Lee load all 2, Whadya think?

[Lavid2002]

Hey there. Ive been reading up on reloading (ABC's read twice, and allot of online forums) And I think i would like to start reloading! My only question is what shotgun press do you reccomend? Ill be waterfowling in the fall and shooting about 100 boxes a weekend. What press do you reccomend? P.S. If I load cartridges over summer and winter and seal them and store them can I use them in the fall?

[Mike Irwin]

You're shooting 100 BOXES on a weekend?

2,500 rounds a weekend?

You're probably going to want something that will produce ammo at a faster clip than the Load All.

I've loaded many thousands of rounds of ammo through my Load All, but it's not very fast at all.

[rwilson452]

That much I would suggest at least a Mec 9000G

now if your taking 100 rounds ( 4 boxes) the loadall will work. I passed on the Load All and got a MEC 600 Jr. I got the primer feeder to go with it. O then got the aux part to load boxes. I then made my own posterboard sliptop boxes.

[Lavid2002]

WHOOOOOOPS! HAHAHAHAHAHAID MELT MY SHOTGUN!!!!!! 100 SHOTSHELLS* HAHAHa SORRY GUYS

[Trapper L]

Our family got into shooting country doubles a few years back and we have almost every loader made from the Lee Loadall to the electric commercial loaders. We had 6 shooters twice a week going so we went thru LOTS of shotgun shells- at least 1000 rounds a week. The favorite for me is the Lee Loadall. I also load slugs and saboted slugs and the Loadall is the best for that. You can also go back and resize the loaded ammo to make sure it loads properly with the Loadall. We don't shoot the doubles anymore and it's almost a shame to see the machinery go to rust. Maybe one of these days....

[Lavid2002]

soo any review on it?

[40SIG]

Truthfully, Until the price of shot gets back to reality (if ever) It really isn't worth it to load shot-shell. At best you would break even. when you take into account the initial cost, I think it will cost you money, Especially for just 100 rounds.

[Lavid2002]

gotcha....Why is shot so exspencive?

[40SIG]

I have heard it blamed on Iraq and China and some where in the middle is the truth. All I know is locally shot is going for around $36 for a 25 pound bag. I can buy a case of Rem gun club for $38. Me I will do the latter.

[SShooterZ]

Do yourself a favor and get a MEC. Either a Grabber or a 9000GN. Much better construction and better capabilities than the Lee LoadAll. If you want to stay with singe stage, get a 600 JR. They're all over eBay for decent prices or you can typically find them onsale at one of the many outdoor stores.

Also, unless you can get boxes of shells somewhere for $2.50 - $3.00 a box, you will save money reloading. That being said, the least amount of savings to be had are on the 12 gauge as there are so many promo loads available at many of the big stores. For reloading 28 Gauge or .410, you can't beat the price savings.

Buy components in BULK. 5000 wads, 5000 primers and 8lbs jugs of powder at the same time. Try to find a place locally with good prices. Shipping of powder and/or primers typically incures a $20 HazMat fee.

Scrounge good hulls or buy a few flats of good hulls and then reload the hell out of them. Remington Gun Club, STS and Winchester AA are all hulls that you can probably get 10+ reloads out of.

Reduce your shot charge from 1 1/8 oz to 1 oz. Doesn't sound like much but your shoulder will thank you, you'll bust just as many birds and your cost savings will increase.

Try this link to see how much your reloads will actually cost you: http://www.trapshooters.com/rlcalcadv.htm

Don't forget things like a scale either. Its imperative that you weigh your powder drops to ensure that you're not exceeding max pressures. Getting a hold of Lyman's 5th Edition Shotshell Reloading Manual would be a huge help too.

FWIW, I typically load 1 oz of #8s, a Green Duster wad and use ~ 18.0 grains of Alliant Promo with a Fiocchi 616 primer for my reloads. Crushes clays and costs me about $2.75 a box for what I feel is a premium level reload.

The key is finding cheap lead shot too. Reclaimed, chilled, whatever. For shooting Skeet and 16 yard Trap, you will see less than a 5% difference in performance from going to Chilled shot from Magnum. Find the cheapest stuff you can find and reload away!

Good Luck!

[40SIG]

SShooterZ, No offense but, Thats a huge chunk of change for someone who shoots 100 rounds a week.

[Scorch]

Lavid2002-
I own several shotshell presses. I have a MEC 700 shotshell press just sitting around. I will sell it to you complete.

[Lavid2002]

Scorch...how much?

[bob k]

Given that you hunt and will have to load a nontoxic shot (steel is cheapest) The MEC SteelMaster is the way to go unless you're going to get into high volume. It's already set up for loading steel, it works equally as well on lead. I know it'll last for at least 20,000 rounds, mine is looking like it'll go for about that many again and then some or until I tip over .

[amamnn]

I've loaded 1,000s of trap and skeet shells with a Lee Loadall II and never had anything but good results. Once you get into the rhythm, you can load fairly fast. I guess I did 200 or so per sitting, most times. I have lots of time to load in, though.
Possibly in other parts of the country, lead shot is more expensive. Here, it's only gone up about 10% since the last time I bought 100 pounds; about 2 years ago. Our problem is getting primers.

[amamnn]

Unless Lee has changed the primer feeder chute on the loadall II in the last 6 years or so, don't bother with it.

[Lavid2002]

gotcha thanks......
And p.s. in responce to your signature...not true with U.S. vs iraqi tanks we didnt loose one

[armedandsafe]

I use my load-all for my brass shells and for my reduced length hulls. I haven't loaded so many as I have metallic rounds (1 yr shotshell vs. 50 yrs metallics ) but I think the machine is just fine for ~100-200 rounds per week.

Pops

[chilie]

remember he's talking about waterfowl so he would be loading steal or bismuth which isn't $3 a box but more like $10-$20 a box. even with balk steal at $100 for 50libs shipped I don't think it would be to hard to come out ahead.

[tube_ee]

Lee Load All II: It works. I've loaded several hundred rounds in mine, and it's never failed. For a really high-volume shooter, something with less plastic in it would be a better choice, but the Load All makes a good shell. I found only one load that worked with my bushings and the powder I use (Green Dot), even though the load chart says that there are three bushings that should work. One threw too light, one too heavy, and one threw at the lower-mid range of what was acceptable for the hulls I was using. Mine tends to take a long while to really settle down and throw consistent powder charges. Over the course of the first box, the weight ramps up to whatever it's going to throw that day. Use a scale, don't assume that the bushings will throw what they chart says they will... They won't. They throw what they throw consistently, but that's not always what the chart says. Overloads in a shotgun are bad, bad news. It's pretty easy to crinkle a hull a bit on the final crimp stage, but I've just shot those shells anyway. Pressure probably went up a bit, but I'm not loading anywhere near max anyway, and they feed and shoot just fine in my Winchester 1400.

Shotshell reloading cost: Don't compare the cost of a box of handloaded shells to the cheap promo loads from X-Mart. My handloads come out to about 25-50 cents a box cheaper than the cheapy loads, but I'm loading 1 1/8 oz of premium shot, in good hulls. Just switching from promos to handloads took my trap scores from 14-16 average, with a best of 18, to 17-18 average with a best of 23. Same range, same gun, same shooter. Premium 1 1/8 oz 12 gauge shells run closer to 7 bucks a box around here, when you can find them, so really, with a small investment of time, I'm shooting premium loads for a promo price. And they clearly work better, both on clays and birds. I'm breaking more clays, and killing more birds... that's worth the time and effort in my book. Plus, it's fun. When you find the load that you and your gun like, you'll know it.

Just follow the recipes, and if you're a hull wh#re like I am, see if you can find a bushing/load combo that will load all of your hulls with the same powder. That way, you can leave the press set up, and only have to worry about matching primers, hulls, and wads. If you're careful, you can even find a wad that will work in all your hulls, so you'll just have to match hulls and primers. That's how I'm set up, and it's been working well for me.

--Shannon

[FM12]

DONT BUY A PROGRESSIVE LOADER AS YOUR FIRST PRESS!! I have a Load All and a sizemaster, The Lee makes just as good a reload as the MEC. As cheap as some loads are now, and with the components going up, might do well to wait until the wads, shot, etc goes down.. GREAT!!! hobby, though, and very rewarding!! I LOVE reloading shotshells, and metallic ammo as well. Check out www.handloads.com for a good forum dedicated to reloading.

[rfdillon]

The Lee LoadAlls are great presses. We purchased one new, then found some used ones on eBay cheaper than the conversion kits for the other gauges. We now have one for 12, 16, and 20 gauge, and they work great. +1 on weighing your loads, the bushings produce very consistent loads, but they may vary greatly from what the charts say. Just get a good scale (like the Ohaus/RCBS 1010) and find the bushing that drops the charge you are looking for, and it is really a pretty brainless process. You can get good deals on hulls on eBay and have a lot of fun reloading as well!

[scout26]

I'm shooting premium loads for a promo price.

That's the real secret to shotshell reloading. It's not that you're going to save a ton of money, but that you can shoot a AA/STS/Gold Medal quality shell tailored to you and your gun at a S-Mart Fedchesterton promo shell price.


OT,
Got a pair of Load-All II's here. On in 12ga and one in 20ga. They work. They are not fast . I've had mine (12ga) for several years, bought it back in college, all I could afford at the time. I still use it to "test" new loads. Test meaning--> When I get bored making the same loads over and over again, I'll go looking through the manuals or the Powder Manufacturer's websites and look for a new recipe or three to try out. I mostly use one of my progressives to make 12 ga these days. I'll also use it to make a box or two of various hunting/HD loads.

My 13 year-old daughter uses her Load-All in 20ga to make her own shells. She shoots 50-100 shells per weekend, normally two- three rounds of trap and a round or two of skeet. Last weekend she shot 17-18-18 at trap with the shells she reloaded. She doesn't want me to post her skeet score.

Granted we're not shooting competition, it's just the family and a maybe a friend or two "Let's go bust some clays at the club and get out of Mom's hair for a couple of hours, unless Mom wants to come with" on a Sunday afternoon.

1. Every round we've loaded in a Load-All has gone "Bang".
2. It's an inexpensive to start reloading and if you "outgrow" it you can sell it and recoup your investment (you should be able to get one for <$40, check out local gunshows, internet sales (I personally hate Evil-bay, but you can find them there for around $20-25.) Buy components in Bulk. Primers, Wads in 5k lots, Powder in 8lb kegs and reclaimed shot or if all you can get is new shot then several hundred to a couple of thousand pounds at one time. A group buy is definitely the way to go.
3. It's much simple to use it to try out new recipes then having to adjust darn near everything everything on a progressive to make a box or two of test loads and then adjust everything back. I got her MEC 650 and still haven't gotten in dialed in, it's notoriously sensitive to change. She prefers the Load-All.

Get a scale, the Lee scale can be found for +/- $25 and works as good as any digital out there. The bushing chart should be considered a guide or starting point. Use the scale to confirm your drops. I keep my own chart of bushings and drop weights for the various powders I use, but I still check e every 15-25 rounds just to verify weights.


+1 on Handloads.com

Shotgunworld.com also has a great fora on reloading (SshooterZ is the Mod over there), there are a couple of "crustier" members who might not agree with using Lee equipment, but otherwise they are/it is a wealth of info on shotshell reloading.

[Lavid2002]

great thanks guys : D