Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Reloading kit question

Gentleman....A friend of mine is interested in getting into reloading for CF rifle hunting loads. If buying a kit, which would you choose and why?

Best bang for the buck?

Lee because it's cheap but does a good job. Then if your friend finds he really likes reloading, he can upgrade some of the components as funds permit. If reloading just isn't his cup of tea, he's not out a lot of money. In addition to the basic kit, I'd suggest first purchases of a tumbler and a Chrony.

Lawrence (I'm assuming). I think the "best bang for the buck" is the RCBS rockchucker supreme kit. Like stillbeeman said, your friend will still need to get a few other essentials. I'd also add: powder trickler, good electronic calipers, different load manuals, good case trimmer, tumbler, and a set of scale check weights. An electronic scale isn't nesessary.

+1 for Lee Anniversary Kit

Add electronic scale, calipers and dies. Good to go.

My recommendation is the RCBS kit and be sure the press is an "O" style. Pay your money once and get good stuff. On calipers, I prefer a good set of electronic but they're more expensive. There's no possible interpolation error, they're faster to use and they can be set to different "zeroing" for such things as seating depth. No need for a beginner to get an electronic powder scale IMHO. I have one and ended up using it only to weigh my cast bullets for my .45-70 BP target rifle. Too much "swinging back and forth", IMHO.
One other item I'd be sure to get is an RCBS hand priming tool. Lots faster and nearly fool proof.
Just what I'd get.
Bear in Fairbanks

I would recommend the Lee Anniversary Challenger Kit. It has all you need except for the dies. Get those from Lee too. If there is something in it you don't like after using it for a while, then selectively upgrade it. Will be a lot cheaper than buying the overpriced RCBS kit. Stay away from electronic scale, unless you want to drop a bundle to get good ones. The Lee will certainly work well to get started. If you don't like the plastic, then upgrade to a Redding Model 2 balance beam.

Thanks guys. I'll pass this thread on to him and let him decide.

+1 for RCBS Awesome customer service!!!! Get the best kit he can afford... Use the Lee trimmers...

lee is ok to start with but if you like loading and want to do a really good job save the hassle and just stsrt with most of the stuff you will keep for years get the RCBS you will be $ ahead in the long run

+2

im the friend. thanks for info. will monitor threads.

I worked with a few new reloaders that started with the RCBS Rockchucker kit. All have had good success with it including me when I started with the same basic stuff 37 years ago. RCBS is solid equipment backed by excellent customer service.

You can spend more or less but as in most things the best price/performance is somewhere in the middle of the price range.

I'm not a big fan of Lee equipment. Lee has some excellent design ideas but sometimes it's not manufactured well enough to hold up to hard use. RCBS and others make stuff you can expect to last for decades.........................DJ

20 years ago I started with a RCBS Rockchucker kit. Only thing is, I know nothing about the "awesome" customer service from RCBS because I haven't wrecked anything yet!

I wouldn't buy a kit, as I don't believe any single manufacturer makes the best of each item. For a press, Forster co-ax, powder thrower Redding BR, scale Ohaus, hand primer rcbs, dies Redding, caliper Mitutoyo.

Which way to go depends more on what you KNOW if you really like reloading AND what cartriges you will be doing, color of the paint is NOT the issue. Unfortunately, well meaning guys frequently point new guys to what they use and like for their own needs and that may be vastly different from what the new guy will actually need or be able to justify.

IF he's going to be loading for handguns and/or small rifle cartridges, like .308 or smaller, buying a massive case iron press is meaningless, the Lee stuff will do all he will need for the next 10-20 years. AND, if he really gets into reloading and wants something bigger/stronger/faster he will have enough personal experience to make his own choices intelligently - and even then he won't toss his first press in the trash, he will always have needs for it later. ??

Kits aren't perfect, no kit has everything needed but noobs will do well to get a basic Lee kit and add what he needs to it.

Forget the 'quick die change' bushing things, it really isn't terribly difficult to screw dies in and out even for a mechanical klutz nor does it take a lot of time; well under a minute to do a full die excange by hand and no die needs be wrenched in place.

I would have to throw in the Hornady lock and load kit as well. Though the cats meow in presses is the forster co-ax as stated above. Price point is your only limitation. If you don't mind splurging, get the forster co-ax. If on a budget then the rcbs or hornady kits would be my second choice. And if budget is really tight go with the Lee kit. Just my 2 cents.

my first kit was lee . it went in about a year for the rcbs i would say buy the best you can afford .

Good point. Buy something you are going to use for 20+ years. I've had my RCBS rockchucker supreme kit for 15 and it is still working like new. I did, however, have to tear apart the press the other day and clean the gunk out of it because it was getting harder to operate when it was cold. Works like new again now. RCBS has awesome customer service: The other day I was kicking around the idea of finally replacing my cutter on my case trimmer and decided to contact their CS. I was just asking how much they would sell me one and they said, "give us your address and we'll send one out right away free of charge"!!! I have had one problem with a 300 win mag sizer die that wasn't sizing the neck down far enough. I had thought it was just the short neck problem you hear about often and wrote it off as that. I contacted CS on that and they said it didn't sound right and to send them the die set and they would inspect them and replace free of charge if it was bad. They sent me a new die with a sized case to show that it works perfectly now. My old die was only sizing the inside of the neck down to .307" and it was barely holding the bullet. After recieving the new sizer die, I checked the resized cases and they were .304" and held the bullets like a vise. Nothing but good to say about RCBS products and their CS.

Couldn't agree more...

My friend just go the lee kit and I wasn't impressed with the plastic parts but ymmv.

I think I've had my Rockchucker 24 years. Get a Rockchucker first, then get a Dillon 550.