[Big Dog]

What I have broken is a few RCBS decapper pins. I bought a bunch of spares, and in a couple calibers I generally decap with the Lee Universal Decapper, THEN use the RCBS sizer die with pin removed. Works for me!

[Twitch2120]

i found an anniversary breechlock for the cheap. if all goes to plan it shall be mine. i REALLY want the shiny green equipment but i just cant justify the extra money. especially since im a low volume shooter now. once a month if im lucky. and the only reason im jumping into the game this early is because a Garand has found its way into my hands. all my other stuff is pretty cheap to shoot. surp 54r, 9mm and 22. $35 for the hornady stuff just hurts my wallet

dont see the point of starting a new thrad for this Q so here goes.

is there any reason i should NOT reload in a room with carpet instead of hardwood/concrete? my dad is a pack rat and im not sure if ill ever be able to claim any amount of space in our basement. so it looks like i will have to do this hobby in my room.

[rondog]

Quote:      

is there any reason i should NOT reload in a room with carpet instead of hardwood/concrete? my dad is a pack rat and im not sure if ill ever be able to claim any amount of space in our basement. so it looks like i will have to do this hobby in my room.

Not for reloading. But if you're planning on running a brass tumbler it's best to put those on a hard surface like a concrete floor. Carpet can impede the airflow in them and make the motor overheat. Plus a soft surface under a tumbler will deaden the vibrations a lot.

[Purdy]

There are lots of older quality presses out there by RCBS, Lyman, Pacific, Redding, and yes even Herter's for bargain prices. You don't have to start with a Rockchucker or "Whiz Bang". A used RCBS Jr. will serve just as well as log as you aren't reforming cases, which most beginners aren't. I sold mine for $20. and yes I now have a Rockchucker (hmm that Redding Ultramag looks awesome)

Point is you don't have to start at or near the top to reload. A good press (not Lee) a balance beam scale and some appropriate caliber dies will get you started, it did me.

[gandog56]

Just stay away from the cheap Lees, the more expensive ones are OK.

That "C" press is a real work of art there, (Heavy on the sarcasm here). And the hand press is good if you have arms like Popeye.

[Purdy]

From my above post, don't think I'm anti Lee, just their presses. I have, use and like their auto prime, carbide sizing die (38/357) and collet dies.

[BOLT]

i have been reloading over 40 years i use rcbs rc 2 press and dies from just about everybody from herters to lyman the lee kit will get you by very well for the money i use thier dies and a lee hand primer but i dont care for the lee collet dies its a great idea but the top is pot metal and strips out easy i also use the lee perfect powder measure it is as acurate as my redding which is one of the best or my rcbs and my lyman

[Deersniper]

LEE Classic Turret press does it for me. Going on three years, still pumps em out. Best buy.

[Sooner Shooter]

Everybody seems to bash the Lee scale and yes it is fairly difficult to read and is basically just a powder measure but I do like the fact when I'm weighing individual rifle loads I can lock the scale, a feature my RCBS doesn't have.

[PONTIACDM]

I use the Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press. I bought the kit and used the powder thrower and scale very little. I upgraded pretty quickly only for speed and more precise measurements. I'm not going to lie I hated that powder thrower. Just a personal preference. Anyway I haven't had any problems with any of the Lee products. I am going to upgrade to a Lee turret press as soon as money allows.

[samuel]

Quote:       Originally Posted by BOLT

i have been reloading over 40 years i use rcbs rc 2 press and dies from just about everybody from herters to lyman the lee kit will get you by very well for the money i use thier dies and a lee hand primer but i dont care for the lee collet dies its a great idea but the top is pot metal and strips out easy i also use the lee perfect powder measure it is as acurate as my redding which is one of the best or my rcbs and my lyman

I use Lee collet neck resizing dies and there is no pot metal to strip out.Are you a collector of powder throwers?You seem to have more than most gun shops do.I looked at odds and ends of Lee equipment I have for trading and find no pot metal at all on anything. ,,,sam.

[Kaybe]

I have used the Lee Anniversary Kit for quite some time. No problems at all. Mostly pistol and a few rifle. Get the carbide pistol dies. The scales are basic, get an RCBS one when you can. Get the Lee and spend the money on bullets, powder and primers. Wait on the new stuff, the Lee will do just fine. Harbor Freight has tumblers that are the cheapest I've seen. Above all else, FOLLOW THE RECIPE!!!!! If you don't, food will just taste bad, ammo will turn your guns into little pieces that you might have to dig out of your face. Be Safe!! Put the tumbler on a heavy piece of hardwood, carpet should be ok for everything else. You could always put down a hard plastic office piece if you need to. Have a fire extinguisher handy-always.
The Lee is good for starting to reload

[TGF]

Quote:       Originally Posted by runfiverun

look at the hornady stuff too..

I have a hornady LNL AP. I love it. I looked at the LNL standard and decided on the RC4 The RC4 has a larger window so it makes it easier to get stuff in an out specially if you are doing larger or taller carts.

[DWARREN123]

I only do handgun calibers and started with a Lee Anniversary Kit, still use it and am very happy with it.

[Slow Go]

"seriously though, what are ya'lls thoughts on LEE presses?"

Well, basically, you get a lot of press for the money no matter which one you may buy. But Lee makes a wide range of presses and obviously there are some significant differences. No alum alloy press can be fairly compared to cast iron press. Or in the example of Lee's Classic Cast, it's even better by being made of cast steel, old railroad rails actually. It has several unique user features, much more than any other press in its class.

You can buy the CC with complete confidence that you will not only have a good press but, in the opinion of many who actually know what they're talking about, the best of its type, at any price. I would gladly swap my old perfect condition RCBS RC II for a new CC in a minute, the CC is the superiour press. (My RC has done a lot of things for me but I have no blind loyalty to inanimate objects or colors.)

Anyone who hasn't seen a broken RCBS press, including the RC, just hasn't seen enough yet because they do get broken. The loudly touted RCs do get the top bar snapped by guys who don't know what they're doing so why shouldn't they also be able to break Lee's lighter duty alum alloy pressses? Some people can destroy an anvil with a spoon!

Gandog, your 25 year old Lee isn't a Classic Cast, they've only been making those for maybe 10 years. Your's is more likely the original Challanger press. It's a good press if the user maintains it and keeps the two-piece toggle block bolt as tight as it's suppose to be. Letting that bolt get loose accounts for perhaps 90% of the broken toggle failures with that press. You are obviously using it correctly so you get excellant performance.

[samuel]

A press,like any other tool is what the user makes of it.(barring mfg flaws)I don't recall breaking anything if I was reasonable. ,,,sam.

[thaddy1978]

I love my LEE. I have the Lee Breech Lock Challenger Kit and couldn't be happier. Yes, their scale seems a bit on the flimsy side, but it works very well. One of my next buys when I get the money would be a digital scale. Nothing in my kit really seems as if it will break easily. My first experience with reloading was actually the hand press that I bought from someone on this site. I have reloaded over 500 round between 357, 38 spec and 303 Brit. The Breech Lock though is very sturdy though--I think i'd pull it off my bench before it broke, and I have it bolted down on two pieces of 3/4" plywood. I have not been disappointed with any of my Lee purchases. And I think with the other post I read is right...with other companies, you are paying for the warranty.

[Slow Go]

thaddy: "I love my LEE. I have the Lee Breech Lock Challenger Kit"

I fully agree the Challenger is a good press. It's plenty strong enough for common reloading chores but none of us would suggest it's as strong as a cast steel (Classic Cast) press would be. I don't care for the "breech lock" idea but that's ONLY for me, not a slam at the product at all. I simply have so many dies that it would cost me a small fortune to put the adapters on all of them. For those with only a few dies sets it would likely be handy even if not actually needed. IMHO.


"Yes, their scale seems a bit on the flimsy side, but it works very well."

Again, basically agree but it seems quite sturdy to me. The question was presses but it's worth mentioning that little scale, while very sensitive and very accurate, can be difficult to use. It's one of the reasons I never suggest anyone get a "kit". NO brand has a lock on the "best" tool designs across the board and a kit locks us into that brand for everything.


"One of my next buys when I get the money would be a digital scale"

Well, if you want one I suppose that's justification enough and many people get good ones and love them; for as long as they work, anyway. But I can't understand why anyone would want one; really not all that fast (what, a second or two faster than a beam for each weight?), quirky about warming-up, drifting zero and calibration, sensitive to external electical fields and changing power line voltage, they rarely follow a powder trickler as they should and no electronic device will last as long as a more simple beam scale that's "powered" by gravity, which changeth not!

What's not to love about a beam scale? ALL a digital scale has going for it is a big display that can be easily read off the bench top. Put a beam scale on a shelf OR a stand at about nose level, as it should be, and it will be quite easy to read. Keep it clean, don't beat it up, and it will last forever. So, Let me suggest you consider any beam scale from RCBS or Redding instead.

[mikld]

Quote:       Originally Posted by samuel

A press,like any other tool is what the user makes of it.(barring mfg flaws)I don't recall breaking anything if I was reasonable. ,,,sam.

Darn near any tool can be broken if abused ot used for something is isn't designed for. I have been reloading off and on for over 30 years (divorces and a boat kept me from it) and have never broken any press (2 Lees a C-H, and a Redding), scale (Lee or Lyman), priming tool (Lee, Hornady), powder measure (Lee, Lyman) or die (RCBS, Lyman, Herters, Pacific, or Lee). Some folks may point out the Lee Loader C type press. Any idiot can break one, or most any press, if he leans on the handle trying to size a 50 cal. case down to a .22! It ain't made for that type of reloading. If you want the "prestige" of RCBS or a Foster Coax press and Bench Rest Dies, go ahead, or get reasonable equipment and spend the money saved on powder and primers.

[ArkansasHunter]

Midway USA sells the LEE Classic Cast press for 85 bucks ! And I noticed they had a sale of 15% off on reloading stuff.
When I looked last night.