I have MEC reloaders for 12 and 20 gauge reloading. That I use for my high volume reloading needs. I sometimes like to shoot one of my 16 gauge guns and find it is becoming difficult to find 16 gauge shells and they are more expensive ($2 a box) than the same brand in 12 or 20. I would like to be able to load maybe 15 boxes of 16 gauge reloads a year to shoot at my club. Has anyone used the Lee Load All and what did you think? I can't really justify spending the money for a MEC in 16 guage for my limited 16 gauge reloading needs.

I have several MEC loaders and love them. But like you I like to shoot my 16 ga.'s on ocassion. Ammo for the 16 has always seemed hard to find and expensive. Two years ago I picked up a used Lee Load-All in 16 ga. on E-Bay for $15. Came with all the bushings and was in almost new condition.
It works GREAT ! Lots of different load options and never any problems.
If you can find one used ( They still make new ones I think for under $ 100 ) you will not be dissapointed .
I just looked and there are TWO 16 ga. Lee Load-Alls ( both NEW)
on E-Bay. Both are "buy now" options for under $60.00 !

Rabbitdog

Thanks Rabbit!

300 Savage

The Lee's are $44 at Midway. I have used a couple of Lee Load All IIs and have been satisfied with the results. That is after I got used to them. Unlike the Mecs and others, the Lee does not have a bump stop. Everything is by feel. I ruined about half of the first dozen loads, but after I got the hang of the press I did fine.

The Lee is slow with the removable sizing ring, but for low volume reloading it is fine. I especially like that the Lee comes with all the powder and shot bushings you will need.

BTW, I am in the same boat as you. I just bought a 16 gauge and find the ammo hard to get and expensive, but I cannot justify buying a Mec for two or three boxes of loads a year. A friend has a Lee Load All II that I am swapping an old scope for.

I've been using a 16-gauge Load All II for at least a decade with no problems.

I have a lee load all and it does just fine, seems that after a few hundred rounds been through it has some wear on the crimp but for $40 bucks who can bitch

I used a Lee Load-All since the last five years, and i got a MEC 600 Jr in the last two years only. I found that I got a lot of damaged hulls with the Load-All, moreso as it aged. There is some flex in the press, and that is what gave me problems, I believe. It is a little more difficult to use than the MEC, and it seems to require more effort. The leverage is better with the MEC. I still have a Load-All I use for 20 Ga., but all things being equal I had take the MEC. I don't want to go back to the Load-All for my main loader.

I'm not much of a shotgunner and what little I use one it's my nice old Ithaca double in 16 ga. All I've ever owned is a Lee Load all and I'm more than happy with the results. If I was as serious with a shotgun as I am with rifles and handguns I'd probably have something different but it works just fine for my needs.

I have one and have been very satisfied with it. A friend loaned us his MEC when my son had a 20-gauge and (unlike everybody else) I found it a pain to use. I have found that when reloading for a single gun, I do not need to use the sizing ring. Just as a note, I started loading with a Lee hand loader for the 20-gauge and my first press was the Lee Load-All Jr. for 12-gauge.

Nice item to have. I have one for 12 ga. and it's a gem. I can load a few boxes of shells at the kitchen table w/o the better half getting upset with me being in the man cave with the Sizemaster. ;-)

i used one over 20 years in 12 ga., only thing that wore out was the wad guides. i used an old candle to lubercate the crimper heads and the center shaft. it was still in good shape when i sold it .

download new york escort the no device check one, streaming works but like new york escorts the op said there's an annoying green bar at the bottom and the quality isn't good at all. I'm still going to keep using my unlim 4g w/tethering to my iphone and stream it through there

I use mine to load 4 or 5 boxes of 12 gauge per week....

I still have the one I bought in 1975. Still works good. Since then I've been given three more. One in 12 and two in 20.
Only problem I ever had was with the resizing ring. After four or five reloads, the rim might expand enough that they could hang up in the magazine. When they did that I'd toss 'em.

Mine worked well, and for a casual shooter they are the bomb. If you plan on being a competitive trap shooter then you may want to go for a bit heavier machine . The great thing is they are cheap so you can afford to have a couple and leave them set up for different loads w/o going thru the change over process.

Ditto on the positive...I have 12 and 20 ga Lee Loadalls AND Mec Jr's. The Lee's are great for doing a few at a time as they are MUCH easier to set up AND store in my limited area reloading shed...

I also load RMC heavy 3" brass cases for my slug shotguns along with some home made tools to do the crimps/sizing...the plastic Lee crimper won't handle the heavy brass mouths at all but the steel resizer ring works OK with Imperial sizing waz and the tools I made so I could use my Rockchucker press.

The Lees also have cheap replacement parts or the whole thing can be replaced every 5-10 years for very little amortization.

I had one in 16 ga, and it was OK, but my shells were always used in double guns. I would wonder about feeding issues if used in a semi or pump, the Lee does not do a very nice crimp compared to the MEC that I replaced it with.

Hi since I started this thread I thought I would provide a brief update. Never got around to ordering the Lee Press. Last Sunday a friend called and said that someone came to a trap meet at his club with a almost new Mec 600 Jr with auto primer feed for $60, I told him to buy it for me. Long story short, just loaded my first box of 16 gauge hulls, they look great, and the crimp is excellent. Federal hull, 7/8 to 1 oz wad made in Bologna Italy offered by Ballistic Products, 1 oz of 8 1/2 Magnum shot, 19 grains of PB powder with a Federal primer. I am all set to go Sunday at my club. Thanks to all for the good feedback. Glad I stayed with Mec, I already had a 20 and a 12 guage reloader, so charge bars, bushings and bottles are all interchangeable.

What they all said!

My inlaws gave me one in 1979.

It has given very good service and as mentioned has
bushings for loading just about everything.

i loaded thousans of 12 gauge dove loads on a lee when i was a kid and never wore it out. have mec now.. the mec is a better made machine and you will be happy with it

Dang good post 300sav thanks much.