In praise of the Lee Hand Press

[Jim]

I tried that one time. Between "Whatcha doin'?", "You're gonna blow up your gun!" and "That ain't the right powder" folks hangin' around, distracting me and irritating me, I decided the best thing for me was to just load enough at the house.

I started with a Lee Loader way back when, but have since sold or traded them off. I do have a hand press in one of my cabinets. Every now and then, I want to do something that doesn't require a bench mounted press or add some extra step like factory crimping. It comes in right handy for that.

[cdet69]

Love it for neck sizing brass wile watching tv.

[kevinm600]

I have used Lee Precision products for over 25 years and absolutely love them. They are well made and last a lifetime. I currently have a Challenger press and have had it for 10 years. It still looks and works like new. I have loaded everything from 44 Mag to 470 Capstick with it. I also love Lee dies and their loading data. It just goes to show you, you don't have to pay a fortune to get good quality...which is unusual.

I just ordered the Lee Hand Press after reading this website article...http://www.us-shooter.com/the-reload...r-when-buying/

[wilded]

I have the old model Lee hand press and it sounds like it is time for an upgrade. Thanks for posting about the new one.

[joec]

I use mine mostly with the universal decapping die by lee. I shoot a lot of black powder and I like to decap and get them in soapy water while shooting in my CAS group. We have down time between each set so I have little to do other than clean my guns when I get home. Next day I rinse and tumble the dried brass and ready to reload. I like the quick method on the newest version of setting the die and removing it in a hurry. It also works as a pretty good hand primer in a pinch..

[One Gun Andy]

Let's face it... There's always gonna be one more tool we need to try/buy. Good discussion on a great tool; the Lee Loader that is.

[melter68]

Lee reloading items are great value and a piece of engineering, i love the old hand loaders, i even designed a new type of hand loader, which lee said would work, but because theres not much demand for hand loaders it would not pay.

A always use lee products were i can and there customer service is second to non.

cheers chris in england

[tim josey]

I bought one to go along with my Loadmaster, like a lot of people, I have trouble with the priming station. Now I deprime and resize while watching TV and use the Lee newest hand priming tool. Then go to the Loadmaster for the last 3 steps.
I'm not worried about how fast I can do 100 rounds, and I know the primers are good to go!

Tim

[rmatchell]

I love my hand press, only thing I dont like is the primmers in the ram. I cant complain to much thats a small problem though.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Bought mine 4-5 months ago, for my entry into reloading. Only problem with it is that it is just enough to get you hooked!

[Wal']

Ok you've sold me on buying one of these presses for loading at the range or using as backup on hunting trips etc

But what would really be good is to see what & how you transport, box or carry the handpress & all the rest of the reloading components, powder, boolits dies & like.

Or is it just thrown in your hunting/range bag.

Photos for those with camera's would even be better.

[cat223]

Well, thanks a lot guys! Now I have to add the Lee Hand Press to my wish list. I have no doubt that it's a great tool because I already have the Lee Challenger press with the Breech Lock system. Lee is the only brand I have used and I'm totally sold on their products.

[opos]

I'm old and slow...no hurry to "crank out" lots of loads per hour....I used to load...many years ago...and took a many year vacation...got back in a few years ago with a Lee anniversary kit for the garage....didn't have room or the inclination to spend the time in the garage so recently bought a Lee Breech lock hand press...had Lee delux 4 die sets in the calibers I load and had the bushings from the "kit"...I load in my "office" (lair, den, man cave, whatever) and it's terrific....I've loaded several thousand rounds with it and never once had an issue. I have the little manual primer which was replaced with one of the Lee hand priming tools and I like that a bit better...don't have to touch the primers. I do lube slightly even with carbide dies...it just makes things easier. I have a Lee Classic cast press new in the box sitting in my closet that I figured would be something I'd like to use and it's still in the box and going to my Son for Christmas...I have no use for it.

[foxhole]

great post,I have thought about a hand loader for working up loads at the range myself

[W.R.Buchanan]

For those that still want to screw dies in and out of the press there is no need to find and old Lee Hand Press.

There are two types of bushings for the new tools. One is just a plain bushing that comes with the press. The other is the lock ring eliminator which clamps onto the die locking the setting in place.

If you just screw the plain bushing into the tool and leave it,,, it is the same as the old style tool. However the improvement is the fact that you are screwing your dies into a steel thread instead of an aluminum thread which is going to give up sooner or later to cross threading.

The majority of single stage presses have a steel bushing screwed into threads in the press body. This is so if you goon the threads you can fix it easily and not trash the whole press.

I could build/make a higher quality version of the Lee press in my machine shop using all machined parts made of aluminum and steel.There is no reason to do it!

It can't be made any significant amount better than what they've done. And I damn sure couldn't do it for $30. Sometimes it is just pointless to reinvent the wheel.

As far as decapping I think buying one of the Lee Loader bases for your caliber and decapping punch for your calibers would be a good way to knock out primers. One base covers alot of calibers and a few punches would do most everything too. This is also something I could make, but again I can't do it for $5.

The simple Lee stuff is pretty hard to beat. the more expensive stuff,,, ehhhh? Not so much.

Randy

[gunseller]

Just read the post in this thread. When Lee first offered their turent press around 35 years ago I decided I needed one. Went to my local dealer after seeing the turent press in the American Rifleman. Dealer told me he had tried to get some but the presses were not avableale yet. Next day I called Lee company. Ended up talking to Mr Lee. He sold me a press real cheap as long as I agreed to call him back after a month of use and tell him what I thought. When I called him back in a month I told him I had loaded the first 1000 rounds of 223 with the press on my lap watching TV. We talked for a long time about what I had done. About 6 months later Lee came out with their hand press. So I claim I had some input on their hand press. I have several and have broken handles necking up 30-06 to 35 cal. That said I have loaded rounds from223 to 416 Rigby.
Steve

[Texantothecore]

Ok you've sold me on buying one of these presses for loading at the range or using as backup on hunting trips etc

But what would really be good is to see what & how you transport, box or carry the handpress & all the rest of the reloading components, powder, boolits dies & like.

Or is it just thrown in your hunting/range bag.

Photos for those with camera's would even be better.

I just throw mine into my field bag. It is always there.

[Frank V]

I've used the Lee hand press for several years. I like using it to size, & decap straight wall handgun cases in front of the TV. I would like to see a little better way to capture spent primers though. I always wait till the ram is almost full, then they seem to hang up in the ram & go everywhere except in the trash????
Frank

[Rio Grande]

I've used the Lee hand press for several years. I like using it to size, & decap straight wall handgun cases in front of the TV. I would like to see a little better way to capture spent primers though. I always wait till the ram is almost full, then they seem to hang up in the ram & go everywhere except in the trash????
Frank

Slide a sandwich baggie over the ram, turn press upside down. Collects your spent primers and keeps abrasive particles from dies and press.

[Frank V]

Thanks Rio, that's a great tip. I was trying to dump them directly into the trash can & ALWAYS spilled a lot.
Frank