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Old June 12, 2008, 09:01 AM   #26
BigDog454
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Join Date: November 11, 2007
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 100
Started out with a Lee "Lee Loader", in 1960 (man have I been at it that long) upgraded a year or two later to a C&H C press which I still uses regularly. Have used a lot of Lee, Herters RCBS, and others tools, all have made me many 1000's of rounds of good ammo. Have shot some competation, using that ammo, and have killed many game animals. The only Lee product that I was not happy with was their scale, not that it was inaccurate, but I considered it coumbersum I like my Ohaus beam scale. My oldest son is starting to shoot a lot of 30-06. I plan on buying him a Lee C press kit for Christmas, it's a good starter. I have a few friends that asked me for recomendations to start and thats what I got them started with; they are making good accurate ammo, and they are happy.
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Old June 12, 2008, 09:48 AM   #27
Sevens
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Join Date: July 28, 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 11,755
Here's a relevant comment regarding Lee's Challenger O-frame press: Bought mine in '88 when it was called the "Lee Challenger 2001" because it was guarenteed not to break until 2001.

This was the Challenger before the current "breech lock" Challenger, and this was the press that came BEFORE the ones with the suspect parts that operate the ram which some folks have broken. My Challenger never had any broken parts with regards to the handle/ram/and it's pivot points as some folks have seen.

Anyway, at one point from '02 to '05 or so, I was out of reloading and shooting and the press sat in the basement and left for dead. It's not a wet basement, but a humid one. And we had a moumental mouse problem down there. It may sound like I'm exaggerating or telling tales, but unless you've been through it, you have no idea-- mice chewed on, crapped on and peed over, in, and on everything we owned in the basement. EVERY-THING. The Challenger press took it all, and it siezed up. Mouse piss and humidity, it rusted and siezed.

So I took it from the bench and knew full well that I was going to replace it. At this point, it was headed for the can but I figured, why not try and dislodge it a bit? I shot it up with PB Blaster and took a rubber mallet to it.

To keep it simple, folks, I beat the living snot out of a late-80s era Lee Challenger press.

I got it unsiezed and there's no evidence that I beat the snot out of it. It's not bent anywhere, it's completely functional and it's ready to make ammo if I needed it to. I've replaced it with a Classic Cast and we finished the basement, keep the humidity in check, the mice have moved elsewhere and life is good.

This was a TWENTY NINE DOLLAR reloading press in 1988. I put this sonofab!tch through hell and back and I willfully tried to destroy it and it's STILL ready to make ammo. It's not as good or as nice as any Rock Chucker, but this is a well-made and durable product.

The newer Challenger has different, cheaper lockwork in the handle/ram area, it's not as good as a Challenger from "back in the day."
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