Lee Handpress Question

[samginko]

Do yourself a favor and visit the reloading academy at Osceola. But I agree with Sam, get a reloading manual first. Reloading is not hard, but you can destroy your firearm or much worse.

[JJ]

Thanks for the replies everyone. And yes it was the hand press that looks like a C clamp kinda. I was kind of looking into the whack a mole one but then I discovered the hand press.

I figured a good starting setup for me would be the hand press, the RCBS .38spl/.357mag/.357Max die kit I saw at cabelas today, and clamp a Lee Perfect Powder Measure to my desk and I should be set to reload! I would get a progressive but I don't think I'm going to be loading hundreds of rounds in a day and finding space for it would be hard since I am moving into an apartment in the fall.

Thanks again everyone!

I would recommend starting with a single stage press, and avoid the hand press. I personally see the hand press as something for use as a SHTF backup for a bugout bag, or for quick adjustments during testing at the bench. Even a basic Lee, RCBS, hornady single stage is a huge improvement. For hangun rounds leverage is not an issue, but if you end up moving toward rifle cartridges at any time, the extra leverage is crucial.

You don't need much space for a single stage. i have a RCBS Partner with a powder thrower, i mounted to a 2x4 thats about 24" in length. I use it only for emergency loading when i am prairie dog shooting. i can c-clamp it to a table or my pickup bed. it fits in a Tupperware storage container, and has saved our butts more than once in the field.

I agree with SS on the manual. Start with reading a manual. I think that the Lyman manual, or the ABC's of reloading should be a prerequisite before purchasing a single piece of equipment. Additionally i would find an experienced relaoder to tutor you before buying equipment. Let someone help you learn what you do and don't need before you buy things you end up not needing.

[Seismic Sam]

I started with a Lee "wack-a-mole" in .30-30.

I loaded many rounds with that thing. Gives you more of a feel for what goes into reloading and forces you to slow down and learn more than if you start off with one of those high dollar progressive units.

It is a more intimate way to reload. Gives your ammo a more artisan feel. I feel that my ammo now is more legitimate and authentic having used more primitive tools while I was learning the ropes.

I totally agree. Started with a Lee 9mm whack-a-mole kit, and loaded literally THOUSANDS of rounds of ammo. Then got a Lyman Spar-T press, and it took about 25 years to wear that one out. Now I got the big black iron Lyman. I shoot so many big and/or precision calibers that a progressive just wouldn't make sense. I mean, how many 500 S&W rounds do you need to load up to have enough?? It sure as hell isn't more than a few hundred at a time.

[Seismic Sam]

Thanks for the replies everyone. And yes it was the hand press that looks like a C clamp kinda. I was kind of looking into the whack a mole one but then I discovered the hand press.

I figured a good starting setup for me would be the hand press, the RCBS .38spl/.357mag/.357Max die kit I saw at cabelas today, and clamp a Lee Perfect Powder Measure to my desk and I should be set to reload!

WRONG!!!!

You have just set yourself up to fail immediately and blow yourself up shortly thereafter, and after they patch what is left of you together, your jigsaw body will get shipped off to Bethesda hospital for rehab, and a big white fluffy dog will try and make you feel better. I will be at the other end of the leash!!!

The reason for this is that you have NOT mentioned buying a powder SCALE, and while the Lee Perfect Powder Measure will let you sort of figure out about how much powder you are dispensing, it's nowhere near accurate enough to be safe. John Boy over at Gunstop had cheap customer who bought EVERYTHING to reload in one shot, BUT a powder scale, and John-Boy got pissed off like I do and told him if he didn't buy a scale he couldn't buy anything!!

You need to quit planning about when you will make your first round, let the press and measure sit in their boxes unopened, and READ the WHOLE #49 manual cover-to-cover!! Then think about all the stuff you have learned, let it sink in for a few days, and then read the whole manual all over again!! In addition, I would then contact OldmanFCSA and take his reloading class, and bring the gun you want to shoot with you, along with the manual!! You have been warned!! I'm outa this thread!!

[Garret7857]

Thanks for the replies everyone. And yes it was the hand press that looks like a C clamp kinda. I was kind of looking into the whack a mole one but then I discovered the hand press.

I figured a good starting setup for me would be the hand press, the RCBS .38spl/.357mag/.357Max die kit I saw at cabelas today, and clamp a Lee Perfect Powder Measure to my desk and I should be set to reload!

WRONG!!!!

You have just set yourself up to fail immediately and blow yourself up shortly thereafter, and after they patch what is left of you together, your jigsaw body will get shipped off to Bethesda hospital for rehab, and a big white fluffy dog will try and make you feel better. I will be at the other end of the leash!!!

The reason for this is that you have NOT mentioned buying a powder SCALE, and while the Lee Perfect Powder Measure will let you sort of figure out about how much powder you are dispensing, it's nowhere near accurate enough to be safe. John Boy over at Gunstop had cheap customer who bought EVERYTHING to reload in one shot, BUT a powder scale, and John-Boy got pissed off like I do and told him if he didn't buy a scale he couldn't buy anything!!

You need to quit planning about when you will make your first round, let the press and measure sit in their boxes unopened, and READ the WHOLE #49 manual cover-to-cover!! Then think about all the stuff you have learned, let it sink in for a few days, and then read the whole manual all over again!! In addition, I would then contact OldmanFCSA and take his reloading class, and bring the gun you want to shoot with you, along with the manual!! You have been warned!! I'm outa this thread!!

I forgot to type a scale but that is on my list. Shopping around for the Lyman book right now since I have a break between classes lol.

[Garret7857]

Picked up a Lyman book at Cabelas today. Really cool how it has data for almost every caliber under the sun and info about it.

Thanks for the input everyone!

[Sigfan220]

I'd wait till you have room for a loading bench and a C or O frame single stage. I would imagine the hand press would work but it would be so slow I can't imagine it would be worth it.

[Garret7857]

I'd wait till you have room for a loading bench and a C or O frame single stage. I would imagine the hand press would work but it would be so slow I can't imagine it would be worth it.

from what I've read and seen online, when you get the motions down you can do around 100 rounds an hour and I don't think I'll be doing hundreds of rounds in 1 sitting so that pace would be fine for me. If I could find a way to get a single stage to work somewhere, I'd pick one of those up as well.

[crbutler]

The one problem I have seen with a hand press (the lee one was the one I saw) is that they are inconsistent.

Probably not an issue with blaster grade pistol ammo, but the guy I was with had brought it to take with him on an African hunting trip due to the ammo weight restrictions. He could resize and seat the ammo he was working on, but found his load went from a solid 3/4 MOA to 2" at 100 yards. He later found out that he could not take primers or powder on the plane with him, and that ended that.

We did check some runout on the hand press stuff and it was all over the place.

The so called whack a mole was a bit more consistent with regards to run out for some reason, but the powder charges with the dippers were pretty inconsistent, but IMO, if you got the technique down, you would be OK for minimum loads.

With some ingenuity, it's not too hard to make a portable small space setup using either an arbor press (expensive but really small) or a conventional single stage press. I did see a guy who had a rock chucker made into a tool box job that he could CClamp to a bench, tailgate, or table and had a scale, all the tools and a powder measure. A neat little range kit for load work up. He admitted it didn't work so well in a good stiff breeze though.

[OldmanFCSA]

We have a guy who is highly competitive shooting 50BMG at 1000 yards after loading ammo the night before on his truck's trailer hitch, with powder scale and Dixie cups setup in the truck box. Loading at night in the hotel parking lot required standing up occasionally and waving arms to reset the motion detector security light, which timed out after 7 minutes.

O.P. - I'm available for your FREE training. PM me for details.

[shooter115]

I'm probably about to offer my best advise for the week on this forum right now.

#1. Don't buy the Lee hand press as your first forte into handloading
#2. Ignore Seismic Sam's posts
#3. Send OldmanFCSA a PM at your earliest convenience about getting some on the job training. He is fully set up with numerous press options for you to try out and from what I've heard is a very good teacher. An experienced mentor in the reloading game is worth a thousand manuals.