LEE Hand Press Kit or ?? for the new guy

[ILUVCOINS740]

ok i wanted to reload but as i just moved in to my new house it well be at-least 6 mouth or longer before i can have a corner in the basement to learn to reload so look at lee reloading kit and the "LEE Hand Press Kit" sounds like the ticket all ia m going to reload is 380acp for right now later 7.5 x55 and 32acp or if i buy the abc reloading book comes with reloading press so whats a buy guy to do? What all do i need to buy as i have not clue i want to start on a single stage to learn on and go to a progress latter down the road and use the single for 7.5 x55 swiss to make a deer rifle ammo

 

[rcmodel]

I would suggest you make or buy some sort of bench right now, and buy the best single-stage press you can afford to put on it. Even a cheap 2"x4" picnic table you can move outside later when you get a real reloading bench would be better then nothing.

Presses don't get too big or too powerful to reload bottle-neck rifle ammo, but they can get too small mighty fast!

The problem with little presses is not only a lack of leverage & power for resizing, but a lack of room to get your hand and the rifle case & bullet all in there at the same time.

Even reloading pistol ammo like the .380 has you juggling the loose hand press, the case full of powder, the bullet, and then the handles all at the same time with only two hands. It goes much smoother with the press bolted down on something solid

rc

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

I started out on the LHP, and did not like it. Mine was not well manufactured or put together. I switched to a Huntington Compac hand press, put a little wood base on it so it would stand up by itself on the kitchen table, and that worked much better.

However, I would recommend a good solid, bench-mountable press like the Lee Classic Cast, even if it is only mounted to a 2x6 that is temporarily clamped to a table or counter top for now. That will work much better than a hand press, particularly the LHP.

Since you can permanently mount your press to your bench once you get that far, don't be afraid to spend some coin on a great press, like the Forster Co-Ax, which is what I use.

Look for features like excellent spent primer handling (through the ram, into a tube to a bucket or catch bottle), and a QC die system, or compatibility with one such as the Hornady LNL press conversion kit.

Andy

 

[pmeisel]

You will want to upgrade from the hand press eventually, but you aren't wasting your money, that little hand press will come in handy for odd jobs, even after you have a bigger press. You can take it on camping trips, keep it in your range bag with a couple dies, etc.

Then get a good single stage or turret press when you have room. I favor the turret but its just personal preference.

 

[Randy1911]

I will recommend a RCBS Rock Chucker press. That is what I started on. It is so well made that your grandchildern will be using it long after you are gone. My bench is only 2 foot by 4 foot. It does everything I need. It cost me less than $50 to build. One half sheet of 3/4" plywood and some 2x4's. I put all of my lead bullets on the bottom shelf and that makes it very stable.

 

[CajunBass]

I'm quite happy with my Lee hand press. It's got plenty of power for pistol cartridges and I don't see where average rifle cartridges would be any problem.

I can keep everything in a box, set it up on the kitchen table in a few minutes, do what needs to be done, the put it all back in the box, and out of the way.

It's not fast, but then I used a "Lee Loader" for years.

 

[ranger335v]

Bench presses are MUCH easier to load on than a handpress, anyones handpress.

I have and enjoy my Lee handpress for what it's good for and that's NOT for normal reloading tasks. It's great to take to the range and do seating experiments with ammo loaded at home and the bullets seated long. And you can't normally prime on them.

Lot's of people dream about reloading in field or camp but it's not practical. Hauling a handpress into camp is easy. Hauling powder, measure, scale, case lube, loading blocks, dies, shell holders, primers and a dedicated hand primer tool, bullets, etc, for making good ammo really isn't so easy. It's MUCH better to simply load up all the ammo you may need and take it with you to camp, ammo will take up much less room and weigh less too.

 

[Quoheleth]

Get the anniversary kit then hit a few garage sales for an old wood coffee table or a TV tray; or, go high-end and get a Black & Decker Workmate. Mount your press on it and go for it. When you're done, fold it up and stick it in a corner. Yeah, the hand press is more portable and easier to store, but that convenience loses out pretty fast when you need a third hand to do something with both hands tied up handling the press.

I have used and still own the LHP. I have not used it in 2 years, other than one afternoon after Ike, sans electricity, sweating in the shade decapping pistol brass.

I have, however, used my old whack-a-mole kit a time or two, just for grins.

Q

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

Get a Lee Classic Cast press, mount it to the end of a 2x6, and clamp that to a table or countertop to use it until you can get a bench.

If you have the $$, get a Forster Co-Ax instead.

Andy

 

[qajaq59]

Look for features like excellent spent primer handling (through the ram, into a tube to a bucket or catch bottle)

This doesn't sound like a big deal. But it will drive you nuts after a while. I have a newer press that lives under my bench because it never dropped a primer in the same place twice. :banghead: It was displaced by my older press that looks ugly, but puts the spent primers in the bucket every time. I'll take ugly over maddening any day of the week.

 

[Matt 357]

I started with a Lee Hand Press

So far, I am happy with the Lee Hand Press. I reload 38 Special and 357 Magnum. I just do it in stages in batches of 100-150.

I tumble my brass without removing the primer. I then sit in the livingroom in front of the tv and resize/deprime. I use a 5 gallon bucket to periodically shake out the primers from the press (also handy for storing everything). Then, later in the week, I sit at the dining room table and clean the primer pocket and and prime with the auto prime. Next day back to the living room for expanding the case mouths. Next day, I add powder and bullet. I use the separate Factory crimp die so I crimp separately.

Definitely a slow process, but I only shoot about 300-500 rounds a month so it's no big deal. If you watch an hour or two of TV each night, it goes pretty fast.

 

[420Stainless]

If you don't plan to load in significant volume the hand press kit works fine. It is somewhat time and energy consuming when you are resizing. I use a separate hand priming tool because I find it difficult to fidget with the Ram Prime. My bench is in the garage and I often resort to the hand press in the summer time for small batches rather than face the heat outside. Just know that you'll want a bench mount if you're shooting often.

I use it for .45 Colt, .45 ACP, 45-70, and 6.8SPC without much problem, but I don't have a lot of free time and seldom use the hand press to load much more than 100 cartridges per week.

 

[loud-mouth shnook]

Man, I gotta tell ya, I LOVE my Lee hand press.
I've loaded literally tens of thousands of rounds using mine. Calibers from .38 spl. up to and including .30-30. That hand press kit with the funnel, a Lee Auto Prime, a set of powder scoops, a trickler, micrometer, and a balance scale and you'll be in there like a hair in a grilled cheese sandwich.

Every autumn, I handload all of the ammo used in my conservation club's annual kids' hunter instruction programs (.357 Maximum, .44 magnum, and .223. 300 rounds of each, all shot from Contender pistols and carbines). The consistency that you get from loading this way is extremely gratifying and its because you have complete control at every stage of the process. Each round can be made to be IDENTICAL. No having to weigh powder charges every so often only to see that the measurement may have drifted, etc. EVERY charge gets weighed.

Yeah, it ain't quick. But I know the kids are using ammo that's as good as I can possibly make it. Not to mention the satisfying results that I get for myself using ammo as quality as that.

Funny thing, though. I'm so used to doing it this extremely old school way and at Christmas, a very dear friend gave me a brand spankin' new Dillon 550B! Thing scares me to death. Goin' from a tractor to a Lamborghini. I only got up the nerve to finally put it together yesterday. That critter was designed by aliens with engineering degrees!

Anyway, I think personally that if you're just starting out, the more basic you can get, the safer you'll be with better results and a better understanding you'll have as you upgrade. (Not counting my experience so far with this Dillon.) Ain't the Dillon's fault though, that's for sure.

Oh yeah, you want to get a tumbler too. Or at least an Iosso case cleaning kit. Kinda messy. You'd be happier holding out for a tumbler, I bet.

 

[Victor1Echo]

I wanted to suggest to you the Lee loader, but I do not think they make it for the calibers you listed. Check out the video on youtube Lee loader--one round in about 50 seconds. Reloading is kind of fun. I enjoy it, and would encourage you to get what you can afford, and work your way into it. A priming tool will make it easier. And like loud mouth said get the tumbler, or you can use steel wool--I've done it. Reloading has only expander my love for The Hobby.

 

[oneounceload]

A used RCBS Jr, press will run about 30 bucks. MUCH better than some hand press. You are going to need, among other things- dies, a scale, powder measure - but most importantly a RELOADING MANUAL.................it needs to be read and reread until you understand what you are doing. All of this can be mounted on a B&D workmate or similar for ease of use