Here's some advice from someone who bought one 4 months ago.
The Lee stuff works. If, however, you are a person who has an appreciation for quality and has high expectations, look at something else.
The Lee scale: After 2 uses I took it into my garage and used my band saw to slice it into little pieces. Replaced it with a used RCBS 5-0-2.
The case trimmer: I found it very difficult to get the case to sit "on axis". The length gauge also became loose. Replaced with a Forster Power case Trimmer that uses a standard drill press.
The primer pocket tool never seemed to do too much. I got a Sinclair primer pocket uniformer which does a wonderful job.
The powder measure: leaks powder. Still using it.
The press is aluminum, but I have not had any problems with it. If I were to buy a Lee press, though, I would go for the Classic cast.
Again - all their stuff works. I have myself to blame for not knowing myself well enough to know that I would not be happy with their stuff for the long run.
Here's some advice from someone who bought the breech lock challenger kit 6 months ago. The only difference is that you get a primer hand tool to prime off the press (which is way better to feel the primer seat so you do not under prime; leaving them out too far, or over prime; crushing the guts and causing Fail to Fires).
+1 "The Lee stuff works. If, however, you are a person who has an appreciation for quality and has high expectations, look at something else." Lee isn't as good as any of the other products out there, but it works. If it comes down to it, I would rather load with a lee then not load while saving for something more expensive.
+1 "The Lee scale: After 2 uses I took it into my garage and used my band saw to slice it into little pieces. Replaced it with a used RCBS 5-0-2." I !@#$'ing hate that scale. Buy a new one with your kit. Preferably digital.
0 "The case trimmer: I found it very difficult to get the case to sit "on axis". The length gauge also became loose. Replaced with a Forster Power case Trimmer that uses a standard drill press." The case trimmer and length guage work for me. But from the stories I hear, its sort of hit or miss if you get a good fitting and cutting case trimmer and guage combo.
0 "The primer pocket tool never seemed to do too much. I got a Sinclair primer pocket uniformer which does a wonderful job." The primer pocket tool does clean out the crud and carbon type stuff. If you want to upgrade, I suggest to buy a primer pocket uniformer which is a reamer type item that cuts the pocket to the proper dimentions. If not, the Lee tool will get most of the crud out. I have no problems with it thus far getting my primers to seat to the proper dimensions.
-1 "The powder measure: leaks powder. Still using it." My Lee perfect powder measure works great. I have read a lot of people prefer the lee dispenser over more expensive units. Make sure you read the LEE reloading manual regarding measuring by volume as opposed to weight.
-1 "The press is aluminum, but I have not had any problems with it. If I were to buy a Lee press, though, I would go for the Classic cast." I do not see the benefit of using a cast press. If you do not abuse your Lee press, you will not need to pay for the cast unit. If you would buy the cast Lee press, buy a better Hornady or RCBS press. This goes back to "i'd rather load with a lee then not load because other stuff is too expensive"
Ultimatly, I can see myself using the lee kit for at least another 2-5 years. BUT .. and i do mean BUT .. no matter how much I like the lee, everyone will replace it with something better later on in life.
You will not regret buying it and learning on the Lee stuff. I sure dont!
