Hello, I have been looking forward to reload ever since I started shooting (at my own expenses, of course). So I looked around the internet and saw the Lee Anniversary kit.

I talked about it with some people I know. Either they didn't think it was possible to have a kit at that price, or they said they used it all their lives and it works great...

I work in a hunting gear store, so i know there is no such thing as a free lunch. Where's the catch?

Because I do not mind if it is only time consumming or if it requires more times to adjust it. I just don't want it to blow my fingers off or to produce poor-quality cartridges.

Regards,

It's an aluminum press, It's Lee, they don't have to much market share and have always made entry level gear. And it's a half assed quick change press which i think would just tick me off.n Quality of load has more to do with your experience with reloading the the equipment you load on. I can foul up a load just as fast on my Dillon as I can my RCBS jr. It's how much you pay attention to what you are doing. And getting a rhythm going.
That said I had a lee hand press for years and it worked great. Time consuming as all hell but it still worked and I could only screw up a few loads at a time because it took so long to make a box of 20 rounds.
For $80 you won't be disappointed. It would be a good place to start.
You can always part out the stuff later on on ebay and get your money back toward a better set up i.e. Forester

BTW though what do you plan to reload?

Lee makes very good products that appeal to the entry level reloaders, those that are interested in getting value for their dollars, and those that can see past their pocketbooks. The aluminum O ring press will work fine as long as you don't plan on reconfiguring 55gal drums into rifle cases.
For the average reloader, they will do a good job and last for a long time. For the difference in price you can buy you a case tumbler and/or a Chrony. Two of the more desirable nice to have reloading items IMO.
While I don't use much Lee equipment, I do swear by the Lee Auto Prime and I did buy a Lee Press out of curiousity to see if the folks talking about Lee's poor quality were right. IMO, they are wrong. The Lee turns out as good ammo as my RCBS's and FWIW, I compete and frequently win factory matches with ammo from these presses. Those are some real facts that may help you decide.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...&forum_scope=2511043

Use the SEARCH function. There's information for anything you're curious about.

quote:

I just don't want it to blow my fingers off....

Stay away from the Safety Scale.

The equipment with the Anniversary Kit will let you reload about anything (with the correct dies and shell holders, of course), and will do about everything except maybe reforming tough brass. However, after having sold many of those kits to beginners, many of those folks came back and upgraded to the better equipment I had recommended in the first place. Your choice, but I'd suggest ordering a better quality kit from RCBS, Lyman, Redding, etc.

That is a nice beginner kit, has all the basics in it. You will out grow it some day, or want to add to it, never hurts to have 2 of some things. I started with a rcbs starter kit many years ago and have replaced most everything in the kit, but kept some of the original pieces. Wish I had kept the small press to leave my universal depriming die set up in it full time.

Take your time, make good Ammo, and have fun shooting.

in my opinion, the RCSB "superme" Master reloading kit is the way to go.

+1 for RCBS kit.

The simplest advice is avoid Lee products. Lee products are the bottom of the ladder as far as quality goes.

Jim

i've never really been to wild about anybodys kits. every company has them, but every company has a product which is a bit better or handier than the other guys. selecting one from this guy and another part from another guy seems to give more satisfactory results to the user. for example i love the coax press, but their powder measure sucks, i much prefer reddings, redding has a scale, but i much prefer RCBS. trouble is that sometimes it takes years to figure out just what you like the best.

I recently purchased the Hornady reloading kit, so I don't have to bug my buddy anymore to use his reloading equipment. Overall, I'm very pleased with it and think Hornady makes great products all around. Just about everything you need to start reloading is included, including a digital scale (which I find much more convenient to use than a beam scale). It more expensive than the Lee, but remember you get what you pay for.

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
I've never really been too wild about anybody's kit. Every company has them, but every company has a product which is a bit better or handier than the other guys. Selecting one from this guy and another part from another guy seems to give more satisfactory results to the user. For example, I love the Co-Ax press, but their powder measure sucks; I much prefer Redding's. Redding has a scale, but I much prefer RCBS. Trouble is that sometimes it takes years to figure out just what you like the best.

+1

Thanks a lot for the great number of comments, and the links. I just needed lots of opinions to make an idea myself.

Of course, It is a starter kit. If I like it, I WILL invest more, althought my student-grade budget will not allow it until I graduate and get a decent job. (I am in my Physic's freshman year)

For the curious, I intend to load .30-30 WIN and .270 WIN. I shoot about 2 boxes of rounds a week, and I would shoot a lot more if I could ($$$).

Thanks a lot to the community, and I will come back for advices when I will actually reload some cartridges.

40 rounds a week?
save 500 bucks and get a hornady LNL AP press, and some dies ..

and never look back ..

just put back your shooting to 1/2 as much, and save that difference

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
in my opinion, the RCSB "superme" Master reloading kit is the way to go.

+1 on rcbs i have the hornady lnl also just got it and really like it it is a great press once you get use to the up stroke to prime . am having a hard time getting into that habit.

quote:

Originally posted by Thouin:For the curious, I intend to load .30-30 WIN and .270 WIN. I shoot about 2 boxes of rounds a week, and I would shoot a lot more if I could ($$$).

You're spending a minimum of $40 a week on ammo. You can get started with a press, beam scale, and a set of Lee dippers. You'll want some case prep accessories, priming tool, caliper, chamfer, etc. Not of all of these are included in kits. You can save your money and buy good quality equipment without spending a lot of money. Right now you are willing to sacrifice $100 just to get started easily. Learn reloading. Decide what you want. Buy some good equipment that won't need replacing. Dillon has an Ohaus beam scale that's inexpensive. If you can find a used RockChucker II press, you'll have fine equipment. E-bay can be disappointing and expensive.