Need advice on reloading kits.

[J_flyer]

I have been looking at all the different reloading kits, RCBS seem to make a good product and that's what Im used to using already as a friend of mine has the rock chucker press. I was wondering if the extra $150 to go with the rock chucker press or is the reloader special 5 press sufficient. The only other differences I see between the kits is the rock chucker press comes with the hand primer that can be purchased separately.

Any Input would be appreciated.
Thanks
here are the kits Im looking at.
http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/reloading/presses/reloading-starter-kit/prod85970.html

http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/reloading/presses/rock-chucker-supreme-master-reloading-kit/prod85971.html

[elkhunter11]

My Rockchucker is over 30 years old, and still does an excellent job. As for the hand priming tool, I recently retired my Lee Autoprimes, and replaced them with the RCBS unuiversal priming tools. I have two of them, so that I can keep one set up for small primers, and one set up for large primers, so that I don't waste time converting them back and forth.

[aakoksal]

I have been looking at all the different reloading kits, RCBS seem to make a good product and that's what Im used to using already as a friend of mine has the rock chucker press. I was wondering if the extra $150 to go with the rock chucker press or is the reloader special 5 press sufficient. The only other differences I see between the kits is the rock chucker press comes with the hand primer that can be purchased separately.

Any Input would be appreciated.
Thanks
here are the kits Im looking at.
http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/reloading/presses/reloading-starter-kit/prod85970.html

http://ca.wholesalesports.com/storefront/reloading/presses/rock-chucker-supreme-master-reloading-kit/prod85971.html

The new Rock Chucker Press is a bit longer so can accommodate longer rounds.

My first press was a Ruck Chucker that I purchased back in 1995. Later I converted it to a progressive press with Piggyback II conversion kit. It is still working after all those years and thousands of .45ACP, 9mm, .44 Mag, .357 Mag and .32S&W Long reloads. So you have that option as well.

Hand priming tool speeds up the whole process, I have one and can't imagine reloading without it.

It also seems like Rock Chucker kit has a Uniflow Powder Measure while the other doesn't? I think that is a $70 purchase if done separately; and is a big time saver as well...

I would definitely go with Ruck Chucker.

[savage shooter]

Seems to me that they both have WAAAY less stuff than the Lee $119 kit does. I purchased the Lee kit for $119 and bought an upgraded scale and a re sizer and few other things all for less than the entry price of that kit. The press from Lee is actually quite functional in my opinion.

[elkhunter11]

Seems to me that they both have WAAAY less stuff than the Lee $119 kit does. I purchased the Lee kit for $119 and bought an upgraded scale and a re sizer and few other things all for less than the entry price of that kit. The press from Lee is actually quite functional in my opinion.


If you are talking about the LEE Challenger press, I find that they aren't rigid enough or durable enough for my tastes. When sizing large cases, the Challenger press flexes, and in time the linkages break. I have a few friends that started with a LEE Challenger press, but all of them have since upgraded to better quality presses like the Rockchucker. The end result is that they spent more money on presses than they would have, if they had started out with a Rockchucker in the first place.

[fordtruckin]

If you are talking about the LEE Challenger press, I find that they aren't rigid enough or durable enough for my tastes. When sizing large cases, the Challenger press flexes, and in time the linkages break. I have a few friends that started with a LEE Challenger press, but all of them have since upgraded to better quality presses like the Rockchucker. The end result is that they spent more money on presses than they would have, if they had started out with a Rockchucker in the first place.

Interesting... I have friends who reload thousands of rounds a month and use Lee equipment and have never had any issues with it. Who knows, bad batch perhaps?:confused:

[Lefty-Canuck]

Interesting... I have friends who reload thousands of rounds a month and use Lee equipment and have never had any issues with it. Who knows, bad batch perhaps?:confused:

X2

I have used the same Lee Press for over 15 years, and no issues. I actually prefer Lee Dies to some other brands as well, never had an issue with them. I also like that Lee will make you custome dies for a really reasonable fee.

LC

[sillyak]

Interesting... I have friends who reload thousands of rounds a month and use Lee equipment and have never had any issues with it. Who knows, bad batch perhaps?:confused:

Another thing to consider is Lee's customer service. I had my Lee autoprime break on me after 1.5 years of use (2 year warranty) Lee said, sorry that model is not made anymore would you like to buy the new version? I've dealt with both RCBS and Hornady customer serivce and with both of them the response was: "sorry about that, new one is in the mail."

Lee products are cheaper and with some things it's worth it. The Lee challenger press is pretty functional for the cost. Personally I think the $ for RCBS, Hornady, Dillion ect. are worth it.

I started out with the Lee kit and the only thing in that kit I'm still using is the press (and this is only 2 years later). Powder measure was junk, scale was junk, autoprime broke ect.

[Lonnie]

Interesting... I have friends who reload thousands of rounds a month and use Lee equipment and have never had any issues with it. Who knows, bad batch perhaps?:confused:

You get what you pay for. Lee makes cheap presses and they make some decent presses but you pay for them. if you can afford it buy a good press as it is the idem that is used the most and takes most of the stress.

[Robmcleod82]

What kind of budget are you on? how many rounds a year do you shoot? I like the rockchucker press, it is rigid and fits magnum size rounds easily. The redding presses are really nice but are more money than an rcbs. If you can drop a 1000 bucks I would buy either a rockchucker or a redding, a hand priming tool(best cheap reloading purchase ever) and a rcbs chargemaster(best expensive reloading purchase ever)

[moverly]

I bought the Lee kit from WSS for about 125.oo when i first started years ago and have found myself upgarding bit by bit. I bought the RCBS Rockchucker at Whiteelephant in Spokane this summer for 130.00, couldnt pass up on the price.

[J_flyer]

Im shooting a 7mm rem mag a .308 and a 22-250 for now my main rifle is my 7mm probably run 300 rounds a year through the 7mm and .308 and 500+ through the .22-250. So in total probably a thousand rounds a year. I do not like to buy junk as you end up spending twice as much in the long run, but don't have a endless budget either. Ghe rock chucker is kit is at the top of my price range unfortunately for now.

[Robmcleod82]

The rockchucker is a good press, im sure you will be happy with it. When the funds free up i would seriously look into a chargemaster powder dispenser, it makes it so much faster to reload.

[sns2]

I have a Lee. Am now looking for a Rockchucker (or equal). I get the whole idea about buying quality in the first place. The reality is our sport/hobby/obsession is not a cheap one, and everyone is at different points in their lives in terms of disposable $$. If you can afford an RCBS kit, you won't regret it. If you can't, go for a Lee, being aware that in all likelihood you will probably end up upgrading various components. BUT, you can load good, accurate, consistent rounds with a Lee. Lots of us do and have done so for years.

[260 Rem]

I have been using an old Lee press for many years but was starting to get variations in seating OAL's (measured to the ogive) so I purchased a Special 5. I use the old Lee for resizing and the new S-5 for seating only. The S-5 is very precise when set to seat with the shellholder just touching the base of the seating die. There can be a disadvantage to the S-5 if you are using a seating die with a sleeve that extends below the base of the seating die (like Redding) because the sleeve reduces the practical usable distance to 3". For me that is no issue...but if you want to load for Long action calibers, you could have a problem. For that reason, I would recommend the Rockchucker over the S-5 if choosing the RCBS. I would choose the RCBS over the Lee because (for the ones I looked at), the ram support is a bit longer which should result in less "wiggle" at the top of the ram stroke.

[KegRiver]

I've been using Lee for over 25 years.
First handloaders, then I bought a turret press.

I have had no issues with any Lee products, I can't say the same for some other brands.

For instance, I have a Lyman No 55 powder measure, it kept jamming on me so I bought a Lee Perfect powder measure for a backup, it has worked flawlessly for two years now.

I'm not sure my Lee turret would stand up to swedging bullets like a Rock Chucker will, but it has resized a few thousand rounds in various calibres without a problem.

The biggest problem I have with presses like the Rock Chucker is that changing dies is a pain if you do more then one size cartridge.

What convinced me to buy the Lee was their drop in turret system. It works like a charm. I have a spare turret for each cartridge I load so changing between cartridges takes only seconds and changing from resizing to seating dies only takes a second. No more adjusting dies. I set them once and from then on only fine tune each time I use them.

[32-40win]

Not having owned a Lee bench mtd press, I can't criticize them personally. Maybe the criticism is from people who want to form cases and swage bullets and the like. RCBS and Redding and Lyman "o" presses will do it. Some have maybe questioned the Forster/Bonanza for the same reason? The Rockchucker has pretty much set the standard. A turret would likely be nicer for a little higher production for pistols and such, never really needed that nicety.
The accessories are where you gain or lose efficiency. You can spend a lot of money on them. I've bought neck dies for everything I've owned, I have a couple of micro-adjust dies, I only full length size hunting rounds.
I have a Forster case trimmer, and a Hornady. I have a Lyman 55 powder measure, and an Acculine, and a Redding BR3, the BR3 is better with most powders other than ball, which works in any measure. I didn't like how long it took for the RCBS 510 scale to settle down, I use a Hornady now. I use Lee dippers on powders other than ball most of the time, just toss it on the scale. If I have lots to load say for 223 or 22-250 I will try to work up loads with ball powders and use the BR3. The BR3 also gets used for my .32-30 and .32-40 when loading at the shooting bench, so does the Lee hand primer unit. I have a Hornady and a RCBS hand primer unit also. Hornady one took a bit of work to get it going, but is quite nice now that I have used it, maybe I just got a funky unit. Haven't done any with the RCBS yet.
Personally, I hate powder tricklers, too slow. Chargemaster looks nice, not cheap though, 25sec a round isn't too bad a speed. Ball powder and a measure is the quickest. I have an electronic scale, only use it to weigh bullets.

[elkhunter11]

Personally, I hate powder tricklers, too slow.

I set my measure a tenth of a grain or two low, then use a trickler to top off the charge on my electronic scale. In this way, each powder charge is measured to .1grain, and the process is quite quick.

Chargemaster looks nice, not cheap though, 25sec a round isn't too bad a speed.

My combination of measure and trickler will easily drop charges quicker than 25sec per round.

[32-40win]

Just going by the clock on the You tube vids, think it was 55gr chg's. Fastest was the Smartreloader, 10sec. Hornady was the slowest, at fast speed. Is the Chargemaster speed adjustable?

[Lefty-Canuck]

I set my measure a tenth of a grain or two low, then use a trickler to top off the charge on my electronic scale. In this way, each powder charge is measured to .1grain, and the process is quite quick.

My combination of measure and trickler will easily drop charges quicker than 25sec per round.

Nice thing about the chargemaster is it can weigh out a charge while you are seating a bullet....if you are all manual you can only do one at a time.

LC

[sns2]

I set my measure a tenth of a grain or two low, then use a trickler to top off the charge on my electronic scale. In this way, each powder charge is measured to .1grain, and the process is quite quick.



My combination of measure and trickler will easily drop charges quicker than 25sec per round.

What electronic scale do you use?

[elkhunter11]

What electronic scale do you use?


I have the first electronic scale sold by RCBS. I don't remember the model number, but it hasn't been available for several years. It was quite expensive ($500) when I purchased it, but it seems much more stable than the newer electronic scales that I have used.

[Ovo]

I'd go for the RCBS - agree its more than the others but its gonna be a hierloom. I have mixed gear for reloading but for the important stuff that takes the work (dies, press etc) RCBS.

[dero338]

Im shooting a 7mm rem mag a .308 and a 22-250 for now my main rifle is my 7mm probably run 300 rounds a year through the 7mm and .308 and 500+ through the .22-250. So in total probably a thousand rounds a year. I do not like to buy junk as you end up spending twice as much in the long run, but don't have a endless budget either. Ghe rock chucker is kit is at the top of my price range unfortunately for now.

when I firs started 15 year ago I got a rock chucker kit and the press is realy great
redding big boss is about equivalent

but I reload different calibers and chage dies aften so I replaced my press for a forster co-ax
the main difference is that you dont screw your die on to it, but just clip it in place. so you adjust the nut once and the position of your die is adjusted forever.
it cost a little more, but I save a lot of time