Press Kit Reccs for young &new loader

[oink]

Rockchucker kit and with the primer arm setup if it doesn't come with it.

Edit: Well it looks like the primer accessory has changed. The new version looks a lot nicer but a lot bigger but I don't know how it works. My Rockchucker is pretty old, but it still works well.

 

[SMSgt]

Rockchucker kit and with the primer arm setup if it doesn't come with it.

Edit: Well it looks like the primer accessory has changed. The new version looks a lot nicer but a lot bigger but I don't know how it works. My Rockchucker is pretty old, but it still works well.

I love RCBS. Everything I own RCBS has met or exceeded expectations. That said, I still reload on a Herter's Model 3 press. Just no need to replace it. I have some Hornady, Lee, and other big name brand equipment, and I have to say it all works, but each has a shortcoming somewhere along the line. My preference for priming is the RCBS hand primer. It allows me to seat primers while relaxing in my recliner during those really bad Swengoulie horror movies.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Wow, sounds like you had some really bad experiences with a Lee presses. What model(s) have you tried?

Pro 1000. Given to me. I was gonna trash it but someone else wanted it. Their new press has pages of tweeks(on gun forums) to get it run right. ALL their press priming systems are terrible. RCBS-Hornady-Dilon run right.......Right out of the box.

 

[BC38]

Pro 1000. Given to me. I was gonna trash it but someone else wanted it. Their new press has pages of tweeks(on gun forums) to get it run right. ALL their press priming systems are terrible. RCBS-Hornady-Dilon run right.......Right out of the box.

Yeah, the negative vs positive comments on the 1000 seem to run about 10:1. I've never tried one myself.
Ever tried a 4-hole Classic Turret?
Mine has always worked well - from day 1.
You do have to develop a bit of a "feel" for the priming system, but once you get it figured out it works just fine - or at least it has for me.
Of course if you have 3x-4x the money to invest, the RCBS, Dillon, et. al. are no doubt a better product. Lee is more like the "value" line equipment, vs the "premium" lines.
I just can't see how they could be 3x-4x better to justify the cost.
But as with so many things, YMMV.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Yeah, the negative vs positive comments on the 1000 seem to run about 10:1. I've never tried one myself.
Ever tried a 4-hole Classic Turret?
Mine has always worked well - from day 1.
You do have to develop a bit of a "feel" for the priming system, but once you get it figured out it works just fine - or at least it has for me.
Of course if you have 3x-4x the money to invest, the RCBS, Dillon, et. al. are no doubt a better product. Lee is more like the "value" line equipment, vs the "premium" lines.
I just can't see how they could be 3x-4x better to justify the cost.
But as with so many things, YMMV.

I have an old RCBS Junior on my bench and 4 Dillon progressives.....You don't have to (Feel anything..your quote)) they just flat out run right out of the box. Oldest is 33 years old. Still runs like new. NO plastic internal parts.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

I am usually the guy defending Lee in these threads but this time I am going to go with the consensus and vote for RCBS. Just like their dies, the Lee single stage presses are a great value. But there are several parts of the press kit I would not recommend. Their beam scale and powder measures are simply junk. Their on-press priming systems are awful. The hand held primer is ok. If this is intended as a gift for a returning vet I would look for something with less plastic and less frustration than a Lee kit. Like others in this thread I am a fan of the Lee four hole turret but personally if I were shopping for a press I would use for the next 60 years it would be a single stage RCBS or Redding.