Just got a Lee Loader in 30 30 Winchester

I used to load 38 special and 303 British on one. Probably loaded 1000 total rounds between the two.

IMO, it is a perfectly adequate device as long as your expectations are reasonable. So it is very good for plinking and hunting ammo as long as the bullet seater matched to contour of your choice of bullet.

I rarely primed on it though. I nearly always use a hand priming tool.

I like Lee Loaders! Besides all my presses (4), die sets (13) and assorted reloading tools (1.75 metric tons) I have 8 Lee Loaders. I like to keep one for most of the calibers I reload and occasionally, when I don't want to set up a press or just feel "retro", I'll get one out and pound out a few. My first was in 38 Special I bought new in '69 and used it for about two years until I could afford a bench press. Made a lot of good handloads with that tool...

FWIW; after a couple primer pops on the Lee Loader, I looked it over and figgered out that if I chamfered the primer pocket mouth, just like decrimping a military case, primer pops were reduced by 99%+...

Comments only on the video; slow down. Most people with the old 8mm cameras would pan too quickly and the viewer didn't get to see what the camera was showing. Here your camera is still and you are moving. Slow down and pause to show the camera what you are showing; boxes,primers, powder, etc. We are all familiar with the components you show, so that wasn't bad. Also make sure what you want you show is on the frame.

Like many others I started reloading with Lee Loaders (back in the 70s). Was using a .45 ACP unit which full length sized for .45 ACP and worked okay for .455 Colt/Webley with a little fudging. Had a .303 British as well.
While I haven't use them much since then, I have a stack of about 5 paper box sets including .30-30 and .45 Colt that I picked up at gun shows over the years.

They are still a good little pack tool for a low volume reloader.

I Have a few, but never use them anymore. I have slowly but surely acquired die sets to replace them all.

WestKentucky said:

I Have a few, but never use them anymore. I have slowly but surely acquired die sets to replace them all.

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Once you upgrade to a press you never go back.
Once you use a press for a while, you upgrade to a better one.
Your Lee Loaders live on your nostalgia shelf thereafter.

Any of you using a Lee Loader presently?

I have Lee Loaders in:
[paper box]
.38 Special
6.5 Carcano
.32 Colt New Police
[plastic box]
.30-30
.303 British
.45 ACP / .45 AutoRim
.30 Carbine

They were great back in the day when the cost of factory ammo was multiples of the cost of bullet/powder/primer or the ammo was unobtainable.
I remember when the only 6.5 Carcano ammo available was Norma of Sweden, one box of twenty at the price I paid for the rifle (both 39.95). Reloading the Lee Loader way made shooting it affordable.

Today I use my Lee Loaders mainly to load ammo for the black powder cartridge matches at the rod and gun club.

Never had space to set up a reloading bench supporting a press. I actually use my "mallets for all" Lee Loaders using a section of 2x4 supported by my thighs as my "bench".

I started in 1970 on my 14th birthday loading 20ga ammo with a Lee loader. (Got a Mossberg 500 20ga for my 13th!). Soon aquired a .30/30 loader for a Rem788 I bought. Shot my first 3-shot, 1-hole group at 100yds with a Speer 130gr HP and 141 dipper of IMR4320 ( a load I found in a magazine!).

Should have stopped there!

I have Lee loaders in:
.22 Hornet
.223 Rem (never used, NIB, just in case!)
.30-30,
28ga
20ga
.410ga

They aren’t for sale!!!

I think the Lee hand press is a better option than the lee loader. I can make rounds on the hand press with all my pistol dies regardless of whether I usually use the single stage or turret presses.

Ya Lee hand press it the better way to go on most cartridges, great for depriming to. The Lee wack-a-mole work fine tho, I only have one in 243win left I'd probably never use.

I have one in 223, A hand loader and a progressive press.

I have about a dozen of them. They have a use but I much prefer a regular press, especially when making any large quantity . Be aware that the bottlenecked type only resize the brass necks. You will eventually have to bump the shoulder back with a standard die.

I've been using components of a 45 Colt Lee Loader to load my 9.5x47r black powder cartridges while waiting for collet does from Lee. I loaded quite a few 45 Colt cartridges with it years back up at our summer place. It's surprisingly fun, but I won't give up presses just yet.

My first Lee Loader (the hammer operated one) was for .38 Special. I have to say I learned just about everything of the process, and why things are done in a particular order. All good information to know, regardless of the type of press or mechanism. That was fifty-nine years ago. (Wowsers!)

I now have several presses, two are progressive, on is the Dillon AT 400 (sort of their version of a turret press) and an old CH4 monster for case forming and other bits of brute strength. I don't have any more of the basic loaders (had a bunch of stuff stolen at one point). But I have always like the idea. They are slow and as Frog0207 says, they do only neck size. For most of us, that's just fine.

Old Stumpy said:

Once you upgrade to a press you never go back.
Once you use a press for a while, you upgrade to a better one.
Your Lee Loaders live on your nostalgia shelf thereafter.

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I've gone back many times, for a few thousand rounds. I started reloading in 1969 and have reloaded off and on since, In that time I've owned/used maybe 5 single stage presses, one turret press and one Co-Ax (and I used a friend's Dillon 750 occasionally). I have many die sets, at least 3 powder measures, 4 scales and many, many assorted reloading tools plus I own 7 manuals and maybe a dozen texts. A Lee Loader is what it is and has a place on my bench as a good reloading tool. My favorite is the first caliber I reloaded, 38 Special with which I have pounded out a few thousand rounds in the last 20 years, along with my regular bench presses. Perhaps it's like owning a classic car; everybody I know that has a classic takes it out several times per year for a drive (in my small town there are many classic car owners and they make "runs" maybe 5 or 6 times a year). While I don't use my Lee Loaders as much as I did, they still are used, and none live on my "nostalgia shelf"...

mdi said:

I've gone back many times, for a few thousand rounds. I started reloading in 1969 and have reloaded off and on since, In that time I've owned/used maybe 5 single stage presses, one turret press and one Co-Ax (and I used a friend's Dillon 750 occasionally). I have many die sets, at least 3 powder measures, 4 scales and many, many assorted reloading tools plus I own 7 manuals and maybe a dozen texts. A Lee Loader is what it is and has a place on my bench as a good reloading tool. My favorite is the first caliber I reloaded, 38 Special with which I have pounded out a few thousand rounds in the last 20 years, along with my regular bench presses. Perhaps it's like owning a classic car; everybody I know that has a classic takes it out several times per year for a drive (in my small town there are many classic car owners and they make "runs" maybe 5 or 6 times a year). While I don't use my Lee Loaders as much as I did, they still are used, and none live on my "nostalgia shelf"...

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To each his own. As a money-challenged teen in 1972, Lee Loaders were a way to to address the necessity of producing my own ammunition. I simply could not afford to buy 50 round boxes of .45 Colt, .45 ACP, .455 Colt, and so on. I could afford the Lee Loaders and I didn't need a powder measure or a scale or anything other than a cheap Lee chamfer tool and primer pocket cleaner to load ammo.
Also with a Lyman 452374 mold I could use .22 range lead from the local high school indoor basement range (several clubs using it) to cast very suitable bullets for all of the .45 and .455 handguns that I owned. A cheap Lee hand sizer for .452" and unsized for .454".
But it grew tedious and time- consuming for even an energetic young man to even knock out a few boxes of ammo for a range excursion.
Buying my RCBS JR3 changed everything. It was like going from washing my clothes with a tub and washboard and clothesline to using a washer and dryer.
I think that there is vast difference from driving a classic car for fun versus using a Lee Loader. That car really isn't significantly more labor-intensive to drive than a modern car, while the Lee Loaders most assuredly are much more laborious compared to a press.

I own a Lyman 55 powder measure made in the 60's which I bought second hand at a little LGS which is highly accurate, as well as a Redding competition powder measure. Both cast iron bodies.
As well as my JR3 which is in great shape, I use a Redding Big Boss 2, which is superior to a Rock Chucker in my opinion. I have a case tumbler, Lyman beam scale, case trimmer, and so on. It's all I need.


I picked up a few Lee Loaders over the years at gun shows, but I never use them. It's pointless, unless I need to pack them in a suitcase for a trip where I need to reload, but that need just does not arise.

Yup started with a 38spl. Then a 30 carbine. Then a 9mm luger.
Then a single stage RCBS.

I've used the 38 spl one in the last 2 years when I broke a decapping rod and manually deprimed about 300 cases while waiting for the replacement.

792mauser said:

I've used the 38 spl one in the last 2 years when I broke a decapping rod and manually deprimed about 300 cases while waiting for the replacement.

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Yes, I have done this too. The knock out rods are useful on occasion as well.

Just like I drove my "Classic" for fun, I reload for fun. I don't count pennies for my handloads and I can afford factory ammo if I choose. I don't reload out of necessity, I reload mostly for the satisfaction and the time spent with my "gun stuff". For me a Lee Loader is fun. Maybe like buying a good piece of furniture or crafting my own or even doing a brake job on my PU vs buying one, paying a mechanic. For me there is no satisfaction plopping down a credit card and saying "I'll take one" or "Do it for me".

As for driving a classic is easy compared to a Lee Loader, I once had an old pick up with straight cut gears and no synchros, and a '61 MG with standard trans that would only hit a higher gear one out of three times (when I owned it I had been driving sticks for 40 years). Just driving these two would work up a sweat on any driver. A Lee Loader is what it is. It is no comparison to my Co-Ax other than I can craft excellent handloads with both and I actually get a lot of fun using both equally. Just like driving a classic car is no comparison to driving a newer car with auto trans, power steering, power brakes, computers controlling a dozen functions, AM/FM, CD, MP3 player, satellite GPS and cabin climate control...

On your video: You mention the charge card but you don't actually consult it for the powder and bullet weight on camera. It looks like you just picked the powder that you want and tried it out. This might cause someone not familiar with reloading to do the same.
I have Lee Loaders for 38 spl, 357 mag, 9mm, 45 acp, 44 mag, .223, .243, 30-30, 30.06 and 20 gauge. The only one I have not used is the 44 mag as I don't have one.

CJ8281 said:

On your video: You mention the charge card but you don't actually consult it for the powder and bullet weight on camera. It looks like you just picked the powder that you want and tried it out. This might cause someone not familiar with reloading to do the same.

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Very true. That charge card is easily lost over time.
The powder scoop measure is only safe to use with specific combinations of bullet weights and a *few* specific powders. Also, without the charge card you don't know if the powder scoop measure is the correct one or another one incorrectly substituted just to make the set complete for sale. They are all numbered and there are at least two different series. Older ones are red plastic and newer ones are yellow, and the volumes are different even if the numbers are the same.

i got one in 73 in 8mm. made many good hunting rounds with it and still got it.

I bought my first Lee Loader back in 80 or 81 .. still have it I used it a few times a couple years ago , just for the heck of it ...works great !
Oh yeah its for the 30-30 ..!!!