Turning your nose up at certain foods, people, or experiences without giving them a try is just a horrible way to walk through life—and I try to catch myself whenever doing so. Such was the case with the Classic Lee Loader, as at first glance, it appears unorthodox and colloquial. After all, how good could a complete reloading system be if it only costs about as much as a box of ammo?

Classic Lee Loader: From Newbies to Minimalist Versatility

Wait, you have to tap the primers in place, too? I’m out. I maintained this position for decades before I realized I hadn’t done so much as read the owner’s manual to one. After skimming some of the information online, I realized these kits aren’t so weird after all. In fact, they’re borderline ingenious and can easily serve the needs of a hunter or survivalist who merely wants to ensure a steady ammo supply for a solemn firearm. Being that you don’t need a press or even a workbench, having a Lee Loader means that you can make ammo at camp or even right at the shooting bench on the range. Now intrigued, I decided to obtain one and try my hand at replicating one of my favorite handloads.

Low-Volume Loading

Of the 15 that Lee offers, the one that stuck out most to me was the .30-30 Winchester. Shooting 100 rounds this year would surprise me–but I still load it every year. A few years ago, I built a load with Federal’s HammerDown brass and a Hornady 160-grain FTX bullet. Using Hodgdon’s LEVERevolution Powder, I was able to pull MOA-ish five-shot groups out of a Henry H009G. This performance required a charge of 34.5 grains, and the cartridge needed a light crimp as well. Upon closer inspection, Lee’s loader doesn’t have a crimping function nor a realistic means to vary powder charges.

Instead, it comes with a volumetric dipper and a card that gives you a rough idea of how much powder it scoops. Wanting to use the kit as it stands, I accepted the terms but also decided to add a copy of “Modern Reloading” as well as Lee’s complete dipper set. “Modern Reloading” offers thousands of other loads, most having corresponding dipper numbers to make getting to them easier. 

Readying the Loader

Understanding that all metal tools have some sort of preservative to them, I began by cleaning the kit with rubbing alcohol. Removing oil keeps the powder from sticking to the interior surfaces, severely altering charge weights with each pour. A hammer remains the only other tool needed to load ammo. But a block of wood or even a flat rock work to get the job done in a pinch.

As cleaning isn’t necessary, the first step is to deprime the fired case. This process includes placing the decapping rod inside and placing the case on the decapping chamber. This allows the primer to fall free when tapped with a hammer. This is done before resizing to ensure the rod will slip through the still-enlarged case mouth.

Once the primer is knocked out, the case can be slid into the sizing die area of the tool and knocked in until the rim is flush. The Lee Loader only sizes the neck of the case, allowing you to skip the lubrication application and removal steps. I was surprised to see this as neck-sizing only is a practice used by discriminating benchrest shooters, as it yields premium accuracy. Keep in mind, however, this requires only using brass fired previously through your gun. It also means the finished loads become married to that gun as well.

Seating the Primer

Next comes the scary part—tapping in the primer. I write this in jest because after learning more, there are multiple fail safes to keep them from popping on you. Furthermore, primers have a fair bit of tolerance before they go off, just think of how many times you’ve had a cartridge fail to fire due to a light strike. A spring-loaded ring ensures it aligns with the case’s primer pocket. Tapping the case down the primer proves measurably safer than the other way around. The tool’s setting drives it only so far, providing both audible and tactile feel when completely bottomed out.

After freeing the case from the main portion of the loader, it is time to charge it with gunpowder. This is as simple as pouring it through the opening of the tool. Checking it on a scale, I determined that the included 1.9cc dipper scooped, on average, 30.4 grains of LEVERevolution. This leaves a very comfortable cushion to ensure that you don’t exceed the maximum charge, which Lee lists as 35.5 grains with this weight bullet. I decided to make five rounds with just this amount of powder and then another five with a scoop from the 1.9cc dipper supplemented with a scoop from the .3cc dipper, which gave me a faithful 34.5 grains, replicating this gun’s pet load.

Why didn’t I just use the 2.2cc scoop and get it done in one shot, you ask? Well, it turns out that scoop yields a completely different amount. This is just a subtle reminder that all volumetric measuring devices are only estimates, and your most accurate and safest practice is to confirm charge weights with a scale. 

Bullet Seating

We finish each cartridge by dropping a bullet in behind the powder and using the seating tool and a hammer to tap it into place. The seater will stop when it contacts the tool mouth, setting a stop-point for each bullet. Overall length sets via the relationship of the top of the tool to the bottom of the tool. Screwing it down shortens the overall length, while twisting it out makes it longer. Not expecting much, I was impressed when my rounds were all within +/- .001”, which is tough to do even with a press.

After learning the process, I was able to make my next ten rounds in 34 minutes, which isn’t too bad for my first go at it. Ironically, doubled up is about the time it would take to drive to the store and buy a 20-round box of ammo. Satisfied with the results, I took the rounds to the range to test-fire them. After using the “learner” round to warm the barrel and ensure the Garmin Xero was aligned with the target, I began shooting the rounds made with 1.9cc of powder.

Shooting Performance

Performance was certainly on par with factory ammo with respect to standard deviation and group size. Happy with the results, I moved on to the loads made with a total of 2.2cc, achieving the same results experienced using a conventional press. This told me everything I needed to know about using the Lee Loader.

The entire experience was rewarding and dare I say it, fun. I concluded that any negative feedback received easily chalks up to user error or inexperience. Those looking to add another layer of enjoyment to shooting, see if reloading is for them, or just supplement existing gear ought to give this product a look. With an investment so small, you owe it to yourself to investigate. Then the only contempt you might have is not trying one sooner!

For more info, visit leeprecision.com.

Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph

Using a chronograph is one of the best ways to check a handload’s consistency. Shooters pull shots, and rifles and optics can do funny things; however, if your standard deviation is low, you can at least have faith in the uniformity of a load sample. Garmin’s Xero makes gathering this information easier than ever through Doppler radar. This compact unit doesn’t involve going down range to set up, as all you have to do is point it toward the target. A running velocity average, along with other information, displays on the transflective, sunlight-visible screen, one that also mirrors on your smart phone through the ShortView app. The Xero has proven instrumental in load testing projects like this, as well as creating DOPE charts for long-range shooting. (garmin.com)