newbie reloader. Lee Classic?

jay007

jay007

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Ok, so before I get jumped on for asking a question that may have been asked 87 times before I did a search and could not come up with an answer.

Right now I want to reload for only one caliber. .223. Not an AR, its for a single shot that I like to pop gophers with.

My thought process is that I've never reloaded anything before and want to start small, to see if it something that I will enjoy/find worth while.

I am going to purchase a reloading manual, but the learning curve her seems to be pretty steep.

I was looking at starting out with a Lee Classic Reloader. Yes the little kit that is around $40.

Does anyone have experience with this kit? Any reviews you can give me?

I'm not looking to get bombarded with "spend the $300 on a lee precision reloader kit", I will get to that stage if in fact I enjoy it.

Also I know that getting powder right now might be an issue, but does anyone know of powders that may currently be available that would suit my needs? :confused: I am hoping to start with 55gr BTHP projectiles, firing from a 1 in 9 twist barrel.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Since it's a single shot, you will be fine with the lee classic loader as it neck sizes only. After a couple firings you may not be able to load the brass anymore without needing to resize. Trimming shouldn't be an issue until a couple of reloads.

I have one in 38/357 mag and it does the job, but it does take some time to complete a round.
 
Lot of us started with that tool. It was in .243 for me. It's slow and the scoops can vary the charge plus or minus a full grain(pitch it and use a scale), but you can load very good ammo with one. Like Spawn says, they neck size only, so you cannot use new brass and sooner or later you'll have to FL size. Plus you'll need to be able to check case lengths and trim, chamfer and deburr, but no trimming every time. Only as required. Most cases stretch the most on the first firing. This isn't a big expensive deal either. $35 to $40 will buy a digital Vernier in Crappy Tire or Home Depot. The Vernier can be locked at length and used as a case length gauge. Oh and use a plastic mallet.
The learning curve isn't terribly steep. Reloading is a long way from being rocket science. Mostly a common sense thing. Just read the manual, follow it religiously and you'll be fine. I'd use a heavier bullet with a 1 in 9 twist.
 
Thanks for all the help guys.

Anyone have ideas on a starting point for bullet choice?

Originally had the 55 gr in mind but as Sunray reminded that is on the light side for the 1 in 9 twist.

Maybe
Barnes Varmint Grenade 62 gr FB or Nosler Ballistic tip Varmint 60 GR??
 
I know you don't want to get bombarded with buy this or buy that but. A year ago I received the lee turret press kit. I was the same as you just wanted to try the reloading thing. $ 140.00 plus the cost of dies $50 bucks . comes with the powder scale and some of the small tools to prep brass. You can easily add on to the kit to upgrade later on if you enjoy the process. Just a suggestion, if you would like to stick with the lee loader I would at least suggest a powder scale to measure your loads.
 
Good afternoon, 007, I want to weigh in here.
To establish some cred, I started with a Lee Loader in .303Br. I have one in each of 4 cartridges, .303, .45ACP, .308, and .30-06. I got them for reloading at the shooting range. However, once I found the Lee Hand Press, I use that with much more success since it will full re-size the case when needed. The cost of the press is the same as the cost of the Classic Loader, but you would need to buy a set of dies for your cartridge. Since you are basically plinking, the scoop WILL be consistent enough if you follow the same technique EVERY time. I can scoop loads that are within .3 grains every time. That's plenty close enough for plinking with a single shot.
Nothing wrong with the loader and in wouldn't part with mine, but you're gonna need a press soon enough.

enjoy,
Ted
 
jay007 said:
Thanks for all the help guys.

Anyone have ideas on a starting point for bullet choice?

Originally had the 55 gr in mind but as Sunray reminded that is on the light side for the 1 in 9 twist.

Maybe
Barnes Varmint Grenade 62 gr FB or Nosler Ballistic tip Varmint 60 GR??
Click to expand...

You will do fine with the Lee classic kit, at least as a low-volume learning tool. If you do enjoy it though, you will be getting a press.

Now just to be a stick in the mud, I personally would start with the lee 50th anniversary kit for $140 ish and some dies and sell it if you didn't like it; you could get half that back I am sure. The reason being is that it is just so much easier and more efficient with a single stage press.

In terms of bullet selection, I think that 60 grain Nosler BT is perfectly mated to your twist rate and would be an excellent choice.
 
I started with one too and still have a couple. For plinking, anything will work. FMJs can be had cheap or grab some SPs so you don't need to change loads for gopher season. 55s are just fine in a 1 in 9" and the velocity loss with a heavier bullet may yield less impressive damage to your tiny furry friends. As for powder, .223 will run on most any rifle powders. 55s really work with a wide range of fast medium and slower powders while heavier bullets are going to do better with medium to slower powders. To keep my .223s going during this shortage I've fed them H335, H322, IMR4895, IMR4198, Varget, IMR8208XBR etc due to spotty availability. H335 is my favourite for 55 gr pills. There's lots more powders that will work well for your 55 gr bullets.
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

Tonight I picked up a manual, the classic kit, a lb of benchmark, CCI small rifle primers, and a box of 100 x 60 gr hornady v-max. I think I am going to try to grab one or two other projectiles maybe one being 55gr.
 
Good place to start. As noted, many people reloaders started there (.357 Mag for me). It's slow and not particularly flexible, but lots of good ammo has been made using the Lee Loader.

If you are worried about the learning curve, I would strongly suggest you read ABCs of Reloading. Any recent edition will be fine. It's a broad intro to the entire reloading hobby. There's nothing rocket science about reloading, as others have said, but asides from extreme rock climbing and chainsaw juggling, there are few where proper attention and focus are more important.

Good luck.
 
Small update.

after loading a few rounds i realized that for any kind of load development I would need a scale. So that was todays purchase. picked up a moderatly priced digital scale.

After a while of figuring things out I managed to load up a few batches to try.

60gr v-max x 5 rounds of each 23gr 23.5gr 24gr and 24.5gr (Benchmark) also have 5 loaded with the scoop that I figured around an average scoop of 23.3gr.

Today I also bought a box of 50gr Barnes varmint grenades. This weekends planis to get 4 or 5 loads to try with these too.
 
Ah, memories. I still have my first Lee Loader in 6.5x55 Swedish on my reloading shelf. Haven't used it in ages. Bought 5 of them (6.5x55, 303B, 7.62x54R, 30-30, and 45-70) before I finally broke down and bought a press. Should have done it a lot earlier.
I've heard many mixed reviews on the Varmint Grenades. A lot of reports of them acting like FMJ's and just punching through things.
 
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