Lee Load All 2 reloading press. Need imput for possible purchase.

PoorRichRichard · April 9, 2012, 05:51 PM

I posted this over in the reloading forum as well. Hope I don't get in trouble for the double post, just trying to get as much info as possible.

I know Lee has a very good reputation for reloading materials/presses. Has anyone had any experience with the Lee Load All 2? It appears to be a great buy and has inexpensive options for loading both 12 and 20 gauge shells. Would seem to fit my purpose of wanting to load 50-100 shells per week. I am not looking for a progressive loader at this time, and I'm SUPER broke right now, so a full set up for under $100 is feasible.

Any warnings or words of wisdom before I go ahead and buy one?

You can view the product online here:

http://www.titanreloading.com/presses/lee-load-all-2

Thank you,
-rich

BigJimP · April 9, 2012, 07:45 PM

In a nutshell, in my opinion ...the lee shotshell loaders are junk ...

They're not built to last.../ they tend to jam when resizing ...handles break ...etc. / they just aren't built to handle the job ...especially not long term in my opinion.
---------------
For an inexpensive shotshell loader...look at a MEC 600 Jr...they're around
$ 150 new / here's one source...
http://www.recobstargetshop.com/browse.cfm/2,198.html

http://www.mecreloaders.com/ProductLine/600JrMark5.asp

and I see a lot of them around used for around $ 75...$ 100...
--------------
and the Mec 600 is a press you can use for 10 yrs ....and sell it for more than you paid for it probably. The Lee loadall ...will long be in the trash...
---------------
I see at least one Lee load all at the monthly gunshows for sale ...and I've never seen anyone sell one.../ most shooters just keep on walking and don't say much about them .... where MEC reloaders are often there for sale too ...and most all of them sell every month - depending on what model and gague they are ..and what seller wants for them ..and condition. But even the beat up MEC's sell for parts.../ a buddy of mine bought a big box of dirty and beat up MEC loaders ...and all kinds of parts...his brother had two old MEC's that had been thru a flood / and he was able to rebuild both loaders from the mix of junk in the boxes...I think he paid $ 25 for everything../and he had extra bushings, charge bars, etc...
------------

I still reload 12ga and 20ga ...but the savings are not there like they once were ...with so many relatively inexpensive promo shells on the market now for under $ 6 a box ....reloads / with shot costing around $ 40 for a 25 lb bag ...reloading a shell with 1 oz ( 12ga ) cost is about $ 4.50 a box ....7/8 oz of shot drops it to around $ 4 a box.../ so it'll save you $ 1.50 a box or so ...but not a lot more than that / but most of us reload shotshells - to customize our shells to what we like to shoot ..

OkieCruffler · April 10, 2012, 12:07 AM

I have a Lee that I bought when I was 16 I finally stopped useing it last year when I lucked onto a Mec sizemaster for $25. That old Lee looks like Hell, cracked in several places, you have to hold it just right to get the crimp anywhere near right. It's cranky, a royal pain to change shotsize or powder. But I put up with that for 20 years and untold thousands of reloads. Even bought a 20 ga conversion set to swap it back and forth. So I'll never tell anyone they won't work, but when I see so many good used MECs out there for about the same price I wish I had upgraded about 19 years ago.

With the cost involved I wouldn't bother to reload at all but I've had to drop down to a 3/4oz load in the 12ga and you won't find those on the shelf anywhere.

olddrum1 · April 10, 2012, 12:26 AM

The smart move would be to find a used Ponsness Warren in your area. These, unlike most other reloaders, are a once in your life time reloader. You pay a little more up front but in the long run you save. Like BJP said, don't waste your money on the Load All. Your time is worth something and a PW will drop 100 factory rounds out in less than 5 minutes.

jaguarxk120 · April 10, 2012, 07:43 AM

I know the lee stuff is made here, but everytime I look at a display what comes to mind is the "pocket Fisherman by Ron Popeil aka Ronco".

Technosavant · April 10, 2012, 10:56 AM

I'll agree that the extra money for a MEC 600 Jr. is well spent.

I've not used the Lee Load-All, but having had good experiences with Lee metallic cartridge reloading presses, I thought about getting one. Everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) I talked to told me to spend the $ and get the MEC.

I listened.

The MEC 600 Jr. is popular for darn good reason. If you get the Lee, I have a strong feeling it will not be long before you wish you'd spent more from the get go; then you'll be out the money for not just the Lee, but also the MEC you bought to replace it.

oneounceload · April 10, 2012, 01:19 PM

I owned a LLA and it was fine for four boxes a year
Otherwise, get a used MEC jr.

Dave McC · April 10, 2012, 03:39 PM

I know a couple folks who started with the Lee.TTBOMK, all have MECs now.

zippy13 · April 10, 2012, 04:15 PM

I stared with Lee loaders and switched to progressive Mecs many years ago. Most of the Skeet shooters I know have 4 Mecs, too. I wish I'd known about Ponsness Warren loaders from the get-go. Yes, the PWs cost more, but you get what you pay for. A few of the Skeet shooters and many of the trap shooters have PWs or other high end loaders.

Virginian-in-LA · April 10, 2012, 11:36 PM

I have one I have had for about 20 years and it works fine. It's not a Ponsness Warren, but it doesn't cost like one either. I have also had/have MEC, Lyman, Dillon, and Ponsness Warren. I think the Lee stuff is a good deal, and factory support if you need it is there.

darkgael · April 14, 2012, 06:45 AM

Quote:

You pay a little more up front but in the long run you save

Ponsness-Warren? A little more? Than a MEC 600?
Your definition of "little" and mine are quite different.
It is a top shelf item for sure.
Pete

Cary · April 14, 2012, 11:15 AM

I went through the same process four months ago. 95% of my center fire reloading equipment is Lee brand and have been happy with it. It works for me. When it came time for me to buy a shotshell press I did my research and ended up buying a used MEC 650 and am glad I did. I didn't like all the plastic they use on the Lee shotshell loader or the lack of being able to adjust the machine if needed. There are a lot of used MEC machines out there for sale and if you are patient you can come on to some excellent deals on near new machines. Just my two cents.

Cary

Mobuck · April 14, 2012, 12:47 PM

I used a LEE shotgun loader for several years. It was slow and tedious but the shells shot fine. When I had more money to work with, I upgraded to a MEC. Much easier,faster, and does somewhat better job(OK does a lot better job). I still have the LEE and would use it again if I needed a handfull of odd loads that I didn't have the MEC bushing for.

April 9, 2012, 05:51 PM	#1
PoorRichRichard Senior Member Join Date: April 13, 2011 Location: San Berdoo Posts: 262	Lee Load All 2 reloading press. Need imput for possible purchase. I posted this over in the reloading forum as well. Hope I don't get in trouble for the double post, just trying to get as much info as possible. I know Lee has a very good reputation for reloading materials/presses. Has anyone had any experience with the Lee Load All 2? It appears to be a great buy and has inexpensive options for loading both 12 and 20 gauge shells. Would seem to fit my purpose of wanting to load 50-100 shells per week. I am not looking for a progressive loader at this time, and I'm SUPER broke right now, so a full set up for under $100 is feasible. Any warnings or words of wisdom before I go ahead and buy one? You can view the product online here: http://www.titanreloading.com/presses/lee-load-all-2 Thank you, -rich

April 9, 2012, 07:45 PM	#2
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 9,962	In a nutshell, in my opinion ...the lee shotshell loaders are junk ... They're not built to last.../ they tend to jam when resizing ...handles break ...etc. / they just aren't built to handle the job ...especially not long term in my opinion. --------------- For an inexpensive shotshell loader...look at a MEC 600 Jr...they're around $ 150 new / here's one source... http://www.recobstargetshop.com/browse.cfm/2,198.html http://www.mecreloaders.com/ProductLine/600JrMark5.asp and I see a lot of them around used for around $ 75...$ 100... -------------- and the Mec 600 is a press you can use for 10 yrs ....and sell it for more than you paid for it probably. The Lee loadall ...will long be in the trash... --------------- I see at least one Lee load all at the monthly gunshows for sale ...and I've never seen anyone sell one.../ most shooters just keep on walking and don't say much about them .... where MEC reloaders are often there for sale too ...and most all of them sell every month - depending on what model and gague they are ..and what seller wants for them ..and condition. But even the beat up MEC's sell for parts.../ a buddy of mine bought a big box of dirty and beat up MEC loaders ...and all kinds of parts...his brother had two old MEC's that had been thru a flood / and he was able to rebuild both loaders from the mix of junk in the boxes...I think he paid $ 25 for everything../and he had extra bushings, charge bars, etc... ------------ I still reload 12ga and 20ga ...but the savings are not there like they once were ...with so many relatively inexpensive promo shells on the market now for under $ 6 a box ....reloads / with shot costing around $ 40 for a 25 lb bag ...reloading a shell with 1 oz ( 12ga ) cost is about $ 4.50 a box ....7/8 oz of shot drops it to around $ 4 a box.../ so it'll save you $ 1.50 a box or so ...but not a lot more than that / but most of us reload shotshells - to customize our shells to what we like to shoot .. Last edited by BigJimP; April 9, 2012 at 07:50 PM.

April 10, 2012, 12:07 AM	#3
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,368	I have a Lee that I bought when I was 16 I finally stopped useing it last year when I lucked onto a Mec sizemaster for $25. That old Lee looks like Hell, cracked in several places, you have to hold it just right to get the crimp anywhere near right. It's cranky, a royal pain to change shotsize or powder. But I put up with that for 20 years and untold thousands of reloads. Even bought a 20 ga conversion set to swap it back and forth. So I'll never tell anyone they won't work, but when I see so many good used MECs out there for about the same price I wish I had upgraded about 19 years ago. With the cost involved I wouldn't bother to reload at all but I've had to drop down to a 3/4oz load in the 12ga and you won't find those on the shelf anywhere. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

April 14, 2012, 11:15 AM	#12
Cary Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 87	I went through the same process four months ago. 95% of my center fire reloading equipment is Lee brand and have been happy with it. It works for me. When it came time for me to buy a shotshell press I did my research and ended up buying a used MEC 650 and am glad I did. I didn't like all the plastic they use on the Lee shotshell loader or the lack of being able to adjust the machine if needed. There are a lot of used MEC machines out there for sale and if you are patient you can come on to some excellent deals on near new machines. Just my two cents. Cary __________________ Shooters. We are a community. United we stand divided we fall.

April 10, 2012, 12:26 AM	#4
olddrum1 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Mid Missouri Posts: 774	The smart move would be to find a used Ponsness Warren in your area. These, unlike most other reloaders, are a once in your life time reloader. You pay a little more up front but in the long run you save. Like BJP said, don't waste your money on the Load All. Your time is worth something and a PW will drop 100 factory rounds out in less than 5 minutes.

April 10, 2012, 07:43 AM	#5
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,681	I know the lee stuff is made here, but everytime I look at a display what comes to mind is the "pocket Fisherman by Ron Popeil aka Ronco".

April 10, 2012, 10:56 AM	#6
Technosavant Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO area Posts: 3,650	I'll agree that the extra money for a MEC 600 Jr. is well spent. I've not used the Lee Load-All, but having had good experiences with Lee metallic cartridge reloading presses, I thought about getting one. Everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) I talked to told me to spend the $ and get the MEC. I listened. The MEC 600 Jr. is popular for darn good reason. If you get the Lee, I have a strong feeling it will not be long before you wish you'd spent more from the get go; then you'll be out the money for not just the Lee, but also the MEC you bought to replace it.

April 10, 2012, 01:19 PM	#7
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	I owned a LLA and it was fine for four boxes a year Otherwise, get a used MEC jr.

April 10, 2012, 03:39 PM	#8
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 14, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,831	I know a couple folks who started with the Lee.TTBOMK, all have MECs now.

April 10, 2012, 04:15 PM	#9
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,281	I stared with Lee loaders and switched to progressive Mecs many years ago. Most of the Skeet shooters I know have 4 Mecs, too. I wish I'd known about Ponsness Warren loaders from the get-go. Yes, the PWs cost more, but you get what you pay for. A few of the Skeet shooters and many of the trap shooters have PWs or other high end loaders.

April 10, 2012, 11:36 PM	#10
Virginian-in-LA Senior Member Join Date: February 11, 2012 Location: Evangeline, LA Posts: 389	I have one I have had for about 20 years and it works fine. It's not a Ponsness Warren, but it doesn't cost like one either. I have also had/have MEC, Lyman, Dillon, and Ponsness Warren. I think the Lee stuff is a good deal, and factory support if you need it is there.

April 14, 2012, 12:47 PM	#13
Mobuck Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 1,469	I used a LEE shotgun loader for several years. It was slow and tedious but the shells shot fine. When I had more money to work with, I upgraded to a MEC. Much easier,faster, and does somewhat better job(OK does a lot better job). I still have the LEE and would use it again if I needed a handfull of odd loads that I didn't have the MEC bushing for.