Who uses a Lee Pro 1000 or Loadmaster?

[Outer Rondacker]

Small rant at the end of post. Warning for those who get feelings hurt. (Edited out)

Jerry um its a DILLON so take advantage of that no BS warranty and get her fixed. Hope it works out.

Dikman I totally agree with you on CS and your on your own with Lee. Now if I was to have an issue and they fixed it I would change my point of view but as it stands I am with you. Does not mean I would not buy from them again. I bet I will.

Grill Dog I think you are correct but hey if you can save some money on a used one then why not.

On one more note. (rant edited out respect has gone the way of the dodo)

I am really enjoying this threads info and point of views. I would even go far enough to say I have made a few new forum friends. Thanks

[Lefty Red]

Gentlemen,
I'm no fanboy of any brand or color. I have a RL450 that is the bomb! I see why it's so popular. Waiting for another one to have one in small primer and one in large primer set up. If something has a flaw, I point it out. And yes, I have called Dillon about to and they said it will have a bit of movement and it's more noticeable when using non Dillon dies. They suggested the thin shim and it's good. But do wish they had a fastening system that took it all out and not just pins, cause I think the tool head should be locked in solid and not move. But it works and it's still a great press, aka the best cross between a progressive and turret press there is. Dos it have flaws, of course.

r1kk1, I will look into that if the shim isn't working or case start to bind up going into the die. But Dillon said if that happens then call them back and they will ship my press back or just send another frame if I want. Great customer service!

Thank you,
Jerry

[r1kk1]

Gentlemen,
I'm no fanboy of any brand or color. I have a RL450 that is the bomb! I see why it's so popular. Waiting for another one to have one in small primer and one in large primer set up. If something has a flaw, I point it out. And yes, I have called Dillon about to and they said it will have a bit of movement and it's more noticeable when using non Dillon dies. They suggested the thin shim and it's good. But do wish they had a fastening system that took it all out and not just pins, cause I think the tool head should be locked in solid and not move. But it works and it's still a great press, aka the best cross between a progressive and turret press there is. Dos it have flaws, of course.

r1kk1, I will look into that if the shim isn't working or case start to bind up going into the die. But Dillon said if that happens then call them back and they will ship my press back or just send another frame if I want. Great customer service!

Thank you,
Jerry

http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1230

they also sell Whidden toolheads with the clamp installed.

R1kk1

[toallmy]

Witch have the better powder feed , or more consistent powder measure Dillon 550 or lee load master . Just curious this weakened I went through 7-800 rounds of 9mms, 45 acp as of now I load in blocks single stage but as I get the loading worked out I would like to ramp up production. The coast of the Dillon would cover a load master for each but if the 550 is that much better it would be worth the one time cost . I generally keep things for a lifetime good or bad I still use my 3 hole lee forme the early 80s thought of getting a new single stage but never did . Would you buy a beat up 550 for 300 bucks or a new load master .

[r1kk1]

Witch have the better powder feed , or more consistent powder measure Dillon 550 or lee load master . Just curious this weakened I went through 7-800 rounds of 9mms, 45 acp as of now I load in blocks single stage but as I get the loading worked out I would like to ramp up production. The coast of the Dillon would cover a load master for each but if the 550 is that much better it would be worth the one time cost . I generally keep things for a lifetime good or bad I still use my 3 hole lee forme the early 80s thought of getting a new single stage but never did . Would you buy a beat up 550 for 300 bucks or a new load master .

Loadmaster doesn't do what I need to do. I have just about every shellplate for the 550 and use them! I use Dillon for ball and most flake and shortcut sticks. I use a JDS QM for the other powders mounted to my 550. Mine started out as a 450 back in mid 80s. Mine has loaded into six figures of ammo. I load at least 2500 rounds a month on mine on the average. It was way more than that a decade ago when the kids were at home.

take care

r1kk1

[Outer Rondacker]

Lots going on with the shell plate moving and adding a case plus bullet. Go for a 650 over a 550. 550 is not a progressive in my mind.

[r1kk1]

Lots going on with the shell plate moving and adding a case plus bullet. Go for a 650 over a 550. 550 is not a progressive in my mind.

So what do you call it?

r1kk1

[toallmy]

My truck takes me where I need to go , but a bike would beat walking I am currently loading one at a time . Roller skates would be like a hotrod . Just started using a powder measure a little over a year ago that seemed like break neck speed .

[Outer Rondacker]

So what do you call it?

r1kk1

Good question. Better then a single stage but more confusing to a new guy as it has more steps going on. I cant answer your question as I am not sure what to call it. I guess a turret press? You just turn the bottom turret.

My truck takes me where I need to go , but a bike would beat walking I am currently loading one at a time . Roller skates would be like a hotrod . Just started using a powder measure a little over a year ago that seemed like break neck speed .

When a kid is growing they never say I want to live in a trailer. It happens. Everyone wants a shinny race car or bad ars truck but we settle for what we can afford and what works for us. Work van, rusty truck, electric car and so on. Some get the corvette no mater what and good for them. Same goes with everything in life. For me I am not rich or ever well off. I make due in many places. I do have one vice and I over live my means in this one area of life. What I am saying is you might be on a very tight budget and still blow 700 dollars on a press if that is what works for you. You might be more then well off like Fortune Cookie 45LC and still run lee stuff. Some things are worth spending more on and that is what we are discussing on this thread. Only you can decide what works for you. I hope we are able to help with that. Keep an eye on this thread and learn with me the pros and cons others have had with the Lee Progressive line.

[rbuck351]

Turret presses do one operation at a time. Progressive presses do all the operations with one stroke of the handle. One stroke = one loaded round. The 550 is progressive it's just a manual indexing progressive vs an auto indexing. I favor the manual index. The 550 can be used as a single stage, a turret or a manual index progressive. Unlike the Lee Pro 1000, you can put a case on the press at any station you want or if you have a damaged case you missed you can remove it any time you want so it does not have to go through the complete cycle. I use several different makes of dies on my 550 with the floppy tool head without problems if the little spring thing that holds the case in the shell plate on stage one is properly adjusted. If not adjusted right, the case may not start into a non Dillon die. If I could find a beater Dillon 550 for $300 I would buy it in a heartbeat and I don't even need it. I bought mine new about 25 years ago for around $325 that I really couldn't afford. Many like the LNL but I have no experience with one. I assume they are a good press as well. I have a bunch of experience with the Pro 1000 and would never recommend one to those that aren't a good tinker. Also no experience with the LM but would like to get one to see their issues.
The only issues I have ever had with the 550 is it rarely spits a primer out of the carrier from the primer tube to the shell plate. Maybe once in 500. This may be caused by gunk building up in that area. I keep a tooth brush handy and give that area a few strokes every time I change out a primer tube. Also my 38spl shell plate was miss indexed and I had to hold a little back pressure on it to make sure the primer was aligned with the case. Dillon gave me a new plate which fixed it. I can strongly recommend the Dillon 550b. Yep, it is expensive but it will work.

[r1kk1]

[QUOTE=Outer Rondacker;3552245]Good question. Better then a single stage but more confusing to a new guy as it has more steps going on. I cant answer your question as I am not sure what to call it. I guess a turret press? You just turn the bottom turret.[QUOTE]

Since none of the turret presses I've seen do NOT use a shellplate, they use a shellholder doing one thing at a time. Progressive's do use shellplates whether they are manual indexed or auto indexed, and can do one or several operations at the same time. There are three manual indexing progressive presses are available from Dillon. Dillon builds nothing but progressives. They don't build turret's or single stages. The RCBS Pro 2000 can be had with manual or auto indexing.

take care,

r1kk1

[oldfart1956]

Rbuck, just wanted to note here as some may not be aware but you can, actually, remove or add a case in the Pro-1000 at any time the carrier is not fully in the up or down position. Anywhere in between full up/down there is nothing holding the shellplate in position except the springloaded ball bearing in station 3. Or, of course, a case/cases up inside the dies. Try this, raise the shellplate up just enough to clear the primer pin and rotate the shellplate. (no cases in the press) See? And yes you can pull or add a case. There are gaps in the side of the carrier to allow this. I do this when setting o.a.l. as it may take a few tries till I get it right. Also use it to check powder drops. Audie...the Oldfart.

[Lefty Red]

Witch have the better powder feed , or more consistent powder measure Dillon 550 or lee load master . Just curious this weakened I went through 7-800 rounds of 9mms, 45 acp as of now I load in blocks single stage but as I get the loading worked out I would like to ramp up production. The coast of the Dillon would cover a load master for each but if the 550 is that much better it would be worth the one time cost . I generally keep things for a lifetime good or bad I still use my 3 hole lee forme the early 80s thought of getting a new single stage but never did . Would you buy a beat up 550 for 300 bucks or a new load master .

The 550 everyday time, and twice on Sunday!
i picked up an older 450 for about $150 of you take away the other stuff that came with it. I would pay $300 for another one tomorrow. The only thing that would maybe it perfect is if the toolhead would accept Hornady's LNL quick change die inserts. Now I'm worried someone is going to post that a member could/did do that and I will have to send my extra frame to them!

But seriously, the 550 is a game changer for reloaders.

As far as powder charges, they are equal IMHO. In fact I'm using the Lee Pro Auto Disc Measure and Lee Powder Thru Die for my calibers on the 550, 380 and 9mm right now. I use a Lyman 55 on my 450 for my 44s and 45ACP. It's cheaper for me to use the Lee measures I have instead of buying a Dillon one. Only complaint I have with the Lee is I wish the hopper was bigger.

Jerry

[Lefty Red]

That is exactly what I was thinking about!
Going to get one!

Jerry

[dikman]

oldfart, you beat me to it! I'm actually getting quite good at removing/replacing shells .

[outdoorfan]

Worth reading again, never read that before talking about a Lee progressive and not very likely to in the future.

I have loaded several thousand rounds on my Loadmaster that I purchased new one year ago, and approximately the last 2000 rounds or so were without one single primer issue/failure whatsoever. Over the course of setting it up and all the use it's had over this past year I have had only one or two primer failures that I couldn't seem to quickly figure out and that didn't seem to be my error in setting things up and operating. That's right, only two or so primer failures in several thousand rounds loaded. I'm happy!

[rbuck351]

Hey Audie
Thanks for that tip. I did not think you could back up the shell plate but you can if you haven't gone to far up on the stroke. I can't tell you how much time I've wasted setting up the dies in the three I have. The Dillon 550 is much less hassle setting up dies as you can work one station at a time and just slide the case in and out. The other thing is the die turret isn't locked in and moves around when tightening the die lock nuts. I don't use the O rings in mine as once adjusted and locked down they are a permanent part of that tool head as far as I'm concerned. My three are each set up for one caliber and once working properly I'm not readjusting anything. I currently have a Star Universal for my 38spl, a 550b for my lg primer pistols, three Pro 1000s, 32S&W, 7.62x25 and 9mm, 2 turrets, a Lyman AA and a Spar T and a Rock Crusher for case forming, GC making and such. The Star should out last all the others but it is a real PITA if something happens to a case part way through . Other than the Lyman AA the Dillon is the easiest to use.

[Outer Rondacker]

Thank you Audie. Saved me the trouble.

rbuck351 your reloading room sounds like mine. A bit of everything. With three pro 1000s running you are happy with them I would take it.

[dudel]

The 550 has a little play in the removable tool head, just a tad I would say. Still no where near the play in the Lee CTP.

The play isn't really a problem. When the ram is up, the tool head is pushed to the top of the slot every time. It may float a bit in the slot, but when it's sizing, flaring, seating and crimping, the toolhead is at the same position every time.


Yeah, I noticed quite a bit of play in my CTP (when I had it).

[44Vaquero]

I have run an original Load Master for 24 years and rebuilt and or fix many Pro-1000's. I have never seen one that if set up correctly and used correctly that could not be made to produce quality ammunition!

My bench currently has a Load Master (dedicated to .45 ACP), a Lee classic cast Pro-1000 hybrid and a Lee Automator all capable of full-filling my ammunition requirements.



The Classic Cast Pro-1000 also sports a DCCF MKI (Dirt Cheap Case Feeder) and is set up for .357/.38.

What would you like to know about any of them?