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Thread: BUILDING a 12 Gauge Lee Loader

  1. #21
    Boolit Master dbosman's Avatar
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    The Lane's site appears to be gone.

  2. #22
    Boolit Master

    fiberoptik's Avatar
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    I would like to reload 16 gauge by hand, either with a Lee loader type tool or maybe make one from wood. I rarely shoot it, but would like the option. Maybe get that breachplug to convert to muzzle loader might be fun. Not much of a gauge man, as I grew up with a .22 instead. Never was taught how to use the shotgun.


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  3. #23
    Boolit Bub
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    There was a wooden shotgun reloader that was self built in "Backwoodsman Magazine." This was about 10 years ago. I built 2 of them. It works for 12 ga, 16 ga, and 20 ga. I don't use it much anymore, but I will take measurements and send em to ya iffin ya want. It works well if you shoot the shells in the same gun as there is no provision to resize the hulls. Bobby

  4. #24
    Boolit Master

    fiberoptik's Avatar
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    I remember reading it but it was for a 20 gauge if I remember and didn’t remember anything about measurements. Only have great grandmas old 16 single. That would be great.
    My favorite magazine!


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  5. #25
    Boolit Master
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    JoseBob, please e-mail me the measurements and info. on the BACKWOODSMAN MAGAZINE wooden self built shot gun re-loader, thanking you.

  6. #26
    Boolit Bub
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    e-mailed info. Sorry it took so long... Bobby

  7. #27
    Boolit Master
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    I was eleven and had a spanish SxS 12 ga.
    I got a LEE 12 ga Handloader set as a Christmas present along with a can of alcan powder no5.and a box of wads for over powder, a box with wad column and primers and a 3 bags of no. 4s, no. 6s, and no.9s.each 25 lbs.
    I had a big bag of paper shells I'd been saving up.
    I got right to work loading and going to town with those shells.The 4s for ducks, kept separate, the 6s for squirrel and rabbit and the 9s for quail.
    i took a box 6s to go hunt rabbits.
    i had to walk quite a ways to get there and it was pretty cold.
    When i got there and opened the barrels, the shell went in and stopped at the metal part. it wouldn't fit. I tried a couple more and one went in.Aha! then the same trouble with the other barrel.
    I had to keep trying to find a shell to fit.But then, if I turned the shell a certain way.it would slip in.
    That old gun had egg shaped chambers and you had to turn the shell till it matched the egg shape. Also, one barrel was bigger than the other.
    That's when you dont resize the shells.
    I had to go home and try all the shells and mark some left and some right.
    It was frustrating to say the least.
    When I used new shells I marked them beforehand and only shot the left hand coat pocket in the left barrel and so on.
    Same on right pocket shells.
    Good if you have a single bbl shotgun.
    With a pump or an auto the bbl better be perfect or you get jam city for sure.
    My new Browning lite 12 some years later was a perfect chamber but I was using a Pacific 366 reloader that resized the new plastic shells.
    It's funny, but I still have a half bucket of those old paper shells marked left and right.
    i always mean to open them up and salvage the shot.
    or I'm looking for a MEC supersizer to resize those metal rims.
    The LEE always made good crimps with the paper shells but ugly crimps with plastic till I got the 366.
    that's my story.


    Sorry about hi jacking thread.
    I just wanted to tell about trouble caused by not being able to resize the shells.
    ..
    Last edited by Alferd Packer; 04-03-2021 at 05:57 AM.

  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I just watched the guy loading three inch 410s with the Lee Loader. I have a 2 1/2” set I picked up at one of our club’s fund raiser auctions several years ago but have never gotten around to trying out. After seeing the video I think I’ll put the Lee Loader back on the knick knack shelf and renew my search for a MEC 600 Jr in 410. I really do appreciate seeing the video however... it served as a cautionary tale!

    Froggie
    "It aint easy being green!"

  9. #29
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Green Frog View Post
    I just watched the guy loading three inch 410s with the Lee Loader. I have a 2 1/2” set I picked up at one of our club’s fund raiser auctions several years ago but have never gotten around to trying out. After seeing the video I think I’ll put the Lee Loader back on the knick knack shelf and renew my search for a MEC 600 Jr in 410. I really do appreciate seeing the video however... it served as a cautionary tale!

    Froggie
    If a person is going to reload many .410, the MEC is the way to go. While a Lee Loader handles my current needs, my brother got a MEC for it. What I don't understand is what people will pay for used .410 Lee Loaders on Ebay. Recently set went for the price of brand new MEC.

  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by perotter View Post
    If a person is going to reload many .410, the MEC is the way to go. While a Lee Loader handles my current needs, my brother got a MEC for it. What I don't understand is what people will pay for used .410 Lee Loaders on Ebay. Recently set went for the price of brand new MEC.
    I think some of the strange prices are being paid because so much of this stuff is back ordered/out of stock at the dealers, distributors, and even the manufacturers... they’re all showing up slammed! People have money they see losing value by the day and are driven by fear of “what will be” so I feel like what we see is panic buying at work. Having read this, I just decided I would hold off on buying that MEC 410 loader... I don’t shoot the little gun much anyway, and I have a few hundred rounds of factory stuff. Besides, I can load with the Lee Loader if I really feel like I have to have more (unlikely.)

    Good thread guys; it made me think!

    Froggie

    PS We wouldn’t be seeing articles in “Backwoodsman” or “Mother Earth” if there were a feeling of concern for where we will get our ammo in the future. I’m too old and worn out to run, so I guess I’ll have to stay right here where my reloading stuff is already located... YMMV
    Last edited by Green Frog; 04-04-2021 at 05:04 PM. Reason: Add PS and correct typos
    "It aint easy being green!"

  11. #31
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    W.R.Buchanan's Avatar
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    Froggie: I went into detail on how to get the Lee Loader to make good crimps on another thread by 3B in the Casting for Shotguns Forum. If you are only going to load 25 rounds or so at a time you would be wasting money on a MEC Loader dedicated to .410's. when you've already got a Lee Loader that will do the job just fine once you learn the little ideocracies of the crimping function.

    I have a Pacific DL266 in .410 for my .410's and it gets used infrequently when I need more .410's for Skeet at the Club.

    Since I have that, I don't need a Lee Loader. I had a Paco Kelly .410 Loader (similar to Lee tool) but the crimp closing function was bad on that tool so I sold it. You should be able to load 25 rounds in 30-40 minutes with the Lee Loader once you get it figured out.

    If I can do it with a 12 ga one, you can do it with a .410 kit.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  12. #32
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    dbosman, try the 10Ring.com site. They have .410, 20, 16, and 12 or at least they did have. I haven't checked lately. To get a good 410 crimp I would advise getting a roll crimp tool similar to the BPI or the Reloaders Network version. They will make quite a difference in you shotgun reloads but especially the 410. Its about the only way to get a really good crimp on the 410. james

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check