Lee classic loaders

[2571]

Anybody got a definitive list of all the Lee classic loader calibers ever made?

I wonder what strange calibers were offered. I know from the internet that they made one in 7mm Arisaka, but I've never seen one,for example

[stretch]

This link might be helpful. Apparently they used to make
custom lee loaders, but don't anymore, so all of the calibers
they've EVER made might be hard to come by.

Maybe somebody has an old catalog that they can scan and post.

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/hand-loadi ... -calibers/

-Stretch

[Les Staley]

I bought a set in 33 Winchester at a pawn shop a couple summers back..same style box as the first set I ever bought back in the late sixties in 32 Winchester Special..

[Tactical Lever]

I think Lee's website lists all ever made.

[Ysabel Kid]

A recently acquired a few Lee Loaders, from flea-bay of all places. Yes, I know - somewhat anti-gun. However, it was the only place I could find them. Got a 12-gauge and 20-gauge. Looks like fun for low-volume reloading!

[jhrosier]

I've had several of the classic Lee Loaders over the years.
They have always turned out to be more work than I was willing to tolerate, except the 12ga.
I loaded many hundreds of black powder shells with the 12ga loader.
Be advised that the 6 and 8 point crimp starters for the shotshell loaders are about impossible to find nowadays.

Jack

[Griff]

I have one set; .30-30 (go figure)... and they were given to me by someone who'd used them once... and promptly went out and bought a reloading press and dies! I think he gave to me to prove he was smarter than me... but... I've never used 'em... keep as a... well... I don't know why I've kept them! I did cannibalize the dipper...

[Les Staley]

Lee loaders were the start of our hand loading experience as a family. I was the cheapskate , but guttsey one of the family..bought the 32 special loader about 1964 ..only bullets available were 170 gr silvertips.. Sat out on the porch with a pound of 3031 ($3.75) and started pounding on a block of firewood, reading the instructions as I went along..my dad and brother watched from a safe distance, peeking out the window as I remember...my home made ammo killed a whitetail that fall, and by the next year there were three of us pounding out reloads.

[jhrosier]

This discussion got me thinking....

Most of us have probably been handloading for multiple decades and have long ago forgotten how much it cost to accumulate our gear.

A newby might be looking at laying out somewhere more than $500 just to get started with a single caliber.

Maybe there is still a good reason to start simple, small, and cheap?

A classic Lee loader lists for about $40.

Jack

[Thunder50]

I would think a newbie could start for $100 or less


Lee Hand press $40

Set of dies $30

Lee hand prime $25
____
$95

The Lee loader thing went by the wayside real quickly and I got a press. Have used the Lyman 310 stuff quite a bit, but the hand press is hard to beat.

[Ysabel Kid]

Be advised that the 6 and 8 point crimp starters for the shotshell loaders are about impossible to find nowadays.

Bought some of those on flea-bay too!

[rgates]

Thunder, you forgot the cost of something to measure powder. Yeah, I know that the Lee Loaders come with dippers. I started out reloading for a 7X57 MM Mauser in the 60's with a Lee Loader. Worked okay with the dipper. However, later I was married, in the military and obtained my first Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum and a Lee Loader to go with it. I wanted to experiment and the dipper just didn't cut it. So, my first additional purchase to my reloading equipment was a Lyman Powder Scale. That worked out great while I could con my new wife into weighing powder charges while I did the pounding. Somehow my wife decided she had better things to do than weigh powder, so the second piece of reloading equipment was an RCBS Uniflow Powder Measure. That satisfied me for a while till I realized I wanted to shoot way more than my slow production was allowing. Back to the Navy Exchange and procured an RCBS JR press and dies. And, the rest, they say, is history. Not a thing wrong with starting slow, but it somehow just grows and grows and pretty soon you wonder why you have several bench mounted presses, and a handheld press and Lyman 310 tools and, well, you get the idea. And we haven't even mentioned casting bullets to feed our shooting appetites! Sure is a great hobby!