Starter kit for a new reloader - RCBS or Hornady

StealthRhino

StealthRhino

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I'm looking at getting a kit to start doing some reloading and have pretty much narrowed my choices down to the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit or the Hornady Lock-N-Load Classic Reloading Kit. Is there any big differences between these kits? If I am looking to eventually get a progressive press would my choice now have a big impact?

I plan on starting with reloading 9mm since that's what I shoot the most. I'll probably add .223 and .45 at some point in the not too distant future. That's all the calibres I have right now but I expect I'll add more.

I've used a friends Lee Challenger kit to make a few rounds so I have a pretty good idea of how to do it. He now uses a Lee Pro 1000 to do most of his ammo but I can't see using one of those. He spends a lot of time fiddling with bit to keep it working smoothly. I am the type who prefers to get things setup once and then they should run smoothly after that.

Any suggestions or comments?

Thanks
 
I can't speak for Hornady, but the customer service from RCBS is tough to beat. Not that anything is likely to go wrong, but RCBS sent me some parts for my powder thrower that I had lost while moving. Completely my fault, but they sent the parts free of charge.
 
I bought the Rock Chucker RCBS kit 14 years ago and it's still going strong. The only thing that crapped out was the cheezey plastic case lube pad.
I got the Lee universal shell holder kit that has about 12 holders for most anything you'll ever load aside from the short mags or perhaps the big Weatherby mags. And also got a powder trickler. Other than the dies, you'll be ready to go for a long time.
I haven't however tried the Hornady so I cannot offer yay or nay for it.

Noel
 
I'm bringing this back to the top, as I'm now going through the same dilemma.
I will be going stateside, probably at the end of November, and plan on bringing back one of the two kits. :D
I don't shoot IDPA or IPSC... I just shoot ;). I will probably be reloading for a couple of buddies in the same boat.
The calibres I'll be starting off in are .38/.357 and .44 spl/mag. Might get into 9mm, but I still have a $h!t load of a 9mm when I did a bulk buy last year (money well invested, I'd say!).
With the single stage, and not being LNL, how much of a pain is it to set up the dies each time? This might be a factor.
Also, right now I don't have a ton of room to work or for storage of things. How does this affect the choice.
Any new input on this topic would be greatly appreciated.
 
I find reloading pistol ammo on a single stage press quite a chore. I have a RCBS Rock Chucker press fitted with a Piggyback II progressive conversion kit for reloading most of my pistol ammo. I also own a Dillon Square Deal press for my 9mm Luger reloading and a Redding Boss press for my single stage (rifle) reloading. If I was starting over again I would take a hard look at a Dillon 550 for my pistol reloading and either a RCBS Rockchuker or a Redding Boss for my rifle reloading. I have found RCBS treats customers like gold. I have no experience with Hornady. Stay away from Lee brand presses; some of their other stuff is great but their presses are not made for the long haul.
 
I dislike the RockChucker. The mounting screws are parallel to each other, which means that for heavy sizing operations it feels really wobbly. A press with offset mounting screws doesn't pivot or 'wobble' as much, and feels a lot more solid.
 
The Lee Classic press will out last the RockChucker,but here we are talking lifetimes,say five vs four.The Lee being the last designed and has built on them,it also has more features.
 
back40sniper said:
550 all the way,set up your dies once and leave them, get some extra tool heads for this. Don't be put off that its a progressive as you can run it as slow or fast as you want.
Click to expand...

except the thread is about single stage presses.....not that the lock and load progressive unit doesn't beat the tar out of the 550, you have to get the 650 to be even close, and they still take longer to change over.

now back to the topic at hand.

It's pretty hard to argue with the rock chucker, it's bullet proof and been around for ever. The LNL single stage is an excellent unit as well. It does save time on the die change over but the time saving is pretty minimal. I'd probably buy one because I like hornady stuff and thats most of what I now have, but I'd have no problem with a rock chucker either. If I wasn't buying a progressive though, I'd buy a turret press....
 
To answer one specific question, changing dies is fairly quick EXCEPT setting the depth on the seating die. Other than that, it's undo the hex nut, unscrew the die nut, screw the other one in.

Recently got the Rockchucker for my first, but only use for rifle, and only neck sizing at that (so far). Find it very easy to use and the quality of all components excellent. If I were doing pistol, I would be very much inclined to move to a progressive setup - for those that may not know, 3 dies are used as opposed to 2 for most rifle.
 
I've had a couple of RCBS, three Lee, and a Dillon. My reloading buddy has four Dillons and a progressive Hornady, plus a single stage RCBS. For handgun, I really recommend the Dillons, they just make your life so much easier. For single stage rifle, well, until you get into BR levels, it really doesn't make much difference. Buy whatever you can get the best deal on. FWIW - dan
 
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