Progressive Press Due Dillagence

easyrider604 said:
I think posters should be specific about which model Lee press they dislike.

The Pro1000, yes I agree it is a big challenge, at least the one I had 23 yrs ago.

If the Loadmaster, a little patience to spend some time fiddling with the primer feed (which BTW Lee has put out a new primer feed mechanism said to eliminate the primer alignment problem) and basically understanding how everything in the LM works, will save a lot of grief later.

The Loadmaster needs to be understood well by the operator. Not being derogatory or insulting but just realize that people are all different. If a prospective reloader lacks some patience and mechanical skill, I recommend looking elsewhere, or you will probably not be happy with the LM.
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Bwahahaha.... I'm a mechanic by trade amongst several other things... I'm about as patient as father time himself...

I buy things like stanley twist ratchets because they are cheap and function on par with far more expensive tools...

I buy Canadian tire wrenches @ $40 a set because I know they work as well as my $350 Mac wrenches for most tasks and if you break em so what! They warranty them.

I do ignorant little tasks all day like cutting clutch brakes out of fuller transmissions while molten grease drips down my sleeves burning the skin off with it.

I have had $250,000 vehicles in so many pieces you would need to find a hood emblem to know what it was and put them back together without so much as a squeak or second look...

One thing I have learned is the value of quality and the cost of economy and boy I tell ya what....I don't care if a Load Master was given to me by Richard Lee himself... No way I would put up with a machine that requires constant fixing, tinkering, adjusting and just plain poorly designed.

I setup my dillon, I check everything twice, I run off a couple thousand rounds, I clean it and set it up for the next caliber... But that's what you get when you buy a machine built for that purpose without economy and compromise added into its core design like the Load Master.
 
Again.. I will say.. I've seen tons of stuff in the forums about Lee presses and how people would never have one even if 12 virgins offered them eternal pleasure.

I can only offer 1 thing.. Just today... I loaded 700 rounds of 45 ACP in 2.5 - 3 hours. No mussing no fussing.. I had a couple of trip ups that required the compressed air can. Both not the machines fault. First time.. F'n small pistol brass. Second time, not paying attention to the primers, go to low and stopped feeding.

My biggest problem was dies that weren't setup right. Not enough flair on the case and bullets kept falling over and crushing he brass. Took me about 10 min of screwing around to reset my dies. Would have had the same problem on any press.
 
If you like the lee presses all good! And you can get one for cheap to see if reloading is your thing. I just got scared off after reading forums and pages that are out there by lee owners specifically to help users get their machines to work. All I should have to do to get my machine to work is follow the directions and use the supplied equipement. So I went with a Dillon and I am happy.

I do understand thought that some have great experiences with Lee progressives. Inhave heard nothing but good stuff about their cast turret and single stage presses.
 
All I can say is that I know two people with lee progressives and they are both asking me about my dillon because they are fed up of messing around with their lees. One guy evens primes off the press because the primer system is so wonky on his lee - kinda takes the speed out of progressive loading
 
I have a 550 on my benchif I am in a hurry I can do 5-600rnds/hr. my wife has a 650 it dies not come with a casefeeder which is $250 on top of the press (stupid not to get one with the 650)

They are both good the 550 is easier to setup and costs half as much if you count the casefeed and.my wife does not seem to load any faster than me
 
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