Lee Pro 1000 or Lee Load Master?

[awp101]

She Who Puts Up With Me is going to want Father's Day ideas soon and I'm looking at one of these two for my first progressive. Right now the budget for a Dillon Square Deal or Hornady Lock'n'Load just isn't there. Will be used for handgun calibers only, primarily .38, .357, 9, .45 ACP and Colt, maybe .41s and .32s later on.

Is one of those two clearly better than the other? It seems the Load Master runs $75-100 more but in my limited reading (just started digging around at lunch today) I haven't figured out why.

Thanks!

[38 WCF]

Well,
I had two Load Masters at one time. I actually loved the press except for the Priming system. It sucked bad. Maybe they have fixed it by now but I cannot recommend the Load Master..
I have the Hornady LNL and it has been a good unit.

[dana]

My first press was the Pro-1000. It now sets in a box in my reloading room as I wanted to be able to use my 4 die sets. I had upside down primers, sideways primers gave up press loading of primers. Bought a used Loadmaster and a bunch of extras with it. First thing I did was remove the priming system, I prefer to inspect the case and install primers with a hand primer. It is set up with 8 turrets each with the Auto Drum measure on it. Does everything I need, quick to change turrets. I don't try to be fast when reloading, look in each case for proper powder level before seating bullets. For the money it's hard to beat. Mechanical knowledge may help in setting it up to run properly. Just my experience hope it helps.

Dana

[awp101]

Woohoo! One for and one against!

Manual priming will be the order of the day and working with mechanical things is nothing new for me.

[seancass]

My progressive ammo-making press is a Lee LoadMaster. I've made something north of 10,000 rounds of 9mm on it, maybe as many as 20k.

Until recently, I thought I had the best LoadMaster ever made! 98% of the 9mm i made was for the racing revolver, which means it was the exact same brass over and over. I had nearly zero primer issues. I didn't do anything special, other than constantly tightening things that come loose(shell plate and tool head). However, now that I'm loading more random range brass, the primer issues have begun. The last ~1000 rounds had a 5-7% failure rate. I've broken three primer arms (accidentally) trying to seat a primer on top of a spent primer. The first time, I called Lee and they sent me a new one free. Now, you get to use the website for your free parts and then PAY SHIPPING. That ticked me off to no end.

Other than my new-found priming issues. I'm pretty happy with my LM. It just works. I find priming off the press annoying when I just want to crunch out bulk ammo, but I have done it.

I've thought about the Pro 1000 many times because they're just so cheap. Still haven't pulled the trigger on one, cuz I only need a shell plate to make ammo on the LoadMaster.

[jsh]

I have owned,used or loaded on several progressive reloaders of all color and sizes. I have yet to run a Hollywood.
I think they all have their quirks.
From my findings the primer feeding and seating issues are prone to all of them.
I run large pipe cleaners through primer tubes.
I pull my shell plates and clean all the carbon and gunk from everything fairly often, before I have issues or try too.
Some of the machines will advance the shell plate in such a manner that powder is thrown out at the sudden stop of the plate.
So, depending on what,when or why I am loading depends on how I do it.
Sometimes I will run full progressive. Other times I will run as a turret style and other times it will be run as a semi progressive turret.
None the less a progressive press is a time saver, most of the time.
I don't hammer out several thousand and then check. I usually check EVERYTHING after every ten. If things are going as planned I will bump that number up. Yes it slows things down some. But, it is a lot easier to correct something before it gets out of hand. I know first hand.
I loaded a years worth of my 44 IHMSA loads. I did as described above for the most part. I had loaded about 200, not one single glitch. I got brave or stupid, there is a fine line to that. I ran about another 200, they looked good and measured the same, but I did not use my cartridge checker. That is what I like about a wheel gun, they come with one with multiple holes for free and is specific to that gun to boot! I ran some more, all seemed good still, perfection! So I finished the lot up and boxed them up. Midway through the season I started having chambering issues. The gun is an FA. The load was stiff but not over the top so as not to be safe in a SW. But, it was a specific bullet and load for a specific purpose. I still have plenty,mclose to 500 rounds of practice ammo after about 7 years of shooting.
The issue was a ever so slight to much crimp. May have been lube build up and seated the bullet just a bit to much or lube in the crimp die and hydraulic issues from lube there. Yes I had tried numerous things of trial and error trying to get the small buldge of a crimp burnished down so they would seat.
I did pick up a dandy Ruger SBH in .44, it will chamber and shoot it fine, but on paper and steel it does its best work with a bit more powder.

So don't load up a bucket full and not check EVERYTHING! Lol do as I say not as I did, of coarse unless you are In the market for another gun.
Jeff

[awp101]

Here's something I didn't think about because I know very little about them: turret presses

Are they basically a progressive you turn by hand? If so, I'm not opposed to that. I'm not looking to crank out hundreds of rounds at a time, just looking to speed up from a single stage.

[frankenfab]

If I was going to buy a true progressive, I would beg, borrow, or sell something to be able to go ahead and get a Dillion RL550B.

Turret presses are great, too. I have a Lee Classic cast turret, (had to go to Titan Reloading to get one by itself) and a Lyman turret that are both great. I removed the auto index and priming from the Lee.

[jsh]

Well a 550B as I see it is not a true progressive, it has to be manually indexed the last time I had one.

I wasn't going to mention brands just to keep the flames down. I will throw it out there, what I reload and how I reload determined a lot in my decision. I have two Dillon SD's, the original I bought about 1984, it has been sent back two times for a complete rebuild. They are true progressive and used to be worth the money, now they are just a few frog skins less than a 550. I later had a 450, that I still regret getting rid of. I then had a 550. It just did not make me happy.
I had been so disgusted I had went back to two single stage presses.
I used a buddies old Hornady and liked it, but it still had quirks as all things mechanical can and will have.
I traded the 550 for two Hornady's and have not looked back.
I can pop a case in or out thanks to the spring retainer, I was always dropping the pins and finding them a year later for the Dillon.
I then started casting my own and got serious as to what I expect from a CB. This included some old and obsolete cartridges of various chamberings, mostly for rifles.
I would decap and what ever sizing for the job, lock out the priming system, then bell the case mouth, after that I plucked it out and the case went into a load block. I then inspect and prime if the case had no issues. Then depending on powder, I will drop powder by hand then return to the press. Or if it is a powder that will flow in a predictable manner run it through the press for the rest.
Yes I may go extremes on some things. I know what I expect and want.
I got a fair amount of run out on the Dillon on rifle cartridges. I did modify the press and got it to usable tolerances. But when using CB's in so many different cases a 5 station press was what I needed. Yes I know you can bell and drop powder all at once, show me a .313 or .318 for the measures.

On the SDB it may or may not work with some of the heavies so many of us like in our wheel guns, it is a length issue.

I dislike the term plinking or blasting ammo. I have never intentionally made any. I have coffee cans of culls that are used for such things. If that is what one seeks it can be bought cheaper and time saved can be used for more useful things.

To the OP an extra single stage press or two can save a lot of time at a setting. As well as save some money. Faster is not always better or cheaper.
Jeff

[seancass]

May 19, 2017 21:30:47 GMT -5 awp101 said:

Here's something I didn't think about because I know very little about them: turret presses

How many rounds of each caliber do you honestly shoot per month and per year?

I switched from turret to progressive when i got past 1000 rounds per month of 9mm. Making ammo became a chore that I didn't enjoy and that's not what this hobby is supposed to be!

If you're looking for a single step up in speed and care even the slightest about budget, get a Lee Turret. They are an auto-indexing, four-hole press. If you've got a little spending money for this, look at the Dillon 550.

It's been a while since I've really cranked out ammo on my Lee Turret, but I think i was up around the 200-250 rounds per hour range. The Cycle rate on my Loadmaster is over 750 rounds per hour. Once I'm prepped, and if nothing goes wrong, it takes 8 minutes to make 100 rounds. Prep meaning loading lubed cases into the feeder, having a tray of bullets and a full tray of primers. With the range brass issues I mentioned, it's 10-15 minutes per 100. For comparison, 100-200 rounds per hour is a slow n steady rate for the Lee Turret.

Since you mention a lot of calibers, caliber change over is important! For the Lee Turret, that takes up to 1 minute, depending on how far you have to walk to pick up the tool head and shell holder. It could be done in as little as five seconds. Conversely, It could take 15 minutes to a half hour for the LoadMaster, considering I reset the primer seating arm to make sure it's seating primers exactly how I like 'em.

I hope this bit of rambling helps!

[crazycarl]

I like the Lee Classic turret press & tend to use it as a single stage- prime & size all my brass, rotate turret to the next die & bell the case mouth & charge all the brass, rotate, etc.

I don't crank out rounds by the thousands, tho & I like to take my time & ensure that everything is right. Taking my time & the odd smoke break, I'll do up, say 200 rds of .41Mag over the course of a few hours, but that includes adjusting the dies & Pro Auto Disk for different bullets & powders/charges. Loading up a whole bunch of the same load, especially with powders that meter really well, I'll do about 150/hour.

I have turrets set up currently for .45ACP & .41Mag, but have turrets, dies & Pro Auto Disks for 9mm & .357. Makes changing calibers a breeze. I like it enough that I picked up their Deluxe turret press, to use their 3 hole turrets for my rifle stuff.

[awp101]

Jeff even when I'm not, I'm ALWAYS in the market for a new gun! I thought about a second or third single stage (I currently have a Bonanza Co-Ax) but I like the idea of just swapping one plate to accomplish caliber changes.

seancass, that's more per month than I shoot in a year, maybe two years depending on my schedule. Excluding rimfire I probably only shoot a few hundred rounds per year. 100-200 rds/hour is fine by me.

I know better than to buy the line "reloading saves you money" but I do agree it helps you shoot more for the same amount of money.

[seancass]

I would HIGHLY encourage you to buy the Classic Turret. Seems like you're the perfect customer for it.

There are two different Lee Turrets. The old one(Turret) is visually distinguished by its tall base, about 3" tall. The new one(Classic Turret) has a flatter base, about one inch tall. Definitely get the newer Classic.

Edit: Yes, the naming system is dumb.

[awp101]

May 21, 2017 16:31:18 GMT -5 seancass said:

Edit: Yes, the naming system is dumb.

HA! I spent 20 or 30 minutes going through the descriptions at different retailers to figure out the differences and what they come with.

The Classic Turret is the leader in the clubhouse and I'm going through the places I've stored die set to see what I have vs what I need.

[crazycarl]

A lot of my friends run the Classic turret as well. It's solid kit & will do you right.

Yer definitely right about not saving money, tho with calibers like my .41Mag, I can shoot over 300rds for the cost of 40rds of store-bought. I'll take the extra trigger time all day, every day.