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Never had a problem with mine! I reload from 32 acp-454 casull and just about everything in between for me and my friends. | |||
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| <J�rgen> |
Hi POP , thanks for the (short) info , isn`t there anybody out there using this press , only one Person ??How easy is it to switch calibers and what do I need for a switch ? Thanks again , J�rgen | ||
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I had one for a while. Each loading session was a mechanical adventure with all the hang ups in the loading process. I can't recall what or where all the hangups were but I spent more time making it work properly than with loading. I finally gave it up and bought a Dillon. | |||
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| <J�rgen> |
Doesn`t sound too good to me ! Maybe I should stay with my Redding Ultra Mag and keep on loading one at the time ............? Anybody else with similar experience (maybe yours was only a "monday-model"), thanks so far J�rgen | ||
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J�rgen, As my old gunsmith told me since I met him, STAY AWAY from all LEE Pro1000 and Load master. Always problems with plastic parts, in other words you'll better served with Lee 4 holes turret. | |||
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I agree with the Lee turret press recommendation. Its cheap, and with a Pro Auto Disk powder measure loads pistol cartridges super-fast. | |||
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quote:I have a loadmaster and 2 pro1000's. And I like them all. And I can't find all that plastic everyone talks about. I have several reviews which describe my purchase and setup of both presses. search on google for my experience. But what you buy depends on what you intend to do. Progresive presses are great for pistols. Powder drop 'AND CHECK' is interesting on rifle cartrides. Just an aside, the loadmaster uses one station for priming so station wise it is more like the dillon 550 than the 650. JerryO Ps. Of all the 5 station presses, only the dillon 650 (and above) truly come so you can use 5 stations, that is: resize & deprime, prime on back stroke drop powder use a powder check die seat bullet crimp mouth Hornady and RCBS can be modified, the loadmaster can not. Unless you run the cases thru the press more than one time. | |||
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Avoid the LoadTrasher at all costs. If you don't, you remember this. You remember that I told you, "don't do it," and you said to yourself, "Nah, this is just some turd from the Internet, what does he know?"... and you went ahead and got one. You remember this. You remember that some of us tried to stop you... but oooooooooooooooh nooooooooooooooooo, YOU knew better! Yes... there are a few people riding around on the planet who have had "good luck" with the LoadTrasher. However, the rest of us with intimate experience with this POS From Hell can tell you that your life will be plunged into the depths of the lower regions and you will descend into deep, moody fits of depression and rage -- simultaneously. After sending my LoadTrasher back to Lee for the third time for repairs, I didn't use it. I got it back "fixed," and sold it to some unsuspecting schmuck who thought LoadTrashers were the greatest thing since sliced bread. W. C. Fields was right. I'm quite, QUITE happy with my Dillon XL650. Life is good, life is good, life is good. Your call. Good luck. Russ | |||
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quote:Only thing better than an XL 650.... . . . . . . . . . . Two of 'em! Eddie | |||
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| <J�rgen> |
Now you all really confused me ......? For some it workes (worked) great and for some others it is a pile of shit ....? I don`t doubt the guys with the bad experiences and I furthermore don`t belief they are mechanical idiots , but why does it work for others so well then ? Unless these people are complete mechanical idiots and accept all the trouble they have "as normal" ( this is just a joke , I mean how can I be dead serious with a topic like this?) Anyway , thanks a lot for all your input , I really appreciate all your concerns , maybe , yes maybe I should buy one and try it for myself.....? | ||
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| <J�rgen> |
Russell E. Taylor : I really liked your reply !Seems as if you had some horror scenarios with LEE products ......! Are you still visiting the guy with the leather couch once a week , to get rid of your trauma ? Thanks J�rgen | ||
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ive got one set up in .223 that I never did get up and running right primmer feed was a pain and indexing never worked properly. Maybe if someone knew what there were doing they could get one working right but I lost paitients. It now sits and collects dust on the bench right beside the pro 1000 in 9mm that does the same. Actually I had less problems with the cheaper 1000 | |||
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I bought a LEE turret press for pistol loading. Works great and is plenty fast for my shooting. I looked at the progressives, but it was more complicated and expensive to change calibers than with the Turret, at least on paper. | |||
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Moderator |
J�rgen, What do you plan to reload and how much do you plan to use it? I have a bunch of presses- Lyman,RCBS, Dillon RL550B, and (shudder) a Lee turret press. I have not much bad to say about Lee products. Sure they aren't the top of the line but for what you pay I think they work pretty darn good. Perhaps someone at a shooting club might have one you could look at first? Me, if funds were limited and I did a lot of reloading in rifle calibers I would probably get one too, based on my previous experiences with Lee products. Regards, Mark | |||
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Russel: Hey buddy, don't hold back, let us know what you REALLY think ! ![[Wink]](images/icons/wink.gif){kind=icon} Sounds like a HORRID experience you had there ! I had a bad one, but nowhere near what you apperantly went through ! ![[Eek!]](images/icons/shocked.gif){kind=icon} Jurgen: I had a Lee turret press. To echo the sentiments of many, you get what you pay for. I found it sloppy due to wide tolerances and not the most solid of presses. I tried to use the self-indexing features - forget it! My NEIGHBORS learned some new "words" during those loading sessions! ![[Mad]](images/icons/mad.gif){kind=icon} I put up with it for 6 months and finally got a Lyman T-Mag II. Love it ! Good, strong, tight & solid. ![[Big Grin]](images/icons/grin.gif){kind=icon} Differant strokes for differant folks. I know many love the Lee presses. I love their dies. One thing about Lee - they DO stand behind their products. Many others do as well, but Lee is VERY good with support. Good luck with whatever you choose! | |||
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quote:I don't need the couch as long as the lithium supply doesn't dry up. As for Lee products... let me clarify that I love their dies and various other case-prep tools they make. In fact, I use Lee dies in my Dillon press. I had been "trying" to load .223 Remington for a prairie dog shoot, which meant LOTS of ammo, and... well, it's like I said. Russ | |||
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J�rgen: I see you're in Germany. If you are actually German, and not an import, I submit that if you get the LoadTrasher you WILL NOT find the same "German precision" to which I am sure you are accustomed. Actually, unless you just HAVE to have a progressive, I think you could be quite happy with a good turret press. Russ [ 11-08-2002, 03:47: Message edited by: Russell E. Taylor ] | |||
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quote:Hmmm, If you did that google search (lee loadmaster author: JerryO), you should have found that my first attempt with a progressive (a used pro1000 setup for .38spec and .223) was a complete disaster. I chose a powder charge which won't work in the lee powder measure (that is 2.7 grains of bullseye) for the .38spec. Then I reloaded some .223 in old brass and suffered primer drawback. Primer drawback was discussed at length by a dillon 650 owner who tried every trick in the book includeing the dillon deprimeing die with the snaping decaping pin. It appears that the only sure solution is to deprime the brass twice (or in your single stage as part of the brass prep). By resizeing/deprimeing in your single stage as part of your brass prep you also make the handle of the progressive move very easy and smooth which is nice. BTW, most brass doesn't have a primer drawback problem, Mostly just old brass. When I went to 9mm and .45acp my presses worked very well. The large primers in the .45 cases should feed better, but since the small primers work without fail I can't prove a difference. And with the 9mm & .45acp I can see the powder level in every case as I set the bullet on the case mouth. I have since learned that striking the base of the powder measure 3 times with the handle of a small screwdriver will shake bullseye down and it will feed accurately (as does switching to ww231). But I can't verify it in a .38spec case (I can't see the powder while the case is in the press). And neither the pro1000 or the loadmaster accomodate a powder check die very well. So I have only used the progressive's for short pistol calibers. And I am very happy with them for these calibers. JerryO | |||
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I had a Lee 1000 at one time, spent more time trying to get it to work properly than I spent reloading ammo. I bought a Dillon 550, ten years later it stills loads without a mishap. Nothing has broken or wore out. You can use the 550B as a progessive or a single stage, it handles rifle and handgun ammo with equal ease and it can produce very accurate ammo. I do use a lot of other Lee products, just not their reloading machines. | |||
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quote:Yep. I bought a 'low end' ponchess waren shotgun reloader. I spent 14 hours and got only 1 box of shells reloaded. That's one I took back. And as to the dillon 550, Can you tell me if (and how) you check the powder level on cases when the powder level isn't visable. JerryO PS. The cost difference in reloaders isn't a big item after several years and many thousand rounds of ammo. [ 11-10-2002, 09:16: Message edited by: JerryO ] | |||
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I have one of the old Lee Progressives, the one based on the turret press. Works very well. Except for the time the primer feed blew all to hell. Now I don't use that press. | |||
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| <J�rgen> |
It took me quite a while to get back to you my friends , but guess what : I bought one ! Even if it hurts , maybe I`ll regret it later , but the offer was too good (I think I can sell it for almost the same price ) I got it set up in 45 ACP at less than 200 $ NEW ! I tried it already ,but since I`m a very careful person it took me a whole evening to set it up at my bench! I figured how it works and now I resize / deprime ( left out the priming at first) bell the case mouth /charge (no powder ) and it does all steps so far without a single hitch !!!! Obviously some of you had trouble with bottle neck rifle cases , but that`s not what I intend to load (I`ll do this on my Redding Ultra Mag) but I might try it in 223 Rem. for my Heckler& Koch SL 8.....! As for the question about where I come from or who I am : To be german never has been a passport option that you are able to get !If you put a duck in the same building with chickens , it won`t be a chicken even after a zillion generations , ask Charles Darwin ! These thoughts usually are pretty strange to americans , I know (I`ve discussed topics like this during many long nights)but I can`t blame you , your point of view is totally different , except for some who are really interested in their ancestors and where they came from ! But let me thank you once again for all your input on my question , this is one of the reasons why I love this forum so much ! THANK YOU , I`ll keep you posted , J�rgen | ||
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| <J�rgen> |
I forgot to ask : powder level checking seems to be a real topic for most of you , since it is a totally mechanical movement (on the Loadmaster ) how can it double charge ? I usually check my cases when I load with my Ultra Mag press , but that is a habit I have since I started reloading (better be safe , then sorry) , on a mechanical cycle in a progressive press there shouldn`t be a problem with it .If anybody had a double charge , how come ?? Thanks , J�rgen | ||
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quote:I think I am one of the few who bring up checking the powder level. Mostly because of the first experience I had with my lee pro1000. I loaded a box (50) of .38spec (2.7 gr bullseye and 148 gr WC) and had 5 rounds with NO powder that stuck the bullet in the barrel. As you can imagine, fireing a second round with one stuck in the barrel is not approved of. Since I didn't fire the second round I can't say what would have happened. As to how to get a double charge, Lee changed the powder drop (dillon copied the idea later) so it refills the powder bar ONLY when the ram is at the bottom and the auto index has occurred (on the pro1000). Older progressive designs (or current rcbs and hornady) use a spring to return (and refill) the charge bar. This is fine when every thing goes smoothly, BUT some of use are jittery and will stop a slight bit early (powder dropped) back up the ram (picking up a second powder charge) to see how things are and then finish pushing the ram all the way (dropping the second powder charge). Since I use the pull back chain, I don't think I can get a double charge. But still want to be sure I get enough powder in the case. Bullseye had worked well (but only at 4.5 grains and above) for me until I had one pound which seemed wet and didn't like to feed through the powder measure. Even that fed with the help of three taps on the side of the measure with a screwdriver handle. I am going to use ww231 when I buy more powder. JerryO PS. I don't use the case feeder (but drop the empty cases in front of the case slider while the ram is at the top of its stroke) and pick the loaded rounds out of the shell plate by hand. | |||
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| <J�rgen> |
Hi Jerry O , thanks for the "in depth" explanations , seems as if you were really lucky when you encountered the empty cases .....! I guess no powder and another bullet is as bad as a double charge , but I won`t argue on this ! I`ll use the chain too and from what I understand (from looking at the motions of the press) is that a double charge is basically impossible unless you short/double stroke the ram ?! The powder measure is sliding towards the die and it dumps its charge and retracts , can`t see where a double charge could occur ? Tapping the measure has been mentioned somewhere above earlier , I assume this is a MUST ! I was too busy during this week to finish my set up , but as soon as I get any further I`ll let you know , once again thank you very much for your help , a beautiful weekend to all of you , J�rgen | ||
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Jurgen, Bridging is another way to get a double charge. Metering device works perfect, but some or all of the powder gets stuck in the drop tube. Next charge meters and knocks the stuck powder out of the tube. Good idea to use a powder charge with enough bulk so you can see it using a progressive. Easier said than done loading .38 special target loads. Also a good idea to run a cotton swab up the drop tube before you start. | |||
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quote:Very good points. I have seen bridgeing in the drop tube of my rcbs measure, but not the lee disc measure. Probably because lee uses steel for a drop tube and has a very gradual taper as it goes into the case mouth. If fact the .45acp should be almost straight. In any case, DO LOOK AT THE POWDER LEVEL as you set the bullet on the case mouth! JerryO | |||
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