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I recently had the opportunity to use a Lee Challenger and I thought my experience with it might be helpful to those looking to get into reloading so they can get a perspective on what to expect with an absolute basic setup.
It took about an hour to load 50rds of 7.62x25: 34 rds of 85gr Sierra softpoints; 8 rds of saboted 35gr .224 Vmax and 8 rds of 90gr Hornandy XTP.
I used new Starline brass, Bullseye powder, Winchester small pistol primers and a Lee steel, three die set. I also used the Lee powder dipper set, specifically the .5 dipper which my RCBS 750 says is 4.4gr of powder. I also used the Lee Ram Prime.
The press seems to be "good enough" for the small, bottlenecked pistol cartridge and the Ram Prime works as advertised (but it is a little disconcerting handling each individual primer). The dipper was a little under what the guide predicted which is to be expected. The dies seemed to work fine, and the final product was within specs according to the calipers. They also fit into the magazine and cycled through the action without difficulty.
I wasn't trying for speed, but if anyone is looking to get into reloading, this is probably a pretty good indicator of the volume per hour you can expect, if you take, arguably, the most basic path into reloading.
It took about an hour to load 50rds of 7.62x25: 34 rds of 85gr Sierra softpoints; 8 rds of saboted 35gr .224 Vmax and 8 rds of 90gr Hornandy XTP.
I used new Starline brass, Bullseye powder, Winchester small pistol primers and a Lee steel, three die set. I also used the Lee powder dipper set, specifically the .5 dipper which my RCBS 750 says is 4.4gr of powder. I also used the Lee Ram Prime.
The press seems to be "good enough" for the small, bottlenecked pistol cartridge and the Ram Prime works as advertised (but it is a little disconcerting handling each individual primer). The dipper was a little under what the guide predicted which is to be expected. The dies seemed to work fine, and the final product was within specs according to the calipers. They also fit into the magazine and cycled through the action without difficulty.
I wasn't trying for speed, but if anyone is looking to get into reloading, this is probably a pretty good indicator of the volume per hour you can expect, if you take, arguably, the most basic path into reloading.
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