Anybody Use a Lee Pro 1000???

[partyboy6686]

Anybody use a Lee Pro 1000? Im looking in to buying a reloading press. I have no expirience relaoding but got many friends who do that are willing to teach me everything. I want to get a progrressive loader so i can reload a decent amount in a hour or so. So any reviews or comments about this loader will be a deciding factor on buying it. Link below shows a pic of the loading press im talking about.

Lee Pro 1000 Progressive Press 45 ACP 45 Win Magnum New in Box 90638 | eBay

 

[rem788]

I have one. Worked ok for a while but then I constantly had to adjust, tweek and repair everything. Its back in it's box now. I replaced it with a Hornady LNL. No regrets. Spend a little more and get a quality progressive, you won't regret it.

 

[kludge]

How many rounds do you shoot a month or year?

I would start with the Lee Classic Turret. You can use it as a single stage press while learning and then use the auto index to make about 250 rounds and hour.

If you really want a progressive, then at minimum, pony up to the Lee Loadmaster, it's a much better press. Also in the Pro 1000 you only get 3 stations, in the Loadmaster you get four or five depending how you set it up. But many will say it's not a true 5-station press.

 

[x10]

I had one for years, Loaded so much ammo on it that I wore the back support bar Flat and I still think it was a mistake, I wish that I had bought the square deal B the day it came out.

Here's why,

There are wear items on the 1000 that when they go they seem to go all at once and you end up with a whole press full of partially complete ammo, I ADMIT that I SHOULD have been better, but I wasn't and sometimes those rounds got into the ammo box and in the years that I had it I had sevaral loads not crimped, several squibs, and one double charge. True you can't blame the machine but there were more opportunites for it because it was breaking down on a reagular basis, The drive gear is plastic and if a round gets tight it almost always damages it, then you pull the shellplate apart to fix, They sell them in packs of 3, thats a hint.

The sizing on the lee dies is not near what you get out of hornady or dillon, the crimp is inconsistant because there is so much slop in the press,

I even broke the handle one cold morning.

After loading for 3-4 years I bought a hornady projector and all the sudden I knew what a good press is capbable of , then I bought a sqd from dillon and understood why they are the best on the market.

If your going to reload 100 rounds every 3 months then the Lee might be for you.
If you plan to reload in quantity then invest in a dillon.

 

[Bang-bang]

I have the lee 1000 loaded more than 3k with no prboblems . For the price it's good , got more cash to spend, Get the Dillion IMO.

 

[chuddly]

i have a pro 1000 and I have loaded around 6k rounds on it...no issues for me at all.

 

[CCF]

I used one for many years. If I had to do it over again, I would save some more money and buy a Dillon. I simply did not realize how much crap I was going through to load ammo on the 1000 until I bought a Dillon.

 

[rimfire_crazed]

I've loaded gobs of .38sp on my Pro 1000. It does a good job.

That being said, If I had the chance to do it again I probably would go Blue.

 

[45calibre]

for an additional $30 you can get a loadmaster which is way better. i have about 3k through my loadmaster.

 

[bmyers]

Learn on a single stage and when you're ready invest the money on a good one. Find a used dillon 550 or 650 or a hornady lnl (just as good IMO).

 

[partyboy6686]

Well I guess going with all the comments I should save my money and buy a Dillon. Sounds like thats what ill do. My Friend has a Dillon press I like it.

 

[chasinfire]

I looked into that press, the reviews wern't as good as some others. When I get to that stage, I will go with something else since I will have it for a long time. The price difference will be justified IMO

 

[mac45]

If you're dead set on a progressive, I highly recommend the Dillon 550.
Had mine for over 20 years, have loaded many thousands of rounds with absolutely NO issues. The only downside is that it's a little spendy. Especially when you start buying tool heads for additional calibers.
If the price is an issue, or if you only want to load a couple hundred rounds a month, take a look at the Lee Classic Turret, also a great little press.

 

[45calibre]

loadmaster

 

[Sirshredalot]

I bought my pro 1000 as my first press and I mostly dont regret it.

I took everything very slow at first...and it was a slow process....I crushed a few cases...seated some bullets WAY too deep..and had a squib load.

I started doing 5 round cycles just to get the feel of things.

I have since ran over 3000 45acp rounds through it and (other than that first squib load) I havent had a single problem.

ALOT of people complain about the priming system, but thats mostly because they dont pay enough attention. SMALL PRIMER 45's and CRIMPED POCKETS EXIST!..watch for them!..Usually when someone buys a cheaper press...theyre shooting cheaper factory ammo...Blazer brass has small primers and so does some federal....Seller and Bellot brass has never loaded primers well....so i throw those cases out If im running range brass.

Also the primer tray "mouth opening" where the primers enter the chute needs to be radiused or primers can "bridge" the gap.

Another good tip is to DONT BE GENTLE with it...at the top and bottom of each stroke give the handle a firm push/jab....to seat the primers fully and to "jiggle" the primer tray and powder feeder....this really helps thing be more reliable.

One more helpful tip is to tumble your brass...the smooth and shiny "slippery" case really help the press run smoother.

I had the typical teething problems like others have, but they are gone now and the press works great....I also now have a lee classic cast turret.

No regrets here...good press for the money....its no dillon but I would buy another for sure.

My "blue" buddies scoff at the Lee, but it does what i want it to.

God bless
-Shred

 

[chuddly]

I bought my pro 1000 as my first press and I mostly dont regret it.

I took everything very slow at first...and it was a slow process....I crushed a few cases...seated some bullets WAY too deep..and had a squib load.

I started doing 5 round cycles just to get the feel of things.

I have since ran over 3000 45acp rounds through it and (other than that first squib load) I havent had a single problem.

ALOT of people complain about the priming system, but thats mostly because they dont pay enough attention. SMALL PRIMER 45's and CRIMPED POCKETS EXIST!..watch for them!..Usually when someone buys a cheaper press...theyre shooting cheaper factory ammo...Blazer brass has small primers and so does some federal....Seller and Bellot brass has never loaded primers well....so i throw those cases out If im running range brass.

Also the primer tray "mouth opening" where the primers enter the chute needs to be radiused or primers can "bridge" the gap.

Another good tip is to DONT BE GENTLE with it...at the top and bottom of each stroke give the handle a firm push/jab....to seat the primers fully and to "jiggle" the primer tray and powder feeder....this really helps thing be more reliable.

One more helpful tip is to tumble your brass...the smooth and shiny "slippery" case really help the press run smoother.

I had the typical teething problems like others have, but they are gone now and the press works great....I also now have a lee classic cast turret.

No regrets here...good press for the money....its no dillon but I would buy another for sure.

My "blue" buddies scoff at the Lee, but it does what i want it to.

God bless
-Shred

I couldnt have said it better my self. If you looking to get into a progressive press its great to test the waters. Sure its probly not as great as the Dillon but it also cost about 1/3 of what the Dillon does.