I know what most here think about the Lee Pro 1000 line of progressive presses, and online reviews are a mixed bag also. Last Fall, before I had to pack up and move, I ordered a Pro 1000 in 9mm because I was curious: 1) were they really as bad as some say? And 2) can they be made to run reliably? And 3) What about consistency?

I was only able to get it set up and run app. 80 rounds initially. For someone who had never owned/used any progressive press, it was a little frustrating to get set up, but not impossible if you take your time. Once set up I did a "passable" job of loading and the rounds all fired with no issues.

Now that I am settled into my new place and have a permanent reloading room, I again got the Pro 1000 set up and am getting more comfortable with the operation and use. I have loaded another 175 rounds with only 1 primer seated sideways and last night's 75 rounds loaded with only 2 stoppages that still have me stumped, but no disasters. Watching all the YouTube videos helped a great deal. Being patient and taking time to set things up also helps greatly. I know that the priming system needs to be kept full to operate as it should, so I add 20 more primers than what I want to load, to keep them flowing. Using a separate seat/crimp set up on my LCT keeps my C.O.L. +/- .002" with the Pro 1000 it runs + .003-.005" . I've never had issues with any Lee powder measure and the Pro Auto Disk does as good a job as any, I am watchful of that pull chain! I do like the case feeder, once set it does what it's suppose to do.

All in all, I haven't found it to be a "terrible" piece of equipment. I take a lot of care in my reloading process and of my equipment. Now that I've had a taste of progressive reloading, I think I may like it. Have been looking at the Dillon machines for a comparison :-)

Run a high count of rounds and let us know if the 1000 needs attention to keep it running correctly. I have read a few reports that said they got tired of having to readjust the dies as well as other parts just to keep it running smoothly. I also have read many reports saying they had no problems with the 1000. Like guns we often only hear about the problems and not the good.

I personally take online reviews or opinions with a grain of salt. You don't know these people making the reviews or opinions, so you have no way of knowing their expertise or intelligence. Sadly, the majority of folks just aren't that sharp.

I can't recall all the times I've been in the market for some electronic or piece of equipment and would be reading countless reviews of how the item is junk and doesn't work right. However, if I get the item, I never have any trouble with it. So why is everyone else?

A lot of times it all comes down to capability. Follow the instructions and understand how to operate the item properly and chances are it will work just fine. Keep up the practice and this Lee press should serve you well.

I have a Rockchucker and that works for me.

Practice makes perfect along with paying attention to detail. You will get it all figured out to your liking, Im sure.
Good luck and happy reloading.
They dont call it hand loading for nothing.
Jim

I use mine to size/decap/bell cases ONLY. NO primers/powder/bullet seating. They then get finished off on the Rockchucker single stage & RCBS multi flo where I can see EVERYTHING that is going on, besides it being more consistently accurate. Faster than a single stage only & slower than a progressive. QUALITY ??? Plenty good enough for me. YMMV

Over the course of several decades, I have loaded many tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition on the Lee Pro 1000s that I owned.

They have idiosyncrasies but so do all other progressives.

The only reason that I no longer use them is that I have gone to seating and crimping in different steps and the 3 stage press was no longer suited for me.

The Pro 1000s were replaced with a pair of Lee Loadmasters which have 5 stations available. They to have loaded tens of thousands of rounds so far.

I am in the process of moving right now and I may set up a pair of Dillon 650s in the new house. The Dillions have been sitting (still boxed) in my loading room for two years now. I never found enough free time to stop using the Loadmasters and switch things out.

When I unpack at the new house, whatever Pro 1000 spare parts I still have lying around will be Karma'ed off to anyone that needs them.

I've had four progressive presses over many years and finally decided I had no need for such machines. My first was a used Pro 1000. It actually worked pretty well as I recall, but I had been handloading thirty years when I got it twenty or more years ago. It had quirks; they all do. I was amazed at how accurate the Auto-Disk powder system was.

I suspect many of those who bellyache about such machinery are impatient, inexperienced, and expect everything to run perfectly all the time. That seldom happens. Operators may lack the prerequisite understanding of the mechanics involved because they have never loaded on a simpler machine. Whining in some situations is no doubt justified, but a lot of it may not be.

I don't believe a truly poor loading machine can survive in the very competitive market for very long at all. I'm not endorsing the Pro 1000 or anyone else's machine, but the 1000 has been around for a while.

My Lees all worked fine, yes a bear to set up, but so were the 3 duces on my flat head. The 1000's and loarmasters were traded for guns and I now have several Dillons, Like my RIA's have gone and Colts and STIs have taken their place in the safe.
tb

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frontsightnsqueaz

Just an update. Yesterday 8-6-2017, I set the pro 1000 to run some Xtreme 124 gr. FP over 3.8 grs. TiteGroup, Blazer cases and CCI 500 primers. I loaded 25 rounds and took to the range to check for function and all was okay. So back at home, I loaded the remaining 75 of the first 100, and then loaded 200 more in the next session. So another 300 rounds with only 2 minor issues- 1) a primer which didn't fully seat, but that was because it felt funny when I started to seat it. So I stopped without forcing it and removed it from the press. At the end of my session, I finished seating the primer on my Classic Turret and then finished on the Pro 1000. 2) I wanted to see how few extra primers I needed to keep the primers flowing, 6-10 isn't enough, but 15 works fine. So the 2nd issue was merely my experimentation, not the presses fault. 3) Sometimes when the last case drops from the feeder, it will go too far forward and get between the shell plate and top of press; move the case back slightly and all is okay again.

So far, I like the press and how I can load 100 rounds pretty quickly (by my standards lol). Slow and steady seems to work well for me and 100 rounds in 15 minutes and not hurrying is fine with me. I liked the 9mm so well, I bought 2 more in 40 S&W and 45 Auto. The 40 is set up but no rounds through it yet. The 45 is partially set up. Hope to have the same results with both of those.

I used a Lee Pro 1000 for several years before moving on to the Classic Turret. I like seating and crimping in different stations and I can load plenty of ammo on the turret. The only real problem I encountered with the Pro 1000 was that the press became "rickety" after a few years and I even thought about trying to tighten it up with shims. In the end I went to the Classic Turret and I could not be happier!

Or change it over to another caliber & back. Get back to us on reliability. Many will have 1 setup for each caliber, seems pointless but that is how some keep their Lee running.
IMO, the reason to go progressive is to save time & effort. That usually is not the case with Lee. If I have to fuss with it much, it isn't fulfilling it's function, regardless of cost. If I have to spend much more than 15m loading 100rds, I am using the wrong tool.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I bought a Pro 1000 a few decades ago. This may sound perverse, but I got my enjoyment out of sorting out the jams and mis-feeds. I swapped mine between three calibers with extra shell plates, the devil's own work. Why do we have all the tools we do? Why do we like tinkering? Why reload? The only way to make one pay off in higher throughput is to stick with one caliber and not change anything once set up. That only works for high volume powder burners, not tinkerers that love to change stuff and play with different toys. All those pot-metal, die-cast parts are frail compared to Lee's competitors. I eventually gave mine away to an equally demented soul who loved tinkering. The one issue I never solved was the mis-alignment between shell holder stations and die holes. I learned to set the friction ring on all dies simultaneously with a cartridge pushed into all of them, but the indexing and concentricity would wander out of alignment if you loaded long enough.

My Lee 1000's have taught me more about the technical and practical adjustments of reloading than all the RCBS,C/H, Bair, Possness Warren and Herters combined. And I'm not lying.

As an update, yesterday evening I had time to finish setting up the Pro 1000 in 40 S&W. Once all tweaked, I loaded 50 test rounds, checking powder charge and bullet seating depth and then checking in my Lyman case gauge. So far, there have been no issues and I will set up to load a few hundred rounds and see how it does. I still have the 45acp press to set up and get ready, hopefully I'll be 3 for 3.

8-16-2017: filled the case feeder tubes, primer tray, powder measure and counted out 100-165 gr. Xtreme plated FP bullets and proceeded to load 100 rounds of 40 S&W ammo on Blazer brass cases. Had a slight issue with case feeder when tubes were full-first 3-4 pieces of brass would fall over onto side. So, I will need to make an adjustment at the case feeder. Otherwise, no other issues. Every primer seated correctly and no issues with the Auto Pro powder measure. Finished rounds checked fine in my Lyman gauge. As with the 9mm Pro 1000, C.O.L. was +/-.003-.004" from setting of 1.125" desired C.O.L. I sure wish Lee would update the Pro 1000 to a 4 station progressive, but for now it does an acceptable job of producing ammo with few issues.

Been busy the past few months and changes in my personal life as well. Regardless, I ended up buying another Pro 1000 in 38 Special. I now have a Pro 1000 for each of my handgun calibers. Haven't spent much time in the reloading room, but the past few evenings, I've spent setting up the 38 Special press. Tonight, once adjusted, I set up to load my first 50 rounds. W-W nickel cases, Winchester small pistol primers, 3.2 grs. Bullseye and 158 gr. cast LSWC. First 10 rounds were loaded 5 at a time, to make sure everything was okay. I then loaded 10 cases in each of the case feeder tubes and loaded 10 rounds at a time. Checking each 10 rounds for any problems/issues. In short order, I had 50 rounds completed with no issues.

I have 450 of the LSWC's left, and will load them in an upcoming session (or two). Will report how the press does and any issues. So far, I'm 3 for 3; but still have the 45 auto to set up and get running. I have shot more the past few weeks, but mainly because I know the weather will start getting colder (and snowy) here in Indiana. Guess when the weather gets bad, I can put the Pro 1000's to good use LOL :-)

Got home from work and loaded another 50 rounds of 38 Special on the Pro 1000. Had no issues, or problems. Will load the remaining 400 in a few more sessions.

I have 3 Pro 1000’s set up for .45 ACP, 9mm and .38 Special/.357 Magnum/.38 S&W, but I do not use them as most do.

Firstly I use a 4 die set up with seperate seating and crimping. Next I have an extra Turret into which I place the sizing die. Finally I have removed the primer feed.

Fill the case feeder and the first run through is sizing/decapping only.

I then sit in front of the TV with 300-500 cases and prime by hand.

Finally the primed cases go into the feeder tubes and the main Turret is installed with the case mouth belling and powder dropping moved to station 1 and the crimp die in station three.

Pull the handle, seat the projectile, then pull the handle again. Once case prep has been done I can load over 500 rounds in an hour. The only holdup is refilling the case feeder tubes.

I also use the new Lee Auto Drum powder measure. I found the old auto disk would have a powder variation of .1-.3 gn over 10 rounds depending on the powder type. The auto Drum usually has less than a single .1 gn difference over 10 rounds due to being fully enclosed with no powder spilling out through the moving parts.

Yes it is slower than it should be with multiple case handling, but it works for me and allows me to check primervsesating as I take each round out of the hand primer.

The point of ANY progressive is to be able to take it out of the box, set it up & make a lot of ammo in a short period of time. Watching Youtube vids & having to fix things is counter to the point of buying any progressive IMO. So buy something we all know works right out of the box. Then you can load 100rds in 6-7min instead of an hour. I really don't get buying multiple presses to load each caliber just so you don't have to do the tedious adjustments each time you switch. Where is the economy in that???

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Adventures in reloading...LOL

Yesterday (Saturday), I loaded another 100 rounds of 38 Special on the Pro 1000. Had 1 stoppage at around case #47-the decapping rod came out of the sizing die! Was an undersize flash hole and pulled the rod out of the die. First time that's ever happened and I had a good chuckle, once I got the die removed and the case/rod out of the shell plate. Reinstalled the decapping rod and reinstalled the die and all was well.

This evening (Sunday) loaded another 100 rounds when I got home from seeing my mom and my middle brother, who live out of town. A lot of ammo? Not really, but loading 100 rounds in 25% of the time it USED to take me, well for this old dog-is pretty cool! :-) An old dog CAN learn something new...

Monday after work, I wiped down another 100 nickel cases and proceeded to load them up on the Pro 1000. Towards the end of the first 50 rounds, one of the cases was hard to resize, it didn't prime like the rest, so I pulled this one out to check. At least I TRIED to take it out-had to pry the case from the shell plate. Never had this on a 38 Special case, but looked like it tried to buckle at the bottom 1/3 of the case. I inspected each of these cases after wipe down with a cotton cloth and all looked fine. This case went into the scrap bucket, after I salvaged the live primer.

Second stoppage happened at around round #96, No primer fed from primer chute. Cleared shell plate and found a primer on it's side in front of the primer seating punch. Took a few minutes to clear, and then finished the last few rounds of the session.

400 rounds loaded so far, last 100 rounds coming up, with these cast LSW's. I don't normally load nickel cases, and looking forward to loading on brass cases with some of my other bullets. So far, I'm not disappointed in my 3 Pro 1000's. I've watched videos of some of the other brands, and they can all have the occasional mishap. In 400 rounds I've had 3 stoppages, Not a terrible ratio for a "newbie" to progressive presses. Having 40 years experience in reloading doesn't hurt either, LOL. Experience and patience are key to proper set up, and being alert and knowing the "feel" of the machine and knowing when something doesn't seem/feel right; and stopping to check/investigate makes a lot of difference in a successful reloading session.

Some of you have more experience than me, in reloading in general and with progressive presses. We all have our "likes" and "dislikes", but we all share a common interest and can learn from each other. And I appreciate each and every one of you on this forum, for sharing your thoughts, comments, experience and knowledge with me. Thank You, and Happy Thanksgiving to All :-)

I will not spend hours tweaking a reloading press that should run OK out of the box. I spent hours over 2-3 days trying to set up my friends Lee 1000. We both gave up on it. First thing was the primer feed broke in half, then added a spring to replace the faulty set up Lee had to return the die plate down. All in all, ***. I use the Lee 4 turret press and turn the dies by hand. The Dillon presses are much better.

Good assessment based on my experience. I had a pair of Pro 1000's running for quite some time. They served me well and paid for themselves in no time. Biggest issues I had was finicky primer feeds. (Hence the pair of them so I could leave one each set up in small and large feeds AND LEAVE THEM BE:-) I did have the usual occasional issues with mis-fed cases , partial primer seating, chain breakages, etc. My biggest concern was that there was just too much going on at one time so I would miss a "not perfect" round in the cycle now and then. ( No more than with the Dillon Square Deal I owned previous, BTW) Eventually, I sold them off and went with a pair of Classic Turrets. They run a little slower but give this old guy more control and feedback. They also work better for my frequent load development tasks where short runs of test batches and /or quick changeovers are the norm.

ps. I bought a Lee Load master a few years back out of curiosity (and mainly because it was 1/2 price.) Never did get that one to run worth a damn!

Thanks for sharing!

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Dave

I have 3 of the 4 Pro 1000's set up and running, and have not had to spend "hours" tweaking them to get them to run. I have taken my time to set them up, and have learned what to look for and how the press "feels" when it's working correctly; and also how it "feels" when it's not. I've had very few issues so far and have been totally satisfied with the results from each caliber-9mm, 40 S&W and 38 Special.

I bought the first Pro 1000 out of curiosity, after that experience I was contemplating buying a Dillon SDB and conversions for the 4 calibers I shoot. In the end, it was less expensive to buy the 4 Pro 1000's than the Dillon. If I ever decide to go "blue", it will have to be an XL650. Time, and future experience will tell...

Took me 15 min for caliber change, about an hour to do 500 9x18Mak and about 10 min cleanup. I love my 650

While it is true that I'm not a champion shooter but still I shot in 24 matches from Jan 1 to today. Add-in practice and plinking and I have consumed + 9000 rounds of 9mm. To some this is a lot to others it's just getting warmed up. Of those shooters that I see all the time at events all of them handload and none of them use jacketed bullets. I'm sure some do; it's just that those I speak with don't. It's either plated or coated.

I say this because a 3 station progressive press would not be useable to shooters like me who rely on using a separate seat and crimp die.

But to those with modest ammo needs and use bullets with a crimp grove then I see no reason not to live with the issues if budget is a consideration. Just understand it has it's limits.

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NRA Pistol & Reloading Instr.

I've had one in 38 since the mid-80s. I got one in 45 and one in 9mm soon after. Still using them regularly and other than the primer feed they have worked great for me. I do clean them every few thousand rounds which necessitates readjustment once tjey are back together, and i did use a dremel to put some extra notches on the post to agitate the primer feed. That seemed to help the primer feed but you still need to keep an eye on it. Just loaded 200 wadcutters with it the other day!

WATCH FOR SQUIBB ROUNDS WITH THE LEE loader. Every time you get a primer jammed up and have to stop and redo every thing, the odds of something going wrong will go up. After a few years of having primer problems, I got a Dillon press and have never looked back

Once I have an issue, I clear the shell plate, make the necessary adjustment and then re-start. I leave nothing to chance.

Tonight, after spending the afternoon with my mom; I set up to load the last 104 rounds of my 500 rounds of 38 special/158 gr. LSWC's. Tonight, 2 stoppages-something that had not happened in the previous 400 rounds. No primer from the chute; noticed that they were not feeding from the tray. This has not been an issue with any of the 3 Pro 1000's-till tonight Each of them has the newer triangular shaped tray, and until tonight, there has been no feeding issues. Once I gave it a few taps, everything was fine.

So, in 504 rounds-5 stoppages. Avg. of 1 stoppage per 100 rounds. Okay for first use and set up, for me anyway. Figured I'd tell the good and the bad, no matter what it was. I don't "sugar coat" anything, that way there is no BS

My last post to this thread was around Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving and before Christmas was a pretty frustrating time for me at work, and for those few weeks, I loaded 38 Special ammo with my Lee Handloading kit.

This past week, I found another box/500 of 38 LSWC's under my bench. So I started reloading with the Pro 1000 again. Just finished 400 rounds (over the course of the week, after work-about 50 rounds/evening). Again, just to de-stress from work; and it's been below zero here in Indiana so no trips to the outdoor range! At 50 rounds per session, pretty easy with no issues, until this evening. Had 1 primer seated upside down and 1 seated sideways. Then I had some brass Winchester cases that had primer crimps that had to be removed. Of the 9 cases I needed to load to finish the last 50 rounds, 2 primers ended up "kind of" sideways, even loading them one at a time. I use an RCBS Swaging die combo to remove primer crimps. Almost like the primer caught on one side. Once those 9 were loaded the rest loaded fine. Probably time for a good cleaning/lube, though I have kept it clean between sessions. So until today, no issues in 350 rounds, then 4 issues last 50. Again 1 issue per 100 rounds average. Not complaining, just reporting :-)

Ordered 10 MTM P-100 ammo boxes today from MidwayUSA, need those for this ammo I'm loading LOL. Still have 600 Cast Lead wadcutters, 500 Spear Swaged SWC and 450 Falcon Bullets 125 gr. Cast Lead FP to load, just not all at once! Then there's the 9's, 40's and 45's :-)

Happy New Year everybody!!

There is only one reason to own two progressive presses: small primers, large primers.

On any progressive, changing between primer sizes is aggravating -- even an upgraded Dillon 450.

45 ACP small primer brass should be banned! It is just so WRONG!

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S&WHF 366

ANY machine will work better for you if you first learn HOW it works; once you do that, the adjustment required to correct a condition will be obvious. I know many progressive metallic and shotshell loader owners who never did that and they continually have problems, regardless of the brand of loader. Unfortunately, some people just lack the mechanical aptitude to grasp why each action happens. That's not a slam on them for I'm sure there are things they can master better and faster than me.

I have nearly zero familiarity with Lee products - owned a set of their dies briefly - but one thing that I'm surprised not to hear problem reports about is a chain-operated component. MEC loaders for shotshells are in my opinion the most bang-for-the-buck loader on the market but the one component that just about every owner grumbled about was the chain-operated primer feed tray. After decades of those complaints, MEC finally redesigned that part, eliminating the chain.

Speed of loading isn't the only reason for upgrading to a progressive. I did it 20+ years ago for shotshells for that reason but five or so years ago did it for handgun cartridges to reduce the number of operating handle rotations. Both of my shoulders are afflicted with arthritis and torn rotator cuffs and the progressive loader has made reloading for my handguns fun again. (I even converted my progressive shotshell loader to electric operation so loading a shell in 3.8 seconds required just inserting a hull and wad and pushing two buttons.) After shopping the market, I bought a Dillon 650 with complete tool heads for the five handgun calibers for which I load. Yes, at $1,800 it was not an inexpensive proposition but I consider it an investment as it will last my lifetime and that of my son.

Ed

The problem with both lee regressives is not so much design but execution. Priming is terrible, too many plastic parts that break & wear, constant tweaking to keep it running. I want to reload when I go I to my shop, not fiddle with my press. Dillon offers me the best chance of that happening.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

The Dillons just work with a minimum of “fiddle factor”. I have tried others but the Dillons just work without reengineering which is why they are a favorite of high volume competition shooters.

So, I have taken a break from reloading for the past few weeks. I finished loading the last 100 rounds of the cast LSW's and received my MTM P-100 boxes. This week, I started loading the 500 Speer 158 gr. swaged SWC's over 3.0 grs. of Bullseye. R-P brass cases and Rem. 1 1/2 Small pistol primers. Again, 50 rounds after work per evening and no issues until last few rounds @ 350. Had a primer get sideways before the seating plug. Got that cleared and finished the last few rounds.

This evening, I thought I'd try something mentioned by some posters' above. I primed the cases prior to loading on the Pro 1000. I don't have the de-capping rod in the sizing die (I de-cap/tumble prior to loading). I couldn't believe how quick 50 rounds loaded in this manner! So, I've already primed the final 100 cases and will load those this weekend. Just thought I'd post an update and what I was trying.

I average about 120 38's an hour with a Lee turret, how much faster is the Pro 1000 for you?

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Front sight and squeeze

I loaded for over 20 years on a 3 hole Turret before moving to Pro 1000’s. I still use the Turret for 44/40 and I feel that it is actually faster than the 1000 once cases have been primed. I have a system where I rotate the Turret with my left hand while seating the bullet and with my right hand between seating and crimping (I pull the handle with my left hand and resize and reprise seperately) and find I have to slow down to seat the cases properly in the 1000’s shell plate.

But with both presses, once cases are resized and primed, I can run around 400 rounds/hour. Refilling the case feeder tubes is about the slowest action.