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How to Use a Lee Hand Press

One of the most frequent expenses for the shooting enthusiast is ammunition. Whether hunting or target shooting, ammunition is necessary and sometimes costly. For this reason, many shooting enthusiasts manufacture their own ammunition, both to carefully craft their own supplies and to save money. One of the most important tools of home ammunition making is the cartridge press. Lee Precision Inc. manufactures a small hand press designed for compact, precise ammunition reloading.

Things You'll Need

Lee hand press
Resizing lubricant
Cotton swabs
Lee sizing die
Lee expanding die
Lee seating die
Empty bullet cases
Lee priming tool
Gunpowder
Funnel
Gunpowder scoop
9/16-inch hex wrench

Instructions

- 1
  Insert the shell holder into the body of the hand press. The shell holder is the silver cylindrical part that holds the shell for reloading.
- 2
  Screw the sizing die into the threaded opening at the ram side of the hand press. Ensure that it is the correct die type for the ammunition you are reloading. When the desired position is reached, tighten the lock ring at the top of the die.
- 3
  Apply resizing lubricant to the empty bullet cases with your fingers and to the inside of the cases with cotton swabs.
- 4
  Place one of the lubricated empty bullet casings in the shell holder.
- 5
  Press the lever toward the ram side of the hand press to dislodge the spent primer. Repeat this process with all your empty bullet casings. The hand press collects the spent primers as they are dislodged and will need to be emptied about every 20 primers.
- 6
  Place an empty bullet case in a priming tool with a primer and close the tool, attaching the primer to the case. Repeat this process with all the empty bullet cases.
- 7
  Remove the sizing die and replace it with an expanding die. The deeper the die is screwed in, the wider the opening of the empty bullet cases will flare. The optimal amount of flare is just enough for the bullet to fit in the case.
- 8
  Place an empty, primed bullet case in the shell holder and push the lever toward the ram side of the hand press. This will flare the opening of the bullet case. Repeat this process with all the empty, primed bullet cases.
- 9
  Fill each empty, primed and flared bullet case with gunpowder using a funnel and gunpowder scoop. Make sure to use only the exact amount and type of gunpowder for the type of ammunition you are reloading. Do not reset the primer after adding gunpowder, as it can cause the unfinished ammunition to fire.
- 10
  Remove the expanding die and replace it with the bullet seating die.
- 11
  Place a bullet inside the opening of one of the primed, flared and gunpowder-filled bullet cases.
- 12
  Insert the bullet and casing into the seating die.
- 13
  Adjust the 9/16-inch hex screw with a hex wrench to adjust the depth of the bullet seating.
- 14
  Press the lever toward the ram arm side of the hand press to press the bullet into the bullet case. The bullet is finished. Remove the finished ammunition from the hand press and repeat this process with all the remaining primed, flared, gunpowder-filled bullet cases.

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