Lee reloader

[et rider]

I'm getting back into shooting and reloading after a few years absent. I am looking at the Lee 50th anniversary kit with the aluminum challenger press. I plan to reload both large rifle and pistol ammo. My concern is, is the aluminum frame strong enough to resize heavy brass. What other disadvantages are there with this type of press? Any input appreciated.

Wayne

 

[General Lee]

I can tell you that the Lee Classic Cast is a monster of a press if you are worried about a strong press. The sky is the limit for the strength of this thing. I am however not sure about the Challenger. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=317831

 

[Uniquedot]

Lee also has another version of the classic cast with the breech lock feature. If you are going to do handgun and rifle as you suggested, you probably would do better to get the classic turret press.

 

[et rider]

I was trying to cut down on the expense of the tools. I don't think there would be a problem with my 38 special and 357 magnum sizing however it might flex too much resizing the large rifle cartridges. I was hoping to find some one on this forum that had one and could enlighten me.

Wayne

 

[rsrocket1]

I have a Lee Breech Lock Challenger and it works fine when I full length resize .223 and .308. Be sure to mount it to a strong, stiff bench and use a good case lube. My first problems came from not mounting it on a stiff enough platform. When I stiffened that up, the press worked great and there was no flexing anywhere.

 

[dagger dog]

et,

I have an Anniversery aluminum Challenger mounted on my bench for a second press, I use it for decapping and sizing with the Lee tumble lube push through sizer.

The only "problem" I have had with that press was once when pushing an already lubed
0.453" bullet through a 0.452" sizer, the bullet stuck, I was putting enough pressure to lift the opposite end of my (not tied down) bench. I was waitng for the aluminum linkage to break!

I removed the die and placed it in my Rockchucker, guess what same thing ! I had to hammer the bullet out of my die with a punch.

The little aluminum Lee Challenger will do what it is intended to do, if you do your part and lube the cases.

 

[Hondo 60]

et rider:
If you're talking about this one...
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=423081

I can assure you, yes it's more than strong enough. I've had mine for over a year & have reloaded well over 5,000 .223, .38 & .357 rounds on it.

 

[et rider]

Hondo 60: Yes that is the press i'm refering to. I was concerned about the all aluminum versus cast iron. The cost per press is about half of cast iron models. I am going to do 38/357 brass first but plan to add rifle later. Thanks for the info.

Wayne

 

[x_wrench]

the lee challenger press will wear out in a few years of steady use. there seem to be two problems with it, that combine to create a "perfect storm" if you will. the first is the fact that it is nice soft alumiunum. the second, is the fact that it drops all of the primer residue, burnt powder, and any other dirt that would be inside of a cartridge case, right onto the side of the ram-press bearing surface.:banghead: where it will work its way into the clearances that allow the ram to move. a few hunred thousand strokes of this, and the press wears pretty fast. the lee classic cast press, directs all that junk through the middle of the ram. right out the bottom, without any of it ever touching any bearing / wear surface at all. that, combined with it being made from steel, will allow the classic cast press to live almost forever. if you are going to load for more than 2 years, i would suggest you buy a classic cast press over anything made from aluminum. do a little reseach before you buy any press. if it dumps the junk onto the side of the ram/press bearing surfaces (via an angled hole through the side of the ram), it will eventually cause a wear problem. if the press is made from aluminum, it will wear that much faster.

 

[MrOldLude]

Personally, I felt the classic cast is overkill, and offered me zero over the Anniversary press. While not cast-iron, it's still a heavy machined aluminum casting that will take just about any loads you will be able to put on it. (note: if you're having to stand on the handle to resize/deprime, you're doing something wrong.)

Also, denigrating the lee because it begins showing wear after "a few hundred thousand rounds" is just silly for several easily imagined reasons.

Also I don't have any issues with cleanliness, because I clean my cases before running them through my dies. From time to time, I'll get some carbon knocked out that should have gone down the spent primer tube. But I give the ram a quick wipe and a few drops of oil, and I'm good to go.

The long and short is for a $60 piece of gear, it's a great single stage press, if that's what you're looking for.

 

[ArtP]

I use the same press. I find it plenty strong and have no issues with it. I reload; 270, 243, 44 mag & 9mm.

Spent primer crap does tend to collect where it shouldn't, as X Wrench pointed out, but it doesn't take much to keep it clean and after several thousand rounds I don't notice the tolerances of mine degrading at all. It's plenty strong too - you'll tear cases and move even a heavy bench before this thing gives.

If you're considering the kit, most of the other tools are cheap and will likely get replaced at some point down the road. But for the money - if you're on a budget - I don't think you can go wrong as a starter kit, adding a tool here and there, to compliment the kit, as cashflow allows.

 

[General Lee]

Lee itself says the classic cast is overkill. I got it becaue a buddy told me he wasn't sure if the Lee press would be strong enough. I proved him wrong Lee claims all of their presses are at least 2-3x stronger than ever needed.