Lees 50th Anniversary Reloading Kit

If you are new to the world of reloading then it would be quite a good idea to start off with a complete reloading kit, such as this 50th Anniversary model from Lee. It provides you with all the items you need to get you up and running, except the reloading dies, which you will buy for your rifle’s specific calibre anyway.

Neatly packaged in a tough cardboard box, you have a new Breech Lock Challenger Press and a single Breech Lock quick-change bushing to get you started. You also have a complete powder handling system in the form of a Perfect Powder Measure, a set of Lee Safety Scales and a funnel for case filling. The case preparation tools supplied include the Lee Value Trim Case Trimmer for ‘onboard’ cutting on the Challenger reloading press and also a Cutter and Lock Stud to trim your cases by hand. Incidentally, if utilizing the cutter and lock stud, order the correct Case Length Gauge for the calibres you will be loading. You also get a chamfer tool, which accurately chamfers and deburrs the inside and outside of the case mouth, as well as a small/large primer pocket cleaning tool and a tube of premium sizing lube.

This 50th Anniversary model primes cases on the press, whilst the 60th Anniversary model has a separate ‘off the press’ reload set up. The 50th is also designed to work for both rifle and pistol cartridges.

The build

The press has an ‘O’ frame design that adds additional strength, plus it has a larger than average 4” opening, so there’s plenty of room for cartridge manoeuvring. The body is cast out of aluminium and you have an all-steel linkage, with an adjustable length lever to suit your preferred working height.

Finished in Lee red, you have to add the handle via a very neat and adjustable bracket. Slide an oblong steel bar into the star-cut, multi-position lever arm and drop the handle shaft through the open hole. Then, tighten the main securing nut that clamps all these pieces as one. I like the rounded wooden handle, which is a nice touch and very practical as well as comfortable to use.

Details

The kit comes with two sprung primer arms, one small and one large. Simply select the one you need, then clip it into the larger orifice on the right side of the main reloading shaft. You can then single feed primers by hand or make use of the separate primer feed trays. On the press, you have to fit the primer deflector shield and attach the plastic tube, so the spent primers can be collected for disposal.

The Breech Lock Quick Change system allows you to switch dies with just a 1/6th of a turn and the interrupted thread makes sure the dies will return and lock into the exact same position each time you use them. The system includes a lock pin to allow easy initial setup, but if you don’t want to buy additional lock rings for each die, then you can leave the breech lock in place and screw and unscrew the die as normal.

This 50th Challenger model includes two ‘on the press’ primer dispensers (small and large) that fit directly to the top of the press via the supplied feed bracket. You fill them by removing the twin clamped tray, lifting the securing lid and tipping the primers in (no hand contact from the box to the case). Shake the tray and slide the lock to ‘ON’ (this allows the primers to enter the loading tube) then re-attach it to the press bracket. To prime, just raise the main shaft, then manoeuvrer the primer loading arm to deposit a primer into the primer cup. When the shaft is lowered the primer is seated.

A case trimmer tool is also supplied. It fits into the breech lock system as a typical reloading die would and enables you to trim cases when the ram is fully extended. A crank handle is turned to spin the cutter head and any swarf is collected by a handy plastic tray.

Powder

The Lee Perfect Powder Measure is primarily used for rifle cases but can be used for pistol ones as well. It’s able to throw charges from 2 to over 70-grains. It uses a soft elastomer wiper to block the metering chamber and to prevent a juddery action, plus it also helps to avoid cutting powder kernels too. The micrometre adjuster does not have an arbitrary scale on the plunger but it reads directly in cubic centimetres (cc), so multiply the charge weight in grains by the cc for one grain and you have the setting. The adjuster rod turns one full turn for 1/10th (0.1cc) and the smaller, micrometre thimble section has ten graduations to measure 1/100 (0.01cc). To work out the desired dispense weight for your powder, you have a supplied chart with the most popular, powder volume measure density values. For example, RL10X is 0.0746, so to dispense 20.5-grains you must multiple 0.0746 by 20.5, which equals 1.53cc (rounded up). You can then dial that in on the powder measure scale quickly and easily.

You also get a set of Lee Safety Scales to check the powder charge and thrown weight. They’re easy to use and feature a magnetic damper to slow the beam movement, without adding friction. The main scale is on the primary beam and is segmented into 10-grain steps (110 grains max). Weight selection is via a captive stainless-steel ball bearing, not a weight indicator, which is novel. Beyond the pivot point is the fine adjustment scale, with a slider that shows a bottom scale of 0 to 9-grains and a top scale window showing 0.1 increments. There is also a brass adjustment thumbscrew to zero the whole unit.

If measuring a known weight, set both the beam indicators (ball and slider) to the desired weight. For example, 21-grains would be achieved by placing the ball bearing at 20 and the small slider on 1. Now, lock with the slider lock (a small plastic button on the fine, scale slider) and you can pour the charge until the zero indicator is level with the beam pointer.

If you want to measure an unknown weight, then start at 10-grains with the ball bearing side and then move the fine slider until the main beam zeros. If this doesn’t work, then set the ball bearing side to 20-grains and repeat.

In use

Other than a shell holder and dies, you are ready to go. Powder from the Lee Perfect Powder Measure was easily dispensed, although the overall capacity was a tad small at 200ml. It’s very plastic but it does indeed measure some good, consistent weights. I tried Viht N110 and Alliant RL10X powder and the deference per throw was 0.20 to 0.25-grains.

I also really like the balance beam scales, which are old school like me. They are very accurate and give a very fine incremental value to the powder charges, better than my old scales. I was not so keen on the onboard primer tray loading system as it was a bit fiddly for me to use.

The press was lubed up on the main shaft and was worked a few times to get it running smoothly. Adjusting the handle position and height was easy on this Challenger model and I like the fact it’s ambidextrous too.

I loaded up a quantity of .300 Blackout using some bullets I was working on, and when I measured them using my run out kit, I found only 2-3 thou runout on the neck and bullet heads. I used Lee reload dies and was impressed with the accuracy that was achieved at 100 yards using an S&L Legacy rifle and both super and subsonic loads.

Conclusions

Overall, quite a nice surprise really, considering the total price is probably what you would pay just for a competitor press on its own. Yes, it’s built to a price but all the parts work very well together and accurate reloads were the results, so no complaints. I liked the balance beam scales and smooth running of the Challenger press too, so all in all, a great starter kit for the reloader or if you are just tight!