classic lee loader

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classic lee loader

Post by auriga3 » 08 Jan 2019, 2:53 pm

Does anyone use one of these loaders?do you have to trim the used brass before loading?I only want to reload a few rounds at a time in 22.250 Remington & was looking at one of these presses.Would be grateful for any advice
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by bladeracer » 08 Jan 2019, 2:55 pm

auriga3 wrote:Does anyone use one of these loaders?do you have to trim the used brass before loading?I only want to reload a few rounds at a time in 22.250 Remington & was looking at one of these presses.Would be grateful for any advice


I used to load .222Rem with a Lee Loader. I used a length die that you put the case into, then just file the case mouth flush with the other end. Wilson possibly? I still have the die somewhere.

You shouldn't have to trim every time though as the Lee Loader only neck sizes.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by Stoney » 08 Jan 2019, 5:27 pm

auriga3 wrote:Does anyone use one of these loaders?do you have to trim the used brass before loading?I only want to reload a few rounds at a time in 22.250 Remington & was looking at one of these presses.Would be grateful for any advice



G'day auriga3, are you talking about the Lee Loader that you use a mallet to load the cases? If so, yes you have to trim before you neck size the case.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by Ed9362 » 09 Jan 2019, 2:45 pm

i loaded alot of 243 cases with a lee handloader and never trimmed the case, i did find the old powder scoop to be pretty ordinary and switched to a balance beam scale pretty quickly.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by No1Mk3 » 09 Jan 2019, 2:56 pm

G'day auriga3,
My 2nd loading tool was one of these in 308, the first was a Lyman 310 tool in 30/30, with a set of 303 dies thrown in. I made perfectly acceptable hunting ammo for a number of years with the Lee, and still have it today, 45 years later. Buy it, you will not trim brass for several firings ( around 6 in my Rem 788 in 22-250) and there are cheap and quick ways of trimming you can find later. The only issue, and you will likely hit this long before case length becomes an issue, is that the set only neck sizes and you will need to bump the shoulder back now and then. When I was hunting this wasn't an issue, as the small amount of ammo I used easily justified giving the brass away to a reloader when the shoulder became an issue and buying a few more new cases. If you want to cover all bases at a very low cost for low volume reloading I would recommend the Lyman 310 tool with a set of their 22-250 dies, you can even carry this in the field to make up ammo on the go, Cheers.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by marksman » 09 Jan 2019, 4:24 pm

my first ever loader was a lee classic loader in 22-250
IMHO you can make very good ammo with them but I would advise to get a powder scale for consistency and safety
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by Oldbloke » 09 Jan 2019, 7:03 pm

marksman wrote:my first ever loader was a lee classic loader in 22-250
IMHO you can make very good ammo with them but I would advise to get a powder scale for consistency and safety
:drinks: :drinks:



Spot on. Scales are best. I used a couple for about 5 years.

But if you pour from one scoop to another then level off with a credit card you can be pretty consistant loads.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by ZXRR » 09 Jan 2019, 8:32 pm

marksman wrote:my first ever loader was a lee classic loader in 22-250
IMHO you can make very good ammo with them but I would advise to get a powder scale for consistency and safety
:drinks: :drinks:


This, i have a lee loader in 8x57 / .308 / .303 and have noticed a scoop or two (especially when doing it quick) likes to be over. A slight variance in a rifle cartridge won't matter as much, though pistol cartridges on the other hand are more sensitive to such things.

Better safe than sorry.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by Cooper » 10 Jan 2019, 10:56 am

auriga3 wrote:Does anyone use one of these loaders?do you have to trim the used brass before loading?I only want to reload a few rounds at a time in 22.250 Remington & was looking at one of these presses.Would be grateful for any advice


You only need to trim cases if they are over length. I have the Lee loaders in 223,303,308 and 243.
I still use scales when measuring powder and prefer to use a hand primer tool to seat the new primer. But it is possible to use the Lee loader.

I also have the Lee hand press. Which could be an opinion if you wanted to use press style dies.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by auriga3 » 10 Jan 2019, 2:01 pm

Thank you gents for the info i will buy one
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by bladeracer » 10 Jan 2019, 2:03 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Spot on. Scales are best. I used a couple for about 5 years.

But if you pour from one scoop to another then level off with a credit card you can be pretty consistant loads.


I sat there for a few hours, throwing scoops in the pan with some different powders (Trailboss, AR2206H, AR2208 and another I can't recall just now), and the full set of scoops.
Primarily I wanted to see how consistent they are, but I also wanted to build my own list of scoop values with different powders. It also gave me density constants for each powder.
I found that simply taking scoops of powder and leaving it to run off and find its own slump height gave me better consistency than scraping it off.
And overall the consistency was excellent. I also found the smaller scoops are more consistent so for larger charges I find it better to throw several smaller scoops.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by Oldbloke » 10 Jan 2019, 2:13 pm

bladeracer wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:Spot on. Scales are best. I used a couple for about 5 years.

But if you pour from one scoop to another then level off with a credit card you can be pretty consistant loads.


I sat there for a few hours, throwing scoops in the pan with some different powders (Trailboss, AR2206H, AR2208 and another I can't recall just now), and the full set of scoops.
Primarily I wanted to see how consistent they are, but I also wanted to build my own list of scoop values with different powders. It also gave me density constants for each powder.
I found that simply taking scoops of powder and leaving it to run off and find its own slump height gave me better consistency than scraping it off.
And overall the consistency was excellent. I also found the smaller scoops are more consistent so for larger charges I find it better to throw several smaller scoops.



Mmmm, interesting. I'll remember that.
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by marksman » 10 Jan 2019, 2:31 pm

if you are working up a load for your rifle you will need powder scales for the varying weights of powder to test
the working load for your firearm may not work from a scoop but it is up to you what is acceptable :unknown:
I believe you can make very precise ammo with this loader with a few extra tool's such as a powder scale :drinks:
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by auriga3 » 29 Apr 2019, 2:25 pm

I bought a Classic Lee Loader in 22.250,very pleased with it took the advice & used powder scales instead of scoops.I was a bit wary about priming the cases with the mallet & rod but it was okay.Thanks again for all the advice
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Re: classic lee loader

Post by Oldbloke » 29 Apr 2019, 6:30 pm

Great to hear. Thats how i started. In time you will probably add to the equipent and end up buying all of the gear or a kit.

Did u know you can use an empty case as a basic trickler? Just half fill one with powder and "dribble" it into the scale pan.

You can also cut several cases to various lengths then solder a wire handle to them to make a powder pippers.
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