beginner just bought a lee 30-30 loader. What else do i need?

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bhhacker

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I know ill need a mallet, bullets, powder, and primers.


I bought 1000 of the federal 210 primers and have my own once fired brass for my initial reloads.


Is there anything else that im missing from the equation? Any input is appreciated. Thank you very much for your time.
 
Haha i do but as of now I have a bit of a space crunch. I move into a house with a garage in 2 months so THEN ill buy a press and really get to work.


Im just trying to not kill myself in Wile E Coyote fashion haha.

So im not missing anything besides what ive mentioned to get started?
 
A set of powder scales would be a nice addition.

Lee dippers are hopelessly optimistic on what they say they dip.
And your powder choices are limited by what Lee thinks they can't dip too much of.

rc
 
Get yourself a lee hand primer. You're will have to trim your cases too. I used the lee loader for my .303 British and don't need to trim my cases as I only get 3 or 4 loadings using moderate loads. Stay away from max. loads. I bought a digital scale to verify my powder chgs. It is slow, but makes for some very accurate ammo.
 
The Whack-A-mole loader lasted 17 days , then I bought a press !!!
you can make quality ammo , better with scales & faster with a press/dies.


Safety Glasses real ones !!!
 
Suggest you look at a set of calibers, a cheap set from Harbor Freight will suffice. A scale is a big plus, suggest a beam scale to start with, altho I use a digital scale with complete satisification. As far as triming I used a file for years without any problems. A countersink will work fine as a champerfing tool.

As far as the Lee Loader, there's nothing wrong with them, used them for years till I got my first press back in the 60's I believe. By loading in batches it is almost as fast as using a single stage press. Be sure to use a mallet, not a steel hammer. This should get you started in fine shape.

BTW, the Lee Loaders are very handy to take to the range for working up loads.
 
Never used one in 30-30.

But I have to wonder about the quality of the crimp for tube magazine safety?

And the suitability of neck-sizing only for a springy lever-action??

rc
 
Never had any problems with either 30/30 or 32 winchester Spec. which for all practical purposes is the same thing only slightly bigger in dia.
 
Get the lee trimmer set up. You can use it in a drill and with a piece of steel wool they will be clean and shiny.

Calipers would be good too but the 30-30 has a crimp groove to measure it for you.

Lee loaders are fun but wear glasses because i set off a few primers with mine. It do
I'd not hurt but it was loud.

Have fun.
 
i used the things for years, they work, but the hand loaders and dip cups give a lot of tolerence to what goes into the case, and you usually can only use brass fired from your rifle because they only size the mount and not the neck and whole case, unless the brass you get was fired from a rifle with a tighter chamber....(doesn't apply to straight walled cases) if your shooting is under a 100 yards your ok, but i could hold a 3" group left and right, and 12" top to bottom at 300 yards, even a cheap digital scale "cabellas" will do wonders for you, i got mine a year or so ago and it was under 30 bucks, i don't know how much they are now,.....you can use the dip cup to dump the main portion of the powder and then trickle in what you want with the same cup until you buy better toys to reload with,.....if you keep it it's a good back up for when your press or part of it goes down and your waiting for new parts to fix it
 
I currently live in a one bedroom apartment and do not have room for a dedicated reloading station.

With this in mind, should i opt for a handpress as well? I also do not have a hand drill for the trimming. Is there another cheapish alternative? I dont particularly want to drop 100$ on a case trimmer.
 
The Lee Loaders work fine, if you're only loading a box of 20 or so rounds at a time. If you reload a case more than once, you'll want to get the Lee case length trimmer for that calibre, as the brass will have started to stretch. A good powder scale and adjustable powder measure (along with a good reloading manual) will expand the bullet and powder choices available beyond the list that came with the loader.
 
Back when I started out I didn't have much space either so I used C-clamps and layed a towel on the surface I would be mounting the single stage on. You would be surprised how many places a single stage can be c-clamped to and used effectively.

But more importantly, get a HF caliper, beam scale, and some way to keep your brass trimmed to within maximum. Also, if you don't already have a good instructional reloading book, get at least one. Reliable data can be found on the internet, Hogdon is a good source, so focus on something that is more of a training manual in this respect. I started out with the Speer reloading manual, it was easy to understand and took me through the process one step at a time, and deffinietly kept me out of trouble.

Most of us here on THR will help with questions that might come up, but for data it is best to get it from a bullet/powder manufacture source. Not all reloaders are created equal, and not all loads that function well in one firearm, will do the same in your firearm.

GS
 
Safety glasses and hearing protection is a must with those loaders.
Click to expand...

Other than the fact a person should always wear safety glasses no matt how they are reloading, I wonder why???????????????????????????????/

The case is held and contained by the sizing die, so nothing is going to come flying out of it. The primer seating rod is bacically the same size as the case neck if it a rifle cartridge and if it a pistol cartridge is bigger than the primer, plus the case still has a flash hole to contain any thing other than gas from coming out. And if one holds onto the priming seating rod its not going anywhere.

What is the problem.

As far as the noise, check out the fireworks over the 4th.

YMFD
 
Safety glasses and a couple of cheap, plastic loading blocks to hold the cases (that way you can check every case to see that each one has powder, and about the same amount of powder).

Also, a way to muffle the noise made by "pounding" the rounds together.

I had great luck with a "Lee Loader" in the 1970's --- but the folks "down stairs" in my apartment complex asked that I only load ammo in the daytime.:eek:

As I remember, I only set off one primer while trying to seat it --- out of the hundreds and hundreds of rounds I loaded. By the way, the "exploding" primer did no damage, but I still suggest safety glasses when reloading ammo with any equipment.

JMHO
 
The Lee Hand Press is a good solution for those who don't have the space for a reloading bench.
 
"I know ill need a mallet, bullets, powder, and primers.
I bought 1000 of the federal 210 primers and have my own once fired brass for my initial reloads.
Is there anything else that im missing from the equation? Any input is appreciated. Thank you very much for your time."

BH Hacker,
For now that's all you need. Actually a chunk of wood will do the trick also.
Later, after you know what kind of accuracy that the Lee Classic will yield, you
can consider more sophisticated reloading equipment.

Years ago Lee produced a Target version of their Classic loader; my father
used it to load match loads for his Springfield 03A3 3- position match rifle.
he loaded some very accurate ammunition and even used a dipper. It came
with a micrometer bullet seater, case trimmer and an inside neck reamer.
But it still used the Whack -a- Mole fabrication method. I've got it now, but it
rusted, so it's unusable now.:(

Tony
 
Just a note. For all those who look down an the Lee Loader.

Wilson dies supplied by Sinclair and others suppling the benchrest market use the same principal, using either a mallet or a simple small arbor press, Granted they are more refined but it is the same simple principal.
 
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