My first press

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Scott.C

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Hey guys and gals

I'm looking for my first press and can't decide between the rock chucker or the Lee Precision. Both kits look well built and come with everything except dies. A single stage is all I will need for now as I learn the fine art of reloading. Suggestions? Opinions/feedback?

Scott
 
You can pick up a used rockchucker for under $150, got both of mine around $100 from the EE. Lifetime warranty,
one of the presses I bought had bad pitting on the ram, called RCBS and the new one arrived in the mail about 2 weeks
later. Was looking for the part # to order it, hadn't known about their warranty till I called and they said it was free.
I was really impressed, I use 1 to deprime/resize and the other to seat bullets with a Micrometer die so I don't have to
swap them out.
 
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Humm, I'll give you my 2¢ worth. I got no beef with Lee or RCBS but if you're on a tight budget the LEE Anniversary kit for $140 is a pretty good deal. The drawback is you probably will upgrade the scale but even with the RCBS kit, you will most likely get a digital scale eventually as well. The powder measure on the LEE is 90% plastic. It works and fairly good with most powders within 0.1gr accuracy on average for me but not very smooth to operate. Some fine powders like H110 or Bullseye tend to leak. For stick powders, it works great. Eventually you will end up upgrading it to a RCBS uniflow or something similar.

What I do like about the Lee press is the priming system even though it's all plastic, it works pretty good. The Quick Change bushing system on the Lee press makes changing dies on the fly super quick. Almost like having a turret press.

What I do like about the RCBS kit, the 505 scale works really well. The uniflow powder measure is solid and a breeze to work with. Not a big fan of hand priming but I'm sure it's good exercise for the hands. If RCBS had a quick change system for dies on their single stage press....

In the end, if I had to buy over again, I'd probably end up with the RCBS kit.
 
I love my "LEE CLASSIC cast", not the same as the breechlock aluminum series press. Only the classic cast is comparable to the other major manufacturers in my opinion. It is easily as heavily built as the RCBS rockchucker (its capable of reloading the 50BMG if that says something) and I love the hollow ram for the used primer disposal. The primer disposal makes it super clean to use when doing lots of resizing, similar to the Redding Big BossII. You can also screw out the insert for the 7/8x14 die threads and insert the Hornady quick bushing system which is great for fast caliber changes. I don't think you could go wrong with this press. If you are looking for dies, I highly recommend the Hornady ones as well since they have the best locking rings in the industry that do not damage the threads of the dies (BOOO to RCBS on that one).

Evan
 
lee clasic turett kit or the lymen tee mag 2 expert kit i got both dont waist time on the single stage presses your always setting up the dies if you go with the other 2 like i said you set the dies once and forget it . i got a lee challenger press kit and i dont use it at all im going to turn it into a decaping station only ,oh yah if you make some loads and you get a deer with them like my nephew did last fall it s worth while to do it it makes you feel good that you did something right........ thanks hound 13
 
Suputin said:
In the end it makes not a bit of difference. A single stage press is a single stage press.

I have 4 loading presses. Two Rockchuckers, a Lee Turret and an MEC.
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The best advice you are going to get.
All of the companies make really good presses, the only real differences are some of the features.
The kits are a great way to get started, but none of them have all of the best tools.
The tools in the RCBS kits are nicer, the Lee kit is more complete and 1/3 the price.
Not many complain about the quality or usefullness of RCBS tools, but every one of these threads will bring out someone stuttering about how Lee's stuff is all pot metal junk, and they were able to break one of the bottom of the line presses by swaging a .577 solid down to a .17 Fireball with a 4' pipe on the handle.

Do lots of reading, and take everything you read with a grain of salt. People seem to get really emotionally invested in their press and will try to convince you that they made the best choice posssible. Most folks that have been reloading for any length of time will have a variety of makes/models/colours, usually because they bought what was available or a great deal at the time.
"It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools."
 
I have ALL of Lee 's presses AND a RockChucker. I used the Challenger I bought second hand for 15yrs and it still pumped out Ammo. sold a bunch of stuff to a young kid and that was on of the presses I let go. I have another and it continues to produce Ammo without a problem, even when loading .300WM. Same "economy" turret press was second hand when I bought it. Again used for years loading thousands of rounds. Replaced both last year when my wife bought me new turret and AS in the classic cast line. WOW! Talk about a difference. Totally reduces the RockChucker to a standby press but at 1/2 the price.
 
Lee 4 hole turret, go as slow as you need for quality ammo. As you improve in your abilities and confidence it won't get old like a single stage. Been there, no t shirt.
 
Rory McCanuck said:
Not many complain about the quality or usefullness of RCBS tools, but every one of these threads will bring out someone stuttering about how Lee's stuff is all pot metal junk, and they were able to break one of the bottom of the line presses by swaging a .577 solid down to a .17 Fireball with a 4' pipe on the handle.
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I lol'd.

When I finally decided to get into reloading, I decided to take it easy in case I didn;t like it, and bought the Lee anniversary kit. It was like 4140 to my door, so I felt it was a low-risk venture.

That piece of junk has now made 1000's of rounds for me and I still works as well as day 1. Turns out I really enjoy reloading, so I have added/replaced a few things, but not a new press. Personally, I don't find setting up new dies to be a waste of time, as I like to stay sharp and expand on the experience. I picked up a handful of ring lock bushings, so for a few dies all the time I waste is the 3 seconds it takes to pop one out and the next one in, all set up and calibrated anyway.

I see no reason why I wouldn't have a similar experience with the rockchucker kit, but it was considerably more expensive and I was still unsure.
 
cansalv said:
I'm thinking on getting a reloading kit,where can I get one cheap?
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There is no such thing as cheap. Only poor results. I would stay away from buying kits as they are usually filled with items you will replace later. My suggestion for a kit would be to watch the EE for some good deals to pop up

buy a new LEE Classic cast
There is a nice RCBS powder thrower on the EE right now
Look for a used 505 or 1010 RCBS balance scale
A small can of Hornady UNIQUE lube (will last forever and is powder safe)
You can buy all the odds and sods brand new that you don't have ie, case chamfer tools etc
A Lyman universal trimmer $90 on EE right now

Basically if you are patient you can build a far superior kit for about the same dollar value as a brand new Kit.
 
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