There have been a few threads recently about progressive reloading presses, so I thought I would share my experience with one. Until recently, I reloaded my .45ACP with a Lyman turret press. Faster than a single-stage? Yes. Fast enough for me? No. For a while, I was wondering if it was worth my time reloading. I was about to buy a case of Wolf ammo when I stumbled across the Lee Pro 1000 Progressive.

These presses are inexpensive: I was able to get mine with everything to reload .45ACP for $130. I got mine from http://www.midwayusa.com. They have them already set up for a number of popular calibers (.223, 9mm, .45acp, 32acp, 32s&w, .380acp, 38super, 38 special & .357mag, .40s&w, 10mm, .41 rem mag, .44 special, .44 mag, and .45 long colt) that you can buy ready to go. Midway USA is local to me, so I didn’t have to pay shipping, but I did have to pay tax.

For my plinking loads, I use cast lead bullets, Hodgdon HP38 powder, and CCI large pistol magnum primers. The Lee Pro 1000 only works with CCI and Winchester primers. Enough supplies to load 1000 rounds of ammo cost me $100, the press cost about $140, so this first 1000 rounds cost me $240. That’s the same as the case of Wolf I was considering, so the press will pay for itself in savings.

I got the press home, assembled and I then got ready to load some ammo. The shell feeder assembly is the most time consuming part of setting the press up. I can fit 80 .45ACP shells in the hopper tubes. Lee makes a “case collator” basically: it’s a funnel that fits on top of the 4 feeder tubes. You dump in the shells, shake it around and the shells fall into the tubes primer down. It sells for about $10 or so, definitely on my list of things to get.
The Lee Auto-Disk powder measure is a volumetric powder measure that works rather well, and it only feeds powder if a shell is present. The primer feeder only feeds a primer if a shell is present as well. The shellplate is a 3-position one, and any shell can be removed from any position.
During the first 50 rounds, I had a few screw-ups trying to get used to seating the primers on the down stroke. Overall, I like the way it does it: it’s the only process that happens on the down stroke, so you can feel the primer seating and if there is a problem, like the crimp needs to be reamed out.
After I got the hang of how it worked, I was able to load the entire 1000 rounds in a couple hours, once again, stopping to load the shell feeder is a pain in the ass, so the case collator should solve that issue.

Now, I only reload .45acp. If you reload multiple calibers, you may want to step up to a better press that changes calibers pretty easily, If you load multiple calibers that use the same shellplate, its easy. The upper die holder removes and swaps out very easily. If you have to swap out the shellplate and the primer feeder though, it starts to be a real PITA.

Overall, I feel it was worth the investment. Its inexpensive, easy to use (with some practice) and its FAST.

Pretty cool.
Its basically the Lee turret press with a bunch of addons. Better price point then a Dillon. Wonder how much it will cost to convert a turret.

Yes, it is basically the same as the 3-hole turret press made by Lee. By the time you try to convert your turret though, you are probably better off buying the whole thing.

Another thing to note: this press only has 3 stages. The powder measure flows through the expander die and the expander die actuates the powder. What I am saying is you pretty much have to use Lee dies with this thing and if you want a separate die for crimping, you are SOL

I am using the Lee turret now.
I decap and resize in a single stage
Tumble
Trim
Hand prime
Then powder charge, seat, and crimp in the press.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=306697&stc=1&d=1180401956
At the bottom of the first downstroke, a shell is loaded into the shellplate.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=306698&stc=1&d=1180401956
On the first upstroke, the shell goes through stage 1: decap and resize

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=306699&stc=1&d=1180401956
The shell plate rotates on the downstroke

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=306700&stc=1&d=1180401956
At the bottom of the second downstroke, a new primer is loaded

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=306701&stc=1&d=1180401956
On the second upstroke, the shell is expanded and filled with powder

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=306709&stc=1&d=1180402632
At the bottom of the third downstroke, place a bullet atop the shell

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=306710&stc=1&d=1180402632
On the 3rd upstroke, the bullet is seated and crimped and on the fourth downstroke the completed round is ejected.

Hoping to hear an update on how this loader has worked for you in the past 2yrs, I just stumbled across a deal on one that all I am planning on using it for is .45ACP.

I still use it and it still works great. I have used CCI, Remington, and Wolf primers without issues.

Get the Lee Case Collator to load the shell tubes. Its definitely worth the extra $.

Saw this loader in the latest Midway flier, its price got my attention, but knowing nothing about reloading I'm a bit skeptical. What exactly is it giving up to be priced so low? What does it not do that the Dillon does for 4 times the price? So, add on the shell colator, at the price for these don't worry about changing calibers, get one for each and still be ahead $$$$. Changing calibers can't be any easier than moving your stool in front of the appropriate machine rather than chaning dies etc.

Guess I'm one of those old fashioned types, if it sounds too good to be true...

Seeing this post has shed a bit of light, but I still need convincing.

That appears to be the standard Lee 3-hole turret. If so, for about $40 plus shipping, you could have a different caliber.

Off to do some research.

Okay it is the same turret. So, turret about $9, 3-die set about $22. There may be some other pieces that are relatively inexpensive. Shipping extra.

The down side of this is that it is designed primarily as a pistol reloader. Short rifle rounds 2 5/16 length max can be done. Anything longer is a no-go apparently.

The down side of this is that it is designed primarily as a pistol reloader. Short rifle rounds 2 5/16 length max can be done. Anything longer is a no-go apparently.


Downside for some, for me I currently have only one rifle, a .308 that I shoot often enough I could get a single stage for.

Right now I am content with feeding my 12 gauge lots of rounds and also my 45. Where I live currently in MI it is illegal to deer hunt with a rifle.



Glad to hear you didn't have issues with the primers (seems to be 45 issue only), that is the only complaint I have come across on the web a few times.

. Where I live currently in MI it is illegal to deer hunt with a rifle.




GAAAAY!!!!. If you're on private property what does it matter anyway?(assuming you're on private property)

They are worried about travel distance of the bullet and more densley populated area in the southern part of the lower penninsula. I can't remem the cutoff line, but it is somewhere above Flint/Detroit straight across the state.

Saw this loader in the latest Midway flier, its price got my attention, but knowing nothing about reloading I'm a bit skeptical. What exactly is it giving up to be priced so low? What does it not do that the Dillon does for 4 times the price? So, add on the shell colator, at the price for these don't worry about changing calibers, get one for each and still be ahead $$$$. Changing calibers can't be any easier than moving your stool in front of the appropriate machine rather than chaning dies etc.

Guess I'm one of those old fashioned types, if it sounds too good to be true...

Seeing this post has shed a bit of light, but I still need convincing.
I have a buddy that lives down the street, who owns this press. I've loaded about 50 rounds on it myself, too.

For the price, it's a good unit.

You're giving up the ability to load rifle on the press without having to do some steps elsewhere, and you're losing the ability to seat and crimp in seperate stations in pistol. So my favorite addition to my press for loading pistol ammo, Lee's Factory Crimp die, won't work.

I would love to bring his Pro 1000 over to my house, and take a side-by-side photo. It'd kinda look like a dana 60 sitting next to a Samurai axle. It's pretty clear which one will last the rest of your life, craking out 1,000 rounds a week.

But you know what?
Not everyone has $600-1,200 to drop on a 550 or 650.
Not everyone NEEDS to be able to load 1,000 rounds in an hour, so that they only spend one night reloading 2,000 rounds each month.
Not everyone shoots enough that a $1,200 investment in reloading equipment will pay for itself within 6 months.

I've recommended the Pro 1000 to several people locally, who want to start loading, but have a $200-400 budget, max.

Oh, and the case collator funnel and the bullet feeder setup should definitely be bought by everyone with a Pro1000. They both work pretty damn well.

Lee Pro 1000 only works with CCI and Winchester primers.
Here's the deal with this, too. The press will load Federal primers just fine. Obviously, they're the same size as everyone elses, so the unit will feed them.

But be careful. Federals are loved by guys with light hammer/main springs because they're very sensitive, and easy to detonate. Which is also true when you're pressing them into a case while loading.

When you cook off a primer in a Dillon 550, it's 3 inches away from the other 99 primers that may be in the press, and they're shielded by a metal tube. One cooks off, which scares you bad, but that's it.

On the Lee, well, they're all touching. If you set off one, they all go together. And there's just a thin plastic cover between them and you. THIS is why they warn you not to use federals.

That said, I know guys who've forced a primer, and set off a winchester, too. You have to respect them. If it doesn't feel right, stop trying to make it work.

On another note, the 650 has a similar issue to the Lee. The primers are close enough together that lighting off one while seating it, can often detonate every primer in the press. On the 650, if that happens, five go off underneath a 1/4" plate, and the rest blow upwards out the top of the primer mechanism. Which is why the primer feed tube is a surprisingly thick steel tube.

I know of one guy who set off about 40 Federals in his 650. After changing his shorts and cleaning the scorch mark off the ceiling, Dillon sent him a whole new primer assembly under warranty. Apparently they only rate them to survive one blast.

What does it not do that the Dillon does for 4 times the price? So, add on the shell colator, at the price for these don't worry about changing calibers, get one for each and still be ahead $$$$. Changing calibers can't be any easier than moving your stool in front of the appropriate machine rather than chaning dies etc.


I believe this press would be equivalent to the Dillon Square B press which is $350.
The Square B has 4 stations.
http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/customize-reloader.html

Here is the Lee Pro 1000 for $159.
It has 3 stations.
http://www.midwayusa.com/Search/Default.aspx#lee%20pro%201000____-_1-2-4_8-16-32
More:
http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/lp1000.html

Good point, Silverzuk. The SDB will let you size and crimp in two seperate operations.

But there are three setbacks with a SDB that aren't present on the Lee:

First, there's no provision for any sort of casefeeder. Lee's hand-funnel setup is not nearly as fast as the casefeeder for the 550 or 650, but the Dillon casefeeder costs more than the entire Lee press, and the Lee hand-funnel thingy works really well.

Second, the SDB doesn't use the standard 7/8" threaded dies that everything else does. You're stuck with Dillon's own special dies for that specific press. Every other press in the world (Rockchucker, Lee Pro, Dillon 550/650/1050) uses interchangeable dies.

Thrid, the SDB only loads pistol ammo. The overall stroke is too short for rifle ammo, and remember those funky dies? They only make pistol dies for it anyway.