Advice for wife

Snow Dog said:
Just to be different - have her look at the Hornady Lock-N-Load Classic kit. Henry at Budget Shooter Supply has them listed on his site (see link above). A few bucks more than the RCBS kit but the L-N-L bushings are a great feature even on a single stage press. If he's going to be loading several different calibers then he'll quickly grow to appreciate their convenience.
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The Lee 50th kit is a good way to start into the hobby, the RCBS Rock chucker kit IMHO is over priced for what comes in the box...

He's going to need a good set of calipers, Die's, powder primers and projectiles... And a way to trim his brass.
 
My rockchucker is almost 40 years old and still pumps out quality ammo with the right dies set up right. I recently needed a replacement part for a set of dies and that was free. My only problem is which of my sons will get it when I eventually leave the range forever.

I said to a friend when I bought it a long time ago: You might as well start out with what you are going to end up with.
 
Redding makes the best quality kits on the market followed closely by RCBS.

Don't overlook both the Lyman and Hornady kits as they are also very good quality.

The LEE products I couldn't recommend to anyone with good conscience.
 
If I was shopping for a press, it would be a Redding, probably a T-7, which in my opinion, is the only turret press that's worth a damn. Although the Rockchucker was the gold standard in presses for a few generations, the early Chinese manufactured presses had some alignment issues with the ram at the top of its stroke. Although I'm sure the issue's long since been resolved, the poison is now in my mind, so Redding's press is now my top choice. I still prefer RCBS dies to all other standard dies though. One other press that I really like is Lee's little aluminum "C" press. While I don't consider it strong enough for use as a primary press for full length resizing of large cartridges, its an excellent companion press to a heavy "O" press, and when used in tandem with the heavy press can speed up the steps of belling case mouths, seating primers, and seating bullets. Priced less than $50, provided there's room on your bench, there's little reason not to have one.
 
Lee products are OK until you start comparing them to other products. The only thing they are good at is initial price. I've loaded for almost 50 years and I have used a Lyman Chrusher and a O-mag press for most of that, without a problem. The only reason I went to the Lyman presses at that time was because they had a longer throat that makes it easier to load the H&H length cases. The Rockchucker lengthened their presses years ago to match. Shop around. A cast press from RCBS, Lyman or Redding will not give you a problem. DO NOT BUY an aluminum or white metal press. They are handy to take to the range to seat bullets. If you start using them for HD re-sizing they will fail. If your friends wife can not afford to get some quality tools I suggest she goes to a reputable sports store and buys him a quality press and loading manual. Make him read the manual and then let hubby come and select his own dies scale etc. Tell her to get the store to agree that the press can be returned if hubby wants to trade it for a "starter kit" but he may be better off just buying what he needs to get started.
 
My first thought was to tell her to leave the guy alone, but then I read your post. snicker.
She have a budget in mind?
The kits come with everything he needs. The only thing he'd really need is a Lyman loading manual. Just because it's far more versatile than the one that comes with the kit. Those are fine, but they only have data for the stuff that manufacturer makes. Nosler or Speer for RCBS' kits, as I recall.
 
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