Lee Loader

So I have been on the search for a small reloading setup for a friend to help him get started. He has a little 9mm so I have been looking for a kit to get him started with. The Lee Challenger presses and kits seem to be very popular around here but none of the local retailers sell them. Went to look at what I thought was a Challenger press but turned out to be something different. In the photo it was next to a perfect powder measure. I thought the perfect powder measures were a bit bigger than what it looked like in the photo. It turns out that the powder measure was the size that I thought it would be, its the press that was bigger than what I thought. It turns out to not be an aluminum Challenger press but the monstrosity that Lee refers to as the Classic Cast. The press had been taken apart and lubed up but had been used very little. It had been in storage for a few years. The Perfect Powder Measure didn't look like it had ever seen powder. The press didn't come with any of the priming parts. He said he would ask his dad about them. I got a phone call a bit ago and he dropped off what his dad had been using to prime with, the Lee Ergo prime with a box of the shell holders. He explained that his dad had had a mishap with the press priming parts and broke something and so he just went to hand priming. The press has the plastic bracket for the safety primer installed and intact so I am not sure what he broke. All of it for $75. Now to find my friend a scale and a set of dies.

Nice buy, I am unfamiliar with that priming setup. I use the handheld auto prime. The cast press however can handle almost anything he would ever load. I always watch yard sales around here and estate sales for loading gear.

SCORE!

Yeap a great buy! With the 9mm, he won't need the handle at the full extension for sizing and there is no need to cycle the ram the full length of its travel. Adjust the handle shorter, the limit being on the back side with bench clearance, and it will speed up all his 9mm Luger operations and not wear his elbow out.

I was curious about the workings of the powder measure so I disassembled it. Clean as a whistle. I took care of that, got out my tube of graphite and a q-tip and smudged some about the inside then reassembled. Ran a pound of Unique through it then a pound of BL(C)-2 through it. When I switched to the BL(C)-2 I did have to snug the screw down just a touch to stop the little bit of leakage that was there. It is still looser than it was before I took it apart. Curious design that appears to work very well. I do like the cc markings on it.