Re: Single Stage Press Opinions
I used to have a RCBS Rockchucker and a Dillon 550B and was pleased with both but I was in the Air Force at the time and subject to moving around a bit till I retired out in 2008. So I had my stuff stored in a storage unit that got broke into and stoled by a methhead son of the people who owned the rental storage units. Well anyway I also had bought a Lee Classic Cast press that was stored elsewhere that I 'was' going to use as a station to use a Dillon case trimmer unit when I got my home built.
Well since I didn't get my presses recovered back I set up the LCC and I was actually impressed with it over my old RCBS RockChucker. The things I liked about my Lee Classic Cast was there was a larger opening to load larger calibers like my brother's .338 Laupau Magnum which you just set your bullet on the case mouth then run it up. My brother's older RCBS Rockchucker you had to slip your bullet up in the die then set it on the case mouth. I believe the newer RCBS Rock Chucker Supremes have larger opening now. I don't know if they have fixed the spent primer problem but I sure like the Lee Classic Press's hollow ram hole to allow the spent primer fall through into a tube and I use a bucket to catch the primers. The handle is adjustable length for different applications and I watched the little video Lee has on how the Classic Cast press is made by chopping up old rail road rails and melting them and a casting then finishing them with CNC.
I seen an older Coax press and the handle clearance on a larger caliber die looked close for larger dies clearance but I think Foresters newer Coax presses have taller handles to overcome the height of larger dies. COAX's shell plate is free floating which self centers the shell case as it goes in the die which makes for more concentric inline loading.
My brother has used my Lee Classic Cast and he has said to me if he decides to replace his Rockchucker someday he just may replace it with Lee Classic Cast too. And he also has looked at a Coax press too and he likes them too so it may come down to how bad and how much with him if he does decide.
But since I still have most of my dies and scales and the other accessries from the theft the Lee Classic Press was not that hard on the bank account and I was up and going again. For a beginning newbie reloader that didn't have anything I would have to recommend the RCBS Rockchucker Supreme reloading kits that come with the scales, priming tool, powder measure, ect... since the complete RCBS kits are cheaper than buying press, measure, scales, and the rest of the stuff individually. That is one area that Lee doesn't cover with thier Classic Presses and that is a a kit with the set up to start up reloading from but anyway I'm not a fan of all the Lee products like thier powder measures, primer tools, scales. Plastic and cheap is not precision enough for me.
I do like the case length and trimmer sets though. Simple and works! The slow part is the only down fall but I do catch more bad brass going one at a time on my mixed range brass like split case mouths and necks and other stuff.
I also like the Lee Case Bulge Buster kit for rimless pistol cases too. They size the cases down at the base like they do the bullet sizer dies do to lead bullets! I shoot revolvers and my one .45 ACP revolver the moonclip reloads sometimes wouldn't go all the way in the cylinder and that was from the 45 ACP range brass I picked up came from different pistols and some may had unsupported chambers and bulged the cases out. The Bulge Buster kit and the right carbide sizer die for your caliber and you can size your brass before you load or the instructions say you can run loaded cartridge through the die too. I usually run the cases before myself. You can get other sizer dies like 40 S&W and run all your range brass through the Bulge Buster for your .40 S&W semi-autos reloads. They have the most problems from the older Glocks because they had unsupported chambers because of the feed load ramps built into the barrels. Us brass rats hate to throw out good brass when there is a cure for it.
Not everything Lee makes is bad, and some of the other brands products are so great either.
