lee loader

[hatcreek]

Anyone ever load with a lee loader, just picked one up super cheap,30 30, plan on casting 170gr .309 lee mold, soft lead with a gas check, is it possible? any advise would be great.. Thanks Hatcreek

[Wally]

Have used in other calibers. The .30-30 can be tricky as the Lee Loader resizes the neck of the case only---best to size a case to see if it will chamber in your gun before you proceed. I would assume you are using a .30-30 Lever gun.

[hatcreek]

30 30 marlin, thanks Wally I'll give it a shot. HC

[newton]

That is the only dies set I have for my 30-30. My gun is not picky about its ammo so I have never had to full size them. I have used a lot of once fired cases without a glitch.

It just so happens I am also shooting the lee 170 grain gas check boolit. It shoots like a dream. I tumble lube, apply gas check, run through lee .309 sizer, then tumble lube again. I load it with 9 grains herco underneath it. Very mild load, but shoots great.

If you get the lee sizer make sure you smooth the mouth of it with something. I had it continually cutting rings off my checks and almost destroyed the punch before I realized what was going on. It's real rough and just needs some attention to push the gas checked boolit through.

Test your cases, but the 30-30 is a pretty forgiving round I think.

[newton]

I'm shooting a winchester 94. So there may be some difference there. I would go ahead with the gas check though. Doesn't hurt and it's only a couple cents more.

[Duckdog]

Take a steel 223 brass and cut if off and use the neck/shoulder as an expander to slightly expand the neck on your 30/30 brass. It will stop the shaving of lead. It does not take much.

[newton]

Take a steel 223 brass and cut if off and use the neck/shoulder as an expander to slightly expand the neck on your 30/30 brass. It will stop the shaving of lead. It does not take much.

Yea, I almost forgot. You'll want to do this for sure. I use a steel punch that has a taper to it. But you'll want to spread the neck some to acomodate the boolits.

[Larry Gibson]

I started out back in the '60s with a 30-30 Lee loader. I have loaded thousands of 30-30s, .30 Carbine, .223, .308W, 35 Remington, 7.65 Argentine and .357s on Lee loaders over the years. Probaly a few more I don't remember off the top.

A couple tips;

Get;
One of the larger MTM storage boxes, one with an internal tray, as it will hold all your reloading stuff.

A plastic headed mallet. These are available at most hardware/lumber yards.

Some 0000 steel wool to clean the outside of the neck. A small tuft wrapped around the neck and twisted does a quick job. May also be used with discretion to clean the outside of the cases.

A clean bore brush one size larger than the caliber you are loading for on a small pistol rod to clean the inside of the necks. Push it straight in and slightly twist pulling it out. Usually one pass cleans the carbon and debris out pretty well.

A small screw driver to clean the primer pocket but the Lee primer pocket cleaner is inexpensive and works well.

The Lee chamfer tool to chamfering the inside of the case mouth and the outside if necessary. A small knife blade will do also for the inside.

The Lee hand priming tool is almost a must unless you want the be-jesus scared out of you when a primer pops tapping them in.

A Lee powder funnel, works much better than pouring through the sizer.

A tapered punch or needle nosed pliers can be used to flair the case mouth if you are loading cast bullets.

A loading block to hold the cases that you’ve put powder into.

Nice, or next to have;

Lee’s powder dippers.
A good powder scale.
A powder trickler.
At least one good reloading manual, Lyman’s is recommended.
A dial caliper.

All the above will fit into the MTM box.

Most of the above will also be required or useful when you advance to a single or progressive press.

Larry Gibson

[rintinglen]

Like Larry, the first rounds I ever loaded were 30-30-s, loaded with a lee loader, using cast Round-Nosed boolits. I quickly found that some form of neck expander was essential if I wanted to shoot cast. I tried a screwdriver and a pair of needle nose pliers, but soon felt the need for a better tool.
I no longer use the lee loader, but still have the "custom" neck expander I made out of a 5/16's stove bolt. It is cheap and easy to make. I got a 4 inch stove bolt, cut off the threaded piece with a hack saw, tapered the remaining tip on a neighbors grinder, and voila--a custom neck expander. Two medium taps with a 12 oz plastic tipped hammer and my cast boolits slid right in the case without that "ring around the collar" they were getting before.

Oh, and by all means get a hand priming tool. The Lee Loader setup for priming is designed to give heart attacks. The Lee Hand Primer will be something you will use no matter what your next press is (unless it's a Dillon).

[mpmarty]

I use a hand priming tool and a Dillon. The first position on my Dillon is an "M" die.

[barrabruce]

I have loaded thousands of 30-30 with mine now.

I also have a full length simplex vice type sizer for when I get given brass

If you push slightly down on the priming rod while seating the primer and a few gentle taps it don't go bang.

Expander of sorts you will need.

I honed the sizing part out in mine so its sizes to 308.5 internal case mouth.
and adjusted the sizing lentgh to only partially neck size the case.
This means I have little sizing on the cases neck and are easily expanded the extra thou or 2 I need to seat jacketed cast or PP bullets.

I use mine on a simplex press as a arbor press and its even better..quieter .

I use an adjustable powder measure I made out of a fired straight walled case and it throws stick powder to a tenth of a grain or two. No worse than my powder thrower.

A set of scales are nice to have and prolly the next must have to me.

I'm looking for a small set to go with my two specticle case loading/ sizing/ case prep/ bullet sizing kit.

I use a lee 170 ft point and it shoots well in my 30-30.

I bit of unique or 2400
Light tumble lubed in a container and shoots from 1000 to 1200 fps great accuracy.
No gas check required.

I only got a single shot so I haven't tried crimping to any great extent but......
A friend of mine made up a simple bush that slides in the top of the loader and the centres the case and governs the amount of crimp applied to his.
The results looked very uniform

[mdi]

I too, got my start reloading with a Lee Loader, .38 Special. I really like them. I have several now even though I do most of my reloading on a turret or single stage press. I've got one set for 30-30 that I got before my 30-30 dies arrived and using it was pure fun. I was developing some loads for my Handi-Rifle and 10 rounds at a time gets reloaded really fast. No problems with popping primers on my 30-30 or .38 Spec. Loaders but my .44 Magnum set will occationally pop a primer, about 1 or 2 per 50. I use them when I don't want to set up, or tear down my turret press or my single stage or when I just feel "retro". Lately I've been using an arbor press for reloading with a Lee Loader but handgun rounds only, 'cause my arbor press isn't tall enough for thr 30-30. Great fun and a very good way to learn reloading.