no love here for the Lee Progressives?

[majik]

I"ve loaded 9mm on one for several years now and and am contemplating setting up to load 223 on one.

[BigAlofPa.]

While not a progressive. I have a lee turret i load rifle on. 223 ,30.06 and 7.62x54r and it does very well. I don't see why the progressive should be any trouble either.

[jmorris]

Progressives in general are a love/hate relationship. If you have one you love, love the one your with.

[onelight]

I"ve loaded 9mm on one for several years now and and am contemplating setting up to load 223 on one.

I loaded thousands off 9 , 223 , and 45 auto on both a pro 1000 I wanted another die and went to the loadmaster both of them loaded big piles of ammo for me. all the time I had them I wished for a simpler primer set up , what ever brand you look at the main hiccup is priming the breech lock pro was exactly what I had in mind.
It is slower but suits my needs best.

[dverna]

I"ve loaded 9mm on one for several years now and and am contemplating setting up to load 223 on one.

If you are happy with your Lee, why would you care if most of us prefer something else?i

BTW....never listen to jmorris. He can take a bunch of junk bits and pieces and make a masterpiece. I think he is an alien.....

[kmw1954]

I had a love/hate relationship with my GMC Canyon.
Loved the size, they way it rode/drove, economy. The rest of the truck was a mechanical junk. More electrical issues than all other vehicles I've ever owned. Windshield leaked every time it rained. 10 years rusted to pcs!

Now I have a Pro1000 and I love it, even prime on press. Also have a new Lee ABLP and I'm trying to learn to Love it.

[abunaitoo]

I have a Pro 1000.
I've loaded .223 on it.
Along with 9mm, 45acp, 30 Carbine.
I don't use the priming system. To many problems with it.
Other than that it works great.
There was a thread here on making a better shell kicker for it
Good mod.

[majik]

I am hesitating because I know that loading rifle ammo is different than pistol ammo. Thanks to all.

[cwlongshot]

Haha, Im not what you would call a fan. For MOST of the LEE products. But SOME OF THEM are AWESOME!

Go in eyes open, know that they are mostly built on cintered metal and plastic. Not built for long term or heavy duty use and mostly your not paying high costs either. (Here is where someone will
Post ablut there thirty year old machine. Dust covered used twice a year most years. )

I have sold them for nearly 30 years. I see first han allot more folks troubles with them than most are privi to. By FAR LEE problems out number ALL OTHERS MAKERS problems more than 2:1. That not ALL there products mostly presses, Dies, Scales, measurers, and priming tools.

I have quite a number of LEE products, just not ALL LEE products For the most part what i have I like and use.

Good luck,

CW

[majik]

it will load maybe 5000 rds a year of 223, at most. That's half of what the other one loads for the 9mm. I used to shoot twice that much .45, decades ago, but have found that I dont need to do so, for realistic stuff. I dont need to shoot nearly that much 9mm for myself, but I'm training the wife. The "combat" style matches are ridiculous and have been so for decades. I just shoot the .22lr conversions for fun (with the pistols) and for most of the training for the rifle, too. .177 pellet guns and airsoft can do a lot of your training, guys. the lead pellets for precision work, the airsoft for fast stuff, especially the man vs man training.

[dragon813gt]

I have sold them for nearly 30 years. I see first han allot more folks troubles with them than most are privi to. By FAR LEE problems out number ALL OTHERS MAKERS problems more than 2:1. That not ALL there products mostly presses, Dies, Scales, measurers, and priming tools.

And how many Lee products do you sell compared to others? Is it the same 2:1 ratio? If so then all things are equal. If you sell 3:1 they have less problems. I’m asking because Lee sells more products than the other brands. So it needs to an apples to apples comparison and not skewed.

The next question is were the problems caused by operator error? Since Lee attracts new reloaders there’s obviously going to be more errors caused by them. I’m asking this to keep all things fair. Just because it’s a Lee branded product doesn’t mean it’s junk. There are always variables that cause the problems.

I’m not going to defend poor quality materials or workmanship. But use of the product is always a variable. If one of their “cheap” presses breaks because someone was case forming w/ one is that Lee’s fault? They do engineer some of their products to have weak links, which are inexpensive. It’s better for that part to break than a more expensive part. The question of if that part should break at all is a valid one.

I would ask the same questions for all brands. I do defend Lee because they always face harsh criticism. A lot of times from people that don’t even use their products. There is no excuse for sending a shoddy tool out the door no matter who makes it. And all the manufacturers have their share of tools that were just bad.
/rant

Now onto why no love for Lee progressives? Because they are finicky and you can buy ones that run out of the box from other manufacturers. Any step performed off press slows production time down. Priming off press defeats the purpose of a progressive. You should be able to insert an empty case, spent primer still in it, and have a loaded cartridge come out the other side.

I’m interested in the Auto Breech Lock Pro. But the breech lock part is what turns me off. I move does between presses so there’s no appeal there for me. Had they made it so I could insert a turret from the LCT, like you would a toolhead on a 550, I would be on board immediately. I really like the safety prime and hate filling primer tubes so that’s pushing me towards one. It doesn’t cost much so I will most likely buy one and see how it works out.

[jmorris]

Now onto why no love for Lee progressives? Because they are finicky and you can buy ones that run out of the box from other manufacturers.

Part of that is design but part of that is also instructions provided.

The Lee Loadmaster manual is 10 pages and doesn’t contain some critical information.

The Dillon 650 manual is 59 pages long and many of the problems folks have with the 650 are because they didn’t read it.

The Loadmaster can be setup to run with the “big dogs”.

[dragon813gt]

I have no doubt that they can be made to run. You’re absolutely correct about the lack of instructions. That’s one area that Lee does a poor job of across all their products. Even if they did provide all the information in a manual. People would still blame Lee when they’re at fault because they didn’t read the manual. I guess I just don’t understand brand bashing.

[toallmy]

I do love my lee loadmaster . I know they are looked down upon by a lot of loaders , but I must be lucky .
I put in a lot of time getting to know it and understand what is going on when operating it , but I consider that part of the fun . I prime on press and can load a 1000 rounds of 9mm ,38/357 , 45acp any evening I come home from work feeling like it . Bolt it to a sturdy bench and spray lube the cases makes it stop jumping around flipping the primers .
I can't compare it to a Dillon 650 because I decided to try a loadmaster first , but it is bolted on the bench right beside a Dillon 550 , and holds its own .

[willowbend]

I had a loadmaster for a good while but sold it several years ago. I found out that most of the problems would become predictable. Most of the problems I encountered was the case feeder I just could not get it to be reliable. But I had a Classic Turret for a long time. That is the one I miss the most. I never had an issue with it. I have been on a Dillon 650 for several years now and adding a 550. I could never go back, but I miss buying a complete press for the cost of a caliber change.

[Dieselhorses]

Only have one Loadmaster and it's set up to do 45 acp. I have many shell plates and platforms for my other calibers. Issue is, when I get it set up to work with one caliber, I hate to change anything. Wish I had enough room for 4 or 5 others!

[rbuck351]

I have 3 Lee Pro 1000s and a Dillon 550b. There is no comparison between the two. Yep, the Dillon costs 3 times as much but it is much easier to set up, works flawlessly and has excellent instructions. The Lee 1000s are real fussy. The short cases of a 9mm like to throw powder out as it comes out of the powder station and the powder measure spits powder into the primer trough until you fix it which causes the primers to not slide fully onto the primer punch. This causes the primers to explode and blow the primer trough apart when you try to insert a primer that is only half on the punch. The case feeder is a pita to set up just right. The primers will stop sliding down their trough unless the trough is full. The case ejector slide combo is a piece of work as well. These problems can all be fixed which is why I like the Pro 1000s. Well, other than the primers not sliding when there are only a few left on the slide. I love a mechanical problem because I like tinkering with them and overcoming issues. For those that don't like buying things in kit form and having to modify and final fit everything, I would stay away from the Lee Pro 1000. Yeah, someone will say they have one they bolted down right out of the box and it has loaded a million rounds without a single failure and they probably won a 10 million dollar sweepstakes as well. Some folks are really lucky. Most of us aren't.

[onelight]

I did prime on my loadmaster and pro 1000 I had the older version pro 1000 and it actually worked well for me but wanted a fourth station. The load master I could figure out and get get running well and I would put together 5 or 6 k rounds and not use it for 6 to 12 months then I would have to figure it out all over again , all most all problems were primer related which of course effects every station and my nerves I like the case feeder and powder measures they are now on the breech lock pro.
For me running them slow and steady was key to smooth operation and you still get a loaded round every stroke. I did not enjoy and had no love for either press.
I think the LCT is lees best press and you get more than you pay for with it and I find it a pleasure to use.
The Breechlock pro so far so good I do wish it used the 4 hole heads from the LCT but there are advantages to the breech lock setup to.
Lee prolly sells more presses to beginners than all the others combined because of the price and I think any brand progressive is a poor choice for new loaders or someone that lacks a good bit of mechanical aptitude.

[Kenstone]

Haha, Im not what you would call a fan. For MOST of the LEE products. But SOME OF THEM are AWESOME!

Go in eyes open, know that they are mostly built on cintered metal and plastic. Not built for long term or heavy duty use and mostly your not paying high costs either. (Here is where someone will
Post ablut there thirty year old machine. Dust covered used twice a year most years. )

I have sold them for nearly 30 years. I see first han allot more folks troubles with them than most are privi to. By FAR LEE problems out number ALL OTHERS MAKERS problems more than 2:1. That not ALL there products mostly presses, Dies, Scales, measurers, and priming tools.

I have quite a number of LEE products, just not ALL LEE products For the most part what i have I like and use.
Good luck,
CW

"By FAR LEE problems out number ALL OTHERS MAKERS problems more than 2:1"
That's because LEE SELLS 3x more stuff than ALL THE OTHER MAKERS...combined

[megasupermagnum]

I've had a Pro1000 for about a year now, loaded a few thousand rounds on it, mostly 327 federal, but am just setting up to run a bunch of 45 acp again. I took it out of the box, set it up, and made ammo. I don't prime on mine, and never have tried. I always preferred priming by hand, so never changed. The only thing I didn't like was the powder disk measure, I put on the auto drum instead which works better. Caliber changeover is fine, no issues at all, just thread a shell plate on, change the turret, and change the powder drum. Takes 15 minutes tops.

When it comes to Lee products, the nice thing is that you can usually find a solution. I have more problems with higher end brands, and so often you get the deer in headlights "your doing it wrong" response, without any real solution. Best example is shotgun loaders the Lee load All II, which I've used successfully for years with minimal issues. It's far from perfect, but works, and there are heaps of tips and fixes online. I've also got two MEC's, a 600jr and a sizemaster. They have been the biggest headache, and no fix in sight. Anytime I ask, I'm treated like an idiot who cant tighten a bolt, and the same old "I've loaded X number of shells on mine without issue, you are the problem.". Thanks guy, but mine has a problem and you aren't helping.

I'm sure Dillon makes top quality products, but what happens when you get a lemon and something is just a little out of alignment? Everybody you ask will act defensive instead of actually helping.