Lee hand loader good enough?

[Morgan321]

I'm shooting 30-06 and have tried a variety of factory ammo. My shooting is good enough that I can tell the difference between ammo. The two rounds I get best results from are M72 surplus and a Hornady Amax match load. The m72 is not always easy to come by and costs at least $1/rd and the hornady is $1.6/rd. I'd like to try reloading to save $ but am constantly on the move for work and a bench press is impractical.

Is the lee hand loader a feasible option? I'm not looking for perfection, just to come close to what I already have that works well. The Amax bullets could be loaded for under 50 cents! I have a large supply of brass. Saving over $1/rd would pay back the setup cost in two range trips.

Or should I wait until next year when I'm done living transiently for work and start with a bench press?

 

[ZombieSlayer]

I'd get it. When your set up later on leave a decapping die in it permanently and knock out the spent primers in front of the tele.

 

[P7id10t]

+1 to Slayer's ppst.

 

[Morgan321]

My question was more along of the lines of would I be able to load a similar round without doing lots of time-consuming experimenting? For example the hornady match round is a 168gr Amax, could I open one up, measure the powder, and load my own as similar as possible to it? I don't have the time or experience to figure out a load starting from scratch right now. How would I determine what type of powder is in the hornady ammo?

 

[gixxer822]

id imagine FL sizing on the hand press would be a bitch. neck sizing wouldn't be bad. another option is LE Wilson Hand Dies. if your as OCD and love shooting as much as me youll have to get something to kill the time.

 

[Temp9]

My question was more along of the lines of would I be able to load a similar round without doing lots of time-consuming experimenting? For example the hornady match round is a 168gr Amax, could I open one up, measure the powder, and load my own as similar as possible to it? I don't have the time or experience to figure out a load starting from scratch right now. How would I determine what type of powder is in the hornady ammo?

NO! Ammo manufacturers use proprietary powders, not your standard canister grade powders. Aside from this, never ever try to identify any powder by appearance. First step, before you even open the box for your press, is to get a reloading manual and read it! I know, I know, when's the last time any of us read a manual? But reloading is an inherently dangerous activity. Don't dick around until you know what you are doing and why you are doing it.

If you want to bypass load development, you can look online for which loads seem to work for other people, then cross reference this with your reloading manual to find the minimum charge, and shoot charges from your minimum to your desired load watching carefully for pressure signs along the way.

 

[M40_A1]

Are you talking about the one you use with a hammer? That's what I started with, for .45 Colt and .30-30. Still have them. If you want to have a reloader you can pack, that would be it, or a Lyman 310 tool. They make surprisingly good ammunition, though definitely not match grade if that's what you want. The dipper that comes with the Lee has a chart of the safe powders you can use the dipper for to get moderate loads. Personally, I think they are a great, inexpensive place to start to learn the basics, then take it from there if your interest holds.

 

[chris112]

I am assuming that you mean the Lee Hand Press rather than the Lee Loader. Should work fine for your use but don't expect to start out making match grade ammo. You will need a lot of practice to get that, also read everything that you can find about loading precision ammo. Biggest advantage will be that you will already have dies and shell holder when you can go to bench press.
The Wilson tool was also mentioned. If you take a hard look at the major parts of a Lee Target Model Loader and the Wilson you will see that they are very similar. To bad Lee quit making the target model.

 

[8AteEight]

when People ask me about getting into reloading, I let them know about the Hand Press. With a little shopping around, you can get the kit, dies, and sometimes a manual for under $100. Then its all components. FL-sizing isnt too bad for '06, when using good ole lanolube. Even necked up brass in it. I think the biggest downfall of it is you can only get (I think) 20ish primers in the hollow part, then itll jam up n its a bitch to get it open.
Someone has their version of the FGMM load online somewhere, That would be a good something to look for for ideas. And +1, I couldnt recommend the manual highly enough.

 

[CanPopper]

I've used the Lee Hand Press for many years when I lived in a little apartment. The Lee Handpress is probably the most cost effective way to get into reloading and recouping your up front capital investments compared to all the alternatives. I've reloaded ammo from scratch from the trunk of my compact car with it at the rifle range. That actually drew a crowd since most people never realized how easy and cheap reloading can be (and I actually sold every onlooker on buying one too though that wasn't my intention...LOL). For the most part, it works pretty well with just a few caveats.

First, the hand press does not work well with the Lee Collet Neck Sizing Dies. The Collect Neck Sizers depends on the force of the press to squeeze the necks back to a proper inner diameter but the hand press simply doesn't have enough leverage to give you a good squeeze. So use full length, non-collet neck sizing, and bushing dies instead.

Second, the hand press doesn't have as much leverage so some cases can be hard to extract. My solution to that was to use the best lubes like Imperial Resizing Lube. Also I use naturally slick dies like the Dillon Carbide dies and I get my other steel dies nitride'd. Most of my extraction problems were from using the cheap Lee Sizing Wax. With the Imperial Sizing Lube I've never had an issue when applied properly. Usually for the larger cases you have to be sure to lube more generously since they have more surface area and thus friction.

 

[Navybowhunter]

To learn the process, it is adequate. My .02 cents...., then when you go "All IN", which you probably will......keep it, great de-primer as stated! LOL

Learning the process, is important. This coming from a NOOB, who owned all the reloading stuff to make "match grade" ammo for well over 15 years, but loaded only pistol straight wall cases cause I am Slooooowww....LOL

Took the purchase of my AR-10, and some convincing.....and I went all in, bought a few more "doo dads", and am making better than factory match grade ammo myself at home! LOL

I like that Hornady A-Max factory ammo, in fact it beat Fed GMM in my setup...., group (MOA) wise.

I love reloading, when the kids and wife and dogs start acting up, I roll down to the man cave and get into it.....reloading that is.

It is addictive...., I want a Giraud trimmer now....check that bad boy out!

Have fun, it is FUN!