Lee Pro 1000 limited use questions

[Five of Clubs]

I see from another thread that we have some people that are very experienced with the Lee Pro 1000 and I have some questions. (I'm trying not to jack the other guys thread). I have been loading about 5K rounds per year of .40S&W on a single stage press and it's getting old. I need to hand prime all my cases though because one of my race-type guns has light springs and if the primer isn't completely seated I'll get a light strike every time. So, what I would like to do is use a Lee Pro for just the resize/decap and mouth expanding functions. I'll then prime by hand and use the single stage to seat the bullet. That should cut my work in half.

It seems like the priming and powder drop functions of the Lee Pro can be problematic, but I plan on completely avoiding this. So can I do this? Can I use the case feeder properly, resize, bell the mouth, then have the brass and spent primers go where they need to? I'm assuming I wouldn't even have a seating die in place, and possibly not the powder dispenser or the priming apparatus either. It may sound goofy but it would be a big help for me.

 

[ants]

My personal advice...

I would suggest:

• Collate brass into case feeder, decap & size with the powder shut off. Let the brass ride around and drop down the ejection chute into your bin.
• Prime your brass. Collate back into case feeder.
• With sizing die backed out and powder turned on, charge case and make a visual check as you place the bullet for seating, with seating die set for crimp of your choice.

The powder measure works great and is infinitely adjustable with the Adjustable Charge Bar. Folks who aren't very mechanically inclined have trouble with the ACB, but it's not that hard to use. I get charges with 1/2 tenth for both Limited and Production loads.

As delivered, removing the powder measure will disable the expander. So you can't bell the mouth with the powder measure removed, unless you obtain the insert that locks it down. Since the powder can be shut off and on by rotating the hopper, it is very convenient to just shut it off when you're resizing, then turn it back on when it's time to charge and seat.

You make your own choices, but I've loaded thousands of rounds using that procedure, not only pistol and revolver but also rifle ammo. I usually use the P1000 the way it was designed, and it works well for me. I use the procedure outlined above when working up new loads and want to prep and prime the brass separately for consistency.

 

[Roccobro]

I think it is a very viable option. And if you don't think it fits your bill, you can sell it for almost what you paid for it.

Last I saw MidwayUSA had them on sale too. Not sure if this discount would work on top of the sale price but couldn't hurt to try...

Justin

 

[Five of Clubs]

Ants and Roccobro, thank you very much. That procedure may actually work better than what I had planned. On top of that, I need some other stuff from Midway and I can likely utilize that discount while I'm at it. Much appreciated.

 

[Roccobro]

Anything to feed the addiction.

Justin

 

[ants]

Anything to feed the addiction.

 

[LiveLife]

Five of Clubs, I would not recommend flaring the case on the initial deprime/resize cycle because the flared cases would not feed properly in the case feeder on the second cycling to powder charge and seat the bullets.

The case feeder depends on "riding" of case bottom on top of the case neck - flaring may cause bottom of the case to catch, causing jams.

I flare on the second cycle when I powder charge. Works for me.

 

[RVenick]

I do something similar with 223. I resize/deprime em on the Pro 1000, trim, chamfer & deburr, prime on a breech lock press with the safety prime, then run em thru the Pro 1000 to charge and seat bullet. I usually will prep about 300 cases at a time so I utilize my time at each stage. I agree with bds I would bell at the same time you charge em. I don't shoot competitively so my pistol loads I just run em all progress on the Pro 1000. The only gun that gives me any problem is my M&P 40SW with primer seating depth and that is rare. So after I load em I visiually check to make sure the primers are seated at least flush. I know I will probably get blasted for this but, the ones that are not seated deep enough I use my breech lock to finish seating them.

On another note from your comments it appears you have reservations about the Pro 1000 and a lot of people put down the Pro 1000 but, once you get it figured out it works just fine

 

[Five of Clubs]

Thanks bds and RVenick. If I end up trying to charge and seat on the press (and I'm sure I will), then I'll do it your way. I have obviously read some about the quirks of the Pro 1000, but I just feel like I can make it work for what I want to do with it. At a minimum it sounds like I can resize and bell the case mouth. Any more than that would be a nice bonus.

 

[Mike Kerr]

You can use the Pro 1000 or the Loadmaster in a number of different configurations - without the priming system - or powder drop- or deprime - etc.

You are very correct - you will drastically reduce your time, especially if you only utilize the parts of the system that work for you. Don't worry if its a Hybrid method - Just stick with what works.

I used both the Pro 1000 and Loadmaster for years and years on a Hybrid or self designed basis. Well worth the money.

Regards,

 

[LiveLife]

When I load 45 ACP on the Pro 1000, I do use the large pistol primer attachment as I do not experience the feed problem I have with small pistol primers. Since the case is also easier to resize, I fully utilize the progressive features (case collator/feeder, deprime/resize, prime/flare/powder charge, bullet seat/taper crimp).

For 9mm and 40S&W, I deprime/resize separately on a single stage press and hand prime all cases. I have used the small pistol primer attachment, but my average success rate is about 90-95% uptime with some frustration thrown in.

To be honest, I found reloading in steps to be much easier and more relaxing for me since I deprime/resize and hand prime while watching TV in the living room (I use a 2'x3' portable reloading bench on casters). When I am ready to finish reloading 9/40 primed cases, I take the bench into the reloading room and it is a breeze to just powder charge/flare case and seat bullet/taper crimp - takes very little effort and fast using the case collator/feeder.

I don't mind reloading 45 ACP all in one step because the case is not that hard to resize and I don't have the primer feed issue.

It's simply a tool we can choose to use however we want to - it sure beats single stage press reloading if you shoot a lot.