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Lee Load All II - 12 GA.


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I use a Lee Loadmaster for my .45 ACP reloading and I think very highly of this press. It performs perfectly for me all the time, and I have grown to rely on Lee products. Now that a Saiga 12 will grace my home soon, I may as well start reloading shot shells, too. I am looking at the Lee Load All II. It is extremely inexpensive, but that seems to be Lee's hallmark. I am wondering if anyone else here uses this reloader and if you do, what is your opinion. More than likely, I won't be loading more than 150 shells at a time, and I am wondering if the Load All is the way for me to go.

Thoughts?

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Thanks, I appreciate the input. For the $40 that I can pick one up for on Midway, I think I would most definitely get my money's worth out of it. 'Nother B-Day/Christmas gift to myself, I guess... :lol:

 

I'm in the same mind set, I want to begin reloading my own shot gun shells too.

Could you clue me in to which powder you've decided on? 209 primers I'm guessing?

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The Lee machine has basically three annoyances that have to be worked around:

 

1 ~ Powder measure bar leaks a little

2 ~ The entire machine has to be tipped over to empty hoppers

3 ~ 3" crimps are done by "feel"

 

The work arounds are as follows:

 

1 ~ Measure your powder drop with a scale, install a coppier paper gasket will glue stick, or just deal with it -- it don't really leak all that much.

 

2 ~ Mount the unit centered on a foot and a half length of 2x8 and then use two big cheapo C-clamp (Checker Auto parts sells them) to fasten the board to the bench or table one on each end. When time to empty the hoppers just loosen the clamp and flip the darn thing over with one hand over the hopper your not emptying.

 

3 ~ Only practice will cure this -- I tend to strongly favor loading the 2-3/4" shells with the Lee machine because I'm anal about how the crimps look. I've got an MEC too so I do my 3" shells on it.

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I've never had much luck getting accurate powder drops on a MEC (Sizemaster) either (always had to trickle it up/down on the scale), even with a powder baffle installed. :huh:

 

And the freaking instructions on dialing in a powder charge with that auxiliary adjustable powder bar you can buy are a joke too. You usually come up with a figure that's 10-15 grains off + or - following the instructions that they furnish with it, :eek:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I just got a Lee Load All in 20 gauge for Christmas. I'm loading 3" Fiocchi hull with #2 birdshot. The only problem I've encountered (other than crushing the first two hulls getting the "feel" of crimping) is the #2 shot sometimes binds in the drop tube. The do warn about this problem and with just a little poke, they flow just fine.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have 2 20ga lee load all and 1 12ga that i used for some time and was pleased with them untill i got my first mec loader

and i havnt used my lees since i am fortunate that i have a big bench to work from and still have a lee mounted along side my 2 mecs 1 20 and 1 twelve along with my 2 metellic reloaders and if u use the charge bars and bushings i think they are great the main factor for me was crimp if u set your crimp right on a mec the lees cant compete and u can usally get the mecs at farm sales or used for decent prices i have bought them from 50 bucks to a hundred and resold but thats just my opinion for what its worth

about 2 cents i would guess

 

and a scale is handy to have as said previously to check your powder drops and should re check perodicly while reloading as well i check mine about every tenth 1 and i also dont care for the universal charge bar

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