Lee Breechlock hand press

[Dudemeister]

Silly question, but how many here are using the Lee Breechlock Hand Press?

Living in an apartment building, I don't have a dedicate place for reloading, and I used to setup a bench in my computer room when I wanted to load up. A while back, I wanted to reload a few rounds and didn't feel like getting everything setup, so I got out my hand press which I had previously bought and never used, and loaded a couple of hundred .45LC.

It's not as fast as my turret, but if you do it in stages, it's not that slow either. Since them, I haven't gotten the turret out at all, and I'm finding that I actually enjoy reloading more than before. It affords me a very leisurely pace, where I can do the sizing and priming one day, then I can put everything away, and do the rest the next day or whenever I feel like it, and I don't end up disturbing the the normal use of the room.

So who's using the had press here?

 

[WestKentucky]

That’s essentially my routine for the single stage. Do a whole bunch of a stage and then some other time do a whole bunch of the next stage. Mine stays set up in the garage, but before when I had a much smaller space I built a baby bench out of scrap lumber and would take it out of the laundry room and drag it over by the couch and get to work with all the other stuff I needed sitting on the side table or the coffee table.

I have played with a hand press and as big as my hands are and as clumsy as I am I thought it would be too much trouble for me to use, and that’s the only reason I didn’t get one before. I looked at them pretty seriously, and almost did but once I handled one I decided to pass.

 

[troy fairweather]

I used mine a lot, works great for depriming, especially when you don't want to be inn the reloading room. I did break mine sometime back, guess all the years of use and strokes weakened it. I have to send it in some day Lee said they would repair or replace it.

 

[LoonWulf]

Ive always used a mounted press, but i DO have a portable one.

Now in can sit at any table, or counter and reload....kinda nice. I considered adding a handpress for those times i dont have/want to find something to clamp my porta loader to.

Ive always processed brass in separate steps. size a bunch, watch tv tv trim and clean another day, store and load when i want.

 

[FROGO207]

I have the older type one also. Don't know what the breach lock bushing does other than make dies easier to change and sell more adapters. That said, I use mine at the range on the bench working up a load. It is really handy in that context for me as a portable loading platform.

 

[santacruzdave]

I deprime with mine all the time. Now I also deprime and size my 9mm brass. It's a bit harder than just depriming, but still workable.

I find the "breach lock" an unnecessary complication for my use pattern. Seems like the breach lock comes loose every once in a while and I'm reluctant to use a thread locker.

With that small inconvenience, it is still really handy to deprime (and size) on the back deck, or in the garage or on the front lawn, and keep the crud out of the loading room and the presses. So I give it one and a half thumbs up.

 

[Dudemeister]

I on the other hand, have had excellent luck with the breech locking collars, In fact I buy them at the same time I buy new dies, and everyone of my dies has one on it. It just makes life that much easier.

I've never had one break or come loose while working with them.

My routine is basically:
1. Deprime using an RCBS universal depriming die
2. Tumble clean for a couple of hours
3. Resize (it also clears the flash hole and pocket if any cleaning media got in there)
4. Prime the cases using RCBS Universal hand priming tool
5. Flare the mouth
6. Drop the charge and inspect all charged cases
7. Seat the bullet and crimp

Usually these steps are done in pairs 1&2, 3&4, 5 and 6&7. So I'll do 200-300 rounds like this over 2 or 3 days.