First single stage press- Challenger lee kit

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parabelum23

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Edmonton
Hi all,

Just got my first single stage press( Lee Challenger kit) @$117.00, tax included... a nice bargain price! Available at Wholesale outdoors in Edmonton!
 
rl4930 said:
That's a great way to start out. Make sure you learn lots, and don't believe everything you read on the internet.
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Thanks for the advice! I work with 2 guys who have each, over 30 years of experience in the field... so I am pretty confident they will assist me if I have questions.
 
OP, that set will produce a lot of very good ammo for you. Do yourself a big favor though and check a few rounds from each of the die sets you use in this system. It should be very good and produce straight cartridges if you do your part. If you plan on doing a lot of reloading, say anywhere from 500 plus rounds per year you may want to look at a cast steel framed press. Keep the mandrel lubed lightly with graphkote and it will last a long time. Once you start reloading your own, commercial loads just won't cut it.
 
bearhunter said:
OP, that set will produce a lot of very good ammo for you. Do yourself a big favor though and check a few rounds from each of the die sets you use in this system. It should be very good and produce straight cartridges if you do your part. If you plan on doing a lot of reloading, say anywhere from 500 plus rounds per year you may want to look at a cast steel framed press. Keep the mandrel lubed lightly with graphkote and it will last a long time. Once you start reloading your own, commercial loads just won't cut it.
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I put out an easy 250 rounds on mine in the last 4 days....
And not that I did it all at once.
Off work till the 4th , so it was here and there.

Shot a bunch of stuff I made so far and very happy with it.

Just need more quick change collars


I do like how smooth the case lube works that came with it, I don't like how sticky of a mess it made.

Switched to Dillon case lube in a spray bottle and love it.
Smooth and not gummy
 
Congrats and welcome to reloading! People knock 'em 'cause they're cheap but that same got me started and I still have the press and use it regularly esp for my rifle ammo. I also use it for decapping spent shells or pulling pills from reloads.

PS: You will NEVER look at spent cases lying around on the range floor the same ever again... :)
 
Trinimon said:
Congrats and welcome to reloading! People knock 'em 'cause they're cheap but that same got me started and I still have the press and use it regularly esp for my rifle ammo. I also use it for decapping spent shells or pulling pills from reloads.

PS: You will NEVER look at spent cases lying around on the range floor the same ever again... :)
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Truth , I am loading 308...I just started, and had no factory ammo to shoot, bought no brass...all pick up brass it is :)
 
I started with a single stage but with all the die change's I ended up going with a LEE turret press.
I started with an RCBS JR3 press but when I found out the LEE family of press's caught their spent primer's, there was no turning back! :rockOn: :dancingbanana:
 
bearhunter said:
OP, that set will produce a lot of very good ammo for you. Do yourself a big favor though and check a few rounds from each of the die sets you use in this system. It should be very good and produce straight cartridges if you do your part. If you plan on doing a lot of reloading, say anywhere from 500 plus rounds per year you may want to look at a cast steel framed press. Keep the mandrel lubed lightly with graphkote and it will last a long time. Once you start reloading your own, commercial loads just won't cut it.
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I've loaded 1900 rounds (100-200/week) with my Lee challenger press, since september... Not sure what you mean?
 
Just finished setting up my new Breech Lock Challenger kit...

Built the table myself, press seems very sturdy and cycles very smoothly.

I bought RCBS 2pc dies & a Lee crimping die, but will buy the Lee Ultimate 4pc set this week sometime.

Also gonna splurge and buy a digital metering scale eventually...

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Also gonna splurge and buy a digital metering scale eventually...
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The one component of the LEE kits that frustrates people the most is the LEE scale. Yes they do function, but they are extremely finicky, and many people replace them after a very short time.
 
Please read about electronic scales. Some you need to let warm up, some(all?) can be affected by wind currents and others behave eraticlly under fluorescent lights. Don't be afraid to zero often / double check with the calibration weight
 
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