Does anyone use Lee Loader successfully for 12 ga?

[JayBeeKay]

I have a Lee Loader that I have had around since the 80s and I'm finally going to use it, just for something to do while life slows down for the next few weeks.
It is the kind that you hit with a hammer - Not a press.
I have some Fiocchi hulls primed and the proper wads but the thing I'm seeing is that on the crimps, it causes corners where the folds are and those high spots don't feed well.
I can get the crimp smoother and round enough, but to do that, I need to press it fairly deep and I'm fairly sure that I'm compressing the cushion of the wad, at that point.
So - Just looking for someone to compare notes with on this, cause I'm not sure how compressing the cushipn might effect pressure.

Thanks for any input !
Stay well !

 

[Pivot Dr]

I bought one of those in ‘69, I remember vividly because that was the year we got married. We had so little money we could hardly pay attention let alone buy shotgun shells! I gave just about $5 for it, bought the dipper set, a bag of shot for right at $4, and less than a buck for a hundred primers, powder was dirt cheap, i tried to only load AAs, RXP, and Blue Magic since they were one piece low base hulls. Really didn’t need resizing. Then I made a resizing die in machine shop in college and I was off to the races. Federal, Alcan, paper hulls, I loaded them all. Used that thing for many years, still have shells I loaded with it, still have the loader too. I used to smack the crimp stem with my rubber hammer pretty good to get good, smooth crimps. If you put a shim under the base of the shell small enough to still fit inside of the die body, like a nickel, quarter, not sure anymore, you can get the hull farther up into the die helping to get a more rounded, factory like crimp end. Obviously you do that on a solid base, like a piece of 2x6 or such. Don’t worry about compressing the wad a bit, they’re designed for that, no problem at all. I’ve run More than a few thousand of those through my shotguns over the years, especially my old Model 12, which wasn’t so old back then!

 

[JayBeeKay]

Thanks
I only used mine about 50 times, and I lost the instructions.
I'm a bit more conscientious with reloading than I used to be, so - Considering what the damage can be, might as well ask

 

[eastbank]

i used one to load for a old single barrel for small game, it worked for a box or two over the season. i now run two mec 9000,s, a 12ga and a 28 ga. it takes about 8 minutes to load a box.

 

[Duster340]

Used one as a kid back in the early 70s. Worked fine and fed my old single shot 12ga just fine. Still gave it, but haven't used it in decades.

 

[Bill M.]

I used one to load 12 gauge for a while in the early 70's. Loaded a good bunch of shells. All had poor crimps that bulged a little and had to be sealed with candle wax. My friends laughed at my loads. I hated the thing. Then, dumbo that I am, I bought a Lee Load All. Same crappy shells. Did to use that long.

 

[George P]

I never owned the "Whack-a-Mole" as it was called; but I did have the Lee Loadall press; this was way back about 40 years ago; it worked for a few boxes of hunting ammo. but once I started shooting clays, it went away and the MECs and RCBS Grand came in. You're just going to have to slowly try your crimp to get it right. The issue with compressing the wad is that it will spring back and the crimp will open and your shot falls out.

 

[tactikel]

I've loaded thousands of rounds through a wack a mole. It is difficult to get them to feed well through a pump or semi auto. I used them for SxS and O/U target shooting.