A friend asked for a press kit recommendation

Basic press kit for Christmas preference

  • Lee Challenger Breech Lock Kit

    Votes: 20 55.6%

  • Lee 4-Hole Turret Value Kit

    Votes: 16 44.4%
  • Total voters
    36
  • Poll closed .
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Not open for further replies.
Quoheleth

Quoheleth

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A friend has been wanting to get into reloading and his wife has decided to get him a basic kit for Christmas. Budgetary guidelines will keep this as a conversation about Lee, so please don't suggest another brand.

He shoots both pistol and rifle. He's not a high volume shooter, nor is he a precision shooter. He likes to hunt (rifle) and shoot paper (pistol & rifle).

I'm thinking about giving two suggestions to her, as both are in the $100-110 range:
The Lee Challenger Breech Lock kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/121744/lee-challenger-breech-lock-single-stage-press-kit) or
The Lee 4-Hole Turret Press Value Kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/622290/lee-4-hole-turret-press-with-auto-index-value-kit )

She'll have to pick up a few extras in addition to the basic kit. Die sets for each caliber will be needed. A couple manuals are necessary (maybe the daughter could get those) and of course primer, powder, and bullets.

Personally, I have the Turret kit and have gotten great use out of it, but reload almost exclusively pistol. For volume pistol ammo, it's pretty good. I don't know - how slow is a single-stage press? The Breech-lock speeds things up, I imagine, when switching dies. Any thoughts on these two recommendations, prefer one over the other?

Q
 
I have both - the single stage provides 50-75 rounds per hour, the CLASSIC 4-hole turret triples that output.

Either will work for rifle. I tend to lean more toward the Classic Turret, even for a beginner.
 
I would go with the Breech Lock kit. It comes with a lot more stuff that he will need, and I never really saw the point in getting a turret press anyway. At that point just step up to a progressive.
 
I don't like the kits, especially Lee. Yeah, I know Lee makes some good stuff but for a little more money there are better products.

The best advice is to make a list of what you need and shop for your reloading tools accordingly.

I started out with Lee stuff for handguns. When I started loading rifle ammo I found the Lee press not up to snuff, Bought a Lee scale and threw it away. Still have a Lee disk measure but seldom use it.
All of it worked but what I replaced it with works much better.

I do like the older Lee priming tool. I use some Lee dies.

If you plan to just dabble in reloading, Lee stuff will work but if you plan to really get into the hobby you MIGHT be better off with a mixture of brands.
 
For several years back in the 90's I loaded all my ammunition, including pistol ammo, on a Lee Challenger. I didn't have a progressive. When I loaded on that I usually made it an afternoon or evening affair. I guess in an hour I could pump through 100-150 rounds of pistol ammunition. I got a Lee AutoDisk, and it greatly speeds up the process for pistol calibers.

I didn't have the breech lock, but once Lee Dies are adjusted you can back them out and put them back in later without much adjustment needed at all. None if you're careful not to disturb the lock ring on the die.

I upgraded my Lee Challenger to a Lee Classic Cast and it's a much better press. I did not get the breech lock style, simply because I didn't want to spend additional money to buy handfuls of breech locks for all my dies. I have broken the links on the Challenger twice in almost 20 years using it to form wildcat rifle brass. But I imagine if you really wanted to get a kit, the Challenger press will last the occassional loader for quite some time. I started with the Challenger kit and the items in it served me well for many years.


I'm a much higher volume loader now, and upgraded to other tools and equipment. But I think one of Lee's kits makes a great introductory set of loading equipment.
 
I strated on the lee breech lock challenger kit and it served me well for all my pistol and rifle reloading needs. Its a great kit for the money and for a beginner who is not sure if they eill like to continue this great addictive hobby. Abc's of reloading, Lyman 49th edition reloading handbook and Lee's modern reloading second edition are good manuals.
 
Nice thing about Lee's Modern Reloading is it has very detailed instructions for all Lee equipment. I frequently use it to look up what auto-disk cavity to use for a given powder. 90% of the time the published weight listed for a powder/charge cavity is within a tenth or two of grain when I put it in and check the weight on the scale.
 
I also own both of these Lee presses. Both of the kits mentioned get your a good start. I voted for the turret because caliber changes require nothing more than another turret for about $10 and dies. You can also remove the indexing rod and run it as a single stage press. That makes it essentially the same as the breech lock, but you don't have to remove and replace dies, just remove and replace a turret with the dies already installed. The turret also has automatic powder dispensing that's better than the off the press perfect powder measure. With the turret you should also get the Lee auto prime system to allow on the press priming. It can be used with both kits.

The one thing to verify is if the deluxe turret has enough height to accomodate the rifle rounds he plans on reloading.
 
I apologize for going above your stated budget, but would be remiss if I did not offer some alternatives, as they are so much nicer. It only hurts once when you buy the best (when you pay for it). If you buy less than your needs, it hurts every time you use it.

Quoheleth said:
A friend has been wanting to get into reloading and his wife has decided to get him a basic kit for Christmas. Budgetary guidelines will keep this as a conversation about Lee, so please don't suggest another brand.

He shoots both pistol and rifle. He's not a high volume shooter, nor is he a precision shooter. He likes to hunt (rifle) and shoot paper (pistol & rifle).

I'm thinking about giving two suggestions to her, as both are in the $100-110 range:
The Lee Challenger Breech Lock kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/121744/lee-challenger-breech-lock-single-stage-press-kit) or
The Lee 4-Hole Turret Press Value Kit (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/622290/lee-4-hole-turret-press-with-auto-index-value-kit )

She'll have to pick up a few extras in addition to the basic kit. Die sets for each caliber will be needed. A couple manuals are necessary (maybe the daughter could get those) and of course primer, powder, and bullets.

Personally, I have the Turret kit and have gotten great use out of it, but reload almost exclusively pistol. For volume pistol ammo, it's pretty good. I don't know - how slow is a single-stage press? The Breech-lock speeds things up, I imagine, when switching dies. Any thoughts on these two recommendations, prefer one over the other?

Q
Click to expand...
How slow is a single stage? About 1/3 of the Turret is my experience. I typically get 50 to 60 cartridges per hour loading on a single stage. (Apply my personal speed "handicap" by noting that my speed on my Lee Classic Turret is about 150 per hour.) You could clock it yourself with your own practices, by simply removing the auto-indexing rod from your turret and use yours as a single stage.

The breechlock doesn't speed up the caliber switching too much (only one set of switches per batch loaded. If he loads for two hours (and makes 150 rounds) he can save maybe 5 minutes with the breechlock because of the time saved adjusting dies. Dies pre-mounted in the breechlock bushings keep their adjustment between uses. The bushings cost about the same as a turret head for the same number of dies.

If you recommend the Breechlock Challenger, reconsider the Breechlock Classic Cast Single Stage. It is a superior press, stronger, cleaner (the spent primer handling) and more durable (cast iron instead of aluminum) for only a little more money.

If you recommend the Turret, remember that the total cost will have to add dies, bringing the price to $140-$150. Then compare the Deluxe Turret to the kit offered by Kempf's Gun Shop online. $225 gets you the press with deluxe dies of your choice, Pro Auto-Disk powder measure and two primer feed devices. ($200 for the kit plus $25 for the Lee Scale, which is not included).

The Classic Turret (vs the Deluxe) has a taller opening for cartridges, is cast iron rather than aluminum and handles spent primers more cleanly than the Deluxe as well.

If I were recommending a press kit, I might recommend building your own kit. I would go for the top-notch gear and cut back on the accessories. For example: Classic Turret, but leave out the powder measure and primer feeds. Powder measured out with a scale (or Lee's very economical dippers) and dumped into the case through their $4 funnel (which fits where the powder measure usually goes) is not that much of a handicap. A powder measure can be purchases later, as can the primer feeder(s) and other accessories.

$90 Classic Turret
$40 Dies
$20 dippers and funnel
$25 powder scale
later, add
$20 - $30 primer feeder(s)
$35 powder measure

Most kits have stuff you don't want and lack stuff you do. If you start out with the minimum number of items, but of the best quality you can afford, you wind up wasting less money in the long run, as you won't be trading stuff off, just adding only the items you want, as you find you want them.

Always wear eye protection when loading, especially when working with primers and don't pinch your fingers in your press.

Good luck

Lost Sheep
 
Lee does make some good stuff, but not all of it is. Is that press made of plastic by chance?

I know you didn't want other recommendations, but I feel one is needed. The basic RCBS Rockchucker is a REALLY nice single stage kit and will accept dies and such from other makers. Well made, I've been using mine for a decade now. Only costs marginally more than what you stated if you look around for the basic kit. The scale that come with the RCBS isn't bad either, it is an Ohaus. You can get the most basic kit, then add the accessories that you want later.

That is my advice anyway. I get really fine ammo from my setup, but over the years I've added a digital dispenser and a case prep station. But I still use most of the basic gear that came with the basic kit... Google for sales on it and such, you may find it competitively priced, and I do believe it is superior to many other single stage presses. Made of solid iron too.
 
People who shoot semi-auto handguns tend to shoot a lot of ammo and as such, a single stage press might not be best for them. I suspect that the single stage presses are best for those people who are reloading for high accuracy where there is a significant amount of time between subsequent shots. Otherwise, you are shooting in a couple of minutes what might have taken you a couple of hours to create. I picked up a single stage press originally off of CraigsList, but is was relegated to just resizing bullets after I came across a used Dillon RL450 on another firearms web forum.

A single stage press will get you hooked though and once you understand reloading a bit, you'll start wanting the progressive press... Well, at least you will if you are shooting a lot of ammo...

I reload for 9mm, .38special, .357mag, .357SIG, .40SW, .45ACP, .45-70, .223, .308, .44special, .44mag... When you start getting dies, bullet molds, bullet resizing dies, and such for each caliber, the cost starts to add up... You just have to keep telling yourself that it would cost more if you were buying commercial ammo though...
 
Between the 2 choices I pick the single stage press. I would have chosen the turret press had it been the Lee Classic Turret.

Seedtick

:)
 
You don't see other manufacturers listed because budget will not allow it.

As it is, either of these choices, when they are fully set up, will be stretching the allotted amount. And he's going to have to pick up die sets piecemeal. If I try to set him up with RCBS, Hornady, etc., he won't be in the reloading hobby for that much longer.

Sometimes "good enough" is good enough!

Q
 
Of those two, I'g get the challenger single stage. He can buy a Classic Turret later as an upgrade. It never hurts to have a spare single stage press. A universal decapping die resides in mine.

I'm not a fan of the turret press offered in the kit mentioned. The Classic Cast offers the same leverage you get with the Classic Cast, Rock Chucker, Orange Crusher, etc. and really doesn't cost much to buy.
 
Given those two choices, I'd have to give the nod to the Challenger Press kit over the turret press. It'll handle any pistol and rifle caliber that he plans to hunt with, and is one of the most rugged Lee press designs. I never cared for the design of the Lee turret press you listed, but if she was planning to give him the Lee 4-hole CAST Turret, I'd give you a different answer. IMO, that's the best press design that Lee ever came out with.

Lost sheep has some great information above as an alternate. While either kit will produce very good reloads, the basic powder scale that both come with can be kinda "fiddly", so I'd prefer a better beam scale.

I'd also suggest lookinig at using the Lee dippers for a start. The Lee Auto-disk or Pro Auto-disk powder measures work well for volume pistol reloading, but would be limited use in alot of rifle calibers becuase of the small charges they throw.
 
I think the turret press is a better choice BUT, not that turret press. The Classic turret press is a much better tool (cast iron) and the powder measure should be replaced too. Instead of the standard Auto-Disk you should recommend the Pro Auto-Disk. It's a few dollars more but ti's a MUCH better tool.
 
I feel all handloaders should start with a good manual & a single stage press .

If not a high volume shooter the challenger kit (with a different scale) will serve em for yrs. to come.

Bump that up to the classic cast & (I like the primer disposal system, thru the ram) & he`ll have a press to do a life time of loading, very solid IRON press.

Let me add : the scales in lees kits are serviceable & work .

The drawbacks are there capacity is only 100 gr. & very touchy when adjusting!
& can be misread/misadjusted if not paying close attention.
 
Budget is important, but the quality of the equipment and the ammo it produces is more important. If a ninety dollar press can't meet the users needs buying a second press to replace it will at least double the cost of entry. A better press will hold resale value well. S low quality won't have resale value. Used Dillon's sell for close to retail due to the incredible warranty and quality.
 
I started handloading 2 years ago. I got lucky and found a guy getting out of it. It is hand picked setup. I did look at all of the brands out there! I my self didnt like LEE harbor freight the press wiggled and was sloppy. Isnt handloading all about consistency press is a rock chucker. PLEASE look at outher brands.:banghead:
 
The Challenger looks like it catches spent primers in a tube which is great---the std. Lee turret throws primers all over the place.
I would go with the Challenger.
For her birthday get her a RCBS 5-0-5 scale ( get rid of the Lee scale)
Merry Christmas
 
press kits

I am brand new to reloading other than shotgun.I just bought the rcbs rock chucker supreme master reloading kit.I hope i made a good choice.The price point was 279$ with a 50$ rebate.(with 300$ rcbs purchase so I got some shell holders that will be needed anyway)I recently saw that cabellas had them for 249$ on black friday and still has it for 269$ for anyone in the market.(rebate still avalibale too)I have yet to run a round through it but am happy with the feel of it and the online how to videos from them even though they are a bit vauge as to how far to seat the round and wether crimping is needed or not.I want to load full wadcutter rounds for a 1911 colt I have and am wondering if a regular .38 spec/.357 die set will work for that.The team at cabellas, as helpful as they tried, could not answer my question for sure as the 2 reloading experts where not present.Any feedback would be helpful.
 
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