Lee Progressives and Primer Issues....?

[redneckmedic]

As many of the folks out there I'm on the fence for which press to buy for my 223 and handgun rounds. I'm a big fan of buy once-cry once, however on a working mans budget and for getting rounds going now vs deep into summer after I've saved enough to by a quality blue press, I'm looking at all options.

My biggest worry about the lee is the manufacters warning against using primers that aren't CCI or Winchester. Does anyone have any first hand experiance with this, or better asked, who uses the Lee 1000 PR or Loadmaster with all primers without problems.

This is only an issue as I have about 25,000 small pistol and small rifle primers that aren't either of those brands.

Also, can anyone tell me what the difference is between the 1000 and the load master? It seems that its the lever and about $30.

Thx, RNM

 

[IndyGunworks]

DO NOT BOTHER WITH THE LOADMASTER. of anyone on this sight, you should have learned that from me by now.

If you dont want to spend the 400 on a quality progressive, look into the turret presses, they are a good middle of the budget option and you can still get some decent speed with them.

At bare minimum, look for a press that uses metal parts in the priming system, not plastic. and look for something with a solid bar that pulls the powder dispenser back down, not a dog tag chain. this rules out anything lee makes.

 

[dom1104]

I dont know what to tell you man, but I wouldnt use a lee progressive if you gave it to me.

Based on people who sat in front of it while it exploded in their face.

One guy has permenent hearing damage.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I have the Loadmaster and I never loaded enough on it to get it to explode primers but it sure did crush a lot of them. I gave it up as a bad idea.

I will happily sell it to you if you want, cheap along with a lot of extras. Some folks report good results with it when it's tuned properly but I didn't want to have to mess with it. A turret press matches my ADD much better since I like to load a few rounds at a time. I was going to have Andrew try to sell it at the reloading swap next month, it's been gathering dust for 5 years now.

Of all the Lee products I consider good value for the money, it and the Lee scale are the two things I consider junk. I have no experience with the 1000.

If I were going to buy a budget progressive now it'd be the Hornady LNL.

 

[jblomenberg16]

I've used the Lee Pro 1000 progressive. A few things I've learned:

It absolutely sucks for priming. I have tuned it to the point that I can do 9mm, .38, and .45ACP with 99 of 100 being primed correctly.

I do not use it to prime my .223, and rather hand prime those, and put a powder check in the priming station.

Had I not already owned it, I would have probably spent the money for a better press to do .223, as this one also spills a lot of powder with the rifle loads.

 

[jedi]

Here is an example of why you DO NOT load federal primers in a Lee press.
Reloading mishap - all primers detonated (pics to follow) - THR

And here is another KABOOM to read about as well.
Reloading Kaboom Yesterday - Please Learn From This - Calguns.net

If you are concerned about primer Kabooms then get an RCBS Pro 2000 which does not have the KABOOM issues but does have other drawbacks just like the rest of the progressives.

There is no one press that does everything for everyone that everyone will like. Best advise is try before you buy if you can to see which one you like best.

-Jedi

 

[Electronrider]

Going Blue on a Budget:

I was in your shoes earlier this year, and this is the solution I came up with, and am doing:

I picked up a Dillon 550 BL. This is the dillon 550 press without the auto prime system, and the powder system. It ran me less than 300 bucks.

This is a great compromise, as it gets you a press for a pretty good price, and allows you to upgrade as time/money allow. It does have a priming system installed, but you have to place the primers one at a time. I already had a rockchucker kit, so I still use my RCBS priming tool to prime my brass for now. Later this year I will upgrade my dillon to the auto prime.

I absolutely love my new dillon, and as I get more comfortable with a progressive press, I can expand its capabilities. So far I have processed .223 and .380 on it, and it is light years ahead of my rockchuker.

If you have any questions, shoot me a PM.

 

[ckcollins2003]

Just used the Loadmaster this past weekend at a friends house to finish off my .40 loads. As with all of the Lee presses, the priming system sucks. He actually has a turret set up with only the decapping/resizing die in it which we ran the brass through first, then we primed with the Lee hand prime tool. I like the hand tool better anyway as you can feel the primer go flush into the case. After priming all 400 of them, we ran them through the turret with the rest of the dies without any problems.

For the money and how often it gets used, he says he loves it. I enjoyed it as well as it's much faster than doing everything on a single stage which is all I have.

Even he mentioned that if he were using it more, he would sell it and go with a Dillon, but for 3-4k rounds a year it works just fine.

 

[EvilElmo]

Here is an example of why you DO NOT load federal primers in a Lee press.
Reloading mishap - all primers detonated (pics to follow) - THR
-Jedi

Note the recommendations this person posted in the thread. There are a few very simple things you can do to minimize the risk of primer problems and the damage caused by a primer detonation:
1. Stick to Winchester and CCI primers. I've tipped a Winchester sideways and crushed it in my LM and it didn't go off.
2. Use a die in station 2 of the LM to hold the brass steady as it's being primed. This greatly reduces the occurrence of a misaligned primer.
3. Install the blast shield that Lee sells. It's less than $10 and is a steel plate that shields the operator and the rest of the press from the priming system at the top of the stroke (i.e. during priming). If you have the tools/ability then make your own. Either way, put up a barrier between the primer tray and you.
4. Stick to 100 primers at a time in the priming tray. The case feeder won't hold much more than 100 cases anyway.
5. Keep the primer chute clean. It gets dirty over time - clean it out once it a while.

The LM has its issues just like any other piece of equipment. There's nothing wrong with that, you just need to learn the issues and how to deal with them. That won't change no matter what press you buy.

 

[chuddly]

I've used the Lee Pro 1000 progressive. A few things I've learned:

It absolutely sucks for priming. I have tuned it to the point that I can do 9mm, .38, and .45ACP with 99 of 100 being primed correctly.

I do not use it to prime my .223, and rather hand prime those, and put a powder check in the priming station.

Had I not already owned it, I would have probably spent the money for a better press to do .223, as this one also spills a lot of powder with the rifle loads.

You pretty much have the EXACT same experience as me! LOL

I like my pro 1000. For the money it does great and with hand priming i NEVER have a problem. when i let it prime i get about 98 out of 100 right so its not like its REALLY that bad. I just needed the priming done before they go in there due to how i have my stations set up. would i buy the pro 1000 again...yes. For what i spent on it it cranks out ammo fast and easy. I also have a single stage for my 30-06 and i just keep a 2 complete sets of everything for my pro 1000 (shell carriers and all) so my change out from 9mm to .223 is only about 30-45 seconds and i can be cranking out a different type of ammo. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me and ill answer all i can

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Note the recommendations this person posted in the thread. There are a few very simple things you can do to minimize the risk of primer problems and the damage caused by a primer detonation:
1. Stick to Winchester and CCI primers. I've tipped a Winchester sideways and crushed it in my LM and it didn't go off.
2. Use a die in station 2 of the LM to hold the brass steady as it's being primed. This greatly reduces the occurrence of a misaligned primer.
3. Install the blast shield that Lee sells. It's less than $10 and is a steel plate that shields the operator and the rest of the press from the priming system at the top of the stroke (i.e. during priming). If you have the tools/ability then make your own. Either way, put up a barrier between the primer tray and you.
4. Stick to 100 primers at a time in the priming tray. The case feeder won't hold much more than 100 cases anyway.
5. Keep the primer chute clean. It gets dirty over time - clean it out once it a while.

The LM has its issues just like any other piece of equipment. There's nothing wrong with that, you just need to learn the issues and how to deal with them. That won't change no matter what press you buy.

Just to add to this. When I started reloading, there where times I did not pay attention, and a primer would lodge in the primer pocket sideways when using a hand primer. To be able to remove it from the shell holder. I had to flatten it with a hammer and punch. I took all the safety precautions, because I thought it would ignite. I beat the **** out of them, and never had one go off. All where CCI primers.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Just to add to this. When I started reloading, there where times I did not pay attention, and a primer would lodge in the primer pocket sideways when using a hand primer. To be able to remove it from the shell holder. I had to flatten it with a hammer and punch. I took all the safety precautions, because I thought it would ignite. I beat the **** out of them, and never had one go off. All where CCI primers.

You take the safety precautions because it CAN ignite, not because it WILL ignite. Any primer can detonate when crushed. It may only be a one in a hundred chance, but it's a non-zero chance and enough people have had it happen that you take the safety precautions. Some brands are more susceptible to sympathetic detonation than others and some ways of stacking primers in the supply tube makes it more likely a sympathetic detonation can occur. The mark of a good press is not that it can't blow up but how it protects the user if it does blow up. I know Aszerigan posted last year about his detonation and IIRC there've been at least two other INGO posters who've posted about having it happen.

 

[billybob44]

Dillon is a good choice..

Going Blue on a Budget:

I was in your shoes earlier this year, and this is the solution I came up with, and am doing:

I picked up a Dillon 550 BL. This is the dillon 550 press without the auto prime system, and the powder system. It ran me less than 300 bucks.

This is a great compromise, as it gets you a press for a pretty good price, and allows you to upgrade as time/money allow. It does have a priming system installed, but you have to place the primers one at a time. I already had a rockchucker kit, so I still use my RCBS priming tool to prime my brass for now. Later this year I will upgrade my dillon to the auto prime.

I absolutely love my new dillon, and as I get more comfortable with a progressive press, I can expand its capabilities. So far I have processed .223 and .380 on it, and it is light years ahead of my rockchuker.

If you have any questions, shoot me a PM.

^^^Seems like a good idea??

Another thought along this line: seems to be more than a few fellow INGO'S that move from a Dillon 550 to a 650. For me my 550 gets me by just fine, but there are those that do upgrade to the five position system.
You may place a classified and see what "Bites"??

Yes, I do realize that most Dillon products sell used for 80% of new cost, but IMO spending $ for a Lee System IS good $ out the window...Bill.

 

[hueycrew]

+1 to the LNL AP. I've had a Pro 1000. Sold it to some guy in Canada. It was the priming system and the spent primer disposal. It was a struggle to reload more than 200 rounds. A friend has one and makes really good ammo with it. He likes to tinker with stuff though. My other press is a Lee Classic turret press. I'm very happy with the turret press.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I like my Pro1000, don't know much about the Loadmaster. The priming system works well for me, but can be finicky for sure. I deflashed the two halves of the feed rail and that helped primer flow quite a bit. It's important that the primer tray shakes a bit in order for the primers to keep flowing well - and primer flow is key I think to whether you have a good or bad experience with the Pro1000.

 

[BriceR]

The reason Lee does not recomend any primer except CCI and Winchester is because in their tests these two were considered more safe since Federal and like primers were more of an explosive then an ignition device. Lee now offers a hand loading tool that they say is safe to use with any primer for $17 on Midway. You can use a press to knock out used primers then just skip the priming step on the Loadmaster if you are set on it (i.e. keep priming tray empty when loading)

 

[chuddly]

The reason Lee does not recomend any primer except CCI and Winchester is because in their tests these two were considered more safe since Federal and like primers were more of an explosive then an ignition device. Lee now offers a hand loading tool that they say is safe to use with any primer for $17 on Midway. You can use a press to knock out used primers then just skip the priming step on the Loadmaster if you are set on it (i.e. keep priming tray empty when loading)

This is exactly what i do with my 223 rounds. I hand prime all mine and leave the primer tray on the pro 1000 empty. For my 9mm loads i let the pro 1000 prime them and have almost no problems (maybe 1 or 2 out of 100). The reason being i think is the 223 round is less stable in the shell holder and it rocks because of its height/center of gravity so it doesnt hold it as straight when pressure is applied to the primer/brass.

 

[Robert Richardson]

I like my Pro1000, don't know much about the Loadmaster. The priming system works well for me, but can be finicky for sure. I deflashed the two halves of the feed rail and that helped primer flow quite a bit. It's important that the primer tray shakes a bit in order for the primers to keep flowing well - and primer flow is key I think to whether you have a good or bad experience with the Pro1000.

and keep the primer tray full,the weight of the primers keeps them flowing good.I have the Loadmaster and it runs fine.

 

[rem788]

So far I've owned a Dillon Square Deal, it worked fine, no complaints. I had a Lee Pro 1000 that always required "tuning" to get it to work. The ratio towards the end was close to 50 - 50. Work on it half the time to reload half the time. Then I purchased a Hornady LNL and never looked back. Very satisfied with the LNL so far, have loaded several thousand rounds of 9mm with it. I will be converting it to .223 soon and am anxious to see how well it reloads those. I intend to sell the other presses as soon as I am sure the LNL will handle all the cartridges I want to reload. My recommendation would be to spend a little more money up front and avoid all the grief.

 

[EvilElmo]

This is exactly what i do with my 223 rounds. I hand prime all mine and leave the primer tray on the pro 1000 empty. For my 9mm loads i let the pro 1000 prime them and have almost no problems (maybe 1 or 2 out of 100). The reason being i think is the 223 round is less stable in the shell holder and it rocks because of its height/center of gravity so it doesnt hold it as straight when pressure is applied to the primer/brass.

That's exactly why I use a die in station 2 - to hold the brass still while it's being primed. This alone has done a great deal to reduce the occurrence of priming problems on my LM. YMMV of course.