Best single stage reloading press kit?

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railsplitter

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Any significant differences, pros/cons, etc. between RCBS or Hornady? Looking at complete kits, these two seem to stand out:

RCBS rock chucker supreme master kit

Hornady lock-n-load classic kit

Would like to hear what y'all think and any experience you have with the equipment and customer service - THANKS!
 
Rcbs CS is top notch
 
I have the rockchucker and am completely happy with it. I got the kit many years ago and haven't needed much other than dies for it.
 
I dream of green, but only can afford red. Barely can afford green dies, but I like em pretty good so I'll pony up for em.
 
Lucky has a point but I do love my RC. That thing is a tank, heavy as hell.
 
I can't speak to the presses because all I have are Lee (and they work). but I have used both RCBS and Lee accessories. Green wins hands down in that department.
 
Lucky13bullets;88849 said:
Neither. I have had my Lee challenger for 20 years and I haven't broke it yet

sure the hornady and RCBS are beefier but I can't see paying 4 times the price of the lee
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Lee Challenger was on clearance at Cabela's the other day...
 
My Chucker is going on 30 years ... the paint is just showing patina and that is it. I is my OCD loading press and will NEVER leave my bench. I used it for everything up until I found a steal of a deal on a Dillon 550 that the guy bought thinking he was going to start reloading but never did. The Chucker is like an old friend and never gives me a thing to worry about. It takes very little maintenance and is so simple it is almost bullet proof.
 
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The Horndady has die bushings that will work in their progressive and does not require re-adjustment when switching them in and out. That's about the only difference. If they are the same price, flip a coin and go with it.
 
Midway has the RCBS kit on sale at $280 while the Hornady is $340 but you get a coupon for 500 bullets from a limited list. I have never used any Hornady equipment, and I am very happy with RCBS. The red stuff may be fine, but I have not tried it.
 
If talking about just the press, for a single stage I would recommend the Lee Classic Cast, non-breechlock version. Take out the insert and use the Hornady bushing insert kit. That is a very beefy press, and one thing I like about it is the way it handles spent primers, they drop down through the center of the ram so that the primer residue does not gum up the ram over time. The breechlock version of the Classic Cast, and the Challenger press, both spit the primers out of the side of the ram and over time the primer residue gums things up.

But if we are talking about a kit including accessories, the Lee kits don't have the same quality accessories as the other brands, IMHO. While the Lee beam scale works, it is no comparison to the Hornady or RCBS scales.

If you are not completely sold on a single-stage press, consider the Lee Classic Turret press kit that includes the new auto-drum measure. And buy a decent scale.
 
Catfish;88734 said:
Rcbs CS is top notch
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I've never needed rcbs customer service but....
Between Lee customer service and support from Lucky13bullets I don't think service could get any better. The press I started with rcbs jr3 works great was gifted it with Lee dies and some Hornady bullets by my father in law for Christmas several years back. Took some time reading manuals and browsing forums. Got in touch with Lucky13bullets from the csc vendor page the amount of patience and info don gave me both online and over the phone before ever stepping into his store made me a believer. The few issues he wasn't able to walk me through (all things I broke lol) Lee customer service was almost immediate with answers to what I did and the parts I broke were in the mail same day. I currently own the jr3, a Lyman t-magii, and Lee 9mm and .40 4die carbide sets, Lee ergo prime, Lee autodrum, Lee benchprime, and a Lee loadmaster.(all Lee product excluding my first die set came from Lucky13bullets) I have yet to have a failure from a Lee product where I was not at fault. And even then, the customer service Dept has taken care of me (4times so far) practically immediately at no cost. Not even shipping.

Tldr:
Prices can't be beat for quality equipment and in my experience customer service is top notch. Stop by Lucky13bullets and see what he can build you. Then try to compare to a big box store. Even without all the free knowledge. It's gonna be hard to beat.
 
Also. Auto drum is worth it regardless of what press/kit you go with. Set it and forget it. And is case activated. Welcome to a really fun and interesting hobby!
 
These all sound good. Is there one particular press that stands alone for precision rifle cartridge loading or are the dies the more important part of this combination?
 
Elenaidan;n89606 said:
These all sound good. Is there one particular press that stands alone for precision rifle cartridge loading or are the dies the more important part of this combination?
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A lot of people go with this for long range: http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/265...le-stage-press

I like the Turret better because I am lazy and like to set up 2 die sets at a time. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/588...7-turret-press

Not telling you where to buy it, I just go here to show you pictures.

I don't like where you prime the case on the Forster. But any good single stage press will do you fine!
 
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Toprudder;n89513 said:
If talking about just the press, for a single stage I would recommend the Lee Classic Cast, non-breechlock version. Take out the insert and use the Hornady bushing insert kit. That is a very beefy press, and one thing I like about it is the way it handles spent primers, they drop down through the center of the ram so that the primer residue does not gum up the ram over time. The breechlock version of the Classic Cast, and the Challenger press, both spit the primers out of the side of the ram and over time the primer residue gums things up.

But if we are talking about a kit including accessories, the Lee kits don't have the same quality accessories as the other brands, IMHO. While the Lee beam scale works, it is no comparison to the Hornady or RCBS scales.

If you are not completely sold on a single-stage press, consider the Lee Classic Turret press kit that includes the new auto-drum measure. And buy a decent scale.
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I am going to go with Toprudder if you are going to load pistol rounds. I really like the Lee Classic Turret press that Toprudder turned me on to. I use this press for teaching, reloading, bullet pulling. I used to use Toprudder for bullet pulling until he broke a nail trying to pull my itty bitty 458 rounds.
 
Another vote for the Lee Classic Turret. I tend to use mine as a single stage- de-prime, size & prime everything, rotate turret to next die; flare & charge everything, rotate turret to next die, etc. If I want to change calibers, I simply swap out the turret, with 4 of 'em set up, complete with powder measure for 9mm, .357, .45ACP & .41Mag.
 
If you're going precision the co-ax is the way to go. It does work for pistol, but it's a little slow. If you have the money the T7 turret is fancy and nice. But with all that said you can make mighty fine rounds on a Lee classic turret too. I started with a classic turret and have since had a co-ax, hornady l-n-l progressive, and am getting ready to get a Lee Pro 1000 just for 45 acp.
 
Running a Lee Classic Cast right now. It's a good press. Might have to see about the Hornady conversion. Still have an old RCBS Jr. that still works OK too. Will probably delegate that to a dedicated de-priming station. But what I miss, is my Redding Boss. I liked the offset O design and the leverage was good. Can't justify getting another one right now because the Lee works and I've got a Load Master waiting to be set up and played with.
 
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Well if you are old like Don I guess Lee would be fine. The only thing Lee that I never managed to break twice was the Auto Prime II, I've replaced a lot of parts for it but it's still ticking. I don't know what possessed them to discontinue it, it was the best tool they ever made.
Lee dies are OK, never wore one out, but never used them much. FCD by Lee is a great tool if you need one, most folks don't need one. I use a Lee universal depriming tool religiously. I keep treatening to get another Lee press just for depriming.
If you aren't going to radical reform wildcats, or do some hobby bullet swaging a Lee will probably fill the bill. Lee will replace anything you break.

Rockchucker, is the last press you will ever need to buy. It's been my go to for 20 years.
 
If you are going single stage, go co-ax. mckenziedrums first introduced me, and it made me a believer. I got one used for like $150 or something somewhere.
 
I like the RCBS equipment for single stage reloading, for my high volume stuff, 9mm and 40S&W I really like the Dillion 550B. For the single stage stuff any of the major manufactures make good equipment, it really comes down to personnel choice.
 
Bullseye Baldee;n89633 said:
I used to use Toprudder for bullet pulling until he broke a nail trying to pull my itty bitty 458 rounds.
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Yeah, go back to using your kinetic puller on those artillery rounds. I've never seen such a strong crimp before. :eek:
 
I like my RCBS single stage

For precision rounds, I use RCBS Competition Seater dies. They have a side-load window for the bullets rather than through the bottom/on top of the bullet, as well as an easy-to-adjust knob in .001" increments. I use them in .308 and .223....makes it super easy.
 
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