Original Lee Loader

DWalt

DWalt

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I haven't used one of the old style "percussion" Lee Loaders in many years, but I ran across a complete set in .45 Colt, in very good condition, at the last gun show for $10. As I have always used .45 ACP dies for reloading .45 Colt, I really didn't need it, but I thought it might be fun to take a trip into the past, back when things were slower and simpler. I started reloading with one of those Lee Loader sets, in .44 Magnum, in the early 1960s. I think I also paid about $10 for that new set back then.
 
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I started reloading with a Lee Loader in 45 Colt back in about 1978. It worked pretty well. Until the day I set off a primer. Decided it was time to buy a hand priming tool. :)
 
My first set was a .243 Win in the late 1960's. It taught me that primers going off accidentally are startling, but not all that bad Since then, I've purchased a few other sets, never used them, and sold them on eBay. There are some collectors out there - I had a 28 gauge set that sold for about $80 as I recall. The original Lee Loaders are an interesting "kit," that replicated what the early handloaders did at their bench and in the field.
 
If one has a need for portability (or no storage space) and doesn't require large quantities of ammo, it's probably good choice. You can put everything you need in a cigar box, except a hammer. You can't say that for a press. When I first started reloading I had no space available to set up any more permanent reloading tools. The only place I had to reload was on the kitchen floor. The Lee did the job. My second caliber was .30-'06. I had a Lee tool for it also. It made ammo which did much better than go Bang. I don't remember ever setting off any primers.

Later on, I also had a 12 Gauge Lee Loader. Even slower than for metallics, but it worked OK for me back then. I think I still have that 12 Gauge set packed away somewhere. That was when I started shooting clay birds. I loaded lots of shotshells sitting on the floor in front of the TV set.
 
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Just for grins, I took a 25.06, a Lee Loader, can of powder, box of bullets and flat of primers out to the range one day and kept loading the same case over and over. Got some really weird looks. I didn't know at the time that bench rest shooters would do pretty much the same thing. :)
 
DWalt said:
If one has a need for portability (or no storage space) and doesn't require large quantities of ammo, it's probably good choice. You can put everything you need in a cigar box, except a hammer. You can't say that for a press.
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I would recommend their little hand held press for that. It uses standard dies and does not require you to whack a live primer with a hammer.
 
It's been quite a while, like nearly 40 years, since I was in the bench rest game, but indeed, there were shooters who just kept reloading the same case at the shooting bench for maximum consistency. Seems as I remember some who marked their cases so the orientation in the chamber was always the same. Some had portable reloading outfits with presses, some used hand tools. Generally, cases were neck sized only, which is what the Lee Loader does. I remember some who weighed out individual powder charges at home, kept them in little plastic tubes for reloading at the range instead of using a powder measure. I didn't do that, I loaded all my ammunition at home, but I did have a set of closely weight-matched cases of the same make which I neck sized only. I have no idea what BR shooters of today do.

"...does not require you to whack a live primer with a hammer."

Some may have experienced popped primers with a Lee hand tool, but of the thousands of rounds I reloaded with Lee tools, I don't remember a single instance of that happening to me, with either metallic or shotshell primers. But I always tapped them in lightly.
 
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I started with a 16ga. Lee Loader that I bought new to reload shot shells for my Grandfather's Win. '97 pump 50 years ago. Still have both and they both work nicely.
 
Yep, I remember starting reloading in about 1971 with a Lee Loader in .38 Special. The cost was $10. It taught me the basics of reloading, but it was slow and awkward.

After a few months I bought a Lyman Spar-T outfit: turret press, one set of dies, shell holder and primer feeder all for a little over $40! I couldn't believe how much easier it was. Today, 45 years later, I still have (and use) the Lyman.
 
My first handgun loading was a Lee in 44 magnum. A buddy and I both had Ruger Super Blackhawks and we cast bullets with a lee mold and loaded all our cases in his apartment. That was a long time ago. I also loaded a boat load of 12 gauge shotgun ammo with one. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot too. Still have the 12 gauge loader.
 
They work.......

They work and I'm glad I cut my teeth on them. I could use them again in an emergency, but I'm thinking about going to a progressive from my single stage. As far going back, well, I donno bout dat.:)
 
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The Lee Loader will load some VERY accurate ammo. One thing to remember about the lee loader.. If you pick up brass from the range or otherwise not full length resized and load it with a Lee Loader there's a very good chance it won't chamber in your rifle.. The lee only sizes the necks on bottle necked cases and will not set the shoulder back at all. So if you fire a case from one rifle it fire forms to that chamber. Then if you try to chamber that case into a rifle with minimum head space you won't be able to close the bolt. Otherwise it is a great little tool that you could take with you should you need to bug out or just to have at the cabin I have loaded quite a few rounds with one and never had any issues with primers going off. If you clean the primer pockets they slip right in without needing to beat on them.
 
I purchased one of these in .38 Special. It was fun but time consuming. It will produce good quality ammo. I learned the basics of reloading with one of these before purchasing a Hornady press. I will not part with it as it has sentimental value. I used a powder scale with it as the included dippers can limit your powder choices.
 
My brother gave me a .30-06 Lee loader for Christmas 1974. Thousands of dollars later, I have a Rock Chucker, RCBS melting pot, two Dillon 550 presses, 35+ die sets, buckets of brass and lead, three gun barrels that the rifling was shot out, and I'm still looking for a good deal.
 
I started out with the Lee Loader and did many rounds with it. I did set off a few primers when starting out and my dog learned to hide when he saw me get that loader out.

It did teach me the right process of loading and to make sure I did everything right.

Now I have an old Lee press that's dedicated to bullet pulling. I load on a Dillon rl 650 which serves me well for the amount of loading I do.
 
I started with a Lee loader 45 years ago for a 45/70 Springfield trapdoor. I reloaded those original 20 cases so many times and they went bang everytime. Still have a few of the brass left.
 
I still remember the look on my Dad's face when I told him that for $9.99 I could get this Lee Loader and I could reload our own ammunition , that look seemed to confirm his belief I wasn't playing with a full deck. "Why reload when you can buy all the ammo you want ? " "To save money Dad !" was my reply.
He gave me a $20.00 and said to be careful. That was 1967 and the "Whack-A-Mole" Lee Loader got me into this hobby.
Thank's Dad . And I still have that neat little tool .
Gary
 
When I bought my first Lee Loader back in the mid-60s (.44 Mag) for $10, I believe my first can (back then, square) of Unique was about $3.00 and LP primers were around 50 cents per hundred. I bought bullets mail order from Herter's in Minnesota (and later, lots of other reloading items from Herter's).
 
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