Inexpensive reloader

[WestKentucky]

Load 44 mag in a lee loader and you will have blisters in places you don't understand. I think I made it up to 20/hour before I gave up on trying to produce enough rounds to enjoy shooting in my contender. I used a friends dies to finish running what brass I had. With my single stage including die changes I run 100 rds in a little over an hour. Let's make numbers easy. 3 minutes per round in lee loader with blisters, 45 seconds for single stage without blisters. 4 times faster and no blisters....no question on which is more sensible. That said, a lee loader is perfect for working up a load when time is no constraint.

 

[MustGoFaster]

I looked at the Lee Loaders, Lee hand held press, Lee bench mounted single stage presses, Hornady single stage and Lock and Load AP, and Dillon SDB, 550 and 650 presses.

My hopes and dreams told me I wanted the Dillon 650 or an Hornady LNL AP. Got a $100 gift card from work and tossed in a $50 from the budget, picked up a Lee Breech Lock Challenger kit and a set of 9mm lee carbide dies.

Loaded 500 rounds of 9MM in 4 months, shot all of those at this point, haven't touched the press in a month at least.

From the point of view of future potential, I'd say the Lee hand held press would be a good option, as the dies are usable in almost any machine you buy in the future, should you want to expand your reloading capabilities.

I don't see the Lee Loader "whack a mole kits" as a waist, they serve their purpose, but the next step up has a fair bit more potential down the road, should you become "addicted".

 

[merrill]

Lee loader.

I used one for my .270W and loved it. I use a rubber mallet for the initial step and a jeweler's hammer for seating the primer. Light little taps. Later I purchased a single stage press (Lee) and I can load with one about as fast as the other. For portability it cannot be beat and I cannot tell any difference in the ammo. BTW. the 1000yd. record was held for a few years by someone using a Lee Loader.

 

[jasonsch]

Lee Classic Loader

I used the Lee Classic "whack-it-with-a-plastic-hammer" Loader for years!! From the time I was probably 14 until, well until about 5 months ago. I got my very 1st press last November! Let's see I just turned 48.. About 33 years of whacking!!
All rifle calibers too (except one), and the most I usually loaded 100 rounds at a time. I was into target shooting and prairie dog hunting. I have Lee Classic Loader's in .222, 22-250, 243, 25-06, 30-30, 308, 300 win mag and 45 acp.
I'll never forget the first 100 rounds of 300 win mag's I reloaded. That was the 1st time I figured out 1 pound of powder wasn't enough to do 100 rounds!! Have to keep it under 70 grains to reload 100 rounds with 1 pound... I have a Lee hand primer that I bought in the early 80's that still works good, and I weighed every charge on a scale. I enjoyed reloading that way - It was cheap and accurate. Used to love trying different powders and bullets and figuring out what worked the best. The 300 mag was a little overkill on the prairie dogs though!! But quite satisfying to hit one of those cute little buggers at 350 yards or so with my own reloads.
So what changed?? Well, I bought my 1st pistol about a year ago - Hence, the only pistol caliber I have, the 45 acp Classic Loader. Well, I found out I shoot a LOT more rounds with a pistol. And those straight walled cartridges need a severe amount of whacking to resize. That, and weighing every charge - it just got to be a pretty tedious process!!
Can anyone say "carpal tunnel syndrome"?? It was getting so my hands and wrists were getting numb and tingling and well, you get the picture. Reloading that way isn't very fun. :banghead:
So I bought a progressive press set up. And for a guy that never even used a powder measure before - that progressive press is like a rocket-ship!!
I guess the moral of the story is this: The Lee Classic Loader is just fine for doing a smaller number of rifle cartridges. But, if your going to shoot any kind of volume, or reload those straight walled rounds, get a press!!

 

[MR]

Lee Loader

I started out with a 12ga loader and it worked good on paper shells, but was a workout with plastic.I use the Lee Loader for the cartridge's/guns that are better off neck sized, 303 British, 30-30 in a TC and 22 Hornet. Have 303 British, 30-30, 22 Hornet, 357, 12&20ga, 30-06 and am collecting other calibers as I can find them. I don't use a hammer as I learned at a young age that ammunition and hammers don't mix. I use a decapping die, arbor press for sizing & seating and prime with an auto prime. Not fast but makes good ammo.

 

[Dframe]

I started out with a Lee loader and a plastic mallet in 45-70. Didn't take many rounds to realize it was just TOO much work. Graduated to an old Lyman Spartan press and thought I was in heaven. Then traded that one in on a used Lyman Spar-T turret press. That was 1968 and even though I have two other presses now, I still use the old Lyman regularly.

 

[Pulp]

I usually just stick around in the blackpowder forum, but chanced upon this thread. I love my little Lee Loaders, but not for volume loading. I throw one in the range bag with powder, bullets and primers, shoot a 5 shot group and while the barrel is cooling, load up 5 more. Once I got into CAS I had to graduate to presses, but I still like to use the Lee Loaders from time to time. For what the OP suggested, it would be perfect for him.

 

[Centurian22]

Another vote for the lee hand press, if a single stage is out of the question.