LEE Loadmaster and .40 S&W case feeder ...

[Big Tom]

I normally enjoy my Loadmaster and have loaded thousands of rounds on it in .45, .44 and .223. Now, with the recent purchase of a Glock 22 in .40, I thought it would be easy to switch. Nope....

The case feeder did not work, so checked LEE website, googled etc. just to find out that the LEE provided case pusher is higher than the .40 S&W case causing the next case in the tube locking the feeder mechanism... Broke several parts and was close to kicking the whole thing into the dumpster and order a different brand.

I ended up 3D designing a case pusher that fits the .40 S&W case (slightly lower than the case...), printed it and I am back in business now.

So, if you own a Loadmaster and want to switch to .40 S&W, don't trust LEE... Let me know if you would like one of my pushers that actually fits and works (material is only about $4) - or simply file off about 1mm from the top of the original LEE case pusher...
195072

[flyingmonkey35]

that is neat

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[No Blue]

They had a thread about this a couple of years ago at the Loadmaster Zone forum. Probably the easy way is to watch what's happening and ask yourself; 'if the pusher was taller/shorter would it work better. That's where you see the filed down or built up OEM parts. It's the mechanical reasoning you need to peacefully coexist with a LLM....you're not designing your own airplane, just deciding how to modify an existing part, so this isn't some 99.99th percentile deal. Call it 50th percentile.

[Big Tom]

Yes, it was an easy fix after I realized that the pusher was higher than the shell and that that was why it did not work :p The journey to get there was the not so fun part... However, I have used my Loadmasters for 10+ years now and overall still love them.


They had a thread about this a couple of years ago at the Loadmaster Zone forum. Probably the easy way is to watch what's happening and ask yourself; 'if the pusher was taller/shorter would it work better. That's where you see the filed down or built up OEM parts. It's the mechanical reasoning you need to peacefully coexist with a LLM....you're not designing your own airplane, just deciding how to modify an existing part, so this isn't some 99.99th percentile deal. Call it 50th percentile.

[jetinteriorguy]

Would the pusher for the 9mm work for the .40?

[Big Tom]

I tried it and had cases flipping and then checked the LEE website in regards to which feeder they sell for which caliber - for .40, they sell the one for the large cases (apparently, somewhere in the instructions, it says to use the feeder for the larger cases, but the pusher for the smaller one).

Btw - for anybody with a 3D printer that wants to have the one made for the .40 S&W case, here is the printing template: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2305187

[jetinteriorguy]

Just for the heck of it I just checked a piece of .40 brass in mine since I currently have the large case pusher installed. It looks like the pusher is just a bit taller than the shell case, so with the case feeder installed almost down to where it's touching the pusher it would seem like it should work, but your saying it doesn't, correct. If this is the case I would try grinding a little off the top of the pusher and see what happens.

[Big Tom]

Yes, it is very minimal, but enough to have the next case being below the top of the pusher, and with the rest of that case being still in the tube, blocking the pusher. Grinding about 0.04 inches off the top would do the trick, I just did not want to do that as I also use it for .44 and .45.

[flyingmonkey35]

looked at the website. the one for 223 would be very handy.

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[LAKEMASTER]

I sand my feeders down and custom them top a case.

I took 3 broken ones and made a 30-06 feeder. Then i just made a block for it.

I started making mine when i lost the pushers that came with the press.....

[Moonie]

I took a round file to the top of mine to create a bevel, pretty sure that is what was discussed in the loadmaster zone forum years ago. Works perfectly.