An Old Lee Loader Question

[Blaine]

This is the "Pound It With A Hammer" Lee Loader for .45acp/Auto Rim.....

Do you suppose that it will crimp hard enough for stout loads out of that 625 I just acquired? That would bite if the cyl jammed up at an inopportune time...

[mergus]

Way back, like 30 years ago, when I was younger and broke'er, I used to load all my .45 ACP for my Colt 1917 with that exact loading tool. Never once did it jump crimp, and I wasn't bright enough to start out on the light loads...

Mergus

[Blaine]

Way back, like 30 years ago, when I was younger and broke'er, I used to load all my .45 ACP for my Colt 1917 with that exact loading tool. Never once did it jump crimp, and I wasn't bright enough to start out on the light loads...

Mergus

I was hoping someone would say that.....for now, my reloads will be auto rim for the 625.....I have a couple thousand or so factory 230fmjs.....

[AJMD429]

I loaded thousands of rounds as a teenager using 21 (I think) grains of 2400 behind 240 JSP's for a 44 Mag Super Blackhawk with one without a crimp failure. Whatever the load was, I know that in the recent (40 years since) load manuals, it is now beyond the 'maximum advised' load, when back then it was just 'stout'.

[J Miller]

Blaine, I never loaded ACP rounds with my Lee Loader. But I never had any problems at all with revolver rounds. Those tools do make a good roll crimp when they are designed to.



Have you slugged the throats on the cylinder?

Just curious cos many eons ago I had a 25-2. With jacketed ammo accuracy was decent. With lead, super poor and it leaded badly. I found out at the end it had .454 ± throats. So any bullets that my dies could seat in ACP or AR cases were too small for the cylinder.

With what I know now I could have dealt with the throats. But back then I just got rid of the gun.

Joe

[Blaine]

I loaded thousands of rounds as a teenager using 21 (I think) grains of 2400 behind 240 JSP's for a 44 Mag Super Blackhawk with one without a crimp failure. Whatever the load was, I know that in the recent (40 years since) load manuals, it is now beyond the 'maximum advised' load, when back then it was just 'stout'.

The last Lee Loader I used was for 16ga in the late 60s.....made it possible to shoot a couple rounds of skeet a week.

[Catshooter]

It should work just fine Blaine. I got my start with one in the 45 in the mid 70s.

I know exactly what you are talking about with the Smith. I did the same thing. Once I learned the fix I finally bought one. They are excellent guns, just with huge throats.

I bought an older Ideal 454424. It drops bullets at .457 that I size to .456 and they go through the .455 and then into the .452 bore and shoot very accurately.

Wish I'd know of that fix years ago, dang it.


Cat

[mikld]

I'm 67 and been loading with Lee equipment for mebbe 30 years. Does that make me an "old Lee Loader"?

BTW, my first 1,000 rounds reloaded were made with a Lee Loader in .38 Special in about 1969...

[piller]

I use Lee dies for my .480 Ruger, and it has never jumped crimp. The .480 generates a lot more kick than the .45 ACP, and as such, the .45 should be just fine with the Lee crimp.

[pokey]

I'm 67 and been loading with Lee equipment for mebbe 30 years. Does that make me an "old Lee Loader"?

BTW, my first 1,000 rounds reloaded were made with a Lee Loader in .38 Special in about 1969...

time is fun when you are having flies.

1969 to 2014 = 45 yrs.