# Which reloader kit?



## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I had a little training session and I may be hooked. 
What do you guys think of these? Lee's kit from SW $140









RCBS has a mail in rebate for $50, so $250 plus Cabela's has a deal right now to get $45 off of $300. Should I just get the RCBS? RCBS from Cabela's 








Where the rebate says $50 off of a $300 RCBS purchase will the coupon screw that up you think? Of course, I would grab at least one die, so that may not be an issue??


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

My set up is pretty similar to the bottom picture. I own mostly RCBS equipment...except dies, I like the Lee collet dies for bottleneck cases. There are a lot of Lee equipment fans on here also. I'll bet you can't wear either of them out in your lifetime. Pick the one that appeals to you.


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## gregkdc (May 19, 2008)

I bought that exact Lee set up about a year ago, and it has worked fairly well for me. In that time I have shot and loaded about 200 30-06 rounds. Previously I had shot probably around 100 rounds of 30-06 ammo in my entire life. So I am not really saving any money but I have become better at shooting just for the fact that it doesn't break the bank if I want to go out to the range. My only issue with the Lee kit is that the scale is fidgety. It is accurate but it can be hard to get it to work just right. So if you buy the kit there is potential for an upgrade in the future. Also some people have had issues with the powder measure, but I think it has more to do with finding out what powder it meters best. I had problems reproducing loads with long extruded grains, but spherical powder stays extremely consistent. This is probably true for most powder measures. Over all, would I buy the kit again? Yes
P.S. don’t forget to factor in the price for a case cleaner, the gun show is this weekend might be a good place to start.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

I have the RCBS equipment. It is truly built for a lifetime. Not only yours but your childrens children. A powder trickler is a must have. You can fine tune any powder measure with it (and it's pretty cheap). I'm sure either would work just fine.


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## leviwin (Dec 7, 2011)

Al Hansen said:


> I have the RCBS equipment. It is truly built for a lifetime. Not only yours but your childrens children. A powder trickler is a must have. You can fine tune any powder measure with it (and it's pretty cheap). I'm sure either would work just fine.


+1 on the above quote It is a great set up. Don't know much about the Lee press. I do however use some of there dies. They work well and are a little less expensive, but they don't seem to be the same quality as my RCBS dies.


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## Squigie (Aug 4, 2012)

There are a couple things to point out about those particular kits:
*1.* The Lee "Perfect" Powder Measure is fairly accurate, but it leaks powder all over the place and has a small capacity. The RCBS Uniflow powder measure is a much better overall design, but has trouble cutting grains when used with extruded (stick) powders. Even so, I prefer the Uniflow.

*2.* That particular Lee kit includes the "Safety Prime" which is an on-press priming system. It works, but the other Lee kit with the "Auto Prime" would be my preference (off-press priming). RCBS's on-press priming tools don't work very well (they offer 2 or 3 for the Rock Chucker). So, the somewhat unreliable Lee Safety Prime is actually an improvement, if you do want to do on-press priming.
*2a.* The Lee Auto Prime is a good hand-priming tool, but requires special shell holders (included, if you buy the kit). The RCBS Hand-Prime is a much better tool, in my opinion, but works best with RCBS and/or Hornady shell holders. If you commit to the RCBS tool, you can't cheap out on shell holders in the future.

*3.* The RCBS 5-0-5 scale is the scale against which all others are judged. It is, absolutely, the best "budget" balance-beam scale on the market, and has a lifetime warranty. The Lee Safety Scale is not a _bad_ scale, and there's some truth to their propaganda about it being the most accurate budget scale on the market. However, that accuracy comes at a price... it is _extremely_ sensitive. Trying to trickle accurate powder charges with dense powders (like certain extruded rifle powders) can be quite frustrating. And, even the slightest air movement in the room can have the beam wandering all over the scale. The Safety Scale is also limited to a useful capacity of 110 grains (versus the 5-0-5's 510 grains). So, if you ever want to weigh bullets, you're hosed.

*4.* Lee's warranty is only 2 years. RCBS tools have a _lifetime_ warranty (except electronics).

*5.* The Lee Challenger and RCBS Rock Chucker are arguably just as "strong" as each other, even if in different ways. But, where the Lee's linkage is known for breaking, the Rock Chucker is known for having the best compound leverage outside of "Magnum" and .50 BMG presses. If you reload a lot of rifle cartridges, the Rock Chucker's leverage would be a very nice thing to have.

*6.* Lee is no longer including a copy of their reloading manual in their kits. Even though I'm not a fan of the Lee manual (for reasons too in-depth to list here), it isn't a bad reference to have around. Although it would seem that having the Speer manual included in the RCBS kit would be a big improvement.... I'm indifferent on the matter. The current Speer manual (#14?) has been watered-down and had many non-ATK powders removed from the data. Unless you load a LOT of designs unique to Speer (like their plated bullets - Gold Dots, Deep Curls, etc - and shot capsules), the book is nearly useless. I find the Hornady 7th/8th and Hodgdon manuals (and website) to be far more universal than the Lee or Speer books.

The Lee kits are decent place to start, if you don't want to drop two to three times as much cash on something else. But, you need to keep in mind the products' limitations.

I do consider the RCBS kit to be superior to the Lee kit, but they'll both get the job done.

If you're willing to consider another kit.... I think the Hornady LNL kit is actually the best "bang for your buck" single stage kit, right now. (Though, it would be best to wait for it to go on sale.)
The Redding Big Boss kit is a good collection of equipment, as well. But, the press doesn't quite have the leverage you get with the Rock Chucker or Hornady LNL. The kit also lacks a powder measure (but does include a good scale).

Sorry, if that's more than you asked for. 
And, as always.... shop around. That Sportsman's price, in particular, is about $35 more expensive than some other online shops.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Huge, I have prepared a statement to answer your question:



RCBS


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

RCBS has a "partner press" that is good intermediate quality for the casual reloader that is fairly reasonable. Its what I started with nearly 30 years ago. Down the road you can upgrade the press to a rockchucker if you feel the need, new scale... etc.


-DallanC


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Some great answers from people much more qualified than I am and I can't add much. But, I have the Lee kit you pictured, and the one thing that nobody commented on is the quick change bushings that come with the Lee press. They make it super fast and easy to switch between your resizing die, bullet seating die, and crimping die if you use one. They're also really handy if you're reloading several different calibers.


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## fishawk (Aug 23, 2009)

+1 on the Hornady set. I believe they are still offering the "free bullets" deal.


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## sagebrush (Sep 8, 2007)

I'm partial to the forester press and redding powder dispensers, for dies the hornady, and forester have been making my reloads for me lately.

one thing about the forester press is there are no shell holders to change and the dies just slip into the press from the front very easy to change out the dies. 

redding powder dispensers are spot on for dropping charges.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I am getting the picture that a lot of reloaders are pretty hard core here. Well, I am an official member of the club as my initiation was this evening at the Green roof temple, as Gary calls it. I went with the RCBS at a screaming deal of $210, of course, I was over double that between two RCBS die sets, Hornady vmax 55gr 224, Hornady AMax 105 gr 6mm, Lee shell holders, Lyman manual, Varget powder, shell boxes and some muffler bearings the guy insisted I buy. The Cabela's employee wouldn't leave me alone as he wanted to teach me it all while I was there, which I can appreciate with all their is to learn, he was very helpful and that was a smoking deal. 
I am going to get started with 223 and 243 for now. I am sure that I will a load of questions for all yalls once I get to the point of experimenting around with some different loads. Thanks again for all of the input!


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## Squigie (Aug 4, 2012)

It's a good kit, with some good tools.

But, be prepared to modify the plastic "guides" (black/large and white/small primer inserts) in the Hand Prime tool. Even though every manufacturer claims their shell holders are "universal", it's far from the truth. About the only "universal" thing about them, is that they fit T-slot reloading press rams. The rest of the dimensions are quite variable, especially the internal bore and taper dimensions. Lee's shell holders, in particular, don't work well with the RCBS Hand Prime, due to a difference in that bore and taper. You're likely to have to do some flash removal and sanding on the plastic guides, to get them to fit. Some shell holders may even require removing some of the rough tooling marks in the internal taper on the bottom of the shell holder. The shell holder and guides should slide into the tool with little to no resistance. If you have to force it, it may cause the primers or seating stem/rod to bind during use.

Before long, you'll also be wanting a stand for the powder measure. I have come to like the RCBS "Advanced Powder Measure Stand" for any powder measure, but even something like a Lee C-Press frame can be used effectively.
That's the beauty of most current powder measures... they'll screw into pretty much anything with 7/8-14 threads. 

Enjoy the new toys.


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

My FIL has the Hornady Lock n Load kit and it's awesome. I really like the Hornady dies- I've found them to be much easier to operate than RCBS (i'm still new to reloading so that could be why). It's a great kit and I'm pretty sure you can get 500 free bullets when you send in proof of purchase on that kit.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Welcome to the sickness!

You are going to regret it


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Ha ha Huge! Your screwed now. Soon you'll be scanning the range for brass, catching your brass without realizing it as you eject it from your gun, measuring everything with calipers and going to the range just so you can empty some brass to reload.
You made a smart buy with the RCBS press. Of course the others are good presses too. I have a RCBS that I bought in '81 that I still use today.


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

I have had both presses, and prefer the RCBS. In fact most of my rifle stuff is RCBS, but I do have a few lee dies.


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