How fast is the Lee Challenger Pre

[ghh3rd]

I received my Lee reloading kit with the single stage Breech Lock Challenger Press, powder measure, etc. I'm hoping to get it set up in the garage (real soon).

I'm curious to learn about how many hand gun rounds/hr (size, prime, powder, bullet) it can load with an experienced person loading. Is 100/hr pushing the limit?

Thanks,

Randy

 

[Uncle Chan]

I started out with a Lee Challenger. I would say 100/hr is pushing it. On a single stage, you do everything in groups. You deprime and size. You flare and add powder (if flaring is necessary). You seat. You crimp. I couldn't do 100/hr. Mileage may vary.

 

[ghh3rd]

So it's a "Challange"...

How long before you upgraded, and what did you upgrade to? I got this one because I wanted to get started and this was within my immediate budget. I can see myself upgrading to something like the Classic Turret down the road. It would be nice to spend less time loading and more time shooting, but I should be able to learn a lot while using this one, and slower is probably better in the beginning anyway.

Randy

 

[lgbloader]

With a single stage, I like to take whatever time is neccessary to safely process the components and assemble them into finished rounds.

I have assembled Precision rifle rounds that have taken me about 2 hours to finish 20 rounds.

I have also assembled plinking rounds of 50 in under an hour.

100 rounds per hour may or may not be possible but it doesn't sound like something I would want to do.


Cheers...

LGB

 

[broylzGlock35]

i too just bought the press kit you did and was curious as to the same thing. i have, however already started looking to upgrade to the Lee Pro1000 progressive. they arent much more than the kit i just bought but also wanted to start with a single stage to learn properly.

 

[SASS#23149]

You try for speed and I guarntee ya you;'ll lose blood and have a mashed finger ta boot.

dont ask me how I know this.

and if you try hurrying at every stage INCLUDING powder measuring,a KABOOM lies in your near future.

 

[Uncle Chan]

How long before you upgraded, and what did you upgrade to? I got this one because I wanted to get started and this was within my immediate budget. I can see myself upgrading to something like the Classic Turret down the road. It would be nice to spend less time loading and more time shooting, but I should be able to learn a lot while using this one, and slower is probably better in the beginning anyway.

I upgraded to the Dillon 550B almost immediately. I do CAS and it was immediately apparent that I couldn't keep up with my competition and practice needs on a single stage. I bought some tool heads for the 550B and it was my intention to do all of my reloading on it. But, the inconvenience and cost factors of caliber changes made me look elsewhere. I ended up buying a Classic Cast Turret. The caliber changes take seconds. The cost is the cost of a turret (~$8.00) and dies. I do most of my "other" loading on the turret. I still load thousands of rounds a year on the 550B (45LC only).

Had I to do it all over again, I would still get the 550B, but I would also look into the AT 500 (out of production, but still available). Although, admittedly, I do like the LCCT.

 

[RustyFN]

Most people load 50 to 75 per hour on a single stage. I load around 200 per hour on the classic turret and a progressive will give around 350 per hour and up.
Rusty

 

[Asherdan]

I like RustyFN's rule of thumb for single stage loading. 50-60 an hour is my rate for loading while still hitting all my QC checks.

Then again, I don't trust powder measures and tend to weigh 1 in 5 and then inspect the group in a loading block.

 

[unclesam099]

The Perfect Powder Measure is spot-on when you get it "tuned" correctly. Once set up, I check it every 20-25rds and it still comes out perfectly. Granted, this is with 4.6gr of powder, so there shouldn't be much variation.

I didn't time myself with 250 of .45acp this weekend, but the brass was already processed (deprimed, resized, deburred, clean primer pocket). It wasn't slow but it wasn't fast either. But there is great satisfaction once the loaded rounds start to pile up

 

[Devilfrog]

Depends on what your timing, I de-prime and tumble my brass then full length size it and tumble again. Once out of the tumbler the second time I can put together (prime/charge/load/crimp) 100 .223 rounds in 2 hours.

 

[broylzGlock35]

how well does the included Lee powder measure meter with Unique? is there a better powder in this measurer?

 

[something vague]

I also use the Lee Challenger Press for my reloading and find it plenty sufficient at the moment for very accurate rifle rounds (.223, .270, .300 savage, and .308). I also do all my handgun loads on it as well and find it sufficient there as well. I like the idea that it gives me plenty of time to do QC checks in every aspect of the proccess. I don't don't think if you have just begun that you should be too worried about quantity at the moment as much as quality. After a few hundred or thousand rounds, then maybe you should look into something that gives better production on your handgun loads. I enjoy every minute that it takes me to load all my ammo, I find it very peaceful.

I don't understand how people with turrets or progressives are able to load constistantly accurate ammo with already fired brass. How the hell are all your primer pockets getting cleaned out for one? You would think after a couple loadings you wouldn't even be able to squeeze a primer into that mess you call a pocket. Maybe I'm wrong as I have no experience with 'em.

 

[smokey262]

I think 100 an hour almost could happen if all your brass was prepped and primed and you used a powder throw previously setup. But you would be moving pretty quick and it would take the joy out of it.

 

[ranger335v]

The Challenger is as fast - or as slow - as any other single stage. Most of us use them for precision, not speed. Like on the highway, speed costs!

Lee's Classic Turret is an auto-indexed tool, not a progressive but certainly not a conventional turret either. It is, as mentioned above, a good midrange volume producer.

 

[pmeisel]

Built for comfort, not for speed

Don't hurry. Take your time to both be sure you are building safe good rounds, and enjoy the process. For me at least, this is leisure time to be savored.

I have always had a turret. It is really the same as a single except that your dies are set up so you lose no time there. I would guess I do between 100 and 150 an hour but I don't really clock it. The time on a single will largely depend on the size of your batchs and how long it takes you to change dies.... probably longer for a bottleneck rifle round than for a pistol round.

 

[Jenrick]

If you do your brass prep ahead of time so all your doing is charging and seating bullets, I'd say you could easily do 100 in an hour.

Actually you could probably do 100 pistol rounds in a hour if you don't clean your cases.

Deprime and resize 100 cases ~ 10 mins
Flare 100 case ~ 10 mins
Prime 100 cases ~ 10 mins
Charge 100 cases ~ 15-20
Seat 100 bullets ~ 10 mins

Just about an hour. Now thats if your dies and powder measure are already setup and ready to go.

-Jenrick

 

[broylzGlock35]

havent got much experience with mine but it shouldnt take too much time to switch out dies with the quick change busshings.

 

[Asherdan]

how well does the included Lee powder measure meter with Unique? is there a better powder in this measurer?

In my experience it's OK with some important caveats.

On a new hopper, just dump your first ten drops right back in.
However you choose to operate it, do it consistently.
If you pause, take a break or are interrupted start over.
The drops will change is you get down to a 1/3 hopper left, refill.

With all that said, Unique meters just OK. 2400 meters like water for me in the PPM.

 

[floydster]

I use a Lee Classic turret as a single stage, I prep all my brass before charging and bullet seating (this is for pistol) and I have never trimmed a case or cleaned a primer pocket in over 50,000 rounds.
I load for five pistol calibers.
Floydster

 

[cougar1717]

When I started reloading, I wanted to figure out the whole rounds per hour calculation too. After I started, it didn't take me long to figure out that rifle reloading is not a timed event. I'd rather take the time and have really consistent reloads than have a whole bunch of rounds that shoot like factory ammo. As for when to upgrade, it depends on how much you shoot and what caliber. If you want to shoot pistol tournaments, a Dillon should be on your list. If you plink around at the range for practice occasionally, what you have will be fine. What I like about the challenger kit is that it's an inexpensive way to see if you like reloading. There are some people that get into it and decide that it's not for them.

 

[Lazuris]

Single stages are IMO designed for accurate rifle rounds. Progressives are better suited for pistol. The Lee is a nice press as the bushings are attached to the die so you don't have to adjust the die every time. I load all my match loads on a Lee Breach lock challanger and my loads are perfect. Now my dies are a mix and match of different companies but the press is a press.

Also I have several sets of dies for the same caliber pre adjusted for that specific round. Its easy to buy more breach locks from miway.

My progressive is a 650 and its only for pistol and plinking .223.

 

[bullseye308]

I have a Lee Reloader and a Loadmonster. I use the Reloader almost all the time even with pistol. Resize/deprime in batches of 1000. Tumble then hand prime them all. Run them back through and flare them and when the time comes, load them. If I didn't have so much spare time I would use the Loadmonster and knock it out in a couple of hours. I load 9mm, 38, 357, & 45 this way. It really depends on how many you will be processing at a time and how much time you can alocate for it.

 

[longhorngunman]

The whole process, size/deprime,prime, powder, seat and then crimp, I'm lucky if I bang out a 50rd box in 1.5 hours. That's why I'm looking hard at the Hornady LNL AP or the Lee CLassic turret right now.
For starting out your press will be fine and you have the newer one with the breech lock, should be much quicker. Still once your confident in reloading you might want to look at an auto-indexing turret like that Lee Classic, with the powder measure set up and the safety prime system you can really churn out some ammo in a hurry.