Lyman Spartan

[Mark Daiute]

I am assuming that a set screw holds the shell holder in place with this press and that the shell holder is not held in place via a spring clip as with my other presses. I just picked one of these up, slipped a shell holder in the slot and found that it did not "snap" in as I expected but I did find a set screw on the shaft and that seems to work.

Would love to hear from other Spartan owners and what they think and how they like this press.

[lightload]

You are correct about the set screw and shell holder. The Spartan is a well regarded press. I bought mine in 1970, and it still serves me well. It's C design and simple(not compound)linkage is not suited to bullet swaging or case forming but will handle full length resizing of handgun and rifle calibers. I suggest that you mount it in a sturdy and solid manner. For resizing rifle cases, I suggest that you select a lube that receives high recommendations here. In 1970 I paid $12 for mine in a retail shop. Today that's about $85.00. These presses lasted many 1000's of American reloaders a lifetime and were then passed onto children and grandchildren.

[Iowa Fox]

You are correct about the set screw. I bought my Spartan in the last couple of months in 1969. With a set of dies it was 19 dollars and some cents. I still have the box and all the paperwork that came with it. I always kept it clean and well lubricated so it still looks like new. Its loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds. I have other presses but still use the Spartan a lot.

[Mark Daiute]

thanks for the responses, much appreciated.

[mazo kid]

You can buy an adaptor for the Spar-T and use regular shell holders. I have one for mine, also an after market turret.

[gunarea]

Hey Mark
My Spartan press just celebrated its fifty second birthday and was used again yesterday.

205807

Although it does not see the heavy usage it once was subjected to, this Spartan is still a small step in every cartridge produced here. I bought another some thirty years ago when Lyman discontinued the press, just in case. The new press is still waiting in the wings. Look and you will see several adaptations I have made to accommodate my use.

205808

There is a very good reason it is attached to a one inch thick piece of plate steel. It has seen dooty!
Roy

[donkee]

I picked up mine NIB from an estate sale last year. It is a great little press. I use it to prime and crimp mostly. RCBS priming parts all fit perfectly, mine only came with the arm. I did pick up 2 RCBS arms so that I would just have to pull the pin and swap arms to change primer size.

I just snagged an RCBS JR3 that will sit next to the Lyman and my LEE Classic Cast. How many presses does one need? As many excellent ones that you can get!

[Binky]

A Spartan was my first press, along with a set of Lyman 30-06 dies. About 1966 or so. It is currently mounted on a steel base plate and gets C clamped to my work bench when I batch process (mostly pistol) cases or use it to deprime rifle cases. I found that it had more spring than I liked for large rifle cases(300win,Weatherby,ect.) so I bought a Rock Chucker in about 1975 and a used Spar-T to mount on my reloading stand, for pistol loads, in the 80s. But the Spartan came back into service when I started to use Lee/RCBS deprimer dies for processing military cases. Still have the red, half moon, primer catcher(works on the Spar-T also) and had a former co-worker make me a second on his 3D printer. In truth, it was all I ever really needed for reloading. I suspect it will work well for the next owner, when they decide to haul my wrinkled butt off to the home or dump my ashes into a badger hole, out on the desert.:???:

[ukrifleman]

I've had my Spartan since the 70's and it has loaded thousands of rounds since then.

My main press these days is a Lee Classic turret, but I still use the Spartan for swaging cast bullets and running M dies through cases.

A great press that has been a faithful servant for over 40 years.

ukrifleman