Good inexpensive kit

[ryanrichmond]

I'm new to reloading. I've never so much as pulled the handle on anything.
Would this kit be a decent start? I'm not looking to spend too much but I also don't want to be upgrading a month from now and wishing I'd just spent the money the first time.


It's the Lee 50th Anniversary single stage kit on ebay for $99
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lee-50th-An...738?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bf2886c2



Here is the description for those who don't want to click the link...

For sale is a brand new, in original factory packaging from Lee, the 50th Anniversary Reloading Kit (#90050). This kit includes the new Breech Lock Challenger "O" Frame Press and one Breech Lock quick-change bushing. You get a complete powder handling system, with the most convenient Perfect Powder Measure, plus the Lee Safety Scale, one of the most accurate and safest powder scale, and fill your cases with the included powder funnel. Case preparation tools include a cutter and lock stud to trim your cases. Also included are a Lee chamfer tool and a tube of premium sizing lube. A small and large pocket-cleaning tool completes the case preparation package. You also get the small and large Safety Prime. Prime with push button convenience and is safe with all brands of primers.


Is there maybe a slightly better one for a little more money I should be looking at or will this be fine for me for a while?
I don't target match shoot and I don't hunt (yet) but I really enjoy target shooting and stocking up bullets in large quantities on the cheap.
I'll be loading .357mag and .38spl

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[StandingTall]

I bought the exact same thing from this site for $81.98:

https://factorysales.com/html/xcart/catalog/anivers.html

If you're loading for .38/.357 and want to stick with Lee, get the LEE DELUXE PISTOL DIE SET in .38/.357:

https://factorysales.com/html/xcart/catalog/dies-p7.html

This guy has a great tutorial for this kit (3 parts):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQNz2ie5H5U

I'm not very fond of the scale, but everything else has been great. I reload .223 Remington, .45 ACP, .40 S&W, .38/.357, and 9mm.

 

[FROGO207]

I got an older version of that kit back in the 70's and used it for a long time. It will definitely will serve you well. It will do what you want inexpensively. There are other kits out there but I think that this is the best one for cost VS value. There are better presses but they will cost a fair amount more and only do the same thing, just possibly make the job easier. Look for the price at Midway USA or Natchez Shooters Supplies. This will give you the basic current cost . You will need a reloading book and dies also but I think that this kit will get you started inexpensively until you decide that more gear is needed, and that WILL happen in the future if you decide reloading is really what you want to do. If you find that reloading is not for you the price will be lower in the end. I enjoy reloading, I hope you also find this true.

 

[rsrocket1]

With the Anniversary Kit, a $10 digital caliper from Harbor Freight, a $14 RCBS Bullet puller and a Lee Deluxe 38/357 die set (#90964), you'll have all the tools needed to start loading. Get a reloading manual or two (or be prepared to do a lot of research on the Internet), then get the components (brass, powder, primers, bullets).

I prefer the Lee Breechlock Challenger Kit because it has a hand primer rather than the press mounted primer dispenser, but that's just a matter of taste. When batch priming, I like the option of priming without being tied to the press.

You could spend about another $100 and get the same parts and a Lee Classic Cast Turret press and you will almost double your load rate. Or you can spend about $400 more and go with a Hornady Lock n Load AP or Dillon 550 progressive set up and really crank them out.

Honestly, as a first step your main choice would be single stage or turret. You will not outgrow any of the parts and will still find them valuable in your reloading room for years to come if you decide to buy the kit.

 

[rjfunk]

+1 on rsrocket1's comments. I bought the anniversary set a while back and love the press and the kit. In hindsight, I should have bought the Challenger kit to get the hand primer (it can be bought separately for about $20 though). The main complaint for me is that the primer arm on the ram periodically jumps off its pin and falls to the ground.

Definitely get a reloading manual and read the first sections thoroughly. Good luck.

 

[jcwit]

Excellent kit to start with. Only thing to add is I would get 3 or 4 Hornady lock rings for the dies, the "O" ring lock rings are one of the very few items from Lee I do not like, to much variance.

If you get the kind that lock on the die they repeat every time perfectly.

 

[James2]

The only Lee tools I have are some die sets. They work fine, but I absolutely hate those lock rings that don't lock. Arrrgh! This alone is enough to make me steer clear of Lee tools. I think you get what you pay for. To each his own.

 

[James2]

Since you are into looking on eBay, here are some suggestions for some really nice high quality equipment that can be found on eBay.

RCBS Rock Chucker press
Lyman Ohaus M5 scale
Lyman 55 Powder measure
RCBS universal hand priming tool

For starters, besides these main tools you would need a manual, a die set, and a shell holder.

 

[mokin]

I bought that kit eight years ago or so and I'm still using it. I've added many more parts, most of them mentioned in prevoius posts, but that press is still what I use to handload most of the bullets I make.

 

[EMC45]

That is a fine kit. It will serve you well.

 

[dnmccoy]

+1 for www.factorysales.com

I have nothing but good things to say about them. I would also look at the Classic turret press. You can start out single stage by removing the indexing rod. Youll thank me in a couple months when your more comfortable and cranking outammo faster

 

[dbarnhart]

I think you've made a good choice. I know that some people will try to convince you to to choose a turret or progressive press but consider this: Even if you eventually upgrade to a Dillon 1050, you'll still want to have a single-stage press around for certain tasks. You will ALWAYS have this press and you will ALWAYS use it from time-to-time.

When you venture into reloading, you have a ton of learning in front of you (I've been reloading for 35 years and I'm still learning). It's best to keep things as simple as possible now - keep the number of variables and complexity as low as possible.

 

[kingmt]

That looks like a fine set & if you would have said rifle then I would have said don't look back but if you shoot much handgun then I would suggest to think about a progresive.

My first press was a SS & I mesaured each load with a beam scale which burned me out fast. I see it has a powder measure which will help a greatly. I still use a SS more then a progressive but I shoot rifle the most.

I bought the Pro1000 & wish I would have went with the Load Master. So what ever you buy you will probably wish you would have spent a few more bucks for something else. Execpt for the Lee dies which I prefer over the more expensive RCBS.

 

[James2]

Be sure to read the Sticky at the top of this forum. Good info.

 

[jcwit]

Lee dies will serve you well, claiming the complete line on Lee is sub-par because of their lock rings is a bit of a stretch to say the least.

BTW, Pick up a Lyman reloading manual as an addon.

 

[kingmt]

I don't mind the Orings. I change dies between presses so I don't even lock in the RCBS rings.

 

[jcwit]

But with locking die rings there is no need for any adjustment unless you change bullet configuration. One just screws the die down to the ring stop and thats it.

 

[kingmt]

But with locking die rings there is no need for any adjustment unless you change bullet configuration. One just screws the die down to the ring stop and thats it.

Was that said in sarcasm?

Just incase not. There presses need the lock rings at different places to be properly adjusted.

 

[jcwit]

Sarcasm? No way.

Looks like the two of us are doing different things. In my case I use 2 single stage presses side by side, so having the locking rings set at a stop on a die is advantageous to me as they are always threaded into the same press. This just happens to be the way I like to reload, I own 7 presses, some of them turrent presses, however none progressive.

But yes if you use different presses for the same die then one does have to adjust the lokc rings each time.

 

[rfwobbly]

I'm new to reloading. I've never so much as pulled the handle on anything. Would this kit be a decent start? I'm not looking to spend too much but I also don't want to be upgrading a month from now and wishing I'd just spent the money the first time.

That's a very astute observation. Unfortunately you've not given enough info for us to really answer you. Let me explain..

► Is it a good kit? Yes, certainly. In its price range it will be hard to beat.

► Will you out grow it in 4 weeks? That's hard to say. For hunting ammo, probably not. To make practice ammo for your machine gun, maybe so if you need 1000 rounds per week.

All the presses offered these days are GREAT! The junk disappeared years ago. Like vehicles, all the brands and models offered have settled into a comfortable niche. So you're much better off matching your caliber and volume requirements to a press.

I'd say that press will be great for all your hunting rifle needs and up to 150 rounds of pistol per week. The press can manufacture greater volumes of pistol ammo, but the time required to do so will become the limiting factor. IMHO, most reloaders like to get everything done in roughly 2 hours per week. So if you need more than 200 rounds per week total, then you'll need more "features"... which is (you guessed it) more expensive.

The questions to ask then is 1) At what production volume level would I like to be at in 1 year? 2) How many bullets, powder and primers can I actually afford per week?

 

[ranger335v]

No kit is complete, there well be other things to buy no matter what you get.

Lee's Challenger press kit has served thousands of us very well, and for the rest of our lives if we take care of it like any other mechanical tool with a few moving parts - pay attention to the user directions and all will be well. No single stage press serves high volume loaders very well but you don't sound like a high volume shooter. ??

I don't care for any 'quick change' die bushing system. They are a great solution for which I have no problem. Most of my loading sessions are about an hour or so; I need maybe 30-35 seconds to swap out each of the two or three dies normally so that sure doesn't eat deeply into my loading time!

Some people don't like Lee's friction held die lock rings and some do. I think most guys who actually understand why they are made that way appreciate them quite well. And, if a Lee lock ring does get moved it really isn't difficult or time consuming to reset a die, shouldn't take more than a couple minutes at the most. ??

 

[x_wrench]

i initially bought the same kit to start out with. the powder measure leaks like a sieve with ball powder. plus you will have to take it apart between powders to keep them from mixing. it does measure quite uniformly, but anything fine will flow out the side, and end up in the pan, or shell, which throws the weight off. if they designed it to use a couple of o-rings, it might actually work. the press is pretty cheap, i wore mine out in 3 years to the point where the ram was wobbling so bad, it would crush brass while trying to load it. and, the scale, i have no idea what happened to that, but it was not weighing correctly, and unfortunately, it let me over load several shells before i caught it. thankfully, i caught it before i shot them. if you think of it as money to basically throw away to find out if you want to reload, you will get some use out of it. but definitely buy a good scale, it is your last final check to keep safe.

 

[jcwit]

initially bought the same kit to start out with. the powder measure leaks like a sieve with ball powder. plus you will have to take it apart between powders to keep them from mixing. it does measure quite uniformly, but anything fine will flow out the side, and end up in the pan, or shell, which throws the weight off. if they designed it to use a couple of o-rings, it might actually work. the press is pretty cheap, i wore mine out in 3 years to the point where the ram was wobbling so bad, it would crush brass while trying to load it. and, the scale, i have no idea what happened to that, but it was not weighing correctly, and unfortunately, it let me over load several shells before i caught it. thankfully, i caught it before i shot them. if you think of it as money to basically throw away to find out if you want to reload, you will get some use out of it. but definitely buy a good scale, it is your last final check to keep safe.

Sounds like you needed to adjust the tension on the measure, Mine doesn't leak with any powder, ball encluded. Also have never needed to take it apart when changing powders, but then I've only been using it for over 10 years, if and when it does go down the tubes I'll buy another.

Might be the ram should be lubed, ya think. I know I lub my rams on all my presses no matter what brand. My oldest press has been in service for well over 25 years and still is working well. A little shot of oil every so often does wonders.

Regarding the scale it does weigh accurately, it does have to be leveled as with any beam scale. Only problem with the scale is it has no weight to it. Fasten it down to a short 2x4 help a bunch.

No, Lee is not a Dillion or RCBS, but then they don't claim to be. They just give excellant value for $$$$$ spent.

BTW till this year I normally loaded approx 15,000 to 20,000 rounds a season. Health issues have cut that way back.

 

[Otto]

The Breech Lock Challenger uses cast pot metal in the toggle linkage and is prone to breakage (see photo). It's basically a throw away press which Lee only guarantees for 2 years. Lee's powder measure and powder scale are comprised mostly from plastic and are the cheapest in the industry.
Dillon presses, on the other hand are much more expensive initially but quality, warranty and performance justify the price. If later you decide reloading isn't for you, recouping your money will be much easier with a Dillon.
You can take the low-cost road as many do, or you can jump on the express lane and avoid the pot holes.

 

[jcwit]

OK!!!! Once again someone brings up Lee and the Lee bashers come out.

Lee has more then likely brought more people into the reloading hobby than anyone else.

What OH what is wrong with plastic, take a good look at your car or truck today or the machines that can keep you alive in the hospital for that matter.

Regarding the broken part is that would have been a dillion one would have sent it back for a replacement and thought nothing of it. Did it accur that might have also worked with Lee? In my experience I had a Lee press break from my own fault, packed up and returned to Lee Explaining what happened and had a replacement in less than a week. No Charge BTW. The press was over 20 years old that I know of that I had picked up used at a gun show, Lord only knows how old it really was.

You can take the low-cost road as many do, or you can jump on the express lane and avoid the pot holes.

With this logic we all should only drive Luxury vehicles or eat in the 5 star first class restruants wearing a tuxedo.

Wonder how WalMart got so big!