[TrafficMan]

the ones that come in the little box.

i live in a small apartment, and don't really have the space for a real setup...

i would like to reload a few rounds for the 30-30 to plink with and save a little money on ammo. Good or Bad?


sorry if a dupe, probably been covered a million times....

[CodeSlinger]

There have been a whole lot of rounds loaded on Lee Loaders. There's not a thing wrong with them, and I got a certain sense of satisfaction loading all my ammo on a set that cost a fraction of a single die in other people's setup.

I loaded a fair number of 45LC myself with one, which is considerably more difficult than a 30-30 should be, because the Lee Loader only neck-sizes rifle rounds. With the 45LC, I discovered a few tips that make all the difference in the world:

- Have something sturdy to hammer on. Kitchen table doesn't cut it. I mixed 100lbs of concrete in a 5 gallon plastic bucket, filled level to the top. It's sturdy, won't move around, absorbs sound well, and takes all of $5 worth of materials.

- Lube. Again, I was full-length sizing 45LC cases, so it might not be as big an issue for you, but lube was a requirement for me. Every dozen or so cases, I'd swab the inside of the sizing die with a lube-dampened Q-tip.

- Priming. You're priming your cases with a hammer. Go ahead and accept the fact that you WILL ignite a couple of them. It really isn't a big deal, but it still makes you flinchy for an hour :rolleyes: I ended up doing all my priming with a Lee Auto Prime Hand Priming tool, because it's way easier than the hammer, and still costs just $9 (currently on sale at Midway), plus a $3 shellholder.

[Berek]

Actually, my classic set came with a ram prime. much safer than a hammer. I'v loaded about 10k primers and about 8k full rounds and my press has yet to show any real signs of wear. I love it.

[only1asterisk]

The Lee Loader will do what you want, but if you have neighbors you may consider the Lee Hand Press. Even if you do decide to do the Lee loader for a while, the Lee Auto Prime hand tool is worth it.

David

[Ranger J]

A lot of us started out on Lee loaders. After a while you will probably want something a little faster especially if you load pistol cartridges on it. Another option for a small apartment would be a hand loader where the operations are done by a hand held press. These work with regular reloading dies. The thing that sent me away from the Lee Classics was the occasional primer explosion and the fact that they neck resize only. I was reloading for a Deerfield and a Handi rifle in .44 mag and if I mixed the empties the ones that had been fired in the Handi would not chamber in the Deerfield. I went to a single stage press and set of RCBS dies and no more trouble. The Classic still is a good way to learn the reloading process.
RJ

[TrafficMan]

Another option for a small apartment would be a hand loader where the operations are done by a hand held press.


thanks for that! i think this will be a better option for me, i did some searches and found the Lee Hand Press...very cool!

Just waiting for Uncle Sam to give me my refund! :rolleyes:

[Uncle Don]

I think they are more of a novelty now - the other poster is correct in that they have loaded many rounds over the years. I also think they are destined for the same fate as the dodo because the price of a hand press and dies are so close and a shoebox (with handpress and dies) still takes up very little room.