Looking to get into reloading

stubblejumper said:
Actually it's a very feeble press compared to the better presses on the market, and the LEE scale causes more frustration that it is worth.
Click to expand...

Does that mean you had one and it broke? If so, Lee would have replaced it free. The Lee scale can be frustrating until you get the hang of it but it's accurate once calibrated.

The whole point here is not whose press is best but what is a cost effective way of giving reloading a shot? The only answer is used equipment that is old, worn-out and dated OR the Lee Kit at $150. Simple.

Everybody needs to start off with a single stage press as it is the best way to learn and minimize error and frustration.
 
So many people talk down about Lee. Unless you are loading precision benches ammo, you don't need to buy high end gear. You can load some highly accurate ammo with a Lee Loader and a hammer. You can load just as good ammo on a basic Lee Turret press or a Challenger. If you are going to plink or hunt within the 2-300 yd range, I defy anyone here to prove that kit costing 6X the price of a Lee Challenger makes rounds 6X better. I have used ALL of Lee's presses. I own both single stage and both Turret presses. If you can afford the extra, get the Cast Turret since you are going to eventually going to load 9mm. I can do 250 rounds of.45ACP in an hour with mine. I loaded hundreds of both .303 and .30-06 on both the Challenger and my value Turret. The Cast ones are bulletproof.
 
Last edited:
K-C said:
Does that mean you had one and it broke? If so, Lee would have replaced it free. The Lee scale can be frustrating until you get the hang of it but it's accurate once calibrated.

The whole point here is not whose press is best but what is a cost effective way of giving reloading a shot? The only answer is used equipment that is old, worn-out and dated OR the Lee Kit at $150. Simple.

Everybody needs to start off with a single stage press as it is the best way to learn and minimize error and frustration.
Click to expand...

No I haven't owned a LEE pressure, but I know several people that did own LEE presses, although most of them upgraded to better presses. I still have the same old RCBS Rockchucker that I purchased around 35 years ago. I regularly lube the ram and linkage joints, and that old press probably has tighter tolerances than the new Rockchuckers. That 35 year old press has loaded many thousands of rounds, and is still a far better press than any new cast aluminum LEE press.

As for the LEE scale, even the cheapest people that I know refuse to use it, it just isn't worth the time or the aggravation, and it isn't as consistent as the better quality scales.
 
stubblejumper said:
No I haven't owned a LEE pressure, but I know several people that did own LEE presses, although most of them upgraded to better presses. I still have the same old RCBS Rockchucker that I purchased around 35 years ago. I regularly lube the ram and linkage joints, and that old press probably has tighter tolerances than the new Rockchuckers. That 35 year old press has loaded many thousands of rounds, and is still a far better press than any new cast aluminum LEE press.
.
Click to expand...
I have a RockChucker that only pulls bullets. While the Lee loads rounds. And if you are going to compare, compare apples to apples. The Lee Classic Cast press blows the RockChucker out of the water, while still being less expensive. Like I said, a Lee Challenger is $100. A Classic Cast is $170. A RockChucker is $215. It does NOT load ammo twice as good as the Challenger. I have both, I have loaded on both, I cannot see the difference in my rifles. The rounds loaded on the RockChucker do not group half the size of those loaded on the Challenger, so why pay the extra money for it?
Bench rest or other competition shooter? Absolutely. Gotta gave the biggest, baddest, best? Go for it so you can brag, but don't come on here telling people they GOTTA get a ###XX when a Lee will do their job.
You guys keep people out of the reloading game with this nonsense. No different than canoes. Coleman is a cheap canoe, but more of them are on the water than Royalex canoes. Why? Because they can do the job the are asked to do. I WANT a Kevlar canoe because it would stand up to the use I put it to forever, but I can buy 5 Coleman canoes for the same price and STILL canoe for 20 years.
I don't intend to jack a truck up just so I can have people think how cool I look and never leave the asphalt, my truck is a stock 1990 F250 that gets the job done year after year. Goes just as far back in the woods as I need to and goes just as fast as the law allows. Some people need more to brag about, some people just need to get the job done.
 
rookie wildcat said:
I have a RockChucker that only pulls bullets. While the Lee loads rounds. And if you are going to compare, compare apples to apples. The Lee Classic Cast press blows the RockChucker out of the water, while still being less expensive. Like I said, a Lee Challenger is $100. A Classic Cast is $170. A RockChucker is $215. It does NOT load ammo twice as good as the Challenger. I have both, I have loaded on both, I cannot see the difference in my rifles. The rounds loaded on the RockChucker do not group half the size of those loaded on the Challenger, so why pay the extra money for it?
Bench rest or other competition shooter? Absolutely. Gotta gave the biggest, baddest, best? Go for it so you can brag, but don't come on here telling people they GOTTA get a ###XX when a Lee will do their job.
You guys keep people out of the reloading game with this nonsense. No different than canoes. Coleman is a cheap canoe, but more of them are on the water than Royalex canoes. Why? Because they can do the job the are asked to do. I WANT a Kevlar canoe because it would stand up to the use I put it to forever, but I can buy 5 Coleman canoes for the same price and STILL canoe for 20 years.
I don't intend to jack a truck up just so I can have people think how cool I look and never leave the asphalt, my truck is a stock 1990 F250 that gets the job done year after year. Goes just as far back in the woods as I need to and goes just as fast as the law allows. Some people need more to brag about, some people just need to get the job done.
Click to expand...

The cheap LEE kits don't have a press comparable to a Rockchucker or the Classic Cast press, they have a cheap cast aluminum press, which most other companies make nothing comparable to, so a real comparison isn't possible. Try sizing large capacity cases, like the RUMs with the cheap cast aluminum presses, and you will soon see the advantages of a press like the Rockchucker that cams over, and doesn't flex. The LEE scale is a worthless piece of junk that needs to be replaced, so why bother paying for it? I helped more than one person get into reloading by purchasing used gear off of the EE for very good prices. They ended up with a much better press, and a useable scale, for not a lot more than a Lee kit would have cost them. And for the record my truck isn't jacked up, and I don't have any aftermarket rims or chrome crap on it either. I have no problems paying for quality, but I don't waste my money on fancy trim or paint, or on habits like smoking or casinos.
 
stubblejumper said:
The cheap LEE kits don't have a press comparable to a Rockchucker or the Classic Cast press, they have a cheap cast aluminum press, which most other companies make nothing comparable to, so a real comparison isn't possible. Try sizing large capacity cases, like the RUMs with the cheap cast aluminum presses, and you will soon see the advantages of a press like the Rockchucker that cams over, and doesn't flex. The LEE scale is a worthless piece of junk that needs to be replaced, so why bother paying for it? I helped more than one person get into reloading by purchasing used gear off of the EE for very good prices. They ended up with a much better press, and a useable scale, for not a lot more than a Lee kit would have cost them. And for the record my truck isn't jacked up, and I don't have any aftermarket rims or chrome crap on it either. I have no problems paying for quality, but I don't waste my money on fancy trim or paint, or on habits like smoking or casinos.
Click to expand...
I'm not advocating kits and I believe that I did advocate going up to the Classic Cast. I hate both the Lee scale and the Lee powder measure. I threw both away and bought second hand replacements.
However, if you are never going to load beyond an '06, why bother paying double? That's my point. If you are never going to tow anything, haul anything, leave the hwy, etc., why buy a truck?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom