Lee Classic Loader 45 ACP

Product #: 246418
| Manufacturer #: 90262
Status: Available
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The Lee Classic Reloader contains everything you need to begin loading (except a hammer). Kit includes Sizing Die, Decapping Chamber, Bullet Seater and Priming Chamber, Priming Rod, Powder Measure, load data, plastic case and complete instructions.

Application Charts & Information

Overall Rating:
4.3 out of 5
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5 stars
AL Rojales of Moreno Valley, CA
Date posted: 8/6/2005
I use this for loading the X-Ring Rubber bullets and Speer Plastic practice bullets. Also it is not advertised but it also works for .45 Auto Rim which is also nice. Great product Simple, Compact, typical of Lee Precision, also you can call Lee and they are VERY helpful and infomative as always.
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5 stars
Barry Cole of Baltimore, MD
Date posted: 11/6/2008
Simple/easy to use. Makes great ammo, accurate and consistent. After some toying with different methods, found resizing best done by resting shell on concrete block buffered by a newspaper, then putting a 2x4 on the die and beating w/ regular hammer. Three whacks = full length sized case and no harm at all to case or die. Have reloaded about 300 rounds now. Ordered the flaring tool to help with seating cast bullets w/o shaving lead, also very handy to shape case mouths that get a little out of round after firing. Buy the kit BEFORE you buy components, this will save you lots of hassle later. For non-resizing tasks, I recommend the Lyman Tapper hammer available at MidwayUSA, which could be used in a pinch for resizing (very vigorous hammering.)
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4 stars
Jeremy Zorns of Round Lake Beach, IL
Date posted: 2/6/2004
PROS: inexpensive, compact and easily packable, gets the job done cheaply, and makes ACCURATE ammo; at least twice as accurate as the affordable factory ammo. The difference in accuracy is immediately obvious. CONS: VERY noisy, Everything you need is NOT included. (you will need a chamfering tool, ($3 or so) a $13 plastic faced-hammer, and no, a mallet won't work, and you will also need case lube). The Lee Loader (as others have said) is an excellent way to get into reloading. If you are like me and money is hard to come by, this might be your best bet. If you have a choice, do yourself a favor and try it first in a rifle caliber (not semi auto though). This product was not designed for quantity reloading, and so it is more suited to rifle calibers, in my opinion. I have just now finished loading 50 rounds of .45 with mine, and it took about 45-60 minutes. I live in a condo complex, and having to hammer as hard as you do to resize the .45 brass makes a TON of noise. The only way it doesn't is if you use a concrete floor as your anvil. For condo/apartment dwellers, the Lee Hand Press is probably a much better idea. From a cost standpoint, they are pretty comparable. For rifle ammo, this doesn't apply, since you need equipment to cut the case to length and such. There is another advantage for using the Lee Loader for rifle ammo: it neck sizes only, so if you buy factory ammo, fire it in your bolt-action rifle, the case will exactly fit the chamber. When you resize the brass with the Lee Loader, it will STILL fit the chamber exactly. (super accuracy is achieved in this way) Furthermore, when you decide to upgrade to a bench-mounted press, you can still use the hand press; either in the field or in your living room when the garage is too cold for reloading. I gave this 5 stars because for the price, it is hard to beat. Lastly, if you already have 'normal' reloading equipment, and can afford to spend the $14 for this, you should have a Lee Loader. It is a marvel of engineering and economy. Using this makes me proud to be American. Just the idea of reloading quality ammo with such a simple, compact, and inexpensive setup is amazing.
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4 stars
James Sprott of Kansas City, MO
Date posted: 10/29/2003
Good start for the beginning reloader on a tight budget, or just wants to "get feet wet" in reloading. This .45ACP kit will full length resize cases and get you into action. TIPS: Nobody uses candle wax except in an emergency. Wax type lube or spray lube should be used. 2. Get a good plastic face hammer with replaceable faces weighing between 12 0z to 16 0z. Sears or Stanley soft face hammers work nicely and are usually easily available along with spare faces. Using wood block mentioned in instruction sheet will quickly result in splintering. 3. Use a piece of scrap aluminum plate or brass block or plate to use as an anvil. This will protect Loader parts from battering damage as hammer blows come down. 4. Check for too short depriming chamber when first using Loader. Cases may not completely eject when hit by knock out rod after sizing. Write or phone Lee Precision for FREE factory exchange for longer chamber! This longer chamber will let cases get knocked out quick! If chamber allows full ejection of sized cases when new, great! Get busy reloading! 5. Spend the extra money and send for "optional" case flaring tool by letter. It is a necessity for loading cast or swaged bullets and "ironing out" dented brass cases. Very cheap and well worth the 2 week or so wait from Lee Precision. 6. Get the Lee Hand priming tool , "Auto Prime", and shellholder for .45ACP, but only load 50 primers at a time. This will let you detect upside down primers more quickly, and prevent priming problems. The speed of priming makes the other Lee Loader operations a breeze. The priming rod in the Loader is so slow to use that is relegated to emergency use only! 7. Get 2 loading blocks to keep control of loading operations and prevent problems. 8. Get Lee case preparation tools when you get Lee Loader, especially case trimmer/gauge. You will need them at the very start of adventures in reloading. 9. Don't let spirited hammering away while reloading disturb others! 10. If you graduate to a press, you can still use the Lee Loader as a straight line bullet seater!
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4 stars
William Price of Bealeton, VA
Date posted: 6/3/2006
This kit was my intro to reloading. .45ACP requires some serious whacking with your plastic hammer to resize, and to get the shell casings back out when done resizing, but LEE tells you this up front. This extremely simple kit is amazing, because if you have a few troy ounces of brains, follow the instructions, and ASK FOR HELP IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, you will produce good--even great quality ammunition on a tiny worktable with minimal supplies. I found a dial caliper helpful for overall bullet length, but they are extremely cheap today, and I found that the bullet seating tool likes to move after you've established a dimension--this is easily rectified with a tab of your favorite tape to keep the adjustment knob from turning as you seat bullets. Your next investment should be the LEE (or your favorite brand) AUTO PRIME or other hand-operated priming gadget, because adding that to the mix will instantly double your loading speed without compromising quality or safety. I have now moved through the 4-hole LEE turret press and presently use the Pro-1000, and that move is a lot like changing from growing your own food to eating in a restaurant. Everything about LEE products is minimal, yet adequate and reliable.
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4 stars
D L of Springfield, Or
Date posted: 11/28/2006
I gave this .45 acp loader a 4 instead of the 5. I rated the .223 rifle cartridge loader that because before buying this you should know one thing up front. THIS LOADER IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FULL LENGTH SIZE A PISTOL CARTRIDGE WITH A MALLET ALONE. I had to use my small benchtop drill press as a press with LOTS OF CASE LUBE to get my cases full length sized, then had to used a large drilling hammer to pound the cases loose. In the end, my cases were still slightly large and required that I knurl the base of my bullets to get them to seat tight enough that they would feed in my gun properly and not jam from the bullets being forced back into the case by the force against the barrel ramp. All that said, for the money it's still a decent tool to get into reloading on a tight budget.
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