Lee Precision Shotshell Reloading Press 20 GA Load All II

[heretohunt]

Lee Precision Shotshell Reloading Press 20 GA Load All II
Are these any good? I found one for $100.
I have recently acquired a MEC 600 but its only set up for 12 gauge. I think it’s kind of expensive to get 20 gauge dies/conversion kit.
I also need something that does 410. Anybody have any thoughts on what would be a smart move?

[catnthehat]

Depending on how much you load and what you are looking for in a finished shell, your Lee will do just fine .
Dies for changing your gauges on a 600 are right around $235 each, so if a person has the space, simply buying a used machine is often cheaper as they commonly come with other accessories as well.
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Used 12 gauge presses are easy to find, 20 gauges are a little tougher, with 28 and 410 presses much more in demand. It depends on how many shotshells you plan on loading , and the quality that you desire. I personally wouldn't buy conversion kits though, as the cost and time to switch back and forth, make separate presses much more appealing to me.

[jungleboy]

I have had a Lee Load all II, 12 ga press since the days of lead for migratory and used to load all the shells for my partner and I on it. Recently got a 20 ga conversion for it. And it works great too, never had an issue with mine.

It sizes ,deprimes and crimps excellent. The only thing I found was that the powder metering wasn’t very consistent. I always scaled my powder separately for each shell. Not the most efficient but it works and gave me good results.

[heretohunt]

Thank you for the replies. That’s kind of what I expected. One of the reasons I bought that 20 gauge was I was looking for a smaller upland bird gun. And I wanted to bu another gun obviously. In retrospect, I’m sure there are loads that can be made without much difficulty that are lighter recoiling and less destructive for 12 and 20 Guage.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by heretohunt

Thank you for the replies. That’s kind of what I expected. One of the reasons I bought that 20 gauge was I was looking for a smaller upland bird gun. And I wanted to bu another gun obviously. In retrospect, I’m sure there are loads that can be made without much difficulty that are lighter recoiling and less destructive for 12 and 20 Guage.

It comes down to price and time, how much you save over the cost of factory loads, and how long it takes to
pay off the press, and how much time you want to spend
loading. For a few boxes of hunting loads, I would look
for a cheap used MEC, but for thousands of target loads
per year, I went with a fully progressive MEC.The
savings on 12 gauge target loads are small, only $1-2 per
box, 20 gauge saves double that, and the big savings are
28 and 410, where handloading saves me $13-15/box.
Doing 100 rounds per hour, is fine for hunting loads, but it would get old fast doing 5000-10,000 target loads per year.

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by heretohunt

Thank you for the replies. That’s kind of what I expected. One of the reasons I bought that 20 gauge was I was looking for a smaller upland bird gun. And I wanted to bu another gun obviously. In retrospect, I’m sure there are loads that can be made without much difficulty that are lighter recoiling and less destructive for 12 and 20 Guage.

I think if you are just hunting upland and shooting a half dozen boxes a year , you likely won’t save enough to pay for the press and components.
But if you look at it from the aspect of never having to try and find available ammo then it’s a good investment.
Nothing more economical and versatile than a 12 gauge. Low recoil cheap target loads will take care of most upland. Proper choke selection will limit damage.

[densa44]

You have the experts offering help on this post. I've seen Elk shoot a 28 gauge and if I was doing it over again, that's what I'd shoot.

As for making "perfect" shells Cat is the one to ask, his over shot wad, reloads are the best!

Have fun out there, if you have a good dog, you don't have to be a very good shot (me) but you'll never miss.