Load Master

[fredj338]

Well, one man's junk is another man's treasure. If I were spending $250 for a Lee, I would save & spend another $140 & get at least a Hornady LNL. Far better machine, far ebtter resale if yo uhate reloading. Most Lee gear will work, but you have to invest quite a bit of time tinkering to get it to run. If you just want to try reloading, get the Lee Classic Turret instead. One of the better designs Lee has come out with & a better tool than any of their progressives IMHO.

 

[mstuhr]

Howdy

Howdy,
I'm with trauma1. I have three Lee 1000s, two of them very old and have been quickly rebuilt a time or two over the years.
Skip claims he has never had one. Some of the others knocking them may or may not have had them either.
I have loaded ammo on mine that was shot in several Bianchi cups,half a dozen Masters (Twice in top 20 once when it was still a big match,) USPSA limited and open nats, Area championships (3rd A in area 3) and all the practice and local matches it takes to shoot the bigger ones.All loaded on 1000s
I would have bought better equipment over the years if the Lees would have been a burden or a handicap.
The old .45 machine holds 80 rounds of components and can go from full to empty in about 4.5 minutes. I don't load at that rate all the time but it will do it.
Everyone claims the Lee stuff requires a lot of attention but I have not seen it. If I start to load and my machine is not running right I take the time to make what ever minor adjustment is needed and go back to work.
I start with a heavy bench and a maintenance routine. I raise the ram and lube the index rod and turret before I start to load. I keep the priming system clean and every now and then I might have to time the shell plate which takes seconds.
I would not trade the 1000s for 550s or Square Deals and that is not that they are bad. They are slower and when I was shooting as much as I used to extra time on the press was time I could have been shooting.
If a person takes the time to get acquainted with the Lee presses they can be a real value in every department but snob appeal.
Thanks
Mike

 

[Skip Sackett]

Mike<
You are right, I have never owned a Lee progressive. I have one of their Turret presses and couldn't be happier with it. All of my dies except a small few are Lee.

While it is true that I have never owned one of the 1000s, I did have a friend that did. From all I could gather watching him, very secretive individual, was that he spent a lot of time building some new part to replace this original one or vice a versa. He finally sold his and went to a Square Deal B as that met his needs perfectly.

He is a one caliber shooter, 45ACP and nothing, not even the XL650 loads that caliber any better than that little press.

No snobbery here. I use and like Lee stuff. Just not going to buy something that looks deficient when it is on the shelf. Someone asked once here on the forum: "What was the worst press you ever bought?"

My reply was simple: "Never bought one. Since I have some engineering abilities, I checked out the press' design features before I bought them and left the poorly designed ones on the shelf."

 

[mstuhr]

Howdy

Hi Skip,
I bet if you came by and tried a properly set up and tuned 1000 you would like it.
I could have bought anything I wanted but I started with the Lee and it always did me a good job. I often thought about a Dillion but it always came down to "Why".
I don't think there is a thing wrong with Dillion either. I just have had lots of good service from my 1000s.
I did have a buddy who bought one, because I had them, and he went on and on about how bad a machine it was. I told him I'd come and look at it and he had it mounted on a old kitchen table. We set it up and anchored it down and it went right to work.
I have had a Square Deal and let it go. It was OK.
I had a 450/500 series Dillion on loan and I wouldn't trade a 1000 for it either. Again, not bad but I can load good quality ammo faster on the 1000.
Thanks
Mike

 

[Skip Sackett]

Well, Mike, I am in Missouri for the next day or two. Maybe I will set that up for the next time we come to get our "runt" from college.
This is going to be a flying trip to get her home for the holidays but I do have 3 1/2 more years to make this trip!

 

[mstuhr]

Yikes!

Howdy Skip,
Sounds like you need to save all the money you can! I have nieces and nephews in schools all over the state but nothing I have to pay for.
I don't see how folks do it any more.
Some time when you are coming through, holler. Maybe we can take in a pin match at 67 Gun Club or catch something at Arnold Rifle and Pistol Club.
Come on by and I'll put you on all three of the 1000s (Anybody see a Tom Sawyer moment coming?) Seriously, if you have some extra time let me know ahead as much as you can. I can be hard to locate in warm weather.
[email protected]
314-540-0305
Thanks
Mike

 

[rsrocket1]

If you are new to reloading, unless you are mechanically oriented and very slow to get frustrated, you should not start with a Lee progressive. If you already know of the little annoyances in the Lee progressives or live close to someone who uses one regularly, the I would have no hesitation in endorsing either the Pro 1000 or Loadmaster (the Loadmaster is the better press). A tinkerer would not be frustrated tweaking the press in order to make it run initially and keep it running. An experienced mentor should be able to quickly find your problem and get you back running with minimal frustration.

A single stage press will never gather dust in a reloader's bench even years after going full throttle into progressive presses. There are always uses for the press whether it is decapping, swaging, bullet sizing, seating, etc. The Breechlock Challenger is a very competent press that will easily last a lifetime. The Classic Cast is comparable to the LnL Classic and the RCBS Rock Chucker and should last many lifetimes.

If you aren't sure you want to go full progressive, seriously consider a turret press. You still do one operation at a time, but you do everything on one cartridge at a time and don't have to work in batches. I would recommend the Lee Classic Cast over the Deluxe and certainly over other companies turret presses which are way more expensive. It's output is between a single stage and a progressive. You can also disable the auto indexing and run the press as a single stage.

I have a LnL AP and love it. Before using it, I picked up a used Breechlock Challenger kit and learned on it for about a month. Once I got my loads developed and knew what to look for in my reloads, moving up to the progressive was very easy. The biggest advantage of a progressive is also its greatest hazard. With one stroke, you perform 3 to 5 operations and you crank out ammo in a hurry. You can also get into trouble in a hurry if things don't work properly and you don't know it. Primers not feeding properly, powder not dropping automatically, cases not feeding can all lead to a big mess or even worse, danger for your gun and you at the range. None of the items from the single stage kit have gone to waste. I still use the press for rifle rounds and for developing new loads.

 

[flash60601]

I am not the local LEE fanboy - - but!

I own one and am thoroughly satisfied with it and its output. BTW, I load 380ACP, 9x19, 38SPL, 357MAG, 40S&W, 45ACP, & 44MAG on it. 30-Carbine is in the works.

I bought a LEE Loadmaster fifteen, maybe seventeen years ago. Took it home and bolted it down to the bench and began cranking out top-quality ammo right away. To be sure, I have been loading since the 60's, and had previously cranked out a gazillion rounds on an old Pacific Super-C press. Experience counts, by having some idea about what is supposed to be happening.

Being mechanically inclined and used to working on precision equipment, I followed the directions in the manufacturer's literature for set-up and operation. I think that my first problem came after twenty or twenty-five thousand rounds, when I changed calibers and forgot to change the primer seating pin.

Normal preventive maintenance and the checking EVERYRTHING for proper alignment and adjustment before using it and after changing calibers, components or charge were what has made it a successful operation for me.

There are people who will tend to skip over the obvious parts of ANY enterprise, and wind up being not so much in love with the results, and will blame it on the machine or process, but will not take ownership for themselves of their own shortcuts.

Just my experience, I have turned out thousands of rounds with this precision machine since I bought it, and with no regrets. This thing works for me.

The only problems I have ever had with reloading, particularly with the Loadmaster, have been directly traceable to ME.

Flash

 

[jproffitt]

I use an RCBS Rockchucker that I really like. It cost more than the Lee but it's definitely heavy-duty. Single stage, easy to set up and use. A friend of mine has a Lee progressive that he sometimes has some trouble with, but nothing major. Everybody says you should start out with single stage til you get some experience and that is true. It's a lot more fun reloading if you can get started and get in a groove without worrying about something jamming up.