Lee Classic vs. Press Am I missing something?

[IdahoSkies]

Well I have looked around, read the ABC's of reloading and I am wading through a bunch of different information about presses, press kits, and I got to wondering. If you have to buy a set of dies for each caliber you load, and those die sets run you $30-90 a pop, plus your press and, compared with $25 for each caliber for a lee classic loader I'm missing how (other than speed, which I would be using a single stage) a press is more usefull than a drawer full of lee classic loaders. Is it just the issue of not wanting to hammer, and instead pulling a lever that sets the opperations apart?

Or am I just totally out in left field?

 

[cfullgraf]

Yes you are missing something. There is no comparison between a Lee Classic Loader (aka the Wack-o-matic) and any press.

Loading with a press is easier, quieter, more reliable, and more flexible. For instance, you cannot load for an auto loading rifle with the Classic Loader. The Classic Loader neck sizes rifle cases which is not appropriate for auto loading rifle.

But, go ahead and try one. You will quickly figure out there has to be a better way.

 

[gkdir]

Last I knew a "Classic" did not size full length?

 

[Cypress]

I also fully support your decision to purchase these fine reloading tools. You must start somewhere. You'll likely learn fast.

 

[amandab]

I started with a classic loader. It makes usable ammo but it put me off reloading for a few years. Now I have a lee breechlock single stage and make more ammo in a week then the whole time I used a classic and I ENJOY reloading, actually enjoy it.

 

[larryflew]

crab apples vs grape fruits. Don't even think about it.

 

[dbarnhart]

I started reloading many years ago with a Lee Classic Loader for 45 ACP. I probably reloaded 50 rounds a week for a year with it. One I started shooting more, reloading started to get time consuming. I switched to an RCBS Ruck Chucker.

Now that I'm reloading for three calibers (45, 223, 308) and shooting about 1500 rounds/month, I'm planning to migrate to a progressive press for the same reason.

 

[Hondo 60]

The whack-a-mole loaders are great if you shoot once or twice a year.
Any more often than that & you end up spending ALL of your free time reloading.

While I enjoy reloading, I DO have other interests as well.

 

[seattledave]

I just got into reloading in the last couple of months and I had the same thoughts. In the end I bought a Lee hand press and die sets and am glad I did. I can't imagine having to hammer out each step.

I live in an apartment and I can size and prep the cases while watching TV. The TV is switched off when it's time to prime and fill the cases though! When you spread the cost of the die sets out over the thousands of rounds you will make in the future, the extra cost isn't that big a deal and You'd probably end up buying them anyway.

 

[mdi]

I've been reloading for nearly 30 years, off and on. I started out with Lee Loaders and still have several (just this week I reloaded some 30-30 rounds. It had been a couple years since I used one and was reminded just how easy they are to use!). As said, for rifle rounds the Lee Loader just neck sizes, but if you're shooting them in the same gun you'll prolly not have a problem. Using a Lee Loader is just as fun as a single stage press and more exciting (on rare occations a popped primer). When I began I would just reload one box an evening (50 rounds) and when I was really rolling, I could do 2 boxes (100). I personaly think you learn more using a Lee Loader than even a single stage.

 

[Asherdan]

I personaly think you learn more using a Lee Loader than even a single stage.

It worked that way for me. I went Lee Classic>Handpress>single stage and by the time I got to the handpress I knew what I wanted out of each step so stepping up to adjusting dies and getting into a safe and productive workflow was a low hurdle.

If I did it again, I'd start at the handpress, at the least. Covers the same goals with more flexibility at a low entry cost.

 

[psyshack]

The classic system is a bug out unit,,,, Period. You can bet on being able to load a shootable road with it. But you can't make spec ammo for you weapon with it IMHO.

Call me paranoid. Today if I have to bug out. I have ammo loaded up for .45acp and 9mm. My bug out bag has more 9mm in it. But my .45 has a following and a Lee classic loader and pre set up consumables. All made with my old classic loader. Meaning,, I fly and fight with my 9mm or my CZ-52. But if I'm up against it. I can count on my .45.

Here is a pic of my classic loader in 45acp. I've owned for of 30 years. I used it to to show the very basics of reloading to my wife. Once she understood the mechanics of reloading,,,,, She understood a press.



That right there is a great 45 acp survival true hand loader. And the pistol it's supporting is a 100 yard tack driver.

Truth be known,,, I think the old Lyman hand press is better. They still make it. Dies and the basic part cost far more than the Lee unit. But it's the real camp fire reloader. But with the lee you can beat rounds off a leg as a backer with a rock. Both get the job done. But they require a man to use them.

 

[noylj]

Many pistol die sets will cover several calibers. In fact, I have often mix-and-matched die sets. Found that the .38 Super sizer did not size my .38 Special down as far. Also, trying to eliminate having my L-HBWC bullets swaged down in diameter, I found that I could use the Lee 9mm Mak Powder-Through Expander Die so my cases were expanded to 0.359-0.360" ID (Remington HBWC are 0.360-0.361" at the skirt.
My recommendation is, for pistol calibers, to buy the Lee 3-die sets and the Lee taper crimp die.
One major point about reloading--if you don't think you'll enjoy it, you probably shouldn't try it.

 

[Overkilll0084]

My father had one Lee Whack a mole set. For a .264 Mag that he only shot once in a great while. He hated it for the most part. He threw it as part of the trade when he got rid of the rifle.
He used a Lyman 310 for a couple decades for the various handguns calibers he shot. He eventually worked his way up to a Lee Turret and later a progressive press. Needs change, but if you shoot a more than a couple hundred rounds per month, the whack a mole kit is going to get old really fast.
IMHO, a Lee Hand Press is the least I would go. It has the advantage of using standard dies.
Lyman 310 - proprietary dies. They weren't exactly cheap IIRC.
Lee whack a mole kit - Makes factory ammo seem like a reasonable alternative.

 

[rondog]

Man, you use a REAL press just ONCE, and you'll wonder why you ever even considered a Whack-A-Matic.

You can paint a car with a brush or roller also, but a real painting rig just does so much better and is so much easier.