I'm looking to get my first reloading press soon and was wondering what a good startign kit is. I would mostly load pistol at first and rifle after Ive had the press a while and get a few more rifles. A freind of mine that reloads recommend the RCBS rockchucker supreme kit saying it had everything I'd need and would last me. What do yall reckon is a good durable starting kit with everything I'll need? Thanks

The RCBS kit would last a lifetime. There are cheaper kits that will hold up as well.

Lee and RCBS parts are the easiest to find in places like Cabelas and Bass Pro.....

I started with the RCBS kit but use a lot of Lee products. The Lee Auto prime and shell holder kit is a must.

Lee gives you the best bang for the buck. I even mix and match dies. Some sizing dies I like better in RCBS and then I'll seat and crimp with the lee die.

Seriously you cannot go wrong with either. You like green or red?


This would be a nice start. The fourth station could be used for factory crimp dies...

http://leeprecision.com/classic-turret-press-kit.html

It has enough to get you going, but no kit will ever offer all the stuff you'll ever need. That's because you'll discover needs as you go along and learn. I was fortunate enough to have full access to someone else's equipment for a number of years and have had my own equipment since the early 90s. I still discover I "need" something new when new stuff comes along.

RCBS is an excellent way to start out. It's high-quality stuff that will last a couple of lifetimes, and anytime you manage to break something just call them up and they'll take care of you. You can't go wrong with RCBS.

I agree. There is no kit that has everything you need.

RCBS will get you closer......

Ditto to what Fatalwishes & Riverrider said. Got a RCBS Rock Chucker I've been using for 30 years and it is still as solid as a rock..

The freind that suggested rcbs told me hed had bad experiences with lee and after seeing what yall said about rcbs I'll probably wind up getting the rockchucker. Thanks for the help

Definitely Rock Chucker. I do all the loading process on my Dillon, but I do all the brass prep / sizing on my RCBS... it's a rock.

I have both RockChucker and Hornady and would prefer the Hornady. In fact I converted the RockChucker into the LNL system with a kit from Hornady. They are both good brands at the end of the day.

Greetings,
Reloading is not "roket sience"....altho there is some black magic involved sometimes.
If you are an average reloader, the Lee stuff will work for your lifetime.
If you load a few thousand rounds a week, go for the Rock Chucker or a better progressive.

If you are just testing the waters, the Lee kits will get you going and let you see if it's for you and you can sell later and recover most of your money.
If you KNOW you are going to be doing it forever, the Lee stuff will still get the job done but you may want something more robust for "bragging rights"....

He was probably referring to the old Lee Challenger press, which was famous for the pot-metal links breaking. Those days are over and Lee is turning out some great presses. The Classic Cast series will rival any press on the market for both strength and quality, IMO. I'm currently running a Classic Cast Turret and a Pro 1000 just for handgun rounds. I dislike the Lee scale and powder measure, but the Anniversary Kit is the absolute cheapest way to get into the game and will last for many years. FWIW, after I upgraded my scale, I sold the Lee on eBay and the auction went about $10 over what a new one from Lee would have cost.
Welcome to the dark side!

I would go with the Hornady kit or the rcbs. I thought the hornady was a better deal.

Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Redding, Forrester all make some great equipment and I have not heard anythign bad about customer service from any of them. I have tried Lee, RCBS, Lyman and an old Herters press. Loaded some ammo from each press using the same dies doing a little accuracy testing, there was no difference between the loads.

If you are wanting to try reloading without as large investment start with Lee and it will load a lot of ammo for you, at some point you might find a progressive press is for you especially if you shoot a lot of pistol rounds. At that time get the progressive but keep the single stage around for rifle loads.

I sure liked my Lee press, served me well.

But recently gave my self a late christmas present,
a Forster Co-Ax, and I am mac-loving it

Santa was very good to you.. Are you sure you were that good last year?

The Co-ax are great presses, congrats

I still load on an old Herters press that was passed down from my dad. If it ever breaks (doubtful) I'll replace it with an RCBS.

If the old herters press I have breaks I will buy another press with the $ from it selling for scrapiron. Heavy and built like a tank, but it still loads good ammo

I use a Lee Challenger kit. It does everything I need it to do for my personal reloading needs. I will however buy a progressive press of some sort when I start loading pistol ammo and bulk 223, as currently I only load for hunting purposes.

Dillon any one
I load my pistols and .223 off of a 550 and Square Deal
my rifle are loaded off of an RCBS

I will ditto "shootlow". I have 2 Dillon Squares, an RCBS, and several Lee presses. Dies are Dillon, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Redding. Numerous brands, powder measures, Little Dandy, etc. Lee makes a very excellent crimper die. Used equipment will last a long time if not mistreated. Some of us buy a set of dies, then sell the rifle and later sell the dies, almost new. I was born in Monahans, grew up in Odessa. Should be several folk out there to mentor you and give helpful safe advice. Like earlier post, this is not rocket science. The rocket scientist work for Hornady & dillon & speer and the powder companies. make certain you buy two good up to date modern manuals....

thanks
the only thing I wish was better on the Co-ax was "more feel" in the primer setting process. I may just put the Lee on a clamp down-board and use it for priming.

BTW, FWIW, I put the Co-Ax press on its own board that I clamp down with c-clamps, and have no problem with that setup.

Timbertoes, no "feel" is required when seating primers on the Co-Ax press. It is mechanically limited. In fact, I use an RCBS priming tool to get my primers started, then use the primer seater on the Co-Ax press to final seat. You cannot crush a primer using this press.

Ya, it comes to a stop, and the primers do look ok.

I still like the hand tools for primer seating, not sure if like the RCBS or LEE better. Both work pretty good

my rcbs - is 35 yrs old and the company has helped me a few times - i will not cut down any of the others since i havn't worked with anything else - I LIKE IT

I bought my RCBS used almost 40 years ago. I'm still using it.