Which Single-Stage Lee Press Kit?!?!

[domokun]

Lee 50th Anniversary Kit.


Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press Kit.

Which one? I can't tell what's the big difference between the two. Both kits look very similar?

[sorensen440]

Looks like the bottom one has shellholders

I would honestly consider saving up a bit more and getting a Progressive from dillon
its worth it and i wish I had just started that way.

[domokun]

I will get a Dillon in the very near future but this will get me going and double as a nice backup in the event that something breaks on the Dillon and I have to wait for the part to arrive.

[Leon75x55]

You can always get the Lee turret press, its about $90.00 from Graf and sons and you can use it a single stage press. The nice thing about it is that it has removable turrets that can be changed in about 15 seconds for each caliber.

[stevenjay1]

How much ammo do you plan on loading at one time? And, will it be pistol and/or rifle; what calibers?

[macadamizer]

I've been using my Lee Anniversary kit for some time now. It would suck for any sort of bulk loading, but I typically load 50 or 100 rounds of rifle ammo a few times a month, one caliber at a time, so it's fine for that. Mostly .300 Win Mag, .300 Savage, sometimes .30/06 or 7.64x54R, stuff I am not shooting hundreds of rounds at a sitting of.

If I were loading any sort of pistol ammo, or bulk plinker .223 or something, then a progressive is the way to go.

[domokun]

How much ammo do you plan on loading at one time? And, will it be pistol and/or rifle; what calibers?

I probably won't be loading a lot at first since there is a learning curve to reloading but after I get the hang of it I will probably want to process a lot more than 50-100 rounds an hour. I currently plan to reload 9mm, .45 ACP, .223 and possibly .308 in the future.

I posted this because I couldn't really tell the difference between the two kits and wanted some guidance from people who currently reload as to which one between the two would be a better choice.

[Jicko]

Which one? I can't tell what's the big difference between the two. Both kits look very similar?

Go with RCBS Rock Chucker.... a MUCH better single stage press....

[SanSacto]

This thread shows which items are exactly is needed in order to reload. Compare those against what is included in the kit you want to buy then make a decision.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=108907

[macadamizer]

The Challenger kit has the breech-lock system, which allows you to change out the dies easier without having to readjust them each time -- might be a handy feature, although I personally don't find that readjustment to be a big deal (I am not trying to do bench-rest stuff either, so YMMV). The Challenger kit also include a case trimmer cutting head (although you still need the length gauge, and a zip-trim if you don't want to do the case trimming totally by hand) and the shellholder set for the auto-prime, which you need anyway. The auto-primer in the Challenger set is easier to use than the safety primer in the Anniversary set (the anniversary set used to include the auto-primer, but doesn't anymore).

I've been perfectly happy with my Lee setup, I will probably get a Dillion one of these days for doing pistol ammo, but for the relatively small amounts of rifle ammo I currently load, the Lee fits the bill.

[domokun]

The Challenger kit has the breech-lock system, which allows you to change out the dies easier without having to readjust them each time -- might be a handy feature, although I personally don't find that readjustment to be a big deal (I am not trying to do bench-rest stuff either, so YMMV). The Challenger kit also include a case trimmer cutting head (although you still need the length gauge, and a zip-trim if you don't want to do the case trimming totally by hand) and the shellholder set for the auto-prime, which you need anyway. The auto-primer in the Challenger set is easier to use than the safety primer in the Anniversary set (the anniversary set used to include the auto-primer, but doesn't anymore).

I've been perfectly happy with my Lee setup, I will probably get a Dillion one of these days for doing pistol ammo, but for the relatively small amounts of rifle ammo I currently load, the Lee fits the bill.

Thanks! This was what I was looking for.

[ar15barrels]

The difference between the two kits is the priming system.
The bottom kit has the hand primer AND press-mount priming.
The top kit only has press-mount priming.

[ar15barrels]

Looks like the bottom one has shellholders

Those shellholders are for the hand priming tool, not for the press.

[stevenjay1]

The Lee kit would be a good starter and a small investment, usually around a hundred bucks. But if you are going to to do a lot of shooting then a progressive is the way to go. You should save your pennies and get a Dillon. Steve

[dgey]

if you're new to reloading, start with a single stage press just like the ones you're looking at. You want to learn to reload properly before jumping into a progressive kit. Call some of your local gunshops and see if any of them offer reloading seminars... that's the best way to go...