New Lee Progressive Press

[68Dave]

Has anyone tried or even seen this new press? Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro Progressive Press | MSS by Lee
I have a cast Turret that works fine , but It would be nice to complete a loaded round in one cycle of the handle.
Price is not bad, add a few shell plates and maybe a case feeder.
I don’t need more speed really, I just like the mechanics of how a progressive works. Thoughts, opinions?
Thanks,
David.

 

[Wise_A]

I'm really thinking about it. Btw:

Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro Progressive Press | MSS by Lee
Midsouth has it for $103.

 

[MyDads38]

Bought mine for $106 from Reloading and Shooting Supplies | Midsouth Shooters Supply Was easy to set up out of the box. Have 9mm installed but haven't loaded anything yet. Just got the new Safety Prime to install. Case feed will probably be next. One thing I noticed is how smoothly it operates. Hope to load a few rounds next week. I have shell plates coming for 38 Spec. and 45 auto along with more bushings. Will keep you posted...

 

[dr. mordo]

I've been so impressed with my Auto Drum I'd buy it in a second if I was in the market.

 

[fredj338]

Has anyone tried or even seen this new press? Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro Progressive Press | MSS by Lee
I have a cast Turret that works fine , but It would be nice to complete a loaded round in one cycle of the handle.
Price is not bad, add a few shell plates and maybe a case feeder.
I don’t need more speed really, I just like the mechanics of how a progressive works. Thoughts, opinions?
Thanks,
David.

The jury will be out for awhile on the new Lee, their others have been pretty spotty. Yes, a progressive isn't just about speed/production but about doing less work. 1000rds on a turret is 3-4000 handle pulls. On a good progressive, 1004.

 

[BC38]

Does this press use swappable die plates (a.k.a. turret plates)?
If so are they the same 4-hole plates that I use in my Classic Turret?
If the die plates are compatible, then buying one of these is a complete no-brainer for me....

EDIT: A quick check on their website answers the question. The Breachlock Pro doesn't use a removable turret plate (unfortunately), so swapping calibers requires swapping all 4 dies individually. Using the locking collars will simplify the swap over, but it still won't be a super quick-n-easy swap like with my turret. DARN!

 

[Eddietruett]

I've been so impressed with my Auto Drum I'd buy it in a second if I was in the market.

I’ve heard people knock the auto drum but I have 2 mounted on separate turrets and found them to be extremely accurate and dependable. Also very easy to adjust.

 

[tlawler]

Does this press use swappable die plates (a.k.a. turret plates)?
If so are they the same 4-hole plates that I use in my Classic Turret?
If the die plates are compatible, then buying one of these is a complete no-brainer for me....

That’s what I was thinking too. Eleven bucks for each plate and
never having to pull the dies is great. Too good to be true if they would just swap right into a $100 progressive.

 

[dannyabear]

But you got to buy all them adapters, for 12 calibers, that is way too much additional for me

 

[BC38]

But you got to buy all them adapters, for 12 calibers, that is way too much additional for me

Actually you might not need one for every caliber. Several of them work with multiple calibers. For example:
Plate #4 works for 222, 223, 380 Auto, 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag
Plate #11 works for 44 Special, 44 Magnum, 45 Colt
Plate #19 works for 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 38 Auto, 41 AE

I load 8 calibers and would need to buy 5 plates. On the Lee site they are $25 each - though I'm sure they would be less from some of the discount sellers.

I sure wish it had the swappable turret plates...

 

[rwsmith]

I would do well....

I'd do well just to do 9mm. I go through a LOT of that.

 

[1sailor]

I'm happy with my Lee turret press but I'm going to keep an eye on this. I wouldn't mind kicking out an extra 150 rounds an hour for a minimal cash outlay. Still, I'd like to see some feedback from multiple users before getting involved. Especially since my turret press is so easy and reliable.

 

[dannyabear]

Actually you might not need one for every caliber. Several of them work with multiple calibers. For example:
Plate #4 works for 222, 223, 380 Auto, 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag
Plate #11 works for 44 Special, 44 Magnum, 45 Colt
Plate #19 works for 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 38 Auto, 41 AE

I load 8 calibers and would need to buy 5 plates. On the Lee site they are $25 each - though I'm sure they would be less from some of the discount sellers.

I sure wish it had the swappable turret plates...

I meant the adapters that hold the dies

 

[Collo Rosso]

Want to see how this goes. For the price I'd set one up to do 9mm and then leave it alone.

 

[BC38]

I meant the adapters that hold the dies

AHHH, I see. You're talking about the Breech Lock Bushings.

At $11 a pair and 4 needed per caliber those could really get expensive. Basically twice the cost of the $12 turret plates for my Classic.

So to be able to load everything I'm loading with my turret I'd need 4 extra shell plates @ $25 each and 14 pairs of the breech lock bushings @ $11 each.

That's $154 worth of accessories to use with a $106 press.

Of course if I only wanted to use if for two or three of my most used calibers (9mm, 38, 357) the cost would be a lot more reasonable. Still, $47 worth of bushings and shell plates per caliber adds up fast.

 

[Sevens]

Unless I am missing something...

Why would you ever need another one of those breech-lock die collets? I mean, the press comes with them and dies screw in to them. Dies screw in and out for the last hundred years before the breech-lock collars were invented... could you not simply screw in the 3 or 4 dies you wish to use and never buy another collar?

When Lee debuted the Breech-Lock concept a handful of years ago, that was my thought exactly.

Surely we can screw dies in and out, yes?

 

[Kiwi cop]

I’ve heard people knock the auto drum but I have 2 mounted on separate turrets and found them to be extremely accurate and dependable. Also very easy to adjust.

I run three auto drum dispensers, one each on my .45 and 9mm progressive presses and the third goes back and forth between the .38 progressive and my Turret press (44/40 and .32 auto).

They are so much more reliable than the old auto disk setup I am thinking I really need a forth to complete my setup.

As to the new press: A better priming system than the old Pro 1000, although if you do not already have a safety prime on your Turret it is an added cost (I don’t but I like the look of it).

Does not use the 3 stage pro 1000 shellplate, which again is added cost for the press.

Wooden handle on the lever. I’ve worn out the synthetic one on both my .45 and 9mm presses. They are currently wrapped with duct tape. Hope I can get a wooden one to replace Them.

I did find a YouTube video unboxing the Auto Breach setup which said US $150 shipped ($200 NZ plus additional shipping and taxes). And undoubtably a better press than the 1000.

 

[BC38]

Unless I am missing something...

Why would you ever need another one of those breech-lock die collets? I mean, the press comes with them and dies screw in to them. Dies screw in and out for the last hundred years before the breech-lock collars were invented... could you not simply screw in the 3 or 4 dies you wish to use and never buy another collar?

When Lee debuted the Breech-Lock concept a handful of years ago, that was my thought exactly.

Surely we can screw dies in and out, yes?

Absolutely. If you want to take the time and go through the hassle of re-adjusting all the dies every time you switch calibers.

The idea is to adjust the dies one time while they are in the bushings and lock them down so that then you can just swap them bushing and all - without having to fiddle with re-adjusting them every time. Same reason I have a turret plate for each set of dies I use in my Classic Turret.

Unless you only load one caliber on the press, a good part of the time you save with a progressive gets eaten up in re-adjusting everything at every caliber change. Most of us don't particularly enjoy the fiddling around part of reloading and would rather put that time into cranking out ammo.

 

[medic15al]

I run three auto drum dispensers, one each on my .45 and 9mm progressive presses and the third goes back and forth between the .38 progressive and my Turret press (44/40 and .32 auto).

They are so much more reliable than the old auto disk setup I am thinking I really need a forth to complete my setup.

As to the new press: A better priming system than the old Pro 1000, although if you do not already have a safety prime on your Turret it is an added cost (I don’t but I like the look of it).

Does not use the 3 stage pro 1000 shellplate, which again is added cost for the press.

Wooden handle on the lever. I’ve worn out the synthetic one on both my .45 and 9mm presses. They are currently wrapped with duct tape. Hope I can get a wooden one to replace Them.

I did find a YouTube video unboxing the Auto Breach setup which said US $150 shipped ($200 NZ plus additional shipping and taxes). And undoubtably a better press than the 1000.

I would to make it more convenient. I switched my older auto disk to the Auto Disk Pro and no longer have the problems I had with powder leakage, changing disks is easy with powder hopper cut off and brass thumb screws instead of unscrewing the entire hopper. Can change discs now without empting the powder hopper.

 

[Sevens]

Absolutely. If you want to take the time and go through the hassle of re-adjusting all the dies every time you switch calibers.

Loading since 1989 almost exclusively with Lee dies and the original rubber o-ring die lock rings that so many seem to despise. In handgun chamberings... I think I am set up for 16 different? Typically only doing about 10 common calibers these days.

Sharpie black medium point marker:
--Index line vertically on the die body
--unaltered index line on my press... first one a Lee O-frame Challenger and then a Lee Classic Cast somewhere around 2006 maybe. Index line on the Classic Cast since the day I took it out of the box. Haha... in the interest of full disclosure, I darken the ink line every two years or so...?!

Probably approaching 150,000 loaded with Sharpie marker index lines handle all but the absolute fine tuning. It was only about six years ago that I began logging production numbers.

I'll never understand why some make simple things far more difficult than they need to be. I must have almost 30 sets of loading dies. Sharpie market and a black index line versus Breech-Lock collets? For what amounts to maybe 75 or 80 dies?!