LEE Loader, Shotgun, 16 Gauge

[nitroexpress]

I bought a LEE loader for 16 gauge the other day, and it has a full instructive sheet, but no mention of a year anywhere. I found an older post on this site that said the first ones came in a red box.

Here's my Red Box treasure.



All the tools are solid metal, the instruction is a 4 page pamphlet, the load data is shown.



The crimper has a detent ball for the plunger, which I've not seen on the later versions I've owned



The powder measure is marked Hercules, Red Dot, 16 Ga.



The shot dipper has a large and a small option, just turn the removable bottom disc to change.



I've scanned the complete instruction pamphlet, it is too large to attach.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ke41yya6j2kio4/Lee Loader Shotgun Red Box.pdf?dl=0

Nitro

 

[clone]

I have a newer one for 12ga that was in a plastic box, And an older 20ga that is in a cardboard box. I bring them out on occasion to remind me how well the Mec works. They are also handy to take outside and teach the kids a bit of handloading. The discontinued ones are getting very pricey, last I looked. Would like to find one in 410 to complete my set.

 

[WestKentucky]

I have been looking for one. I ended up with a roll crimper and some homemade stuff. Good job on finding a nice vintage tool.

 

[nitroexpress]

clone; I hear you, I'll not be selling my MEC any time soon, but these are a neat tool.

WK; Coincidentally, this kit tells you how to complete a roll crimp. Probably meant more for paper shells.

One of the reasons these tools were discontinued was that they worked best with paper hulls. Paper hulls were pretty common when I was a kid (50's > 60's) and to this day I still love the smell of freshly fired paper hull. I recently bought a bag of 16 gauge paper shells. I fired off a handful, in all likelihood they had a collector value of $50. The smell made it worth it.

I've lost track of how many of these I've owned. If I find one at a gunshow, I buy it. I use it to make a few shells, then i seem to sell them. I have a more recent deluxe set in 12 ga, and this 16. I also have a LEE wad seating die for 410, an orphan from some grab bag purchase.

Here's a kit I assembled several years ago.



Nitro

A lot of my images were on PhotoBucket, I was able to retrieve this one before my ad blocker and PB got into a fight