New to me Lee challenger

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Bazoo

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When out in my normal run with my buddy, I came across this old lee challenger press. I reckon I have $40 in it, not horrible and not great. But I never have tried one, so I figured I'd give it a go.

Mostly I use an old Lyman Spartan, or a lee hand press. But I've owned others namely a RCIV. The spartan is great for processing pistol brass, hand clearance is great.

Anyways I mounted the challenger on a board to clamp it to my bench temporarily. I'll mount it and the spartan in the same manner but with with bolts, at some point.

I've already researched the weakness of the toggle parts and will procure a replacement. image.jpg
 
I forgot to mention, that I already have put it to use. Pulling cast bullets in some 44 magnum cases. The challenger does better here than the spartan, for two reasons. First the compound linkage. Second, the distance the cartridge protrudes past the top of the frame is more on the challenger, which makes for a better bite with my side cutters.
 
I am going to rearrange my loading room, which is only about 6' square, and make more enchilada space. I cobbled this together and use a 4' bench. Course I have shelves and a few drawers. Anyways. Been my plan for a while to have a wrap around bench, and room for several presses at the same time.

I'm not sure where the challenger might for into that scheme, but it's been useful thus far. A fair amount easier sizing of 44 magnum brass over the spartan.
 
I started with a lee hand prime tool but I converted to ram prime. Tried the lee a while but I got slightly crooked primers. I got a Lyman ram prime, and I had to tweak it a bit, but it now is excellent. It has a solid shell holder for the primer ram to push against. I've found that to come in handy on occasion by itself.
 
I got my first real press in '71 and it was a Lee Challenger. I loaded tens of thousands of 38 Specials for several years before I sold it (messy divorce in CA). Not one single problem, pre-breech lock, stock priming. IIRC I did a few hundred .223 rounds for my Handi-Rifle.
 
What kind of reloading equipment did you use prior to the challenger mdi?

I've been thinking of trying the lee turret press. Course, there ain't a whole lot of presses I don't want to try.
 
What kind of reloading equipment did you use prior to the challenger mdi?

I've been thinking of trying the lee turret press. Course, there ain't a whole lot of presses I don't want to try.
Lee Loader. I got a 38 Special Lee Loader in '69, realized how much I liked reloading and then went to a single stage. I knew no reloaders and heard the stories from the old geezers at the LGS (and wasn't sure they weren't just fish tales) so I did my own research at the library as this was waaay pre-web. I did a lot of reading, got several vendor catalogs (remember Herter's catalogs?) and bought a Lee Loader. I shopped and found a Challenger in about '71 at the local Turner's Sporting goods store and bought it and a set of Lee dies. My second inventory included a CH monster single stage and then an old style Lee turret (I still have both). Today I use a Forster Co-Ax and have 1.987 metric tons of assorted reloading tools...
 
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I originally thought I might use the challenger in my shop, where I cast. I often use the hand press to work brass while my pot warms. But I might end up keeping it in the house as I like it.
 
I recently came upon one myself. Mine was in a box of reloading goodies that was given to my neighbor. He said he needed none of it and gave me the pick of what I wanted. I took the Challenger and a couple books for free. You are putting yours to use, and mine is still sitting under my bench waiting for work. :(

-Jeff
 
I did notice that it slings primers all over. A piece of aptly bent cardboard helped that. I got a good rythme down with switching cases an can do it as fast as on my spartan.
 
I have loaded easily 50-60 thousand (or more) handgun (mostly) and rifle rounds on my two Lee O presses since 1995.

Not. One. Issue. Ever. They’re both still running strong.

Not too bad for a set of inexpensive presses.

Now I did have a Lee C press I bought used at a yard sale for a fiver get a crack near one of the lever pin anchor points several years after I bought it. I sent it to Lee and they sent me a new one for 10 bucks. This is a spare as it sits on a shelf now.

Others are faster, look better, work better or whatever-better... but I can’t complain too much with what I got.

Stay safe.
 
I rescued mine from dad's shed a number of years ago. Took a little TLC but I've been using it for year. Yours looks nicer though, so I would have been happy to pay $40 for it.
 
I enjoy trying new reloading gear. So I try one press a while then something else. I'm wanting to try the lee turret press, but for now the challenger is my new love.
 
About a year ago, I made the call to resume reloading after a decades long break. After putting out some feelers I found a guy who had been gifted his uncle's reloading setup, so had two of everything and offered me most of his uncle's stuff. It was about 90% of what a reloading kit would be.....plus/minus a few things. He even threw in a partial box of bullets and sleeve of primers to get me going.

I was thrilled until I found out the press was a Lee Challenger.....breech lock version, which at the time, I didn't know what was. Pretty big disappointment, but figured anything was better than nothing, which is what I had, so took it....resolving to upgrade at first chance.

Long story short, it has served me well and I have no plans or need to upgrade to anything else. The more I have actually used the Lee stuff, the more I have come to respect the genius of Mr. Lee. Reminds me of some Australian relatives and guys I know. They have a knack for doing remarkably great things on the cheap. Or as the English like to say......"simply brilliant"!
 
My first lee perfect powder measure I bought for $5, with the warning of you'll regret it cause it's an ornery cheap piece of plastic. Well, It has it's quirks, but I've found the ppm to be just fine.
 
A Perfect Powder Measure was part of the stash the guy sold me. One look at that and I almost laughed. So went on the hunt and found a good used RCBS Uniflow.

Joke was on me. With stick powders and such, the PPM actually does the better job.
 
That's what I found too. Using 3031, I get spot on throws. It does okay with ball too, but leaked.... So I lapped it.

It has a little nub on the wiper part that a few kernels of powder can rest on. If you bump the measure with it down, they fall off. If you throw consistent, no problem, but then if you gave it a bump on one, it'd throw about .2 higher. Unless you bumped them all. I've been thinking about how to tune it so it didn't have the ledge. But I'm reluctant to cut it off cause it might not work as good. Guess I'll have to do it and see.

I use two of them. Once set, the adjustment is secure and they never lose their setting.
 
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