Lee breech lock hand press - Lee Hand Press 90685

I struggled with learning to use large loading presses--which die was which? was I going to do something to blow off my hand? was I using the automatic dispensers correctly? I even took an NRA-approved loading course. I have two other presses sitting downstairs: a Lee standard "bench" loading press and a Lee "turret" loading press. There was just something about the loading process that I couldn't get straight in my mind, at least in relation to the presses. I knew "intellectually" what the process was, but I just couldn't visualize it, and that made me nervous.

I happened by chance to learn that the hand presses still existed. I saw a used one for sale, and out of curiosity I looked it up on the 'net. Sure enough, good ol' Lee: They still make them. And, boy, am I glad that they do. This press has completely solved the problem. After I don't know how many years of fretting, I finally can load whatever I want whenever I want. With confidence--maybe that's the most important thing. There is no way you can fail to understand the loading process, concretely, using a hand press. And that builds confidence. I use the Lee hand device for primers (whatever it's called), and, if I can, I use the "scoop" method for loading powder (although I double-check weights on my scale--which is now electronic--another purchase I made to feel more confident).

I collect pre-WWII hunting rifles. As I've grown older and can do a lot less big game hunting, I've gotten interested in cartridges and ballistics, especially the cartridges and loads that were used by my father and grandfather and their generations. That means I experiment with loads a good bit. On the other hand, I don't need many cartridges. I don't shoot the rifles much otherwise in order to keep them in the great shape most of them are already in. So loading is good for me as well because I can load the lowest safe load for a given rifle. I want my sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews, and their kids, to be able to feel what it's like to shoot (or even hunt with) a custom Mauser or a fine Mannlicher Schonauer, while at the same time ensuring the guns experience as little wear as possible.

Okay, sorry to go on, but the point of this is the hand press is great for me because of my "selective" loading of only, say, 50 cartridges at a time. I've even started loading at the range like the "pros." So if you load more than that, the hand press probably isn't for you. By the way, I do load for handguns on the order of about 100 or, occasionally, 150 at a time, and that's fine. That doesn't bother me, but it may bother you.