LEE Handloader... my favorite new gun tool

[spartacus1239]

Wow... I am just amazed by this tool.  I can sit my fat butt oin the couch and now reload effortlessly!  Great product!

[tacklebury]

I do all my reloads with the Lee Handpress.    I wasn't sure if your referring to this or the Lee Classic loader - hammer style.    I started out using those, but wanted better consistency.

[TonyS]

I have to say that my Lee Handpress is the best money I can remember spending.

[Savage]

Never used the Lee Hand Press, but bet it works great! Richard Lee has a way of simplifying the reloading process. Everything you need, and nothing you don't. He's a hell of an engineer.
Savage 

[streak]

Yeah! Good tools, I have the little Lee Loaders for almost every caliber I shoot , about 8 of them. Also have the Lee Hand press which I load up through the .458 Win Mag.
I enjoy them and if you take care you can really turn out some great accurate ammo.

[DannoBoone]

I have two bench presses and the Lee Handloader press. The bench presses get an oil rag taken to them to keep
the rust away periodically. 

[jackruff]

I use mine for 32 S&W, 38 special, 357 magnum, 44 special, 44 magnum, 45 Colt, 30-30, and 6mm Remington.

[Winter Hawk]

Mine sits there neglected; I reload .30-30, .30-06 and .357 with my little Lyman 310 tool which I bought in 1968.  Since they don't still make dies for it in 7x57mm I had to order a set for the Lee hand press so it will start getting a workout again.

What do you guys use to measure powder?  I'm not a high volume reloader, usually crank one or two boxes of ammo out at a sitting and use my old beam balance scale for each and every shell.  I don't seem to get repeatability with scoops, but a regular powder measure needs to be mounted on something.  I've thought about getting one and mounting it on a board which I can clamp to the kitchen table.  On the other hand, measuring the charges out on the scale is kind of soothing also....

-WH-

[streak]

I have two sets of the Lee Powder Dippers, metric and conventional. Find one close enough to the powder and charge you need , scoop and put on powder scale ( Redding) to verify charge.
Have a little RCBS powder trickler next to scale to top off to exact grains needed. A little slow at first but speeds up as you get to where you can scoop pretty close to actual charge.
Have reloaded alot of good accurate rounds this way! Especialy for the >308 Win.
Or do like some and take a fired pistol or rifle case ( straight wall) and measure your exact charge into the case and cut of case to level of the charge!Then you have a customized scoop! If want to you can add a little wire handle to the case. If the case is cut correctly, you can scoop through the powder and take a index card or something similiar slide across the powder at the top of the case to level it
. With a little practice this becomes a very fast and accurate method of measuring your powder!

[Winter Hawk]

Thanks Streak, that's basically what I do.  I use the Lee scoop (old set I bought many years ago) which gets me the closest to the charge I need, then I use that scoop to trickle the rest onto the scale.  I have read many times about people using just a scoop and the proper flick of the wrist, or using a card to wipe it off and getting within a tenth of a grain every time.  I personally have never been able to duplicate this which is why I use a scale.

I have also read that using a card is a bad idea.  Apparently the card can compact the powder in the scoop and makes for a greater difference in individual charges than just scooping and shaking the excess off.  However, I understand you then have to shake the scoop exactly the same way every time in order to get consistent charges, which makes sense.  Again I haven't been able to get consistency like that and use the scale.

-WH-

P.s. - The wife had a friend over so I scooted upstairs and dug out the Lee hand press and primer, got the new 7x57mm dies out and primed a couple dozen cases.  Tomorrow I'll see about getting them loaded.   

[streak]

Winter Hawk,
For a good read on using the Lee Dippers and some of the points I mentioned, do a search for"The Frugal Outdoorsman"! This is a website owned by one of the members on this site. Alot of good reloading and shooting information can be found at that site.

[streak]

In fact either tomorrow or the next day I will be bringing out my Lee Loader for the .44 mag for some reloading! I like to use this little setup, kind of makes you feel that you are " actually" building something with all of that " Bam" "Bam""Bam""Bam" taking place.