Getting Lee Hand Loader Kit-- What else?

[Gun-Ther]

I don't know anything about reloading, so I'm starting with a hand press to get an idea of what it's like. I know I'll need powder, bullets and primers, and I have some once-fired brass, and I'll need dies for each caliber.

I've read the sticky about reloading supplies, but is there a "bare minimum" of accessories?

 

[jim147]

Are you going to load pistol or rifle or both?

 

[Gun-Ther]

I plan to do .223 and .45 ACP.

 

[jim147]

A book on reloading would be a good place to start. Try a used book store if you have one around. The abc's haven't changed.
When I started reloading I just washed the brass in hot soapy water then rinsed and dry completely. It saves the cost of the tumbler and media just doesn't look as pretty as polished brass. The 45 will be easier to start loading if you get a set of lee dies it has the shell holder and a powder dipper in it. I would still reccommend a powder scale so you can check your pistol loads and you reall need one to do rifle loads or if you can't get the same powder that the lee dipper is set for.

 

[rcmodel]

Loading manual.
Case lube.
Scales.
A powder measure will greatly increase your output.
Powder funnel.
Loading block or two.
Chamfer - deburring tool.
Dial caliper.

That will get you started.

rcmodel

 

[lazyeye]

Bare bones:
Hand press
Dies
Powder dippers
Lee Ram-Prime

Highly Suggested:
Calipers
Scale for checking powder loads
Case trimer for the .223

I'm probably forgetting some stuff.
Reloading for the .45 is simpler than reloading for the .223

 

[dagger dog]

Get a loading manual, Lees 2nd edition is a good one to start, if you stay with it you'll wind up with 10 or 15. Buy Lees saftey scale, then you can try out loads with diferent powders. After a while you'll have to trim the .223 brass it will stretch, again the Lee cutter and gauge is the way to go. All the stuff I mentioned would be less than 50 bucks then along with a caliper, from Harbour Freight $20. (go for the dial and save the $ on batterys), that should get you where you can load for both the .45 ACP and the .223.

 

[jim147]

Forgot
You can go to alliant powders web site and they have two sections on reloading you can read.

http://www.alliantpowder.com
You can search the other powder and component man. for info on some of there sites also.

 

[Evenflo76]

I bought one last month. 223 for my new AR. I bought bullets and brass online at Midway. For powder and primers I go to a nearby Gander Mountain to beat the shipping surcharge ( HAZMAT ).

The loading is pretty easy. I bought a decent hammer/mallet and some recommended extras. The Lee Loader Load Chart has very conservative loadings for us beginners. I shot my first 20 hand loads last weekend at 100 yards. The accuracy was on par with the Black Hills, and PMC ammo I also shot. Soon I will be buying one for my 9mm pistols

Check out this link. I use it as a study guide. Also, the extra accessories I bought are outlined here: case trimmer, lock stud, chamfer tool and primer pocket cleaner. They cost less than $12. The hammer is more than the kit.

Here is the link:http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/51

The pride in firing those homemade rounds makes range time twice as good...

 

[mike6161]

I got in to reloading for the bare minimum. I load 38 and 357 this is what i got.



i got the hand prass because I don't have a lot of room. i can get this all in a box.

i have loaded about 400 rounds on it.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Lee hand press kit
Lee dies (include shellholder and a dipper)
powder (you'll need different kinds for .45 and .223, and if you're going to use the Lee dipper, choose one that has a listed load for using the dipper)
primers (small rifle for .223, large pistol for .45 ACP)
bullets (generally speaking, lighter bullets for the caliber will be less likely to blow up your gun if you make a mistake; but better not to make mistakes!)

For a beginner, some kind of introductory manual is essential. I learned from the Lee "Modern Reloading" 2nd edition, and it is very good. There are other good manuals as well, of course.

This is the absolute minimum, but I think that would be enough to start making ammo.

I would highly recommend:
-universal reloading block like the MTM or Hornady models (about $5-8 each, one is enough to start with)
-calipers (I have some all-stainless vernier style calipers that I got from Lee Valley Tools [unrelated to Lee Precision] for about $20. They work great for me, but you must have good eyesight to use them. Most people would get a dial or digital type caliper; I didn't because quality models cost a lot, and cheap models break quickly
-0000 steel wool for cleaning cases
-case length gauge for each caliber, case trimmer, and chamfer tool - almost essential for .223 and other rifle cases, not very important for .45 ACP and other low-pressure pistol cases

Extremely helpful, but can buy after the above:
-powder scale
-powder measure
-bench mounted press

FYI, when people read "Lee Loader" they think of a different device - you're talking about the hand press, which is pretty much usable like any other press. I started with a Lee hand press and it was good to start with. Now that I have a bench-mounted press I use that for all standard tasks, but the handpress is still used for depriming sometimes (universal decapping die) and could be used for priming if I wanted to (with the ram-prime that comes in the hand press kit).

If money and space aren't super tight, I would recommend you instead get the Lee Challenger kit, or a similar kit from any major manufacturer. The hand press gets very tiring for doing more than 20 or so cartridges.