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XVIgauge
PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 8:31 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: Central Florida

Does anyone use a Lee Load All? I hope I am not the only one. I have read various posts (not necessarily on this forum) that it is "ok for a few shells here and there but not really adequate for the serious reloader."
On the contrary, I have 3 Lee Load All presses (one each in 12, 16, and 20). I have Mec presses for 28 and 410, only because Lee does not make a press in those gauges.
Over the last 30 years or so, the 20 ga press has loaded literally 100's of 1000's of rounds and has never even made a hiccup and is still going strong. You can't beat the price ($35.00) and it comes w/ many shot and powder bushings. I'm not crazy about the sizing collet ring, so I use a Mec super sizer to size my hulls. Sure it is not as fast as a progressive press, but the Lee is as fast as a Mec single stage press. I can load 100 rounds in less than an hour. I shoot maybe 100 to 150 rounds a week at skeet during the off season. If I shot a lot more I may not be singing the praises of the Lee single stage press; but I find reloading to be very relaxing, so then again, maybe I would.
XVI

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3DocPop
PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:04 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: California

I purchased a Lee in 16, because of the price. Figured if I didn't like it, not out too much money. Have since bought a 20 as well. My son has MEC in 12, or I probably would have a 12 by now also. Only have a couple of hundred rounds in total so far, but they seem to do the job.

I like all the bushings being provided with the machine at purchase, instead of buying them at several $ a pop (MEC). I do not like the method of changing shot size and powder type, but can put up with that minor hassle, and put in my pocket at least $70 compared to the price of the MEC Jr.

3DocPop
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offhand35
PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:21 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 04 Feb 2005
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Location: Western Connecticut

I used a Lee LoadAll II for 12ga for 3 years loading for trap. I'm guessing that I used it for 10-15000 rounds. It was starting to show a lot of wear and sloppiness, and I started looking at MEC's. A friend who had competed at skeet in another life, out of the blue offered me a 12ga and a 20ga MEC Sizemaster for a price I could not refuse. I do love the way they crimp shells.........

With that said......I did get a MEC 600Jr to load my 16ga 65mm shells, but STILL use a 16ga LoadAll II for my 70mm 16ga shells.

You cannot beat the price, and with all the bushings that come with it, you cannot beat the out of the box versatility of the LEE!!!

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clayflingythingy
PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:40 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 311

I used a Lee Load All for many years and loaded thousands of 12 gage on it. Finally bought a MEC Sizemaster and now wish I had never seen a Load All.

I now realize the Load All was too slow and too fussy to use. The only way I could get decent crimps was to use a Remington wad in a Remington hull and the same for Winchester and Federal. I also found it best to hold down for a couple of seconds at the crimp starter. I certainly could never load 100/hour but I was resizing on the Lee and not making that a separate step which has to be factored in. Frankly, I would never recommend one of these contraptions to anyone.

Funny how different people have such different experiences!
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Rabbitdog
PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 8:30 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 23 Jan 2006
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Location: Manhattan, Kansas

I have owned and used Lee LoadAlls in 12, 16 and 20 gauges for over thirty years. I used to load a lot more than I do now ( cheap shells at the
trap club) . I have worn out two 12's and one twenty ga. Just bought number three 12 ga. loader. When they get sloppy just replace them for less than $ 50 including shipping. The bushings that are included will save you a fortune. Between the three guages I now only load about 500 rounds a month. Sure they are a little slow ( I can do 75 rounds an hour ) but as we say in the flying business, " It's OK to go FAST.....Just don't get in a HURRY !"

Rabbitdog
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hoashooter
PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 5:19 pm  Reply with quote
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Use/buy a MEC and you will throw that Lee in the lake Twisted Evil
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ioannes
PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:04 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 17 Apr 2006
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Location: Hayden, Idaho

I use a Lee Load All for both the 16 and 20ga.

Loaded for Winter League Trap this year. Never had a problem.

But when I made some turkey loads this spring for the 16ga using #5 nickel plated shot; I did have problems with the shot hanging up in the bushing, therefore not dumping enough shot into the wad.

From now on when I load I use a little quality control. I weigh every shell to make sure that I am close to the expected weight.
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:29 am  Reply with quote
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If I didn't need a progressive press due to time restrictions and the sheer volume of shells I reload, I'd certainly see no problem with a LEE Load-all for occasional use. They certainly are inexpensive. However, it is important to segregate your once fired shells according to which gun they are shot in. They are best used by a person with but one gun per gauge.

The Lee just doesn't have enough leverage to properly resize the brass, if its been fired in a roomy chamber or a gun with a bit of extra headspace. I used to reload on a 12 and a 20 gauge Lee Load-all when I lived in Florida for occasional skeet and for lots of hunting loads. However, once my shotgun collection started to grow, the Lee loaders were no longer up to the job, because of the resizing issue.

Once I got a pair of MEC Grabbers in 12 and 20 with the collet resizer built in, the Lee presses were relegated to gathering dust on the shelf. I sold them 10-12 years ago at a local gun show here in N.E. for about what I paid for them, $15 each, NIB in 1978. They were still in good working order.
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b.randzin
PostPosted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:58 pm  Reply with quote
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I am a certified instructor in Metallic and shotshell reloading and have used, and recommend, Lee products. They are simple but well thought out
and reliable. A great buy for the money which is something that is getting rare anymore.
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16crazy
PostPosted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:17 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 240

I have reloaded rifle,pistol and shotgun for 25 years. During that time I have never worn out any RCBS, Hornady, Lyman or MEC products. Both my MEC 600 juniors are from the 1980's and have seen 1000's of rounds and are still going strong.
However I have worn out several LEE products, but I have never owned a Load all. They did work well when new but went to hell with repeated use.
Some of these LEE products kept me shooting during pennyless times, so I am not disgruntled.
So IMHO if you can afford the MEC buy it! If not go with the LEE LOAD ALL and be plan on replacing it in the future.
16 crazy
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:19 am  Reply with quote
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I don't know about the latest ones but My two '70's era Load alls worked fine for many years without a hiccup. When I sold them, they were still in good working condition. most single stage shot shell reloaders are not subjected to the stresses of metallic presses, so I can understand why the Load alls held up so well vs. some of Lee's plastic and pot metal based pistol and rifle ammo presses.

Even there though, they have some good products. I have a basic Lee portable single stage hand press I use for neck sizing bottle necked rifle brass right at the range. I 've had this little jewel for over 20 years and its still working like a charm.

Their very inexpensive powder scale is also a great deal for the average shotshell loader. In fact, anyone who reloads only shot shells should have one. Its plenty accurate for our use., plus, its small and very portable.
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XVIgauge
PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 3:48 pm  Reply with quote
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Thanks for all of the replys guys. This was kind of a mini poll of sorts. My best interpretation indicates that on this particular thread, there are 7 for and 2 against the Lee Load All.
16gg, I hear what you said about the lack of adequate resizing of the Lee, but in my original post I did say that for resizing, I use a Mec super sizer to size the hulls before I reload them. You can't get any better sizing than that. I have 3 Lee presses. My 20 ga press is at least 30 years old and I have tried to wear it out w/ no success. It just keeps on going. It has loaded 100's upon 1000's of rounds. My 12 ga Lee is 10 years old and has loaded 1000's of rounds and is still like new. I just got the 16 ga Lee so I can't say much for it yet, but in 20 years, I'll let you know how it is working.

I'm not necessarily pushing the Lee press, I am just reporting how it works for me. I have a Mec 600 jr in 28 ga that is very old and it still works great, but it is heavier and bulkier than the Lee and it is a little harder to operate the charge bar. I also have a Mec .410 sizemaster that works great, but it is heavy and bulky also. I think Mec and Lee both make great products and one cannot go wrong w/ either one. I also love the Lee scale.
XVI

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pezman1963
PostPosted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:18 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 14 Jun 2006
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Location: Hartford, Ct

XVIgauge wrote:
Does anyone use a Lee Load All? I hope I am not the only one. I have read various posts (not necessarily on this forum) that it is "ok for a few shells here and there but not really adequate for the serious reloader."
On the contrary, I have 3 Lee Load All presses (one each in 12, 16, and 20). I have Mec presses for 28 and 410, only because Lee does not make a press in those gauges.
Over the last 30 years or so, the 20 ga press has loaded literally 100's of 1000's of rounds and has never even made a hiccup and is still going strong. You can't beat the price ($35.00) and it comes w/ many shot and powder bushings. I'm not crazy about the sizing collet ring, so I use a Mec super sizer to size my hulls. Sure it is not as fast as a progressive press, but the Lee is as fast as a Mec single stage press. I can load 100 rounds in less than an hour. I shoot maybe 100 to 150 rounds a week at skeet during the off season. If I shot a lot more I may not be singing the praises of the Lee single stage press; but I find reloading to be very relaxing, so then again, maybe I would.
XVI


I love my Lee Load All II
I just wish they would make it in 10ga, 28ga and .410
I perfer it to single stage MEC presses
I also find it relaxing
to use.
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Lawrence U
PostPosted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 7:46 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 06 Jun 2006
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Location: Mobile, AL

Believe it or not I've got a 12 ga. Lee Load All I bought in 1980. It still spits out good shells. It is not my main loader, but I still use it for nearly all my light loads.

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And my fingers for battle. Ps 144:1.
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:04 am  Reply with quote
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One other thing I like about the company is that if anything breaks or goes wrong, they will replace it free of charge, no arguments. Just mail it back to them and you will get a new one. I person can't ask for better service than that.

I've used their magazine type primer seating hand tool for decades. I had one of the lever bars wear out in my oldest one. I asled for just the part as everything else was still good. They sent me a whole new priming tool and three more lever bars to replace them as they wore out. All I can say to that is WOW!
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