A couple of questions

[3screw357]

I know that this has problem been asked and answered before, but here goes. I was looking at buying of the Lee anniversary loading kits from midway and was curious about what else I needed aside from what comes in the kit to start reloading? Also what is the Lee loader kits? I saw them at a gunstore and was curious as to how well they worked. Any help is appreciated.
Ray

 

[Cortland]

What are you planning on loading?

I think the Anniversary Kit has pretty much everything you've got to have. There are other things like calipers, bullet pullers, tumblers, etc. but if you're looking to get started as cheaply as possible, the Anniversary Kit will get you going.

I've never used a Lee loader; any loading tool which requires the use of hammer is not for me.

 

[HSMITH]

The Anniversary kit is nice and will get you started. I also think it is a good way to start and learn how to reload. It also gives you everything you need without a large investment and allows you to determine what you are going to want in the future. The powder measure in the kit is a cheesy little thing but you will be using the autoprime and the scale for a LONG time. The press is also a serviceable unit and will load many thousands of rounds.

I am very much partial to Redding for single stage and Dillon for progressives, but to approximate the Lee kit in Redding equipment could be $500 easily. That is awfully steep to get your feet wet and find out if reloading is for you, especially when the Lee stuff works.

The Lee loader is a die/reloading kit. I used one years ago. The way I remember it you supply a hammer, bullet, powder and primer. You hammer the primer out with the decapping punch, size the case in the die by hammering it down on the case and punch it out. Then you punch the case down over the primer (this is the only step that made me nervous) and then fill it with the right amount of your powder and then use the hammer to tap the bullet seater down to the OAL you selected. IIRC it does not crimp the bullets into the cases but in almost all normal shooting it is OK.

Several distance shooting and benchrest records were held for a long time with the little Lee loaders, so you know they work. It was just a PITA to me to use. I would rather have a hand press to work up loads at the range.

 

[3screw357]

thanks for the information. I'm trying to decide if it's going to be worth the investment. I plan on starting out loading .357 and 10mm. Then maybe adding in 30-06. The 10mm is my main concern because it's a PITA to find here in SC and if I do they are selfdefense loads and not something I could afford to use as just practice.

 

[redneck2]

I bought two different progressives (A Dillon and a Hornady) for about $100 each, used. I figure I save almost $20 a box on my 10mm's. I could load 5 boxes, throw away the loader and still break even. A friend gave me an older Lyman turret press he wasn't using.

Point is, it doesn't take long to make a loader pay off. I'd strongly encourage you to find a used set-up and do it right. Even if you go new and don't like it, you could probably get 80% of your money back selling on e-bay.

If you go thru ammo like most of us, loading one at a time is WAY slow and will get you discouraged quickly. I can crank out 400 per hour pretty easily on my Dillon. I don't know if you could do that many in a day by hand.

 

[Sisco]

I started out with the Lee Anniversary kit, bought a Lee Turrent press about a year later. I don't shoot competition so I don't need to load a huge volume of ammo at one setting and the turrent does me fine.
I still use the powder measure and single stage press when loading rifle ammo.
You'll want to get a dial caliper for checking OAL and a kinetic bullet puller comes in handy. A tumbler is a nice thing to have but not vital.
Books. You'll want data books. The Lee book that comes with the kit is a good one, so is the Lyman 47th. (Has a later version of the Lyman come out yet?)

 

[Dave R]

Here's a recent thread on what else you need with a Lee Anniversary kit. The short answer is, not much else. There's a lot of info in that search feature...

And even if you upgrade component over time, I don't think you'll ever throw any of the components away. You'll just use them for more specialized purposes as your reloading equipment expands.

Meanwhile, you'll be having lots of fun loading and shooting your own.


What else you need.