remember these

aat10768 · October 25, 2011, 02:00 PM

Anyone remember the lee loaders that you had to use a hammer with? I started my reloading with a 9mm one and my neighbor used to think i was CRAZY loading a bullet by hitting it on the end with a hammer!!!!

lol

**Mike Irwin** · October 25, 2011, 02:02 PM

Of course. Lee still sells them.

Sefner · October 25, 2011, 02:27 PM

Called the Lee Classic.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Find?userSe...ry=lee+classic

F. Guffey · October 25, 2011, 02:58 PM

And there were target models, the target model came with a hand primer and a neck reamer.

F. Guffey

**Mal H** · October 25, 2011, 03:30 PM

Yep, I remember them well and still have a few. Those loaders are what got me over the fear of a primer going off when reloading! If you didn't set off a primer every now and then, then you weren't reloading enough.

Scorch · October 25, 2011, 04:16 PM

Somewhere I still have my 38 Sp/357 Mag and my 30-30 loaders and my Lee dipper set. I think I had less than $25 tied up in all that, but they work well. It's a hoot when you look at them, then compare them to the several hundred dollars worth of presses, dies, etc, that I use to load nowadays. And I am pretty sure I liked loading a lot back then, mostly because of all the work I did with the Lee Loaders.

aat10768 · October 25, 2011, 04:26 PM

Yes i agree that is why i like my single stage press can take my time

.. I know alot of people that got started with those lee loaders...

sob (sweet ole bill) · October 25, 2011, 04:59 PM

Still use them. Got seven for rifle and pistol. Two for shotgun. Don't take up much benchspace. Got rid of the hammer and use a bottle capper for a press. 40,000 and still turns out good rounds.

SOB

Hog Buster · October 25, 2011, 05:03 PM

Yeah I remember them. Here’s one from a while back, 2 1/2 inch .410..... Check the price.

jason75979 · October 25, 2011, 09:00 PM

I still have a 270 model.

**Mike Irwin** · October 25, 2011, 09:08 PM

I had a 6.5 Japanese Arisaka, but I sent it off to someone who'd use it.

I've also got the .30-06 version around here somewhere, which is what my Dad and I started out on reloading.

azphx55 · October 26, 2011, 02:13 PM

A long, long time ago, a friend of a friend of a guy I used to know's cousin had a college roommate who used one of these kits in their dorm room.

He stored it, and all the supplies, in a cardboard box labeled "Innocuous Box" that sat on the floor in plain sight.

When the occasional primer would blow, they would scramble to put everything away and open the window (no matter how cold it was) to air out the room before anybody came knocking.

mikld · October 26, 2011, 02:39 PM

Mine get used occationally. If I am too lazy to set up one of my presses, I'll get out the Lee Loader. I have one in 30-30 that I had stored for a while (years?) and when I started reloading for my Handi in 30-30, I got it out. I had forgotten just how easy it is to use, and not slow at all (I was working up loads so I weighed each powder charge so that slowed me down a bit). Hammered out (really!) 20 in no time and not a bunch of equipment to clean and put away...

SIGSHR · October 26, 2011, 02:47 PM

My first reload was a 38 WC using a Lee Loader. On the kitchen table.

Whisper 300 · October 26, 2011, 02:54 PM

Bought my first one in 1960 with errands and odd jobs money (at the ripe age of 11) in 12 ga.
I have no recollection of their cost then, but I do remember cardboard "cans" with a steel top of RedDot for something like $2.95/# or thereabout.
Over my early years I added 16 ga. and 30-06.
Still have them in my shop although I have not used them in 40+ years.
In fact, a few years ago I cleaned them up, CLR'd them and put them in a vacuum sealed foodsaver type bag.

I have progressed in my toys over the years but they hold a special place in my memories.

Gary

Gdawgs · October 26, 2011, 06:26 PM

I saw a used 38/357 set at the gunstore just the other day for $5. I had it in my hand and was going to buy it, but I decided not to. I figured it would just sit around. Now I wish I would have bought it.

jaguarxk120 · October 26, 2011, 07:16 PM

Bought one in the 60's for 30-06, seated two primers and they both went off!!!

Threw the thing in the trash, went out and bought RCBS tools and never looked back

edward5759 · October 27, 2011, 04:34 AM

I used a leather glove 1956 I won a bench rest match using a lee loader and a scale. A couple of others were using the same thing as well.
Some rich guy had a press

Edward5759

mikld · October 27, 2011, 03:00 PM

FWIW; I don't have the exact date, but the record for smallest group at 1,000 yards was held by a gent who loaded his target ammo with a Lee Loader...

raceroch · October 27, 2011, 03:28 PM

great for calibers that you dont shoot to many rounds of a year... also a great show for someone who does not believe you can load your own ammo... http://www.google.com/search?q=Lee+C...w=1024&bih=554

Viper225 · October 28, 2011, 09:46 AM

I started reloading 30-06 and 38 Special using one about 1970. Man was an RCBS press an improvement.

Bob

Gbro · October 28, 2011, 12:45 PM

My 1st reloader 1972 Ft. Riley Ks. Western Marshal .357
Then i added a 30-30 kit for my .30WCF 1894 1n 1974 and still use it on occasion to this day.
This 10 year old is loading his own rounds before shooting.

CowTowner · October 28, 2011, 04:33 PM

I still have mine for the .303 British. And it still makes a good load in the field.

darkgael · October 29, 2011, 05:04 AM

Great little kits. I must have about ten or eleven of them - lessee.....38/357, 30-30, .30-06, .45 Colt, .30 Carbine, 12 ga. (2), 16 ga., 20 ga., .410 bore. IIRC, there's also one in .303 British.
Noisy but they work just fine.
Pete

swmike · October 29, 2011, 10:23 AM

Put one of these in your "survival kit". When the SHTF and you can't take your reloading bench with you, along with all the fancy equipment, you will still be able to reload.

A couple pounds of powder, a box or two of bullets, a few trays of primers, and it should all fit in a couple 50 cal boxes.

You'll still have ammo for that trusty rifle when there's none to be had at any price.

I see these, from time to time, at the range. Guys will use them for load workups. Most have a small arbor press instead of the hammer. Still hammer out the used primer but the press for sizing and seating.

October 25, 2011, 02:00 PM	#1
aat10768 Junior Member Join Date: October 1, 2011 Posts: 7	remember these Anyone remember the lee loaders that you had to use a hammer with? I started my reloading with a 9mm one and my neighbor used to think i was CRAZY loading a bullet by hitting it on the end with a hammer!!!! lol

October 25, 2011, 02:02 PM	#2
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,379	Of course. Lee still sells them. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

October 25, 2011, 02:27 PM	#3
Sefner Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 769	Called the Lee Classic. http://www.midwayusa.com/Find?userSe...ry=lee+classic __________________ gtalk:renfes steamID: Sefner

October 25, 2011, 04:16 PM	#6
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Somewhere I still have my 38 Sp/357 Mag and my 30-30 loaders and my Lee dipper set. I think I had less than $25 tied up in all that, but they work well. It's a hoot when you look at them, then compare them to the several hundred dollars worth of presses, dies, etc, that I use to load nowadays. And I am pretty sure I liked loading a lot back then, mostly because of all the work I did with the Lee Loaders. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

October 25, 2011, 04:59 PM	#8
sob (sweet ole bill) Member Join Date: October 13, 2008 Location: coastal North Carolina Posts: 65	Lee classics Still use them. Got seven for rifle and pistol. Two for shotgun. Don't take up much benchspace. Got rid of the hammer and use a bottle capper for a press. 40,000 and still turns out good rounds. SOB

October 25, 2011, 02:58 PM	#4
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	And there were target models, the target model came with a hand primer and a neck reamer. F. Guffey

October 25, 2011, 03:30 PM	#5
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,947	Yep, I remember them well and still have a few. Those loaders are what got me over the fear of a primer going off when reloading! If you didn't set off a primer every now and then, then you weren't reloading enough.

October 25, 2011, 04:26 PM	#7
aat10768 Junior Member Join Date: October 1, 2011 Posts: 7	Yes i agree that is why i like my single stage press can take my time .. I know alot of people that got started with those lee loaders...

October 25, 2011, 09:00 PM	#10
jason75979 Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2009 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 137	I still have a 270 model.

October 25, 2011, 09:08 PM	#11
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,379	I had a 6.5 Japanese Arisaka, but I sent it off to someone who'd use it. I've also got the .30-06 version around here somewhere, which is what my Dad and I started out on reloading. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

October 26, 2011, 02:13 PM	#12
azphx55 Member Join Date: September 7, 2010 Posts: 85	A long, long time ago, a friend of a friend of a guy I used to know's cousin had a college roommate who used one of these kits in their dorm room. He stored it, and all the supplies, in a cardboard box labeled "Innocuous Box" that sat on the floor in plain sight. When the occasional primer would blow, they would scramble to put everything away and open the window (no matter how cold it was) to air out the room before anybody came knocking.

October 26, 2011, 02:39 PM	#13
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	Mine get used occationally. If I am too lazy to set up one of my presses, I'll get out the Lee Loader. I have one in 30-30 that I had stored for a while (years?) and when I started reloading for my Handi in 30-30, I got it out. I had forgotten just how easy it is to use, and not slow at all (I was working up loads so I weighed each powder charge so that slowed me down a bit). Hammered out (really!) 20 in no time and not a bunch of equipment to clean and put away... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...

October 26, 2011, 02:47 PM	#14
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	My first reload was a 38 WC using a Lee Loader. On the kitchen table.

October 26, 2011, 02:54 PM	#15
Whisper 300 Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2006 Posts: 155	Bought my first one in 1960 with errands and odd jobs money (at the ripe age of 11) in 12 ga. I have no recollection of their cost then, but I do remember cardboard "cans" with a steel top of RedDot for something like $2.95/# or thereabout. Over my early years I added 16 ga. and 30-06. Still have them in my shop although I have not used them in 40+ years. In fact, a few years ago I cleaned them up, CLR'd them and put them in a vacuum sealed foodsaver type bag. I have progressed in my toys over the years but they hold a special place in my memories. Gary

October 26, 2011, 06:26 PM	#16
Gdawgs Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2009 Location: MN Posts: 656	I saw a used 38/357 set at the gunstore just the other day for $5. I had it in my hand and was going to buy it, but I decided not to. I figured it would just sit around. Now I wish I would have bought it.

October 26, 2011, 07:16 PM	#17
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,619	Bought one in the 60's for 30-06, seated two primers and they both went off!!! Threw the thing in the trash, went out and bought RCBS tools and never looked back

October 27, 2011, 04:34 AM	#18
edward5759 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ. 30 miles from water, two feet from Hell. Posts: 355	I used a leather glove 1956 I won a bench rest match using a lee loader and a scale. A couple of others were using the same thing as well. Some rich guy had a press Edward5759 __________________ Failure is part of success! This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!" -Adolf Hitler,1935"

October 27, 2011, 03:00 PM	#19
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	FWIW; I don't have the exact date, but the record for smallest group at 1,000 yards was held by a gent who loaded his target ammo with a Lee Loader... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...

October 27, 2011, 03:28 PM	#20
raceroch Member Join Date: October 5, 2011 Location: RI Posts: 51	great for calibers that you dont shoot to many rounds of a year... also a great show for someone who does not believe you can load your own ammo... http://www.google.com/search?q=Lee+C...w=1024&bih=554

October 28, 2011, 09:46 AM	#21
Viper225 Senior Member Join Date: September 20, 2009 Location: SC Missouri Posts: 663	I started reloading 30-06 and 38 Special using one about 1970. Man was an RCBS press an improvement. Bob

October 28, 2011, 12:45 PM	#22
Gbro Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,084	My 1st reloader 1972 Ft. Riley Ks. Western Marshal .357 Then i added a 30-30 kit for my .30WCF 1894 1n 1974 and still use it on occasion to this day. This 10 year old is loading his own rounds before shooting. __________________ Gbro CGVS For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, It Is The Power Of God. 1Corinthians 1-18 Last edited by Gbro; October 28, 2011 at 08:11 PM.

October 28, 2011, 04:33 PM	#23
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	I still have mine for the .303 British. And it still makes a good load in the field. __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

October 29, 2011, 05:04 AM	#24
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	Lee Great little kits. I must have about ten or eleven of them - lessee.....38/357, 30-30, .30-06, .45 Colt, .30 Carbine, 12 ga. (2), 16 ga., 20 ga., .410 bore. IIRC, there's also one in .303 British. Noisy but they work just fine. Pete __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

October 29, 2011, 10:23 AM	#25
swmike Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2005 Location: Marysville, WA Posts: 670	Put one of these in your "survival kit". When the SHTF and you can't take your reloading bench with you, along with all the fancy equipment, you will still be able to reload. A couple pounds of powder, a box or two of bullets, a few trays of primers, and it should all fit in a couple 50 cal boxes. You'll still have ammo for that trusty rifle when there's none to be had at any price. I see these, from time to time, at the range. Guys will use them for load workups. Most have a small arbor press instead of the hammer. Still hammer out the used primer but the press for sizing and seating. __________________ My definition of Gun Control--- A steady grip and hitting your target. "In God we trust, all others are suspects." "If I shoot all the ammo I am carrying, either I won't need any more, or more won't be of any help". ____________________________________________

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