Lee Reloading equipment

[bassmatt]

Being new to reloading I have been doing alot of research. I was to be getting a dillon setup but the deal fell through. Anyways what are your thoughs on the Lee loadmaster. I want a setup that will last I will only be reloading 38/357 & 44/44mag to start with. I will be reloading 15,000-20,000 rounds a year. Is the Lee Loadmaster a good choice or should I hold out for a deal on something else.
Thanks,
Matt

 

[rockhopper46038]

The Lee progressive presses (Pro 1000 and Loadmaster) are perfectly capable of making lots and lots of ammunition. They can be a bit finicky however, and I think may be best for people with pretty decent mechanical aptitude, or at least people that enjoy tinkering around with their press. I have a Pro 1000 and a Dillon. I find that even though the Lee is faster per round (I have the Dillon 550, so it does not auto index), and faster to change over to a different caliber, I have left my Lee set up on a single caliber so I need not readjust it and tune it in after making a caliber change. Leaving it on one cartridge makes it a very fast, reliable press. A lot of people have not had as good an experience with the Lee progressive presses though, and I'd say that your absolute safest bet would be to go with a Dillon. Ive also heard pretty good things about the Hornady LnL progressive, but I have no first hand experience with it.

 

[04DarkShadowGT]

I have a loadmaster, its fine for me so far but if I were loading 20,000 rounds a year I think I would pony up the dough and buy a Dillon 650 with all the fun extras. Sure it would be expensive but when you load up as mnay rounds as you do it would pay for itself over time.

 

[kevinsr98]

I load around 10,000+ rounds a year of 9mm and .45acp. I use a Lee Loadmaster. I like it because it is fast. I don't have to spend alot of time at the reloading bench. It is much, much better than the Pro 1000. However, you do have to "know your press". But it's not hard, mine runs great.

Having said all that, if I had unlimited funds for reloading I would have got a Dillon 650. They are the nuts, from what everyone says. But you can easily sink $1,200 to $1500 into that set up. I got my Loadmaster used, with dies and everything ready to go for $180. It will easily make 300 to 400 rounds per hour.

For my situation the Loadmaster was the best choice. Good luck.

 

[chuddly]

I run a Lee Pro 1000 and LOVE it. I can crank out 500 rounds per hour of 9mm and about 400 per hour of 223. I have completely seperate shell plate holders and all so there is no adjustment to change calibers. Its litteraly about 20-30 seconds to change and im up and flying. I have put out several thousand of each of those 2 calibers with no issues really (a few crushed primers in the 9mm) and the 223 was good once i found my screw up of adjusting the sizing die too far down and that wasnt even on the pro 1000 it was on a single stage so i cant blame the press at all.

Now would i like to have a dillon 650 and put the electric motor on it and let it be an ammo factory...yes. But i have $300 in mine and its easy as can be and very reliable. It would take another $2000 over what i have in my press to get to what i would like to have...and to me its just not worth it.

 

[peberly400]

I am in the same situation. I was looking at progressive presses and the lee 1000 at 250$ looked like a good deal. I hear alot of mixed reviews about lee's

 

[Mitch Rapp]

I Don't have one yet But my Buddy lets me use his. I have been looking into getting on for myself and he gave me the web site he got his from so here it is Presses - Lee Pro 1000 - Lee Reloading Supplies | Reloading Equipment Lee Precision | Discount Reloading Supplies by Lee | Titan Reloading . all he said was give it a good cleaning and lube it well hope it helps

 

[red_zr24x4]

I've got a Lee turrent press, I've had it for almost 20 years and its still pumping out ammo. I've loaded 9mm up to 30-06 on it. the only problem I've had is my brother stuck a .308 in it and broke the handle, Lee replaced it free.
Almost all my die sets are Lee never had an issue with them either.
I pretty much set my Lee up for pistols and I do all my rifle cases on a RCBS single stage now. I load about 15,000 pistol rounds a year on the Lee and about 20,000 rifle on the single stage RCBS.
I don't mind the Single stage, i find reloading relaxing.

 

[peberly400]

so I should get a lee 1000 for handguns, and a single stage for more precise loads? Would I want to load .44 mag on a single stage or a progressive/turret?

 

[red_zr24x4]

If your going for precision rounds, I personally feel a single stage is better. Not saying you can't do it on a progressive. Here is my feelings on the matter, in most progressives, you have some movement in the turrent area which can affect seating depth of bullets. Saying that, I don't shoot competitions most of my shooting is at paper with friends and family. If the rounds go bang and I can hit the target I'm happy.

 

[rockhopper46038]

One thing to know about the Pro 1000 is that .223 is pretty much the longest rifle load it has room for. I don't know if the Loadmaster is similarly constrained.

 

[JonProphet]

If you are a first time loader, start out with something simpler. The Lee classic turret press is like a progressive.... it combines the best of both a progressive and a single stage. They are cheap to get COMPLETELY setup and it gets your toe in the water for reloading. Learn the ins and outs to reloading before stepping up to a progressive.

Because if you don't know what to look for, it could be bad news bears.

Most of the stuff you buy for a Lee Classic Turret press will convert into the 1000, or what not. That is the nice thing about Lee. If you want to get into a precision load, the turrett press is right there waiting for you.

 

[peberly400]

Can I get automatic case feeder and such for the turret?

 

[ckcollins2003]

Hands down, the Loadmaster will do exactly what a Dillon does. It's just more tinkering to get everything started. However I will say that the automatic bullet feeder, case feeder, and priming stage on the Lee is a complete waste because they don't work unless you can somehow get them to work, but out of the box they do not work. If you don't mind priming by hand and putting a case and bullet into the cases then you will be perfectly happy with it. It's still much faster than doing it with a single stage or turret press and you also have the luxury of removing the auto indexing rod to make it into a single stage press. I was able to do 400 .40 S&W rounds in roughly an hour, but that doesn't count the time I spent priming each case.

Now if I were doing 3-5k rounds per month, I'd invest in a Dillon. I've never used one personally, but seeing them work with all of the fancy gadgets is purely amazing.

 

[peberly400]

Well a huge thing to me is I only want to have to put a bullet into the case. I think I want automatic case feeder and primer. Can I make a turret do all this?

 

[kevinsr98]

However I will say that the automatic bullet feeder, case feeder, and priming stage on the Lee is a complete waste because they don't work unless you can somehow get them to work, but out of the box they do not work. If you don't mind priming by hand and putting a case and bullet into the cases then you will be perfectly happy with it. It's still much faster than doing it with a single stage or turret press and you also have the luxury of removing the auto indexing rod to make it into a single stage press. I was able to do 400 .40 S&W rounds in roughly an hour, but that doesn't count the time I spent priming each case.

Now if I were doing 3-5k rounds per month, I'd invest in a Dillon. I've never used one personally, but seeing them work with all of the fancy gadgets is purely amazing.

Not sure about yours. But my case feeder and priming stage work fine. All I do is place a bullet and pull the handle. You may be right about the bullet feeder, I have not used it.

 

[04DarkShadowGT]

Not sure about yours. But my case feeder and priming stage work fine. All I do is place a bullet and pull the handle. You may be right about the bullet feeder, I have not used it.

Agreed about the case feeder, the priming stage on mine does put in a sideways primer every once in a while but overall its pretty reliable.

 

[rockhopper46038]

The bullet feeder works, but a 230 grain bullet really taxes the ability of the fingers to hold it properly without spreading. I notched them and used a piece of thread to put a limit on how far the fingers could spread, but for .45ACP you can only stack about 15 bullets in the feeder before you have to stop and refill it anyway. Nothing to prevent you from jury rigging a longer tube, but I haven't tried to yet. I don't have any issues with the primer or the case feeder - I actually think the case feeder (and the collator) are rather ingenious in their simplicity. Mind you, this is all on a Pro 1000 and although I think these mechanisms are the same on the Loadmaster, I wouldn't swear to it.

 

[JonProphet]

Can I get automatic case feeder and such for the turret?

No, that is the single stage part of the turret press. The turret rotates the dies on top. The turret sizes the case, puts the powder in the case, crimps the bullet, and the 4th stage is an additional crimp if you so choose. My 4th spot is for a bullet puller (from RCBS). You place the bullet and the case, and put put the primer into the "spot" and it automatically puts it in the case for you.

-JD-

 

[peberly400]

Since I would want to reload at least 500 at a time, would you say I should get a progressive from lee or a turret?