Lee Loader

Hello! I am new to shooting, this forum, reloading, all of it! Toady I just started my quest to reload my own 38 special wimpy practice loads with the $40 basic Lee Loader kit. I just resized my first bunch of brass shot from my own recently purchased Charter Arms 38 Undercover, and NOT ONE OF THEM EVER WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN "FLUSH" INTO THE DIE. To all of you Lee Masters out there, is it OK if my resizing is 1/16" or so shy? I used my official Lee Case Lube, and I whacked each case several times with a pretty big rubber mallet, but they still wouldn't go all the way in. Also, the resized brass fits back easily into the revolver. Please advise...

Make sure the cases are lubed. Check a few case lengths prior to sizing, just to make sure. I have not had this problem when using my yellow plastic mallet (my first Lee Loader was in 38 Special purchased in '69). I set the die on my lead ingot, anvil, and have been able to tap cases flush. Perhaps the rubber hammer is not giving a "solid" enough impact on the case. The "hammer in" sizing die is pretty straight forward, just a steel tube that a brass tube is forced into. If you can, try a harder hammer, even a "dead blow" hammer works. I've known couple LL users that whacked the case with a 2x4! As long as the hammer is not steel, no damage will happen to the case or die. But as long as the finished rounds chamber completely, consistently, they will be safe to shoot...

Go slow. Double check everything. Most important, have fun...

Thanks, mikld, and slow is about the only way you can go with this LL kit! (Ha) The cases definitely chamber OK, so it should work out.

If you have a Harbor Freight near, try and get a Deadblow hammer. They work really well with the Lee Loader. They are pretty inexpensive.
I also know a few people that use a drill press as an arbor press with the Lee Loaders. You don't even need to plug the press in. They tell me it is much quieter.

An arbor press is nice for a lot of things.

If you think about it that1/16 of an inch or or is about what is left unsized with a conventional press and shell holder and as the OP noted they all chamber. I'd say he's good.

Make smoke,

Welcome. You will enjoy the forum. Ask away on any subject. With respect to sizing, if it fits in the cylinder and comes out again after firing then not to worry as long as you have good neck tension. Revolver rounds with not enough neck tension can suffer bullet creep although a mild load in a 38 isn't going to result in much recoil. Recoil causes creep. A firm crimp helps but is not a substitute for adequate neck tension.

TRSmith wrote:Thanks, mikld, and slow is about the only way you can go with this LL kit! (Ha) The cases definitely chamber OK, so it should work out.

Once you get used to using a Lee Loader, it ain't really slow...

Reloading a handgun round may be 10-15 seconds longer because you will lube and crimp too. Beware of you tube videos as many of those I've seen are worthless and misleading. One shows using a cinder block as an anvil and one shows using a claw hammer, nothing I'd ever attempt...

I hear you. Your dilemma is something I've experienced with LEE Loaders and also with some reloading dies.

Before adding my comments, I got out my 357 Mag LEE Loader. With a progressive press bolted to my bench, I haven't used the LEE in years, it's a collector for sure.



The issue is that your sizer isn't seasoned yet. It takes quite a few sizings with well lubed cases to "season" a die. Basically similar to seasoning a cast iron fry pan. You need to smooth the steel, and get some lube imbedded into the metal. LEE Lube works OK. You can speed up the process by polishing the die. LEE Loader sizers don't as a rule over resize, I wouldn't suggest any aggressive polishing. A bit of 600 to 800 on a wooden dowel is about as much as I'd be comfortable with. Neck tension on the bullet is an important requirement.

But: The bottom line is that the LEE Loader is a a neck sizing die, and the case should be run into the die, "all the way". Failure to do so may cause issues. As already mentioned, the issue being neck tension on the seated bullet. I'm not here to argue about what you can get away with, I'm covering what should be done.

Just because LEE says all the tools you need are in the kit, doesn't mean you can't utilize the other tools you have in the shop. One fairly basic home mechanics tool is the arbor press. It works well for pressing the shell casing into the die. I have a brass rod that I use for pressing the shell casing back out. My die has been used and it still amazed me how much force was required to push the shell casing into the die. It took as much to get it back out, BTW.



If you don't already have an arbor press, which is a very handy shop tool, you may want to buy one. They are fairly inexpensive, I got mine at Princess Auto on sale, (Canada's version of Harbor Freight). I had mine in the shop for pressing on small bearings, and when I started doing more reloading, it came into the house and got mounted on my bench. I modified mine to ratchet on the top of the stroke, so I can position the handle where I want. A neat mod, I found the details online.

Conclusion: The case should be pushed in flush, and IMHO a hammer is probably not the best tool for the job. And bench rest shooters still use an arbor press for reloading, albeit theirs are a bit smaller and a bit more costly.

Your choice of hammer may be part of the problem. A rubber hammer has too much give, the hammer I use has hard plastic ends and has a bit of heft to it. You don't want to wail on it, just a good well directed hammer blow.