Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Your thoughts on Lee Loaders....

I see the Lee shotgun Loaders are running about $45.00 new. I realize these are mostly plastic, but how long can I expect one of these units to hold up? I'd probably be running about 125 rounds a week through it.

Reloading shotshells is an easy, low stress task. The press you ask about is NOT cast iron so it can be bent, twisted and mutilated fairly easy. But, with a modest mechanical understanding and rational care it will easily last you for years.

A total mechanical klutz can screw up an anvil with a spoon in a few minutes of effort.

I can't answer to its durability at that rate, but I have been very satisfied with mine. It has been especially good for me in that it is difficult to screw up the sequence, which is something that I am very good at with other machines.

The Lee Load All II is a really good buy for a low volume reloader. I have one now in 12 gauge that I am retiring after finding a good buy on a Pacific 105.

The best things about the Lee is that it includes everything in the box- no powder bushings and shot bushings, and it is cheap.

The bad is that it is slow- you have to slip on a sizing ring before sizing each hull ( not always necessary if the round was fired in the gun you are loading for), and there are no set stops for the ram travel. It takes a few rounds to get the correct feel for the crimp starter and the final crimp. I messed half the first box I loaded, but after that I had no problems.

Don't forget to check Ebay for auctions. I found a Pacific 105 reloader, which is comparable to a Mec 600, for $23 plus shipping (which was more than the loader). I had to buy a $3 powder bushing and a 2 pack of wad fingers and it is perfect.

thanks for the info guys.

If it isn't already too late to add an opinion, I'd not buy a Lee loader for shotshells. The MEC, at least in my experience, is a much better quality machine. For 125 shells a week, the 600 JR. will fill the bill quite nicely. I have had 2 Lee loaders, both the old style and the new style, the Load-All II, and got rid of both of them after being given a MEC 600 Jr. I also have other MEC's, Sizemasters and 650's and a 9000G in various gauges.

In my opinion, the MEC is simply built to last compared to the Lee.

+1. A used Mec would be only a few buck more, and far, more versatile and durable.

In my mind, for 250 boxes per year, the choices would start at MEC and go up from there. I'd suggest you take a hard look at the Sizemaster. JMO, Dutch.

Thanks for the info guys. It's hard for me to shut off my "cheap" side, but I think the Mec will serve me better, and for a longer time.

Used an older one for years and then quit shooting trap and such. It worked fine.

If you plan on ramping up more than 125 rounds a week, or you plan on keeping more than 4 years or so, then I would probably spring the extra dollars and get a MEC.

When my brothers and I first got into shooting 30+ years ago, I bought a set of Lee Loaders (.12 & .16) for the (then) stinging prices of $24.95 each. I figure I easily reloaded a few thousand rounds from each of the reloaders before I finally sold them to someone else years later. They're simple, they're cheap, and they're easy to use.

It's true that they're slow (with the sizing ring and all), but my workaround at the time was to deprime/size all of the shells I had (I would keep a box of 500-1000 handy) before I went into the reloading operation. When I was reloading, I would just "thumb-set" the primer into the base, and then press it in. Considering I first cut my reloading teeth on a Lee load-all and a Winchester reloading tool for my 30-30, the Lee Press was manna from heaven.

If you can get a used MEC that hasn't been abused (I've only seen a few of those, and that was largely from irresponsible users), I would probably spring the extra dollars.

I've had a 12-gauge Lee Load-All since 1977 and it's still going strong, but these days I mostly use it for specialty loads, not trapshooting loads.