Lee Loaders & more

[Aggiedad]

My dad used to reload 38, 357, & 30.06 back in the 1960's when I was a kid. He stopped reloading when he stopped hunting in the early 70's ... I've recently "inherited" all his loading supplies: reloaders for all three previously mentioned callibers plus 12 ga. & 410. All are in individual boxes (approximately 5"x7" in size) and are "one at a time" loaders (no pivoting press or whatever). Plus I have a Lee powder measuring kit with 13 measuring scoops, 40+ yr old powder & primers, brass, wad cutter bullets, powder, etc ... Back then, I knew how to reload and was actually better at it than my dad ... but the years have passed and one can tell by my lack of proper terminalogy that I've probably forgotten more than I can remember about reloading. I don't shoot enough of those calibers to get back into it ...
Several questions:
1. Anybody know what this stuff is worth?
2. Does the powder in the individual rounds "settle" over time?
3. Is it safe to shoot ammo that was loaded 40 years ago?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Reloader]

1. You need to check some of the ghun auction sites for values.
2. Ammo, if stored properly, as in, indoors type of humidity and tempersture and heat, should be safe to shoot, BUT only if you loaded it yourself. If it was me, I would disasseble it, keep the bullets, check the cases for corrosion,discard if corroded, discard the powder, and soak the priners in oil to make them inert.
3. theuy ammo that loaded MYSELF AND STORED PROPERLY MYSELF s safe to shoot. For other ammo, see #2 above.

[longtooth]

You can buy brand new versions of the Lee Loader for about $22 these days, assuming you're referring to this type:

Aaahhh memory lane. That is right where I started in the summer of 1970 or 71.
$9.95 & that took me a month to save.
It is still a viable loader & will load a good hunting round. Dont know how accurate a load you could make w/ the dipper only at say 500yds. I know I did not worry about shots out to 200 w/ mine. Should be the same today.

[CDH]

Very little of the used reloading stuff I have ever seen is worth serious money. It is user stuff, so use it and have fun, or sell/trade/give it to a newbie down the line.

Any 'settling' of the powder would be undone the first time you move it. The problem that may occur is clumping, but that is usually from the powder deteriorating or getting wet...which is a far worse problem than settling...

Ammo from before WW I is still around and fires most of the time. Some of that stuff was stored in bunkers w/o AC or heat, but it was sealed from moisture. If your ammo is not excessively tarnished, it is probably ok to shoot if you are confident that the original load was safe. If it were mine, I would randomly pull a few and if the powder was still flowing smooth, black, and didn't have a nasty odor, I'd shoot it.

[Aggiedad]

Old Lee Loader stuff ... I might haul to the next gun show in a backpack and put out my "shingle" to see if I can get something, anything for that stuff.

Thanks for the advice on the old ammo.