Lee hand press.

Nimothy

I’m trying
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Nov 14, 2018
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    Dallas Texas
    What do you guys think about buying one of these for at range load development? Like using a small scale that battery operated, a lee dipper and a small trickler. You could bring prepped brass with you. It seems like it could save me a couple 100mile round trips. I currently make one trip for powder, one for seating depth, one for distance, and one for dope. Y’all think there is any downside to this? I figure a one range trip load development sounds pretty awesome!
     
    What do you guys think about buying one of these for at range load development? Like using a small scale that battery operated, a lee dipper and a small trickler. You could bring prepped brass with you. It seems like it could save me a couple 100mile round trips. I currently make one trip for powder, one for seating depth, one for distance, and one for dope. Y’all think there is any downside to this? I figure a one range trip load development sounds pretty awesome!

    several years ago I took a kitchen cabinet turned it on it’s side so the door opened down and toward me and made a range box.
    It had everything in it to load at the range all I had to do was throw in bullets powder primers and cases and I could load where ever I was at.
     
    I have one, that I picked up somewhere along the line... probably after reading one of Zediker's books on handloading. When I got it... I just couldn't make myself use it - the dang thing just felt *awful*. Plus, I had some serious reservations about whether anything built that poorly could hold acceptable tolerances. Tried for a while to find some other hand presses like the Meacham and such, but I always seemed to find them just *after* they stopped being made.

    Used various different BR arbor presses, and picked up a used Hood press... didn't like the Hood, and the arbor presses were just kind of a PITA for what I really wanted - something I could take with me when traveling (often flying) to larger matches and seating the ammo to final length on site.

    Over time, I talked to a few peers that did use the Lee hand press, and swore by it for this sort of use. Most of them had standards at least as persnickety as mine when it came to seating depth for our long range match ammo, so eventually I did give it a try. First for taking to the range to do seating depth tests as mentioned above. And later for something I could easily transport with me, lightweight, somewhat stream-lined (no square corners or handles/knobs sticking out), no loose parts like hand dies with separate seating stems, etc. to corral... it works. Ugly, feels like crap, but it works.

    I'd say the Lee hand press is one of those tools, like the Lee Collet Die, that is just dying for someone to make out of slightly better materials, with a better degree of fit/finish, and people would gladly pay the difference.

    But until then, the original will get you by (y)
     
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    I have one, that I picked up somewhere along the line... probably after reading one of Zediker's books on handloading. When I got it... I just couldn't make myself use it - the dang thing just felt *awful*. Plus, I had some serious reservations about whether anything built that poorly could hold acceptable tolerances. Tried for a while to find some other hand presses like the Meacham and such, but I always seemed to find them just *after* they stopped being made.

    Used various different BR arbor presses, and picked up a used Hood press... didn't like the Hood, and the arbor presses were just kind of a PITA for what I really wanted - something I could take with me when traveling (often flying) to larger matches and seating the ammo to final length on site.

    Over time, I talked to a few peers that did use the Lee hand press, and swore by it for this sort of use. Most of them had standards at least as persnickety as mine when it came to seating depth for our long range match ammo, so eventually I did give it a try. First for taking to the range to do seating depth tests as mentioned above. And later for something I could easily transport with me, lightweight, somewhat stream-lined (no square corners or handles/knobs sticking out), no loose parts like hand dies with separate seating stems, etc. to corral... it works. Ugly, feels like crap, but it works.

    I'd say the Lee hand press is one of those tools, like the Lee Collet Die, that is just dying for someone to make out of slightly better materials, with a better degree of fit/finish, and people would gladly pay the difference.

    But until then, the original will get you by (y)
    Thank you. That really addressed my concerns. Mainly about it being a heap of crap. No one mentions the build quality. And it being 50$ I wouldn’t think it great.
     
    Honestly, for the money the really cheap single stage lee costs... I would prefer tha that one. It's an old ass C frame design, but it was the first press I ever bought. I went to a challenger breech lock a while ago and gave away the cheap C frame, but it was useful enough for me to go 1k yards and shoot like 3/4 minute. That's all the better I am at shooting, I can cherry pick a few really good one holers, but I can't in all honesty claim that shit. Or just get a single stage Lee breech lock challenger press. They are usually under 100 bux on amazon or titan reloading. They are pretty good, it's not the very best out there, but it gets you reloading. If you want to take it to the range, bolt it to a 2x4 and bring a few clamps with you to hold it down... or clamp down whichever press you currently have.

    I remember some dude with a rock chucked at the range one day, he had a little tub with all his shit in it. Then he would bolt the press to a table at the range, and he had a scale in the tub. He would throw powder and close the tub so he could get an accurate measurement and load that way. I laughed at the time, but it was actually fairly genius
     
    I loaded 100 rounds super long and took my press to the range with me to adjust seating depth. Worked really well. I already had the charge weight I knew I’d be using
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    The marksman or the forester coax is going to be my next press. Nor sure which yet though

    I freaking love my Marksman. The ram operation is so buttery smooth and effortless it should be illegal. Some people complain about it’s spent primer catching system but I decap all my brass on my old Lee Challenger press anyways so that wasn’t a big deal to me.

    I’m averaging less than 0.001” of runout on the bullet