Is the Lee hammer-loader any count ?

[Moon]

Seriously.... I don't know anything about reloading rifle cartridges... and I see this small loader. To make it more tempting... you whack it with a hammer to make it work. Is this device any good ? Will it produce better quality cartridges than factory ? Honest, even brutal comments are welcome.

[Pogo]

Only for an emergency, or if you were restricted to a very small amount of stuff you could carry with you. I think I've still got one for 30/30 caliber laying around somewhere. That was my first stab at reloading. You could reload ammo with it, but you would be much better off spending that money on a used Lyman, RCBC, or Hornady single stage press.

[Cephus]

They are mostly just for nech sizing a case ,I've seen guys use them at some shoots for the second day !! They don't do a bad job but aren't what I'd use for reloading anything in semi ,they do alright for pistol and some boltactions !!
Everything has it's purpose !!!

[5knives]

Originally Posted by Cephus

They are mostly just for nech sizing a case ,I've seen guys use them at some shoots for the second day !! They don't do a bad job but aren't what I'd use for reloading anything in semi ,they do alright for pistol and some boltactions !!
Everything has it's purpose !!!

Pretty much second what says.

I have a few of them, they work okay but naturally are slow, with practice and time you can certainly load as good a quality as with anything else.

And I do use mine if I only have a few cartridges (50 maybe) to load.

Only a few cartridges are full length re-sized with this tool, mostly pistol.

The rest are neck size only which is no problem if your only shooting one rifle in that caliber. In fact it can improve accuracy.

If you mix rifles you'll have one chamber tighter than the other, and the larger cartridge may not chamber readily in the smaller chamber.

Once upon a time, a sudden chance to go hunting occurred, and I had no 30-30, and neither did anyone else in a 200,000 population county.

No problem, trip to the range collect about 40 empty 30-30's from "sighting in day", reloaded them that night with my little Lee Loader, found about half would not chamber readily in my rifle.

No problem to put them in two small bags, inside a larger bag (kept the oversize "just in case".

On the drive up a sudden curve spilled the bag, mixing the cartridges.

Next morning, just loaded the '94 with what came to hand, an hour later shot a nice little Buck, he goes down and rolls right back up heading straight towards me.

I work the lever to get a second finishing shot and ........

oh Hell ....You KNOW what happened, no since telling the whole story!.

I still do carry one on longer hunting trips, usually in .44, 30-30 or 45-70. depending on what rifles I have along.

If you have the bench space I'd suggest a lower priced single-stage press, if not a hand loader and regular dies, like the Lee.

Lyman used to make one that was either a hand press or a bench press, and I like mine. I believe they discontinued them though. Can't recall the model and the press is packed away.

Buying a good hand or Single stage will run you 30 or 40 dollars MSRP. plus dies. But you can use the dies on either.

Do not get an old Lyman 310 tool. they use dies that are unique and they're pretty pricey. Though the tool works great.

FWIW I found a weighted plastic or hard rubber mallet to work best.

I do prefer the Lee hand priming tool to the method the Classic Loader uses. You can set off a primer with the Classic, although nothing bad happens unless you have your face over the tool, it just pops the seating piston out and up a foot or so. Teaches you quickly how much force is too much!

I guess the short answer is, they work quite well, depending on your needs.

Hope this answers the question!

Be Safe

[Gus]

I look at this way … you get what you pay for … that little setup isn’t much and if you bought it and actually liked hand loading the first thing you’d do is upgrade to better equipment. I’m not knocking Lee-loading equipment they make some good stuff including a hell of a good steel press for a fraction of what RCBS, Pacific or Lyman would cost you.

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/cata...g/classic.html

[Pogo]

Originally Posted by 5knives

Pretty much second what says.

I have a few of them, they work okay but naturally are slow, with practice and time you can certainly load as good a quality as with anything else.

And I do use mine if I only have a few cartridges (50 maybe) to load.

Only a few cartridges are full length re-sized with this tool, mostly pistol.

The rest are neck size only which is no problem if your only shooting one rifle in that caliber. In fact it can improve accuracy.

If you mix rifles you'll have one chamber tighter than the other, and the larger cartridge may not chamber readily in the smaller chamber.

Once upon a time, a sudden chance to go hunting occurred, and I had no 30-30, and neither did anyone else in a 200,000 population county.

No problem, trip to the range collect about 40 empty 30-30's from "sighting in day", reloaded them that night with my little Lee Loader, found about half would not chamber readily in my rifle.

No problem to put them in two small bags, inside a larger bag (kept the oversize "just in case".

On the drive up a sudden curve spilled the bag, mixing the cartridges.

Next morning, just loaded the '94 with what came to hand, an hour later shot a nice little Buck, he goes down and rolls right back up heading straight towards me.

I work the lever to get a second finishing shot and ........

oh Hell ....You KNOW what happened, no since telling the whole story!.

I still do carry one on longer hunting trips, usually in .44, 30-30 or 45-70. depending on what rifles I have along.

If you have the bench space I'd suggest a lower priced single-stage press, if not a hand loader and regular dies, like the Lee.

Lyman used to make one that was either a hand press or a bench press, and I like mine. I believe they discontinued them though. Can't recall the model and the press is packed away.

Buying a good hand or Single stage will run you 30 or 40 dollars MSRP. plus dies. But you can use the dies on either.

Do not get an old Lyman 310 tool. they use dies that are unique and they're pretty pricey. Though the tool works great.

FWIW I found a weighted plastic or hard rubber mallet to work best.

I do prefer the Lee hand priming tool to the method the Classic Loader uses. You can set off a primer with the Classic, although nothing bad happens unless you have your face over the tool, it just pops the seating piston out and up a foot or so. Teaches you quickly how much force is too much!

I guess the short answer is, they work quite well, depending on your needs.

Hope this answers the question!

Be Safe

As a matter of fact, Lyman still makes the old Model 310 Hand Loader, and Midway sells them. They are a much better choice than a Lee in my opinion, but more expensive. You can probably pick up a used single stage press for less than a new Model 310. But, these are great for taking with you. But, 5Knives is right, the dies are quite expensive for them.

[Preacher]

Moon, for $70 you can get everything you need to get started except your dies from Midway. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=1]Kit includes Press, Auto-Prime, 11 Auto-Prime Shellholders, chamfer tool, primer pocket cleaner, 2 oz case lube, Cutter and Lock Stud (Case Length Gage and Shellholder sold separately), powder scale, powder measure and powder funnel. [/SIZE][/FONT]

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=149097

[Moon]

Thanks everyone ! I'll just keep my eyes peeled for a bargain on an actual reloading press.