Lee Hand press. Worth it or no?

[jlwilliams]

  I have a couple of progressive set ups and a pile of loading stuff tucked away in storage.  What I don't have is a place to set it up and load.  I really just need to put some ammo together.  The prices of loaded ammo these days are just killing me.

  I'm looking at the Lee hand press on line.  It looks like something I could keep in a box , take it out and run a few, then put away.  Not an ideal set up for serious loading, just something to do a little with.  What I'm afraid of is that so many small, inexpensive items are a waste of money.  Is the Lee hand press a good item, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

  Thanks for any advice.

[Siskiyou]

I still have the Lee Loader from the early sixties what I loaded 357 magnum at home on the kitchen table and later when we visited the inlaws for a couple every year.  I now have two turret press on a bench, but I keep the Lee Loader for the day I might hit the road again.  I do recommend that I Lee auto primer be used with it.

I popped to many primers otherwise.

http://leeprecision.com/xcart/LEE-LOADER-357-MAG.html

http://leeprecision.com/xcart/Hand-Priming-Tool/

[McDerry]

The Lee Loader and the Lee Hand Press both work awesome if quantity isn't the goal.

[cwlongshot]

 It will work, but depending on caliber is a BEAR to resize with. Now the Lee loader is a neck only sizer and utilizes a hammer. But as the press issues reg dies be-careful with FL sizing dies... Not a real issue with say 38/357M but forget about the 30-06 for even a box of bullets...

Lyman also makes a "hand" press. Its better for leverage and built with better materials. It also has the ability to be bolted down. While the Lee is only a hand held unit...

CW

[PowPow]

Have some Lee Loaders. Love them.

Had the Lee hand press.  Hated it.  It hurt my hand to use it. Rejoiced when the handle broke.

[shot1]

Like has been said the hand press will work OK with pistol cases but with longer FL sizing of rifle cases unless you are a body builder it will wear you out in short time. I use mine when shooting my Sharps 45-70 with black powder with a decaping die to pop the primers out before I drop the cases into a jug of soapy water after firing them at the range. Have you thought of mounting a single stage press on a piece of ply wood, metal etc. and then C-clamp that to a table or something. When you get through with it you can remove it and store it out of the way.

[wncchester]

I have a Lee Hand Press and think it is quite useable for the limited purposes you state, it's obviously it's not the right choice for large quanities but you recognise that. 

I got mine for tweaking loads at the range, I load the OAL long at home and use the hand press to shorten them at the range. 

It does handgun and rifle neck sizing easily.   The effort to FL resize medium or largish bottle neck cases varies largely by the case lube I use and how well I get the case covered, especially the lower half.   I really haven't done a lot of FL sizing with it but I have done some modest numbers of .30-06; I didn't find it to be difficult and I'm no body builder.   
 

[jlchucker]

I've used one of those on and off for years.  Nowadays it mostly just sits on my bench, but once, when I was between houses and living in an apartment, It was my only reloading tool. It will handle full-length sizing on rifle cases (my own at the time were 30-06).  Back then, I shot mostly 30-30, 44 mag, and 45-70, and while it was a little slow to use, it had enough leverage to size these cartridges.  It's a handy press to have around.  The down side to sizing with one of these is that after about 20 cases or so, the hole in the center of the ram gets plugged up with primers and you need to empty it out. 

[243dave]

If you live in an apartment there is nothing better.  The biggest cartridge I loaded with mine was a 300 win mag, it was tough but lubing the inside of the necks with a Q-tip helped a good bit.  With my custom 308, Lee hand press and Lee neck sizing dies I assembled honest .25 moa loads(for 5 shots) with no neck turning or anything extra, just load and shoot.  A person would not think that a $25 hand press press with $30 dies could assemble such a accurate load but it did, just slowly with a little more work.    

[Larry Gibson]

The Lee handpress works great for FL sizing most pistol cartridges and neck sizing most CF rifle cartridges.  Case lube is a must for ease of operation and the inside of the necks should be brush out or lube.  I use one a lot when at the range to final seat loads (a lot easier to not seat the ones you don't shoot when working up loads than pulling them or banging them out later) and when on the range. I also take it with me in a MTM box with other accourterments to load with and have loaded many hundreds if not thosands of cartridges away from home.  I've also used Lee Loaders and the Lyman 310 tool; for this but the Lee hand press makes it a lot easier.  I also use the hand press with Waltz .22LR dies to swage and alter the nose for increased accuracy and terminal effectiveness of most .22LR ammuntion.  I wouldn't leave home without taking the Lee hand press and accouterments with me.

You just need to understand it's limitations and use it for what it is intended for.

Larry Gibson

[3006softpoint]

I have 2 Lee hand press's! One is used for decapping (Any cartridge) while watching TV! The 2nd one is used for seating bullets (Any Cartridge size 7MM rem mag on down or up)! But I also have a rock crusher for FL sizing cases! Would be lost without all 3 press's ! I would not use a hand press for FL sizing rifle cases! But either one of my Lee hand press's are not for sale! So bottom line you need 1 or 2 Lee hand press's! Thanks Dale

[Fishmantx]

I love my Lee hand press for reloading, including neck sizing up to 300 mag. Don't try it with nickel plated brass though. Well worth the small tariff for the tool. Mine is 15 + years old and i have loaded at least a couple thousand rounds on it.  I have other presses for volume reloading.

[goodconcretecolor]

The Lee Hand Press was my only press for 15 years and full length resized 308 and 30-06. Lube is important for full length resizing-but isn't it always. Lee collet dies make the the hand press a dream. One inch sch.40 PVC pipe slips over the hand press handles and makes it easier on the hands. Have a single stage bench and a turret press but the hand press is still one of my most valued reloading tools.

[fishtracker]

I thought that you were wanting to save $$$$.  If that is the case, don't go out and buy more stuff (that may be marginal for your needs).  Get your gear out of storage and go to town.  My $0.02.

[Lloyd Smale]

back before i loaded on progressive presses i used one about every day. I would sit and watch tv and size my brass with one and prime it with a lee auto primer. It was the only way i could find the time to keep myself in ammo. I dont use one much anymore but wouldnt feel equipted without one.

[jlwilliams]

  Thanks for all the replies.  I think I'll get one.  As much as I'd like to do what Fishtracker said and just set up my Dillon, the hand press is more likely to actually happen.

[streak]

jlwilliams,
Go ahead  and buy one!
I have one that I have used for loading from .357 mag up to .458 Win Mag!

[jlchucker]

You won't be sorry.  Even after you get a bench-mounted setup, there's going to be a time when you'll find some reason to grab for that Lee hand press laying on your loading bench.  When that time comes, it most likely will be a time and setup saver for you.

[JeffDavis]

When you get one, you might try what I did and get Lee's Speed Carbide die (if you are going to load pistol calibers). It is a single die body that has a separate decapper, expander inserts, and will seat and crimp. Just assemble the pieces as you need them.  Together with a Lee Auto Primer, this is the smallest and most efficient way to load.

I have dies in 38 Special and 45 ACP. I would size & decap a batch one night, then prime and expand the next. Third night I would charge and seat the bullets. Never saw a difference in the quality of the hand loads to those of my O press when I got it installed.

You will get a cramp in your hands from the handles after 50 cases or so, the handle area is the only thing I can fault the unit on.

I plan on using it as a Bug Out Bag special, got the idea from Skeeter Skelton who used a Lyman 310 tong tool for 357 and 38 Special. Article is in the 2nd volume of Revolver Digest by Jack Lewis. Interesting read and a lot of good info.