If you started reloading on Lee equipment, share what year it was, and what the equipment was.
Around 1992, a friend's Lee Challenger.
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If you started reloading on Lee equipment, share what year it was, and what the equipment was.
Around 1992, a friend's Lee Challenger.
Started shotgun with a Lee Load-All 12 gauge in 1970. It did not live up to expectations. It was soon replaced with a Pacific DL266. That one has exceeded expectations for the past 51 years.
Not reloading, but started with Lee boolit molds casting. They still make up more than half of my molds.
1967, Lee Loader for my Dad's and brother's 30-30's and my 16 gauge.
In the early 90s, I bought a used three-hole turret press.
1970, .270 Win whack-a-mole.
1984 +/-, Lee Three Hole Turret, Powder Dipper Set, assorted shell holders and dies. All are still in service and used as needed.
Around 1972 with a .44 Mag whack-a-mole.
1970 with a 16ga. whacker. It made ammo for me and I was happy.
...2000, Lee Reloading Kit full box: challenger, scale, etc._
the following day I exploded my revolver:veryconfu
1986 3 hole Turret press. still use some of their dies and and some of the dippers, also have 3 or 4 molds for casting.
1969 -- Lee Loader whack a mole 20 ga. Thirteen years old. A few years later, on to the 243 Lee Loader. Got me started with good fundamentals. Never had a mishap, and the only squibs I've EVER had were from reseating a spent primer. (with a press) jd
1973 .30 carbine whack-a-mole
1969, Lee Loader.
1971, Lee Safety Scale.
1971, Lee Challenger. 38 Special dies (w/o FCD!).
1972, Lee Perfect Powder Measure. Misc. hand tools and die sets (#\3).
1979, Messy divorce, had to sell everything took a few years off.
1987, Lee Hand press, Lee dies (3 sets), Lee PPM, Lee Safety Scale.
1990, Lee turret press, 2 more die sets. Lee hand trimming tool for 3 rifle calibers.
1996, 44 Magnum die set (used FCD once, tossed it). Lee Pro 4 casting pot.
2015, Lee bench prime.
2019, Lee Load All.
Between 1987 and present purchased many reloading items from various manufacturers, Redding, Lyman, RCBS. also purchased 10 bullet molds from Lee and 3 or 4 from Lyman and sizing dies. Most valued purchase was my Co-Ax in 2017...
IIRC, 1967 and a Lee Target Loader in .222
Started back in the 70's.
Got the small Lee reloading press and book combo.
I think it was less than $30.
Read the book and bought the other needed tools.
I still have the press and book.
Since then, because of my addiction to tools, I've collected many different presses.
Three most used presses are two small Lee reloading presses, and a CH monster press.
07' just moulds and sizers .
Not the first loading equipment used but the first press I purchased - lee three hole turret , a set of Lyman dies , and a Redding scale . The owner of the little gunners shack set aside a Speer reloading manual along with primers , bullets , and powder for me to pick up after getting paid the next week . This was in the early to mid 80s I still have it and use it along with the 243 Winchester model 70 I bought right before buying the loading equipment .
You know the old fellow was right when he told me if I loaded my own I would never have to buy another box of ammo .
I started my very first reloading with a Lee Loader (whack-a-mole) kit in 1966. The clerk in the gun store told me I'd save a lot of money! :D It produced good ammo, but was too slow for quantity. Next I bought a used Lyman Spartan, then two RCBS Rockchuckers and still use all three. The Lyman is dedicated to .38 Special only, and other rifle and pistol ammo is mostly loaded on the Rockchuckers. Then I acquired a Lee 3-hole turret, mostly used for .45 ACP, which I later converted to a 4-holer. I'm very satisfied with the Lee turret. Sometimes I acquired a rifle or pistol in a caliber I had no experience with, and if available I bought a Lee Loader in that cartridge to try a few loads out before committing to a die set. I ended up with about a dozen Lee Loaders. I like the Lee Company, and they've never failed to help me with a problem. Just two years ago I bought a new Lyman single stage "C" press, very reminiscent of the Spartan, that I can clamp onto my desk right here in front of the computer when it's winter and too cold out in the shop. While reading what you fellows write I can...load ammo!
DG
Oh...I forgot to mention that I'm on my 3rd Lee hand press. I gave the first two away to cash strapped newbies.
One winter I loaded 1,200 rounds on one of them.
Attachment 304646
Pro 1K, 1988
Not 100% sure of the year I started reloading, guess 1990-91?(fall of yugoslavia cut off my supply of 6.5x55)but it was with an anniversary press kit, which I still have the press (and leaky powder dispencer) and still use it! I also have many of their dies but tend to buy better dies now
It was roughly 1979-1980 when I started with a Lee Whack-A-Mole. Remington 788's with a Tasco 3X9 scope already mounted (the good ones made in Japan)were selling out of Walmart for the whopping price of $159.00 + tax out the door. Not sure what influenced me, but I chose a 22-250. Never regretted it and I'm sure I'll start saving on rollin' my own pretty soon.
Murphy
1968, Lee Loader in .308. For my HS graduation gift from my Uncle and Aunt, a Mossberg 800.
In the early 70's, I got a 12 Gauge Lee Load-All. This was before it had powder bushings. I eventually reamed out the charge hole a little and made my own bushings. This thing got used a lot.
I have not loaded shotgun in a decade or so, but I would use this old press without hesitation if a need arose.
I think I then tried a 30-06 whack a mole, but I deemed it unsuitable for use. A RCBS Jr press and RCBS / Lyman dies were my early success stories for metallic reloading. The RCBS Jr got lost in a move somewhere in my late 20s and eventually was replaced with a Lee 3 hole turret.
All of my purchases of new presses and dies in the past couple of decades have been Lee.
I started in 1972 with a Lee Loader in 22-250 for my brand new $89 Remington 788. Factory shells were an astronomical $5 a box! The following summer I got another Lee Loader in .38 S&W for an Enfield revolver. Not long after, my brothers and I chipped in and bought RCBS scales and a JR press. So started the avalanche.
I use Lee dies, moulds, sizers and scoops to complement my other color stuff.
1962 with a Lee whack a mole in 12ga. I was 14 and no one I knew reloaded.
1964 LEE Loader, 8x57 Mauser, still have it.
1965 with 9mm before they expanded from the original - used many of their products for years but will no longer due to poor customer service + quality control - i know others will differently , but my recent experiences with them are a total horror story -
About 1997 or 1998, I got the Lee Kit (I don't remember the exact name) for around $100.00 at a gun show. In California, no less! I read the Speer manual twice.
Then I bought dies for 9mm and 44 magnum and got right to work.
Since then, I was given a VERY old Lee turret press which came in handy when the original Lee press that came in the kit crapped out. All of that original Lee gear finally crapped out and I only have that press now. I also have those first two sets of dies and a couple of die sets that were given to me with the turret press. My gear is now mostly RCBS.
As bad as the quality was in that first kit, it got me started relatively cheaply so I have to be happy about that.
--Wag--
1971 Lee loader 38/357. Lyman 358156 mold.
Hi...
I started with a Lee C press back in the late '70s- early '80s time frame.
I soon realized that the press was flexing when resizing my .357Magnum brass. I also realized that I needed to speed up the process to keep up with the amount of shooting I was doing in competition.
I bought a Lee 1000 progressive press and that really increased my output.
Unfortunately the primer feed consistently misfed or flipped primers. Then the powder system began to malfunction and leak powder to the point that it became glaringly obvious that I needed to reevaluate my equipment and process.
My solution was to buy an RCBS RockChucker and Little Dandy powder measure. That upgrade and doing brass prep, priming and doing powder dumps and bullet seating in batches, solved every issue except loading fast enough to keep up with my shooting.
I solved that issue by purchasing a couple of Hornady LNL progressive presses. My experience with the LNL has been excellent and they have cranked out many thousands of rounds of ammunition over quite a few calibers since I acquired them.
I also bought two complete Dillon 550s at auctions to supplement the LNLs. My experience and satisfaction with the LNLs eventually convinced me that the Dillons were an unnecessary redundancy, so I sold both of them.
I have purchased another RockChucker Supreme that my son uses to load to load rifle cartridges and for load development.
The Lee presses???
Packed away in a box in the bottom shelf of a cabinet where they can do no further harm.
I started about 2010-2012 with a lyman Spartan I got for $25 bucks. Lee dipper set, funnel, whack a mole push through sizer for 358. (I’d love to find one of those in .430 and .310). Probably some other lee stuff to start. Then I got a perfect powder measure. Man what an improvement. I still use dippers occasionally though. Lost all that when my house burnt in 2015.
I was gifted 2 guitars, one a Taylor 110 that I had gifted to the owner a few years previous. I swapped it for a 30-30 rifle.
Then started back with a lee whack a mole in 30-30 and a lyman 309-150-f that was gifted to me. I swapped the whack a mole and regret that, but still have the mould! Then someone gifted me a rock chucker. So I got stupid and sold that thinking I could use the money to buy x more reloading stuff. Went with a Spartan press again on the cheap, but I found a lee challenger and got that along the way and preferred it to the Spartan and finally sold the Spartan. Wish I’d just kept the RC, but at the time I was so tight on money I though I can sell this RC for $80 and buy a $40 press, and have money for a powder measure. So that’s what I did.
About 1968 - Lee whack a moles - 7mm Mauser and 20 gauge. Still in high school then. I did not blow my fool self up either.
My first centerfire, a .22 Hornet, with a Lee Loader, in 1975. IIRC, the set cost $9.95, new.
Taking 3 hours to reload 50 cartridges (I weighed my charges on a RCBS scale), and the occasional primer going off on seating finally convinced me (after over a year) to get a Pacific Super Deluxe and a used set of Lachmiller reloading dies at a gun show.
The operation was much faster, and no more exploding primers, but it took another 6 months of experimenting before the accuracy of reloads with the new setup matched that of the Lee Loader product.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of people that Lee started down the path of hobby reloading surpasses that of all the other manufacturers, including Winchester, Ideal and Lyman..
In 1976, I ordered a Lee Loader for 9mm Luger, along with a Lee single cavity 102 grain RN bullet mold, kake-kutter and lube pan, lead pot and ladle. I very quickly decided that my choices had been less than optimal. I purchased an RCBS press and dies just as soon as I could afford them. I loaded a few hundred rounds of 9mm for the WWII P-38 that I had at the time, and then moved on.
Sometime in the early 80’s with a Lee Challenger press and a couple die sets. After a couple years the linkage on the press broke and I don’t remember if Lee warranted it or if I either tossed it or just put it away. I got a good deal on a slightly used Lyman Orange Crusher that I still use today.
1967 Lee Classic Loader (Whack-A-Mole) in 45 acp .
I asked to "borrow" $10.00 for the Lee Loader from my Dad , when I explained what I was going to do ... reload my own ammo ... he looked at me like he just realized his oldest child might be a Couyon (crazy person ) ... but he gives me $20.00 and say's some for extra's ... and
Don't Tell Your Momma I give it to you ! A lot of our conversations ended like that !
Gary
My very first reloading experience was with a Lee Loader in 30/30 waaay back in 1964. My first bullet mold was a 30 caliberLee 150 gr. single cavity flat point for the same 30/30 in 1968. I still have both of them and they still work.
My first Lee equipment was a 30-06 Lee Loader in 1963. It had the metal powder scoop and I still have it. I bought one of the first Remington 700 ADL's made in 1962. james
Lee Whack-a-mole in 20 ga. in 1970. Dad was not going to pay for factory ammo for a ten year old who was missing everything any way. When I think of some of my "experiments" its a wonder I survived. Dad wasn't big on supervision... Here's the kit, here's the components, here's the instructions, figure it out. I still have the set,
Wish I still had my dad.