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Thread: First time loader, bouncing ideas off you pros

  1. #26
    Basic Member OLEJOE's Avatar
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    The Lee Loaders load good ammo. You can pick up an arbor press at Harbor Freight for $60 bucks and don’t have to keep hammering cases in and out. I’ve got a Rem 700P that loves Varget and 168’s. My groups run in the.1’s and.2’s.

  2. #27
    Basic Member RustyShackle's Avatar
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    I think RCBS products are decent for the $. I would highly recommend looking around for a gently used setup. The Rock Chucker press is stout. Every once in awhile they have sale in the kit that can be worthwhile.

    If you qualify through Experticity RCBS products can be had for a good price!

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by deerhunter99 View Post
    You brought back some wonderful memories of when I started loading back in 1963 I started with a lee loader and dippers, have fun !!!!
    Same here. Mom and Dad gave it to me for Christmas 1963. Still have it but updated to a Spartan c press when I got home from the army in 1969.

  4. #29
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    To this day, my favorite priming tool is the hand priming tool that came in the box with the cheap Lee loading kits.

  5. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Iowa Fox View Post
    Same here. Mom and Dad gave it to me for Christmas 1963. Still have it but updated to a Spartan c press when I got home from the army in 1969.
    You guys make me feel "young" again! I didn't get my Lee till 1967. 303 British. Didn't have a wooden hammer so improvised with a piece of 2x4. At 16, I still thought $2.00 or $3.00 a pound (Herter's brand) was a lot of money for powder (No Hazmat fees those days). Primers were less than .50 a flat and bullets ran from $3 to $5 a 100. Once you had the brass you could load a box for less than a dollar! But remember minimum wage was only $1.60 in those days. In high school I lied about my age to get a job on the afternoon shift at the Chung King Foods plant in Duluth, MN. With a $50 or so paycheck a week I was rich! A $100 car in those days would easily last 10,000 miles and car insurance was about $50 for 6 months. Gas was .27-.32 gallon(on payday you would buy "premium"). In 1968 I bought a Herter's "U" model press, still use it almost everyday.

    Those were the good times and good years. No cell phones. You didn't have to lock your doors. Hunting was hunting and not a competition between "score" seekers. Never had to listen to all this "political correctness" bull crap. People had respect for one another no matter what their race or nationality. Young people now a day will never know how good it was. Ah yes, the Lee loader, good memories from the good old days.

    Randy

  6. #31
    Team Savage Stumpkiller's Avatar
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    You have me beat by about 8 years for smacking away on a Lee Loader (mine was for .30-40 US).
    "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Last words of Gen. Sedgwik

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssgairborne187 View Post
    First the wife thing, been married to this one 22 good years, but the first thing I told her is I hunt and I fish and you have no say so in such matters as to what I need for those activities, I still have my gonads, second get a starter kit with the basic goodies or look for someone getting out of the hobby either online or want ad's. Any single stage press will work regardless off the brand name, i used rcbs single and a lyman turret i got from the paper cheap. the 308 has infinite amounts of bullet and powder combinations, you'll have to find what your rifle likes no two are the same, you'll have to get a small base sizer die to fit some auto loaders and bolts with a tight chamber. once you fire form your loads to your rifle your don't have to full length size them any more just neck size, saves on working your brass to much and extends there life. read read read your manual i get all of them just to see if there's any new or different info been reloading for over forty years.
    I thought I was the only one around here that produced TESTOSTERONE! Makes me sick hearing all the submissive, pathetic comments from adults and Men needing permission from their wives. Sad because there were some helpful people here that helped me out but this is pathetic.

  8. #33
    Team Savage Stumpkiller's Avatar
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    Where she leads me I will follow.

    What she feeds me I will swallow.

    ;-)

    I married my best friend 38 years ago this month. I was 20 when we were married and $ were tight; testosterone or no. Sometimes a tight roof and groceries were more important than another rifle. She retired from hunting some years back but is still my fishing buddy. We're a team and I know she has my back. Nothing wrong with that. A couple times over those years we've sweated out finances (I've been "right-sized" & laid off three times) and in those times we discussed every outlay. But now we have enough to retire on (and I'm still working), the house & cars are all clear (and when I buy my next SUV it will also be with cash) and as long as the credit card gets paid off in full each month - no worries.

    Except maybe the health insurance.

    I can appreciate the "poor as church mice" times for those that have them. Few of us truly need every firearm we own and every reloading tool in the shop. Recognize that some have different limitations and priorities. Chest pounding aside.
    "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Last words of Gen. Sedgwik

  9. #34
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    So I set off to make my second round of ammo. Stuck to the previous formula that was working with the .223 and made another batch of 69 gr Sierra TMK with 25 grains of Varget. Also got some 155 gr Sierra TMK in .308 to see what they would do.

    Now when I made my first set of .223 ammo I noticed that some of the primers sat proud of the brass a bit so this time I made sure to seat them in fully...but perhaps I went too far. Out of 30 rounds 6 of them failed to ignite. The primers were hit hard and had a great dent in them, but no bang. Is it possible to seat them too hard and mess up the anvil inside the primer? Or did I perhaps get a drop of sweat/skin oil on them while loading up? I really don't think I contaminated them, but am at a loss as to why they didn't go off.

  10. #35
    Basic Member RustyShackle's Avatar
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    To answer your seating depth question, in a simple answer; yes you can seat too hard or deep causing ignition issues. I’m sure somewhere is a good write up on how it occurs. Basically over exerting force crushes the anvil and causing a failure from squishing the priming compound away from the anvil and cup. That said I generally prefer to have a slightly deeper seating on a primer rather than a proud primer.

    What primers are you using?

  11. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by RustyShackle View Post
    What primers are you using?
    CCI 400's

    I am not even sure how you can press them in too far with the Lee. I hope I didn't smash the brass that forms the cup too bad and ruin those shells forever. Of course I didn't bother to leave those 6 to the side so I can trace them later. I did previously pull 2 of the bad primers and was just comparing them to a new one. They are 35 thousands flatter than a new one, .1165 vs .1200, but other than that I see no obvious differences.

    Oh well, guess I shall see if I get 6 more rejects next time I go out. Maybe it's time to get a hand primer...what is the best for the $$$?

  12. #37
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    Lee hand primer. I have two - one is 40 years old and still works. I got lazy and got a more recent version with the slide in "auto-feed" tray.

    Still relatively inexpensive (around $20) and it does benchrest grade work if you are consistent. You also need a shell holder for a couple bucks.

    https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/41..._-Lee-_-413473

    https://www.grafs.com/catalog/product/productId/7690
    "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Last words of Gen. Sedgwik

  13. #38
    Basic Member OLEJOE's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stumpkiller View Post
    Lee hand primer. I have two - one is 40 years old and still works. I got lazy and got a more recent version with the slide in "auto-feed" tray.

    Still relatively inexpensive (around $20) and it does benchrest grade work if you are consistent. You also need a shell holder for a couple bucks.

    https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/41..._-Lee-_-413473

    https://www.grafs.com/catalog/product/productId/7690
    l’ve got the single shot model and the repeater. They’re both good but I like the repeater better. I don’t have to handle my primers with it. These are all I ever use. I’m surprised my fingers aren’t still black from primers going off while hammering them in the Lee Loader. My first one was a 44 Mag. Only way I could afford to shoot it. I still have 2. A7x57 and 223.

  14. #39
    Basic Member OLEJOE's Avatar
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    Wife and I have been married 44 years this October and dated 3 years before that. Every extra exspenditure has always been discussed in advance. I can relate to penny pinching. Used to rob our piggy bank to have money to buy a drink at work to go with my sandwich. Didn’t even have a TV first three years we were married. Finally bought a used one from my aunt for $25.00. Didn’t need one before that. Got my first press for a graduation present when I got out of high school and I still have it. Staying interested and having time to enjoy the things and people you care about is what is important. Keep your head down and ass up and the wealth will come. I could retire today if I didn’t need medical insurance but if a frog had wings.... Enjoy the Lee Loaders. They remind me of a simpler time.

  15. #40
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    Ended up getting a Frankford Arsenal...man, how easy. The wife even loves the reduction in noise from the lack of mallet whacking. Also gonna try some IMR-4064 and see what that does. Picked up some Starline .223 and .308 brass for cheap. It looks great and seems to be an amazing value...yall tried it? It's quite a bit heavier compared to the Hornady so will be interesting to see the charge weight differences. Also gonna play with some 53gr VMax and 180gr SSTs. Think I loaded up 120 rounds of various stuff last night so I will have a busy range day. I may not be saving any money, but sure am having fun :-)

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