[fisherman66]

I've always used inexpensive calibers for shooting (22lr, 8mm mauser, 30/30) til now. With my 357 I like to start learning the art of reloading.

Lee has an ultra cheap reloader ($15). Lee claims it is all the machinary needed to start, but it seems to good to be true. It all fits in a small plastic box about the size of a pistol case. I rarely shoot, so I don't need mass production capability, but if I can pick up a decent solution for the price of a box of cartridges I can't loose.

Any comments on the very entry level reloader?

[Rabid Rabbit]

I think that is a nice device for those guns you don't shoot much of, but for a pistol where you will shoot 50+ rnds at a time you will get bored with the speed. For starting get either the single stage or turret press, if you really need to watch the pennies look for stuff on ebay or estate sales.

[armoredman]

Midway has good prices on kits for single stage presses. The Lee Loader is a PITA to use, from what I have been told. A press is a great thing!

[fisherman66]

When you say "you will get bored with the speed" does that mean it will take several minutes per shell? I don't mind spending some time, but I don't care to have it take more than 2-3 minutes each. I'll probably shot 50 rounds out of the 357/38 per trip to range and a few hundred 22lr's. A couple hours to save $20 may not be efficent, but it will provide some satisfaction of doing it myself and give the world to tailor my load to hunting. Any more than a couple hours and you are right, I'd rather go with a press. Could you elaborate please?

[Major Beer]

are you asking about the lee anniversary kit?

me and my neighbor invested in one to see if we if we would enjoy reloading. it came with everything but a die, bullets, primers and powder.

just last night i reloading 100 9mm rounds - this was my second session - it took about 2 hrs. not as fast as a turreted press (my next purchase) but we get satisfaction out of it from a hobby standpont.

having a basic press makes you go through the steps and understand them pretty well. for as much as you shoot - i think it would be a good fit. make sure you get a good reloading manual for your caliber as well.

my 2 cents

[fisherman66]

Thank you for the response.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/product.asp?dept_id=221205&sku=40663&imgid=&mscssid=KV404SVGDKK78H2L001JLBBE4XGHFVFE

for posterity. No, it's the classic reloader. So, about 50 per hour. That's fine with me.

[RoyG]

Good basic info here...

Handloading On A Shoestring (http://www.beartoothbullets.com/print.php?itemnumber=51&table=tech_notes&type=Tech%20Notes)

[fisherman66]

Thank you RoyG.

[armoredman]

Very nice article! I'll stick with my RCBS Jr single stage, though! :)

[halvey]

Lee has an ultra cheap reloader ($15). Piece of junk. The only thing its good for is primer punching with a decapping die. There is no way you will be able to seat bullets straight. I guess it will be ok if you just want some ammo to go 'bang', but thats it. Get a decent O press or the RCBS partner press if $$ is a concern.

[fisherman66]

That article really made my mind up. For a casual shooter such as myself it is perfect. I will buy premium loads (I'm thinking buffalo bore) for field work and keep range expense to a minumium with the reloader.

You just inducted a new member to the reloading club. Perhaps this will spur me to shoot more and eventually get a nice press.

[Major Beer]

i like the Lee kit we bought a lot - for 70 bucks - not bad. figure i can invest in a better press later. figure with this you get scales, trimmers, a pure measure, etc - you would spend the more cash buying them one at a time.

i wanted the Rock Chucker - but my cash went towards a vacation.

reloading for me is more of a tinkering thing at the moment. i had 1000 brass from my 9mm pistol and starting loading that round for the practice. i eventually want to go to .223 rounds. i have plenty of spent brass for that round as well, but i imagine rifle rounds are a little more complex to load.

enjoy - shoot safe

[444]

This has been discussed countless times on this board. If you do a search, you will be reading for awhile.
I have posted on most of these other threads so I am not going to repeat myself other than to say that this tool loads ammo that is as good as any produced on any machine in the world. The only catch is that it is slow. If you can live with slow, buy one. I would risk the $15 and find out for yourself.

[fisherman66]

Sorry for not researching for threads first. Thank you for the commentary.

[armoredman]

fisherman, I think a guy still has a few Lee presses for sale cheap over at czforum.com...

[fisherman66]

I have a Bass Pro shop gift card that I am trying to use most effiently. Good thing I didn't blow it on a new fishing rod. I already have 16+, but it was so tempting.

[RoyG]

I bought the Lee Anniversity kit a couple of weeks ago. Just went to the range and shoot my first reloads. Man that was fun. Started out with a light .38 spl load shooting them out of a GP100 6" barrel. Just like shooting a .22. Almost no recoil.

I don't like the beam scale that comes in the kit. Need to add a digital scale.

I was going to use the Lee hand loaders I had bought on eBay. But had some overtime and was able to pickup everything I needed to start loading for less then $150 at midway.

[bogie]

The Lee beam scale is _accurate_. Don't knock it. I've got one digital $100+ scale that's nothing but a paperweight.

[Dave R]

Lee's inexpensive "O" press (Classic?) is a fine press that runs $35 at the place near me.

I have heard criticism of the Anniversary Kit from those who have better gear, but have never heard complaints from someone who bought one.

Except from RoyG not liking the beam scale.

[Oldnamvet]

I have used a Lee "O" press for years. Never a bit of trouble and the ammo is as good as any made with presses costing 10x as much.

[Rabid Rabbit]

At a minimum I'd go with the anniversary kit, I haven't used the hand loader but I suspect any decent O or C press would produce more consistent ammo and really if you watch the sales the price difference isn't much. If you have a lot going on and time is at a premium and you want to produce good or superior quality ammo I don't think loading the hand loader is going to produce anything superior to to a single stage press and certainly not as fast. I thought I'd never use the word fast and single stage in the same sentence. I have a turret and progressive and considering getting a couple O single stage presses for my rifle ammo.

[Oldnamvet]

I have used the Lee kit for reloading. It works OK but you have to supply a mallet to knock out the fired primers, to pound the shells into the sizing die, seat the primers, expand the case mouth, seat/crimp the bullet. Don't really have to pound that hard. I was able to put out about 20 to 30 rounds per hour. It is a really cheap way to get a taste of reloading, and handy if you are really tight on space (and budget) since all you need is a tiny work space. You'll spend 2X to 3X more money on powder, primers, and bullets than you spend for the kit. If you decide you like reloading, you will be selling it or giving it away after a couple boxes to get a press of some type.

[fisherman66]

Thanks for all the input. All I found at the local BassProShop was the Anniversary Kit. I haven't decided which way to go yet. I think I'll find an "ABC's of reloading" and simply spend some quality time reading. I can't see how I'd go wrong with the $15 dollar press (right at the retail price of a box of maggies), so I'm still leaning that way. I need to learn a bunch more before I buy.

[1911 guy]

I think Lee is still offering a FREE (caps for emphasis, not implying a hook) C frame press for buying their new edition data manual. You'd still wind up buying dies and shell holders but may be even cheaper than the Anniversary kit.

[fisherman66]

Thanks. You're a stand up guy giving me more options when you have an anniversary kit on sale.

[lee n. field]

Lee has an ultra cheap reloader ($15). Lee claims it is all the machinary needed to start, but it seems to good to be true. It all fits in a small plastic box about the size of a pistol case. I rarely shoot, so I don't need mass production capability, but if I can pick up a decent solution for the price of a box of cartridges I can't loose.

The Lee Loader plus a rubber mallet is the irreducible minimum you need to reload any given cartridge.

It's slow. When I timed it, IRRC, I was able to do 1 round per minute.

It's inflexible. Without another means to measure powder, you're limited to the powder and bullet combinations on their instruction sheet.

Bottle neck cartridges are neck sized only, meaning that, for instance, rounds loaded from random range scavanged .223 may not physically fit in your gun. (I had this happen when I was tinkering with the Lee Loader.)

[RoyG]

Might want to look here (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=150532).

[NH_N-Frame]

I'm thinking the fisherman is correct when he suggests sitting down with a good manual and seeing where that takes him. All the other inputs about spending should be put on hold til he sees what is involved, and maybe thinking again his non-press approach. As someone herein has posted repeatedly, you get what you pay for.

[Davo]

So what if its not fast?, its cheap, and with a little practice makes accurate ammo. Slow is not a bad thing when your learning. I plan to get a 357 just so I can do the same thing.
When/if you upgrade, youve still got a great portable press, which you can take out when you go to the range or into the boonies. Its also fun.
Let us know how it works out when you get to reloading!

[444]

I said I wasn't going to get into this thread, but I guess I have at least one more comment that I have made in most of the other Lee Loader threads.
The Lee Loader is the perfect way to get into handloading if you don't have/want to invest a lot of money at once.
You can buy the Lee Loader for $15 (or whatever) and load great quality ammo. All you need besides the loader is primers/powder/bullets.
Next time you get a little cash or decide to upgrade, you can buy a powder scale. With a scale, you can trickle any charge you want. You can get loads from on-line data or the next time you can spare some cash, buy a loading manual.
Then you can get a powder measure.
Next a case trimmer if you are loading for a rifle.

At this point you probably have decided that you have tried handloading and you like it or at least think it makes sense. Now you can go out and buy a press and dies. BUT, you already have most of the other essentials, not to mention experience behind you. You can now make an educated and informed decision about what to buy because you understand the process. And, you know how much you are willing to spend: in other words, basic gear, progressive etc. again, because you understand what you are buying. This knowlege and experience comes from doing it in a slow methodical way where every step of the process is obvious. One thing at a time is hapening. Nothing is automated: you are making it happen by conscious decision.
This is how I learned because I didn't have anyone to mentor me. If I could have gone to the home of an experienced handloader who would explain everything to me and walk me through the process on his gear, that would be different, but I knew nothing and was winging it on my own. Today, I have many thousands of dollars worth of loading equipment. I still occasionally break out a Lee Loader and load with it. I have a half dozen of them for various cartridges. And, if I had it to do over again, I would buy another Lee Loader and go to town.