New for 2018: Auto Breech Lock PRO

[stinjie]

Just received mine today from Midsouth.It was packaged very well and secure.Nothing broken or mangled.Other than the red plastic guides,the rest is metal.Aluminum base and top,the posts are steel.I just got it bolted down to a steel plate,then decided to call it a night.I'll try to make some progress with it tomorrow.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Lee obviosly aimed this at pistol shooters. I load .44 special, .38 & .357. It would be great to eliminate some manual steps from my current process. I grow particularly weary of loading shell blocks and charging cases.
Somehow, loading rifle rounds on a single stage seems less tedious. Perhaps because I load far less rifle than pistol.

The price is hard to ignore on this offering.

[1bluehorse]

Just received mine today from Midsouth.It was packaged very well and secure.Nothing broken or mangled.Other than the red plastic guides,the rest is metal.Aluminum base and top,the posts are steel.I just got it bolted down to a steel plate,then decided to call it a night.I'll try to make some progress with it tomorrow.

Your report is different from a U-tube review in that he said the base (shell plate carrier) was not metal. Are we talking the one part here? Or are we talking about two different pieces, base AND shell plate carrier.

[dverna]

The only metallic progressives presses I would own are Star and Dillon....but this new Lee product looks very promising. I am thinking of buying one and using it as a dedicated .223 machine for jacketed bullets.

[stinjie]

The shell plate carrier does have red plastic covering it,but it seems just to be a cover with metal underneath it.The base to mount to your bench is aluminum.If i had something better than a flip phone I'd post some photos.Getting to use this press may get delayed.Two minutes after mounting it, our realtor called about our offer on a house was accepted.Gotta start packing,but I'll get a bigger workshop to make a bigger mess in.Maybe I can pack some reloading stuff at the tail end,with strategy.

[Atakawow]

Got mine yesterday. Got it semi-mounted and worked the handle a few times with a set of 9mm dies and a few empty cases in place. I crushed several cases at first due to misalignment of the shell plate and dies. However, after READING the included instructions on how to properly install the indexing rod, the problem completely went away. I have NOT tried the priming system but if it functions similar to my LCT then I am sold!

I do 99% of my reloading on an LCT but often wishing for a bit more speed. This press fits the bill perfectly. It is much smaller sitting next to the LCT but seems very well-made. I'm waiting for a base plate from Inline Fabrication in order to get this thing properly mounted. At this point, I think the press is a bargain at $109.

[tranders]

I normally load on a turret press,but have thought about a progressive for 9mm. I don't want case and bullet feeders so this press might be the ticket. Can't complain about the price.

[usbp379]

I normally load on a turret press,but have thought about a progressive for 9mm. I don't want case and bullet feeders so this press might be the ticket. Can't complain about the price.

I wonder. Yes, price for the base press is good. As others have mentioned, adding the dies, shell plate and powder measure push the press into Load Master pricing.

The Pro 1000 might be your best bet if you want to load 9mm. $179 for a complete machine is pretty amazing.

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[kmw1954]

usbp379 here is the conundrum. Lee Precision is not going to be selling the base press of the new Pro1000 so in order to upgrade I would have to order a complete Pro1000 setup and have a redundant caliber somewhere. Cost, $175.00+ shipping

Or go with this new press with one shell plate and the Safety Prime system then use the peripheral tooling that I already have. Still going to be around $150.00

Again the press I have, Pro1000, is working just fine and I'm loading 4 calibers on it right now so I see no need to change just for changes sake.

[1bluehorse]

It is much smaller sitting next to the LCT but seems very well-made.

Just how big is this press? A LCT isn't very large either.

[usbp379]

I've been exchanging a few emails with one of Lee's customer service people asking about the design thoughts, etc.

One thing that's come to light is the fact that LEE is selling an updated Safety Prime. This latest version has been out since July 2017 and has gray primer feed pieces rather than white or black.

Just FYI for those who've been frustrated with the SP.

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[usbp379]

In stock at Mid South for those who're interested.

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[tazman]

I like the idea that you can actually see if the primer is in the arm correctly. I don't mind feeding boolits manually since I am used to that.
Getting a bunch of extra lock rings as opposed to turrets is kind of a wash. The shell plates are cheap enough so as not to be a problem.
I think it may be worth a try. It certainly looks like it should be faster than the Classic Cast Turret that I currently use since it can perform several operations at once.
I wonder just how much faster it would be?

[Livin_cincy]

I wonder just how much faster it would be?

I have the reverse rotation & case ejector from InLine Fabrication on my LEE LCT. It is a pretty comfortable 200 per hour and 800 pulls. This is doing (3-4) cartridges per minute. So that is (4) pulls in 15-20 seconds.

So 600 pulls on the new LEE Breech Lock Pro would be 600. So it will be a great increase and little or no more press issues.

[hpdrifter]

I have reservations about where the powder/bullet placement is. On my loadmaster, I can see the powder charge and place the bullet fairly easy. On this one, that is in the rear. However, I have only had two double charges to date(after thousands) and both were caused by the dad burn priming system.....well not really, more like those insidious small primer 45 ACPs and ME trying to get things going. With the priming system front and center, easily accessible and changed, it may be all good.

I'll probably order one when my play money is restocked.

[tazman]

I have the reverse rotation & case ejector from InLine Fabrication on my LEE LCT. It is a pretty comfortable 200 per hour and 800 pulls. This is doing (3-4) cartridges per minute. So that is (4) pulls in 15-20 seconds.

So 600 pulls on the new LEE Breech Lock Pro would be 600. So it will be a great increase and little or no more press issues.

I can currently get 150 rounds per hour on my unmodified LCCT so I expect you are right about the increase.
More interesting all the time.

[hpdrifter]

I wonder. Yes, price for the base press is good. As others have mentioned, adding the dies, shell plate and powder measure push the press into Load Master pricing.

The Pro 1000 might be your best bet if you want to load 9mm. $179 for a complete machine is pretty amazing.

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Seems as if he already loads on a turret, he'd already have most of the ancillaries.

[usbp379]

Seems as if he already loads on a turret, he'd already have most of the ancillaries.

Maybe.

There's always the eBay option. I've generally had good luck selling unnecessary or duplicate stuff on there.

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[usbp379]

more like those insidious small primer 45 ACPs

There's as good a reason as any to prime off the press.



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[usbp379]

I can currently get 150 rounds per hour on my unmodified LCCT so I expect you are right about the increase.
More interesting all the time.

With the primer system topped off and ready to go, I can load 100 rounds in about 8 minutes on my Lock N Load.

Even if you add a couple additional seconds for the Lee's priming system you should be able to load 100 rounds in 15 minutes I'd think. That should be pretty easy.

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