Just got my first Lee Loader!

[Texantothecore]

I went the opposite way in my equipment. I started out with a single stage and ended up with the Lee Loader. It is a fascinating piece of equipment that fits in your back pocket. Very cool.

One tip: a cap going off is much louder at the kitchen table than it is outside. Lol.

[mdi]

Being a "gadget/hand tool" kinda guy myself I tried using my Lee Loaders in a different ways. I've reloaded a bunch of .44 Magnums with a Lee Loader on an arbor press. I also deprimed a bag full (mebbe 1,000) of .38 brass on an arbor press with my Loader, and I've experimented with different hammers/mallets and "pads" to pound on (I settled on a lead ingot 2 1/2x 4"x16" long). I'm in the process of "customizing" one for my 303 British that has an oversize bore. .318" cast bullets won't go through the .311" Lee Loader...

Lee Loaders are just fun!

[Glassman66]

Being a "gadget/hand tool" kinda guy myself I tried using my Lee Loaders in a different ways. I've reloaded a bunch of .44 Magnums with a Lee Loader on an arbor press. I also deprimed a bag full (mebbe 1,000) of .38 brass on an arbor press with my Loader, and I've experimented with different hammers/mallets and "pads" to pound on (I settled on a lead ingot 2 1/2x 4"x16" long). I'm in the process of "customizing" one for my 303 British that has an oversize bore. .318" cast bullets won't go through the .311" Lee Loader...

Lee Loaders are just fun!

I have thought about using my drill press as an arbor press, but not sure it would be any faster. Not that fast is what I am going for!

I have a pallet with some nice thick wood and think I will make a pad with that. Then drill a hole with a forstner bit so I can deprime and the primers will drop though the hole. That way you can deprime a lot of them with out lifting up the tool. Maybe use a little container underneath to catch the primers.

Trying to get the reloading bench finished, thought I had it done and realized I have made a misss.....calculation and and have to do a little "fixin" to it!

Picture will come soon!




Randy

[Dave Bulla]

mdi said:

I'm in the process of "customizing" one for my 303 British that has an oversize bore. .318" cast bullets won't go through the .311" Lee Loader...

Before you do that, try this...

When it's time to seat the boolit, instead of dropping it in from the top and forcing it through the die (which as you know would size the bejeepers out of it), simply lift the die body off the casing, set the boolit on top of the case mouth and lower the die body back down over it and proceed normally from there. Of course, flaring the case mouth while the die is off is a big help with cast lead too. I've had to do this with cast for my 35 Remington and it worked fine. What I don't know is how much boolit length and diameter difference you can get away with before the die body will end up resting on the ogive but it won't cost you anything to try it.

[mdi]

Hmmm. Thanks Dave, I'll try that...

Sometimes simple just whizzes over my head and I have to complicate things...

[McE1911]

I went the opposite way in my equipment. I started out with a single stage and ended up with the Lee Loader. It is a fascinating piece of equipment that fits in your back pocket. Very cool.

One tip: a cap going off is much louder at the kitchen table than it is outside. Lol.

It is a cool lil gadget. I bought two of them when i first started to reload. but after a few days of using them, i couldnt stand the banging specially when reloading at night. So, i returned them & went w the "Lee hand press" instead. Super quiet & easy to use even when there's people in the next room.

[Dave Bulla]

So mdi, did it work?

[1989toddm]

So anyone of you had a primer go off on the last tap to seat it? Just did last night. I wonder if it was caused by using a ball peen hammer instead of plastic?

[Dave Bulla]

1989toddm,

It's generally not a good idea to use the steel hammer simply because it will mushroom the tools over time but it isn't really the cause for the blown primer. That's simply a matter of hitting it just a little too hard or one too many times. Can happen regardless of the hammer or mallet used.

[McE1911]

So anyone of you had a primer go off on the last tap to seat it? Just did last night. I wonder if it was caused by using a ball peen hammer instead of plastic?

No. i had a few of them go off while using a plastic/rubber hammer. Scared the **** out of me. They just didnt align properly when you tap it to seat in.

[mdi]

I only have one priming base that will set off a primer, that's my .44 magnum Lee Loader. I haven't checked into it yet, but I believe the spring loaded disc ain't centering correctly, but I could be wrong (I've had to change my panties more than a couple times!).

[eljefeoz]

I just got one in .410

Have already done up a box of brass reloads with 12gr Blue Dot and # 8 shot. A few more with .356 158gr Cb, packed tight with CoW.
Now to take out the lil Rossi .410...
Plan to do some 139gr for the 7x57 later with the Lee loader.
Dave Bulla- Thanks for the tip on seating CB with the LL
Cheers

[barrabruce]

If you hold the priming rod down on the case when you hit it you won't let a primer off and less you really whack it.

What happens is you tend to lift the pressure off the primer rod after you hit it and then you get a cannoning effect when you hit it again.
Something like that.

Anyway try and keep downward pressure on the rod and you should have no troubles.
The spring loaded washer/seater pin just doesn't stick out enough to seat the primer more than you normally would. I do a couple of light taps instead of one big whack.

Don't worry .... the primers I have let off have had no ill effects except for the ringing in my ears and the sudden change of my jocks.

I have loaded thousands through mine now and have even bought an early lee one with the plastic primer tool and flarer tool.

[Lead Fred]

I read accuracy suffered at the 100 and 110 grain weights and 125 and up worked better for most.

Oh really, my odd six fires Speer 110 varmint grenades at 3400fps, and a 1 MOA group at 200 yards.
It does take awhile to recalibrate the scope from my 178s I normally shoot.

Mr Odd Six says:

What you doin with said rounds?

The standard 150gr ball shoots in ever 06 Ive ever owned.

Hornaday 150 HPBT
48-50 gr IMR 4895 ( semi auto 50 gr is the max, you can go to 57gr in a bolt)
I stick with 50gr so I can use them in my Garand.

My standard long distance round:

178 A-Max
54.5gr IMR4350
Winchester LR primer
Lake City cases
2880fps out my Shilen 26 inch barrel, with a 3/8 group at 200 yards.

[stephen m weiss]

I started with a Lee Load Master progressive and moved to Lee Loaders. The progressive sure makes more faster. Changing calibers takes 30 min to an hour though, with moving the autodisk set, flair tool, and resetting all the depths.

The issue I have with the Lee Loader is flaring the case mouth for cast bullets. While I can do it with hand tools, its not quick nor precise. On my progressive, I can tune the flair tool to just open .001 more than the lead size and minimize neck metal fatigue.

I wonder if a bit of steel pipe cut to lenth for a stop and a plumb bob or similar large cone of steel could be used to form perfect flairs every time. A plug screwed into the bottom could be an adjustable stop.

Has anyone found or made a settable neck flair tool?

smw

[mdi]

IIRC; my .38 and .44 Lee Loaders come with a flaring tool. The tapered part of the tool has a step at the "top" so the amount of flare is limited/controlled...

[Glassman66]

I started with a Lee Load Master progressive and moved to Lee Loaders. The progressive sure makes more faster. Changing calibers takes 30 min to an hour though, with moving the autodisk set, flair tool, and resetting all the depths.

The issue I have with the Lee Loader is flaring the case mouth for cast bullets. While I can do it with hand tools, its not quick nor precise. On my progressive, I can tune the flair tool to just open .001 more than the lead size and minimize neck metal fatigue.

I wonder if a bit of steel pipe cut to lenth for a stop and a plumb bob or similar large cone of steel could be used to form perfect flairs every time. A plug screwed into the bottom could be an adjustable stop.

Has anyone found or made a settable neck flair tool?

smw

Lee sells a flaring tool for the Lee Loader, only $8.

http://leeprecision.com/custom-flari...ee-loader.html





Randy