Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Lee Challenger reloader kit

Anyone have an opinion on this? Want to start reloading but dont know if i'll stick with it so im looking to get into as inexpensively as possible.Is this kit good or am i wasting my money?

It is okay. The press is fine, hand priming is all I do and thiers is fine, the scale sucks IMHO but works, powder measure is ok but a bit toyish compared to a RCBS, Hordney ect. I just bought one a few weeks ago for 99.00 at Cabelas, since then I got a bargain on a RCBS scale, measure, and a few other things that come in their Ammo Crafter kit. But if you are not sure, then get it. Good used presses seem hard to come by, but they last forever.

Thanks Bob n Roy im gonna pick one of these up and see how it goes then upgrade if needed

The press is fine. It feels light and flimsy compared to the heavy cast presses, but it really works well. The powder measure works great with stick powders, but may bind a bit with ball powder. It still measures accurately though. The only likely complaint may be the scale. It works well, but is a pain to set compared to my Lyman and the RCBS. You will love the hand priming tool. The Lee kit is a really inexpensive way to make some accurate ammo.

Thanks Leon,going to Cabelas this coming weekend to pick it up.

Is this the "Perfect" powder measure? If so, could you elaborate? Accuracy of the charge in particular.

Yes, I am talking about the Lee Perfect. With stick powder, the Perfect does as well or better than my Lyman. It doesn't seem to any crush kernels. Lee has some advertising about that.

With ball powder, the charges hold true, but there is often some binding as kernels get into the mechanism. The pressure needed to drop the charge varies with the amount of binding, which I find bothersome. My goal in using a powder measure is to have a rhythm with exactly the same effort. There is a screw on the side of the drum to adjust the tension, maybe I just haven't found the right spot.

Since I have two measures, I use the Lee Perfect to drop stick powder and the Lyman 55 for ball powder. For the price, the Lee is an amazing deal. I have had mine since the first year of production. The ball powder issue is the only problem other than the drop tube doesn't fit my K Hornet with its sharp shoulder.

The kit is the easiest and cheapest way to get started, other
than the hammer type Lee Loader. Once you have some experience, you
may want to change some of the tools, but until you have that experience,
you don't know what to look for in different tools.

With a little practice, the PPM will throw accurate to .1 or.2gr
with stick powders every time.
Mine spits out H335 like it tastes of dog butt, so I use the
scoops for that.

Leon, have you used H335 in your Lyman 55? I would like to find
something with a little more flexibility.

I used to use it in .223. The Lyman 55 does a good job with ball powders. Lately I am running Tac, which meters beautifully and seems to be temperature insensitive.

I bought the Lyman back in the early 70s before I found mail order suppliers. My equipment is a mishmash of what various shops were selling back them. Seemed like a shop would open for a few years and then close. The next shop would carry a totally different line.

Thanks Leon, I plan to try the Lee Perfect on a Dillon 550 for extruded powders. The Dillon measure works great for ball powders but not so well for extruded.

I bought the $89 Lee kit back in 1996. I still use everything except the scale. The scale is flimsy and cheap looking, but is accurate. I upgraded to a digital scale about 8 years ago. I picked up a rockchucker for cheap and I size on it and seat with the Lee. Not out of necessity but convenience.
I recommend the kit to everyone who wants to get into handloading.

I certainly agree, even though I have never bought a Lee Kit. I do use the Lee Crassic turret press and everything else in the kit except the scale. As you say, it is accurate but a pain to get used to setting and the dampening system is slow. I buy extra turrets and set up two rifle calibers per turret and never have to unscrew them unless I get a new set of dies and there are no holes left on the turrets. Last count I had I have more money in extra turrets than I do in the press.

For stick powders I do not know of a better value than the Lee Perfect. A buddy who works at the local Sportsmans Warehouse says he has his Perfect adjusted so that it works with ball powder, but I have not figured out how to do it.

Thanks guys,i'm gonna pick it up this weekend