, something the Loader is going to limit you doing.

I have a Loader and love it; however, the priming I do with a hand-priming tool (actually, I prime with this and not a press too!) And I sort of serialize the work (resize all, prime all, then powder and seat each bullet individually). I have worked out a system that I find works well for me. But this is for bolt-action, so no FL sizing or crimping with the Loader!

In the long run, if you are loading for semi, your best value is to get a cheap press. Look in the EE, you never know when one will come around. Post a wanted ad, maybe someone will choose to sell you theirs.

Good luck!

 

[Beadwindow]

Similar to the posts above, I have recently started reloading with a Lee Hand Press and just churned out my first .22 Hornet and .303 cartridges this past weekend. I purchased the Lee Challenger Press as well but haven't had a chance to use it because I need a table to affix it to...... I will be reloading 150gr Soft Points for my M305s in the next week or so with the hand press as well and am looking forward to it.

If you check out SIR Mailorder, you could order a Lee Hand Press Kit in .308 for about $60 plus taxes and shipping. This will supply you with everything that you need minus the components (bullets, powder, primers and brass) and was idiot proof enough for me to use. The dies will come with load data and importantly for a semi, the lee crimping die which will prevent bullets from being pushed into the case........ a bad thing indeed. Even if you move to a stationary press later on, it will be a great tool to take with you to the range, hunt camp, etc. If I were strapped for cash (been there - done that, back in the days of $80 Enfields.....) I would still hold out for the extra $30-$40 to start with the Hand Press Kit.

I hope this helps....

Frank