Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Some Lee Loader fun

If I had a dollar for every .45 Colt round I loaded with a Lee Loader I could put a bubble over Houston and air-condition it.

I've got a decent collection. I need to start posting pics and videos. I hope all of you do the same. This is a helpful and interesting topic to people wanting to start reloading.

And by the way, I'm looking for one in .257 Roberts

Started w RCBS A2
Prefer Lyman turret.

Only Lee products I run are collet dies and ram prime.
Got a Lee Loader in 12 ga and Loadmaster in garage.
Inherited.

I have one in 32 WinSpl that I've had (and still use) for 55yrs and the rifle to go with it.

I thought this might be a good place to start. I took some once fired cases and neck resized them using three different dies - a Lee Loader, a Redding bushing neck sizer with a .246 bushing, and a standard Redding neck sizing die. I measured the inside diameters and this is what I got.

I should point out that my mic measures in millimeters, so I converted the results into inches. The results were rounded to the closest 1000th of an inch.





I also checked the cases for runout. There were no issues. It seems that the Lee Loader reduces the diameter more than the Redding standard neck sizing die - .220 vs .223. It will take more effort to seat FB bullets because the case necks will be approx. 0.004 inches smaller than the bullet.

Years ago, I read that Lee was good about doing custom work for very little if you sent one in to change something.
I once read a guy wanted a Lee loader neck sizing diameter opened up just a hair, and they did so.
Great company.

I wonder if they still do that?

I don't know. but if you call them I expect they'd be helpful

I has a primer go off years ago, that's when I switched to other equipment !!!

I had a tight primer fire in my first one, the first round I loaded. It was a .270 Win. I soon got a Lee hand primer. I would suggest everyone to prime on something else. If the primers seat easily, you'll be fine if you don't get heavy handed beating on it.

As in all reloading, safety glasses are a must.

Damm you Steve. You show a inside mic measuring necks. I don't have one that size. My old Brown & Sharp starts at 1/2". I think I might need one.

Got my first Lee Loader in 1965 (a 303) I really like them. I added a powder scale, so I could vary my loads. I still use a Lee loader from time to time, and it IS fun! GD

Loaded a lot of 38 / 357 / 45 acp back in the day. Unique was my go to powder.

I started using a Lee hand priming tool because it was faster than tapping each primer into the case. I was shooting 303s at the time and would get the necks resized, cases primed and put away in an ammo box.


Yes, using an on or off press priming tool is better, I think.


They are handy, that's for sure. A few times here on this board, I've seen people posts about the collet die and not following the package instructions. It's really easy to turn the die in a bit at a time and try a bullet to see when you are getting close to the neck gripping the bullet. I was surprised that people didn't realize there is a little play in that die. It is easy to set it to .001 or .002 undersize. It takes a few seconds. You can use a mic or just use a bullet.


I know what you mean. They are fun and it's relaxing to sit on the deck or in front of the TV and neck size cases.

For bullet seating, I am surprised that more people don't buy Wilson inline seaters. They are just a slightly more expensive version of a Lee Loader. Nothing works like an inline seater! Probably 2/3s of my bullet seating for various calibres is done with a Wilson - and not the micrometer one either!

... still using my original Lee Loader for 45-70 ... original price @ Lebarons $9.95 ... I follow the slightly different methodology "logcabinlooms" used on one of his posts where he demonstrates the loading procedure on a stump ... I use the Lee factory crimp dies for most of my reloading

I have a Herters loader which is a direct copy of the Lee. I'm pretty sure Lee came first, but Herters never had any qualms when it came to copying or self-promotion! GD

... have a Woodleigh manual & shoot Woodleigh 300 & 405 grain Weldcore bullets in my 1895GS

This information has been around for a number of years. I don’t know if it is 100% accurate, but it has never been disputed.

http://gunlore.awardspace.info/gunknow/LeeTools.htm

Kind of off topic, but it is amazing how many of the old inventors/innovators that we owe so much to over the years were screwed over by "businessmen" or bankers, and lawyers. JM Browning himself was a victim, Ortgies, Peabody, James Paris Lee, hell, look what Nikola Tesla went through. We like to think of the good ol' days when a man's word was his bond...but I wonder if that was true.

Great thread, in a nutshell our societies are going to hell because they sit on their asses waiting to be entertained. Doing stuff like using a Lee loader or more sophisticated equipment are skills being lost. Using tools to build and repair or improve are the good things that enhance your life. Great thread..mb