"Lee Loadmaster progressive press..."

[exile]

I have never been much interested in a progressive press, since I have more time than money and I am a big fan of Lee equipment. However, I recently saw a video of a Lee Loadmaster press online and liked it. The basic press is $ 147.00 and seemed to be simple to operate.

Does anyone have one? I am left-handed, wondering how it works for lefties? Also, how much of an investment is it to get started? How many of the gadgets would I need to start loading? I am intrigued by this one since all my dies, etc., are Lee and I have heard that Lee dies may not work well with Dillon presses.

If they made one in a "Classic Cast" model for lefties I would be really interested. I love my "Classic Cast" press. Thanks.

exile

[Bulldogger]

I had one for a few months. A self-gifted Christmas present in 2008. It's a decent press, but I echo the factory caution that you should have some experience reloading before tackling a progressive. I figured a college engineering degree and some book learnin would be enough to get me through to buckets of bullets everywhere. I was wrong.
There is a website where folks share tips on tweaking the press out of the box, http://loadmastervideos.com/ . This site in invaluable. The Loadmaster isn't great out of the box, doesn't show up ready, and of course, instructions can sometimes be ready two different ways. I had a devil of a time getting the bullet feeder to work, never did get it. The primer feed is tricky and tight primer pockets can ruin the plastic parts of the press quickly.
An example: Sellier and Bellot brass feeds like butter in my CZ clone, my baby loves eating it up. But these same hulls broke my press primer feed system multiple times with their tight primer pockets even after trying cleaning them out with a wire brush and a pocket reamer. Had I ever tried to hand prime I would have known this brass is not optimal for a handloader and left them go in favor of another brand.

Some people swear by it, much like some of us think LEE molds are just fine (after LEEmenting).
You get what you pay for, I should have paid more. I'm single staging it now and happy, but I only shoot once in a while compared to a lot of folks on the forum.
Your results may vary.
Bulldogger

[exile]

Thanks so much Bulldogger. You answered my question. I am probably the most mechanically inept person on this forum. I have been using a Lee Classic Cast for about five years, guess I will continue that way. (I have a Master's degree in counseling, prior to reloading, never used a tool in my life, seriously.)

So, thanks for the input. I love this forum, saves me so much trouble.

exile

[Doby45]

You are correct, if you are not mechanically inclined you do not want a Loadmaster. Not that it is a bad press as I have one and love it. I make wonderful piles of nice cartridges with mine. The press is simply an extension of the person. You can make good rounds with with a Lee or a Dillon and you can also make **** rounds with either.

[dragonrider]

Speaking from experience I say do not get a loadmaster, if you like lee equipment get a turret press, perhaps the classic cast.

[Moonie]

I have to agree with the above posters. I also have a Loadmaster, great press BUT you really have to have some mechanical ability or you will be VERY frustrated with it. The Lee Pro1000 is better for someone with little mechanical ability but still can be a challenge. I've had both and the Loadmaster is a fine, big, beefy press however sometimes I wish I had the pro1000 instead, except for my need to reload rifle cases...

[Crash_Corrigan]

I had one. After stuggling for two years with the primer system designed by Rube Goldberg I scrapped it and got a Dillon 550B. Even better was the Square Deal Dillon press. This thing is foolproof and make dandy rounds.

I also bought a Classic Lee Turret Press and again the priming is a problem. Hornady makes a very decent press and of course you could use a single stage press if you are not in any hurry. Right now I have three single stage presses. One Lee Classic Turret press and two Dillons as mentioned earlier.

If one day I should win the lottery I would get a 1050 Dillon and a 650 Dillon along with every Black Hawk Revolver Ruger has ever made.

[NoZombies]

I got 2 of the things from a fellow forum member here who hated them.

I can understand why :) when they arrived neither was in proper working order, so I sent them off to lee where they were repaired for about $20 and sent back promptly.

I'm mechanically inclined, but if I wasn't it would be a no-go. They represent a great idea, but are somewhat poorly executed.

I don't think I could recommend the press to someone else, even though they do fine by me.

[exile]

Thanks for all the replies. I have considered a Classic Cast Turret Press, but other tnan the ability to set the dies and leave them, I have not seen any advantage to my regular Classic Cast press. What am I missing?

exile

[angus6]

I have not seen any advantage to my regular Classic Cast press. What am I missing?

First thing that comes to mind is easy 300 plus rounds an hour,, less handling of cases so less opportunities for screw ups and easier on hands as you age

[Firebricker]

exile, I have used Lee dies in my Dillion 550 with no problem. Maybe in certain calibers I've used Lee's in 9mm,45 Colt,45ACP,.223Rem and 44 mag. I also had a loadmaster and pretty much had the same experiance as the posters above. I have never used a classic turret press but a good friend I work with is very happy with his. FB

[David2011]

If you load handgun only the Dillon Square Deal B is fine but I'm not much of a fan because they require the use of proprietary Dillon Square Deal B dies. I have one and it does what it's supposed to do, it's compact, reliable and reasonably fast. It's very hard to double charge a case with the SDB, a nice feature.

I'm with Crash and Firebricker. The Dillon 550B will load anything that uses standard 7/8" dies of any brand and will last a lifetime. I use mine mostly for .45ACP but I can change it to load any rifle or pistol cartridge I use in under 10 minutes. The best part is that you don't have to be a mechanical wizard to get it to run and if you do have a problem the guys at Dillon will help you resolve it quickly.

David

[exile]

So you can load 300 rounds an hour on a Classic Cast turret press? I must not understand how they work at all.

exile

[angus6]

exile yes 300 an hour is very doable on the Lee Classic Turret Press, it's all in getting a smooth rhythm going , instead of trying to push it. It's a great press I've got that and a Square deal on my bench and haven't bothered to put the 45acp dies in the SDB

[geargnasher]

I can load a ton of ammo quickly with my Lee turret press (mine's not a Classic). The auto-index function makes quick work of things and keeps the powder measure shaken.

If I were to buy one again I'd do the same thing I did the first time: Buy the whole kit from MidwayUSA for $109 (I actually got it on sale for less). It comes with the autodisk powder measure, scale, and lots of extra goodies. Then add a set of Lee dies (or at least the powder-through-expander dies for the calibers you reload), the powder measure riser, double-disk kit, auto-disk upgrade kit with micro-adjustable disk, and the priming system kit that includes BOTH large and small primer setups with trays and dispensers.

I'm left handed too, but operate a press with my right arm anyway. Had to teach myself to prme with my left hand to save an extra motion on this machine, but it's really nice only having to put a cartridge in the shellholder once for four operations. Batch loading in any quantity makes my carpal tunnels howl for days, running each cartridge in and out of the block at least three times.

I also own two Pro 1000 presses, and I've determined that, while they are fairly straightforward to use, they are best set up for one caliber and left alone. I can load more ammo on the turret without any malfunction/setup interruptions than I can changing calibers and loading on the Pro1000 for the first 100 rounds. Then the Pro 1000 smokes it. I leave one set up permanently for .45 ACP, and the other is set up for five other calibers, but I have purchased extra shellplate carriers and turret heads so all I have to do is swap those two parts, the case feeder, maybe the z-bar, and the powder measure. Takes about ten minutes to change calibers that way, all the fussing with the dies and powder disks has been done in the past so I just plug, verify the powder charge, and play!

Gear

[shotman]

lee had a "good" engineer to design the loadmaster. The problem is he is an engineer and they know it all. I have one of the fist lee made from the 70s I talked to lee after I got mine and told them what needed to be fixed. guess what? still the same junk. I redone mine it does great. the bullet feed is trash. case feed is good with CLEAN brass. same as primer feed . If you load military DONT you will mess up the primer feed. . I have had less problems and more hair and the walls dont have holes. If you prime on a singl and remove the deprime pin. It works better and faster for me and I can have a nice reloading section WITHOUT throwing stuff.
OH you can do 300 per hour on a single stage if you set a system and dont try to load a finsh round all at one time
About 80% of my reloading is done on an ALL AMERICAN
I hav e Lee set for one cal and a Dillon 650 for another.

[exile]

This is great information. I have arthritis and one of my fears is that as it get worse I might have to quit reloading. Sounds like the Lee turret press would be a good way to avoid that. Might be time for a second press. Thanks.

exile

[Doby45]

Make sure you get the classic cast!

[dragonrider]

"I also own two Pro 1000 presses, and I've determined that, while they are fairly straightforward to use, they are best set up for one caliber and left alone."

+1 on that. I also have two Pro 1000's, one for 380, the other for 9mm. They are well suited to those calibers and I never change them.

[exile]

Sounds like the best bet for a non-mechanical lefty like me would be the Classic Cast Turret Press.

exile

[Cowboy T]

The Classic Cast Turret (or "Classic Turret") is a great press. It's what I'm using for the rifle rounds. When I was doing .45 Colt on it, I got an actual throughput of just over 100 rounds/hour. Not super-speedy, but it did the job well. If you go that route, you will have made a very good choice.

I have two Pro 1000's, one for .38/357, and another for .44Spl/44Mag/45LC (all three rounds use the same shell plate, just swap turrets). The Pro 1000's are great for handgun ammo, decent for short rifle (.223/5.56, 7.62x39), and terrible for .308 Win or larger. The Pro 1000 really isn't that bad to set up.

Haven't tried a Load-Master, but yes, check out the videos at the Loadmaster Zone.

[angus6]

Sounds like the best bet for a non-mechanical lefty like me would be the Classic Cast Turret Press.

exile

Got it ordered yet ? I like dealing which http://tinyurl.com/24y4lly,<Kemp Gun Shop> they put a decent kit together that leaves out the Lee scale so that you can add a nice RCBS or something. If you do order ask for 4 extra of the square ratching washer as most people waste one or 2 before they catch on