First Press - without brand snobbery

[markyw]

I have a turret press, classic cast single stage and classic reloader single stage presses, all Lee.
My dies are a mixture, but that was based primarily on availability and good deals on here.
For ancillary equipment - as people have said, you will "outgrow" the Lee powder scale pretty quickly, so look at an RCBS 5-0-5. The Lee perfect powder thrower is very accurate if you are consistent in your throw technique. Priming will be a personal preference, not for kit but on the method you want to use and case prep is a rabbit hole all by itself.
I also have several Lee Loaders, which allow you to make up ammunition with the minimum of kit. These work very well, although seating primers with a hammer is something to get used to.

As mentioned above, the turret does lift slightly when force applied, but my runout tests have shown this is immaterial and does not affect accuracy.
My experience with Lee aftercare is that it is as good as any. They respond quickly and help if they can. Their website also has multiple videos and instruction downloads to assist if things are missing when you buy second hand or just need a refresher.

I reload for 8 calibres (.17 Rem FB up to 7.5x55 Swiss) and shoot both live quarry and a lot of target out to 600yds, modern and service rifles, and have not been disappointed with the reloads - my shooting can be a different matter though

Regards

Mark

 

[Demetrius]

For weighing, I use an old Mettler P163 lab balance. These were designed for precision routine analytical laboratory use, and weigh in grams to 3 decimal places, 0.001gms, equivalent to 0.015 grains.
They are also very quick to use, and don't suffer from zero drift, unlike some electronic balances. They often come up on ebay for not a lot of money.

D.

 

[Heym SR20]

Lee Presses work fine and I bought one second hand fifteen plus years ago. I really like the green RCBS presses - they are lovely bits of kit.

But I can’t justify spending a few hundred quid on one.

 

[HandB]

Another vote for a Lee Classic cast press. Mine has served me well for about 10,000 reloads. I don't use quick fit adapters for the dies - I just screw them in as per the old-fashioned style. It is simple but works fine and produces ammo with single digit SDs. I mount mine on a low and sturdy coffee table next to my reloading bench so I can gently lean on the handle with my bodyweight while seated at the bench.

 

[cjm1066]

I seriously doubt their are huge differences between any of the steel presses other that convience features.

I have used a wadamet for 40 years and a aluminium RCBS for 20 (purchased off eb#y) for over 20 years resizing up to 375 H@H.

Presses deteriorate mostly hrough rust, apart from a Lee handpress I was offered which had only been used for pistol cartridges, the ram rattled in the frame.

 

[8x57]

My view is that Lee is very affordable and can be quite innovative, but can be a bit of a mixed bag as regards both quality and customer service. Some of their kit is good or even very good, and a few items are relatively poor or not very durable.

I have or have had a complete mixture of kit over the years. Personal choice and availability often comes into the equation and I favour RCBS, Dillon and Lyman but I still have a couple of sets of Lee dies. The warranties from RCBS and Dillon are legendary.

As others have already mentioned go for an O frame press, and stay clear of the Lee safety scales.

 

[3595wilk]

I'm reloading .222 .243 .308 and 6.5x55 all on a classic Lee press on one of those triangular stands.

It is absolutely fine for minute of deer and fox and rabbit.

I'm going down the 6mm BR Norma route in a couple of months and expect to use that too.

Mix and match dies and other bits as you need, but the bog standard Lee Press is totally suitable kit for hunting reloads.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I went all the way down the rabbit hole to buying a Prazi press 120mm, the Lyman orange press and my 1995 Rock chucker now rest on the floor, somehow I hate to sell them, the Dillon RL550B I will have to fettle up and move on sometime as the daughter would put it on the tip.

 

[tackb]

for what you need a s/h 'o' type press will be fine , no need for a turret press

i started with a lyman turret press but i shot pistol back then so was churning out ammo , now a single stage is fine and i shoot and load way more than 500 a year!

older presses are just better quality you can feel it when you pick them up , the critical thing is to mount your press well so it's solid

 

[Donkey Basher]

When I was doing ‘quite a bit’ of range work I used an RCBS Ammomaster progressive press - I could turn out a lot of 222 ‘practice’ ammo on that in a very short time. Bit of a pain to set it up for the bottle necked cartridge to start with but once it was done I could churn them out very quickly!

 

[sh1kar]

Very happy with a Rock Chucker I have had for c 20 years

s

 

[JTO]

I have always liked the geometry of the Redding Ultramag press.

 

[angusb1]

I have a Lee Classic Cast press. Brilliant. Wouldn't change it for any other press except a Forster Coax and the Forster is twice the price. I haven't bought a Forster because it isn't twice as good and the Lee does everything really well, there are just a couple of things the Forster does better. Main thing is the Forster has a really nice self-centering floating die holder.

 

[trickie]

I like my Rock Chucker, a gift from a buddy who upgraded, it’s more repeatable that my lee press (now reduced to a decamping only press)
The RC is so solid

 

[Selous]

Look for a secondhand quality press would be my advice. RCBS, Redding or Forster would be my top choices. I am never particularly impressed with the build quality of Lee stuff but I accept it is functional.

 

[davegixxer]

I have done the reading, watched the videos and spoken to friends.

I have amassed a lot of kit but keep stopping short of pulling the trigger on the press. Do I subscribe to brand snobbery with a RCBS rock che
ucker or get a Lee Turrett?

Genuinely - is RCBS so much better.

For context I will be loading. 308 and
243 for hunting, maybe 500 rounds of each a year.

Tia

I load .243 and .308 and have a hornady classic press with the quick release bushes i find it great for depriming, then prepping is quick and easy to trim, full size and seat using a micrometer adjustable die when changing calibers the dies stay set in the bushes. Not a competition target shooter so I find the consistency is more than acceptable with accuracy sub moa for hunting. 50x of each caliber is easy in an evening.

 

[moeggesit]

For rifle loading, single stage press is better than turret and RCBS will not produce better ammunition than what you can load on a Lee press. ps. RCBS is not brand snobbery, pick what work best for you and try different ones.

 

[timbrayford]

For rifle loading, single stage press is better than turret and RCBS will not produce better ammunition than what you can load on a Lee press. ps. RCBS is not brand snobbery, pick what work best for you and try different ones.

Loading for both 243 and 270 its easy to switch turrets between the two.

 

[kenbro]

While Lee products will do it - my view is go up-market. You'll just never go wrong with an RCBS product & it'll last a lifetime - other up-market brands are equally good.
The RCBS Lifetime Warranty is second to none!

Last week I bought an RCBS tool and on the packaging it says ‘Made in China.’
Kb.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Has anyone had a press 'let go' while resizing?

K