Lee Precision 90685 Cast Iron Reloading Hand Press Only (Red)

I was reloading 38 specials and 10mm on this lovely hand press. Obviously, it's not as fast as a stationary press but it does allow you to have freedom. It does have a removal breech lock quick change bushing to allow quick removal of dies without having to unscrew and readjust. Hold the black button near where the dies goes in, twist, and pop out. However, the breech lock bushing is quite expensive at $10 per 2-pack on the lee website, so you would need one for each die. And knowing how us gun people are, we want to load em all! lol. Depending on cartridge, you may get a good workout on the sizing die when sizing hundreds of brass, so you'll get buff in no time. The hand press is pretty solid, but the way the metal clanks leads me to think the metal may break if I accidentally drop it hard on a solid floor.All in all, I really like it, and it's worth it if you want the portability. Oh, do yourself a favor and get a hand priming tool and save yourself the hassle of picking up one primer at a time (you would need to buy the ram prime at $15, but not buy the auto-prime XR for $25?) I like the RCBS universal priming tool, fast, easy, and it is a sturdy solid metal.

First - you have to remember what this is ... a HAND PRESS!Second - for what it was designed it is awesome!Ok, it is slow and it takes some work to open and close, open and close, ... repeat. However, it is great to take to the range to work on loads or to reload in places you don't have the setup handy.I LOVE that this uses normal dies. I have a couple of Lee Loaders which are a single caliber reloading solution and very easy to use; the difference is that this can be used with virtually any dies.I also use this to prepare shells while spending time with the family though they don't like the "clank"; maybe I will mount a piece of rubber so they don't hear it but so far I am enjoying their looks of distaste. I will sit and deprime shells after the range so they can be dumped into the tumbler or washed ready for the next move.Great press for what it is designed and when used for what it is designed. I think I would go crazy if I had to load .223 Rem. for plinking or 9mm for range time but for case preparation or for reloading rounds that aren't consumed so rapidly (.45 LC, .30-06 Spr. for examples) it is great! Portable. Usable. Friendly except for family not liking the "clank".

It was perfect. Not much else to say. It works as intended. Update: I thought I'd update my review on this press to show a few photos between the original breech lock hand press and this new version. The old version had the lock pin to lock in the bushing and as other reviewers have stated Lee precision has removed the feature. My opinion of this is that it's a move to make it inconvenient for the user unless he or she has a bushing for each die. Sure they're saving plenty of production costs as well, but once you have that die set and tighten that lock ring on this new version you're not going to take it out without the bushing coming with it! Now you can however remove the bushing from the die and place it back into the press and screw your next die in, but the process will be the same... once the lock ring is tightened you're not going to be able to easily unscrew it without the bushing coming out of the press. Other differences is in the finish. The older version had the standard lee red paint and smooth finish. The new version has a red powder coat finish with the frame being left rough with little pits all in it. The pitted powder coated finish of the newer version is a plus as it actually adds in grip when your hands get sweaty. Btw On my two versions dies set for one press will not interchange in the other without resetting them. I'm not sure which tolerances are different between the two because it can't be seen by eye and I've not taken the time to measure them, but I suspect the ram is slightly longer on one of them. The shellholder slot on my older version is cut a tad loosely as well and it's just enough to allow the ram prime to have a bit of wobble in it, but there are no problems with shellholders in it. I still rate this newer version as a five star portable press, but I spent more than I wanted to in order to put together another portable kit with this newer version as I purchased a dozen breech lock bushings for this particular press due to the hassle of having to take the bushing out and unscrew it from the die in my hands in order to change to the next die. Richard Lee would have never given an ok to remove the lock pin from the press as he based his business decisions on saving the consumer money while offering them a quality product! I certainly wish I still had my old original non breech lock Lee hand presses. All in all this is a great portable press as it's always been just be prepared to spend a little extra money for bushings or lock ring eliminators.

I recently got back into shooting.Decided I wanted to save a bit on ammo and be able to make custom loads. This thing seems to be a great cost effective way to do it in a smaller scale.Of course if you are like me, there will be lots more equipment to buy to get started reloading. But this product is the first step.