Anyone else use a lee handpress?

[mickbr]

having retired from big game calibres my experience had been RCBS rockchuckers and Lee Classic cast type units. Didnt need multi stage, just needed heavy and tall. I'd never considered hand presses until getting into pistol and lever cartridges later on. I was also suprised by the weight, when mine turned up I thought the box was empty it was so light! Obviously not high volume options but great to take to the range, on the road or sit in front of the TV doing just one stage. What am I missing here, do these things fall apart eventually or do they give years of reliable service?

[Ozark mike]

Dont know about the lee but the lymans accomplished what they were built for i may pick one up soon so when im in the back country ill have a way to make loads if i feel like packing every thing with me

[Nelsonholsters]

I haven't got any hand help loaders but I do have several lee dies, single stage press, lee load master and all my molds are lee- all works great and has help up to dome major abuse.
I also use a Hornady lock n load.
I prefer lee reloading dies on several calibers.

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[Pigboat]

I've reloaded many rounds sitting in front of the TV with one.

[Nelsonholsters]

I cast 1500 rounds of 9mm today then powder coated them.
Sized and loaded a few watching TV.


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[Walks]

I've used one plenty for sizing/expanding cases.
Like the Lyman better. More leverage. And you can bolt it down if you have the space.

[Chad5005]

ive sized and flaired many many thousands of hand gun cases 9mm to 500s&w and sized a lot of 223,300bo and 6.8spc

[pocketace]

works for .308 and 8x57. so its good. Will it last 50 years? buy a spare and learn for yourself.

[mickbr]

works for .308 and 8x57. so its good. Will it last 50 years? buy a spare and learn for yourself.

how old exactly are you? Some of us will be long dead in 50 years

[smithnframe]

I loaded a few thousand 45/70 rounds with a Lee hand held press when I started loading for my Sharps rifles several years ago. It's just as tight as it was when new. Well made!

[pocketace]

how old exactly are you? Some of us will be long dead in 50 years

im like a cat, im well preserved. Coffee on an IV drip has wonderful powers of preservation.

[GhostHawk]

6 years back I got back into shooting. Opted for a Lee Breachblock hand press as my main squeeze.

Now there are a few jobs I go elsewhere for. Like full length resizing of 7.62x54r.
And I have a Lee classic cast C press mounted inverted for sizing and gas check work.

But pretty much everything else I use the hand press. Keeps me flexible, makes it easy to switch calibers in seconds.
And I still prefer it for seating bullets as I have more "feel" of what is happening. Something does not feel right stop and look.
Generally find a bullet stuck in the seating die.

Now I do deprime with a FA hand deprimer. All cases get deprimed, citric acid wash, primer pocket brushed, and visually inspected as it is rolled on a towel on my leg. Any split, any issue shows up asap.

Cases are rolled into a towel and left on the kitchen stove pilot light warm spot for an hour to dry. Are then ready to be sized, primed, flared, charged, and loaded.

That keeps my dies clean. Instead of a black hole you can see brass all the way to the primer pocket flash hole.

Do they look like factory, no. They could if I wanted them too but I am not that OCD. Most will have a very light smear of Imperial sizing wax up around the neck. IMO this is not hurting anything.

Because of health issues, and low energy I do tend to run things in stages. Get the brass clean, and counted. Then I know how many I need to cast.

Cast, and triple lube with BLL. With the last coat getting a half hour to an hour in front of a fan to encourage drying.

Then size, prime, flare, charge. Then put it all together. I don't shoot as much as I used to so normally 50 to 100 round batch's are more than plenty for me.

Once done drop into a MTM 100 round box, label with bullet weight and charge.

Done deal

And the little Lee hand press is involved in most of it. Good tool. Paid for itself several times over.

[rswink]

how old exactly are you? Some of us will be long dead in 50 years

Down side of having centurion's in your family is the odds you will to, so I might still be here in 50 if the wife don't do me in first.

As for the Lee hand press, I have the Lee universal Decapper on it always, I sit and watch TV while decapping a few gallons of brass, my last run was only 2 gallons, the time before was a full 5 gallon bucket and another gallon in the range bucket that was a few movies worth.

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[trebor44]

There are two versions. The older one did not use the quick change collets but it was a bit more 'solid'. Newer version allows for 'quick' change of dies but there is some 'wobble'. More leverage can be gained by adding some 'leg strength' if you need it. Shoulder strength works, but like a pump up pellet rifle, lower body strength and positioning can be used to your advantage.

[Bazoo]

I use one for a good bit of work. I've noticed nickel handgun brass is harder to resize. About the hardest case to work I do on it is 30-30, with 30-06 being the only thing I have larger. 30-30 is doable but it does take some effort. I've done 30-06 but I generally do it on the bench press. I have found that Hornady one shot lube makes sizing easier than imperial. I drilled the ram deeper to hold more primers.

I enjoy going outside and working on a batch of cases. I often use the hand press as auxiliary when usin the bench press too. Like if I have to remove a primer for some reason.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

The Lee Hand Press is a great tool. I've owned 5 of them, am on the 5th one now, and that's because I gave away the preceding 4 to new reloaders. I also favor the old model, but am now stuck with the new model which involves buying the quick release bushings. A couple of winters back I sat right here and reloaded over 1,200 rounds (total) in 6 different calibers. The tool shines for pistol cartridges, and can be a bit of a chore with long rifle cartridges requiring a lot of squeeze, but works on them also. I use the hand press and the Lee Ram Prime system to prime cases with great success.

[sghart3578]

Last week I had to go to a remote job site and wait for a crane to show up. He ended up getting lost temporarily and I waited a total of 7 hours for him.

This has happened to me many times before so I was prepared.

I packed my traveling reload kit. I sized and deprimed 361 357 mag cases. I then got my drill motor and used the Lee trimmer to trim all 361 cases to length.

I don't use my Lee handpress regularly but there are times when it is really nice to have.


Steve in N CA

[mdi]

I have had two. The first one I used a lot, with good success on handgun rounds. It went away during "The Divorce". After I got back into reloading I purchased another. I don't use it a lot, but I've done everything on it I did on my Challenger. Now it gets used some times for small runs of simple tasks like sizing/decapping. Occasionally I'll get it out and reload some revolver rounds, just like I do with my Lee Loaders, but my Co-Ax is so easy to use that I'm using my "alternatives" less and less. For what it was designed for, the Lee Hand Press works quite well. Yes, arms can get tired after F/L sizing 80-100 cases, and sometimes it feels wobbly in use, but good accurate ammo can easily be assembled with it...

[pworley1]

I use them for de priming and expanding most everything. I also use them for sizing my pistol brass.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Or you could use one of these and not have any problems at all. Just sayin' Why not drive a Cadillac?

Available as a Screw In only or Hornady Lock n Load version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEpYQMdnxHY&t=3s

www.buchananprecisionmachine.com.

Randy