I remember an apology. Granted, you were the one effected and it's completly your right to feel however you like, but to present your version as fact about any companies overall service as opposed to your experienceis a little presumptious. I had a bad experience with Lyman once, but I know that isn't common of thier service or they wouldn't be in business. Does anyone else that has experienced good service with a company you don't like simply mistaken?
What's wrong with Lee reloaders?
- Thread starter 3rdpig
- Start date
- Status
Car Knocker
Member
Stinger,
Found the link:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=87394
I certainly have to agree with you about Lee's poor attitude and mishandling of this incident. To term Lee's response to you (posted at the above link by Stephanie Lee for her father, Richard Lee) as an apology would be a stretch.
Found the link:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=87394
I certainly have to agree with you about Lee's poor attitude and mishandling of this incident. To term Lee's response to you (posted at the above link by Stephanie Lee for her father, Richard Lee) as an apology would be a stretch.
Here is the truth, as best that I know it to be:
Virtually no person who has used a Dillon 550/650 and any of the progressive presses that Lee makes will say that Lee is even in the same league as Dillon. The difference in quality is vast. You do get what you pay for in this instance.
Virtually no person who has used a Dillon 550/650 and any of the progressive presses that Lee makes will say that Lee is even in the same league as Dillon. The difference in quality is vast. You do get what you pay for in this instance.
Car Knocker
Member
I missed Mr. Lee's second post. I concur that it was definitely an apology.
Fair enough - that's your opinion. Here is mine, there is no way you can come close to keeping up with my Loadmaster with your Dillon 550 and with your 650, you can't go any faster or produce any better ammo even though you have about 4 times the price invested. The difference is that I know how to set up the press as it was designed to run. In my opinion, Mike Dillon is a great marketer in that he strengthens it up beyond what is needed for ham handed operators, gives you a lifetime warranty which I've read several people take advantage of "even though it was my fault". I prefer to pay for my own mistakes as opposed to paying four times the price so that they will keep sending parts to others who break theirs out of ignorance.
I'm not anti Dillon - I'm simply responding to the ignorance of those who belive that the Loadmaster is a press that doesn't work as intended. Granted, there are those that can't run them and I attribute it to ignorance and then they move to Dillon who builds a press that overcomes that issue.
A Kia and a Mercedes both will get you to work on time, both will go at least 100 MPH, both are `safe' to drive. I make the same comparison between a Dillon 550/650 and a Lee progessive. The Kia will take a turn, but not with the effortless grace that a well designed, well built machine like a Mercedes will. A Lee press will crank out rounds, when its set up properly, but not with the effortless grace that a Dillon will. The Dillon makes reloading better, just like a Mercedes makes driving better. Overbuilt? Overengineered? Nope. Neither is the Mercedes.
I can crank out about 900 per hour on my Dillon 650 with casefeeder if I have all my primer tubes filled and don't have any pile ups with the casefeeder at the point where the cases drop into the tube. The rest of the system virtually never jams or goes out of adjustment. Like I said, you will find tons of people who have made the switch from Lee and all the others to a Dillon and are delighted with the switch, but you will rarely find someone who has loaded on a Lee and a Dillon who praises the Lee over the Dillon.
I can crank out about 900 per hour on my Dillon 650 with casefeeder if I have all my primer tubes filled and don't have any pile ups with the casefeeder at the point where the cases drop into the tube. The rest of the system virtually never jams or goes out of adjustment. Like I said, you will find tons of people who have made the switch from Lee and all the others to a Dillon and are delighted with the switch, but you will rarely find someone who has loaded on a Lee and a Dillon who praises the Lee over the Dillon.
rick_in_lb
Member
Well I started and still use the Lee 4 Hole Turret. I also use the Dillon 550B. If I did not like the Lee I would not still be using it. I have the Lee set up for 45's and on the Dillon 38/387, 40 and the 45's also. My son and I reload together at times that is why 2 presses. The Lee was inexpensive enought to get started with and still good enough to use today.
I read it all, his apology was hollow, as far as I know. This can only be answered by Stinger.
Did he ever apologize to you personally? He certainly insulted you personally.
Were the replacement parts you needed shipped, and were you charged for them. After all that, He should have sent you a new freaking press.
Is your account with Lee still flagged ?
Did he ever apologize to you personally? He certainly insulted you personally.
Were the replacement parts you needed shipped, and were you charged for them. After all that, He should have sent you a new freaking press.
Is your account with Lee still flagged ?
Since I started this thread a couple of weeks ago I thought I'd post an update.
I bought a Loadmaster from Midwayusa. While I intend to load mainly 9mm and .223 I ordered the press with .40 dies because that's the only caliber I shoot that I don't have dies for. It came with the dies, auto disk powder measure, primer feeder and case feeder for $189. I also bought the case collator, extra turrets, shell plates, through the expander dies for other calibers, etc. etc. All in all I spent about $350 and am now completely set for 4 calibers, 9mm, 38/357, 40S&W and .223. This includes case feeders, extra turrets so I don't have to dismount the dies, shell plates, powder through expander dies, a riser for the powder measure so I can use my non Lee dies, rifle powder die, and a universal decapper which sounded like a good idea.
I mounted the Loadmaster and spent the first half an hour just running it through with no cases, then with cases and no dies, just enjoying watching it whir, click and spin cases around and drop them in the bin. By the time I was ready to load for real it I'd found I broke the small plastic primer slider. Fortunately Lee provides a extra one in the spare parts kit. So I proceeded to set the dies, get the powder measure on and try running a single case through at a time. I loaded about 50 rounds this way and decided that the primers weren't set deep enough (they were flush, but I prefer to have them set slightly deeper), so I tweaked the setting and promptly broke the second primer slider. Too late I found one of Uncle Don's posts saying that if you're breaking primer sliders your primer depth is set wrong. My fault and I called myself some approriate names.
After a few days I got a few more primer sliders from Midway and was back in business. This time I set the primer depth according to the Lee video (and went back over all the other settings as well per the Lee videos and Uncle Don's notes) and was ready to rumble again. This time I had no parts breakages, and loaded another 50 going one case at a time. Next I started letting the case feeder work for me and started pumping out one round with each handle pull, about 5 seconds apart. I loaded the rest of the 500 .40 rounds that I got components for with no problems at all, not one sideways or upside down primer, just the occasional sideways case from the feeder, which takes about 3 seconds to pick out. Those 400 rounds really went fast and easy, I was grinning from ear to ear as I was watching them drop into the bin like clockwork.
With only 500 rounds under my belt my current opinion of the Loadmaster is that first, the press Must be adjusted correctly, it's not hard to do but you must do it or you'll have nothing but problems, it has little or no forgiveness built in. The docs that came with the press and tools aren't much to brag about, but the online videos are great and Uncle Don's notes are also very helpful. The Auto Disk powder measure is really good, very reliable and super consistant, at first the chain seems chintzy, but it's easy to adjust and works well. The press indexes really well and works smoothly. One thing, lubing the cases, even with carbide dies, makes a BIG difference in ease of operation. The primer feed also works well but there is NO feel in primer seating and the slider part can be broken without even knowing you're doing it. The depth adjustment is all important here, get it wrong and you'll break that part, get it right and it works very well. The case feeder is good but not great (but I'm still tweaking it), but it's still better than loading cases manually, I'm still getting one sideways case about every 20 rounds or so. The lip on the case being fed hangs on the base of the case above it and the feeder kicks the bottom out. So far I haven't found the adjustment point to completely stop this. The more cases that are in the tube (more weight pressing down on the bottom case) the more likely it is to happen. It never does it with 10 or less in the tube. I'm hoping I can adjust this out, but keeping less cases in the tubes may be the final answer, possibly even shortening the tubes and reinstalling the collator. The case collator works very well. Die adjustments MUST be made according to the Lee videos or Uncle Don's notes and not like how you'd do it on other presses or you'll have trouble. Consistant and full handle strokes are mandatory to proper operation, lubing the cases really helps with this. Using powdered graphite in the primer feed parts seems to keep the primers flowing properly, but to be honest, as soon as I set the primer depth adjustment according to the Lee video my problems with the primer feed disappeared.
After some initial trouble (my own fault) the press is running well and the ammo coming out is very consistant. I bet almost every new Loadmaster owner, no matter how careful, is going to break a couple of those primer sliders before understanding the press operation and adjustments and getting it running well. It's a 99 cent part, might be worth picking up a half dozen with a new press just to save the time and extra shipping costs.
So, at least to this point, count me a happy Loadmaster owner.
I'm going to setup and run 9mm next week, hopefully I won't have much hassles changing calibers now that I understand how to make the proper adjustments (and have a few spare primer sliders!)
Sorry to run so long, I hope this helps some others with their press decisions.
I bought a Loadmaster from Midwayusa. While I intend to load mainly 9mm and .223 I ordered the press with .40 dies because that's the only caliber I shoot that I don't have dies for. It came with the dies, auto disk powder measure, primer feeder and case feeder for $189. I also bought the case collator, extra turrets, shell plates, through the expander dies for other calibers, etc. etc. All in all I spent about $350 and am now completely set for 4 calibers, 9mm, 38/357, 40S&W and .223. This includes case feeders, extra turrets so I don't have to dismount the dies, shell plates, powder through expander dies, a riser for the powder measure so I can use my non Lee dies, rifle powder die, and a universal decapper which sounded like a good idea.
I mounted the Loadmaster and spent the first half an hour just running it through with no cases, then with cases and no dies, just enjoying watching it whir, click and spin cases around and drop them in the bin. By the time I was ready to load for real it I'd found I broke the small plastic primer slider. Fortunately Lee provides a extra one in the spare parts kit. So I proceeded to set the dies, get the powder measure on and try running a single case through at a time. I loaded about 50 rounds this way and decided that the primers weren't set deep enough (they were flush, but I prefer to have them set slightly deeper), so I tweaked the setting and promptly broke the second primer slider. Too late I found one of Uncle Don's posts saying that if you're breaking primer sliders your primer depth is set wrong. My fault and I called myself some approriate names.
After a few days I got a few more primer sliders from Midway and was back in business. This time I set the primer depth according to the Lee video (and went back over all the other settings as well per the Lee videos and Uncle Don's notes) and was ready to rumble again. This time I had no parts breakages, and loaded another 50 going one case at a time. Next I started letting the case feeder work for me and started pumping out one round with each handle pull, about 5 seconds apart. I loaded the rest of the 500 .40 rounds that I got components for with no problems at all, not one sideways or upside down primer, just the occasional sideways case from the feeder, which takes about 3 seconds to pick out. Those 400 rounds really went fast and easy, I was grinning from ear to ear as I was watching them drop into the bin like clockwork.
With only 500 rounds under my belt my current opinion of the Loadmaster is that first, the press Must be adjusted correctly, it's not hard to do but you must do it or you'll have nothing but problems, it has little or no forgiveness built in. The docs that came with the press and tools aren't much to brag about, but the online videos are great and Uncle Don's notes are also very helpful. The Auto Disk powder measure is really good, very reliable and super consistant, at first the chain seems chintzy, but it's easy to adjust and works well. The press indexes really well and works smoothly. One thing, lubing the cases, even with carbide dies, makes a BIG difference in ease of operation. The primer feed also works well but there is NO feel in primer seating and the slider part can be broken without even knowing you're doing it. The depth adjustment is all important here, get it wrong and you'll break that part, get it right and it works very well. The case feeder is good but not great (but I'm still tweaking it), but it's still better than loading cases manually, I'm still getting one sideways case about every 20 rounds or so. The lip on the case being fed hangs on the base of the case above it and the feeder kicks the bottom out. So far I haven't found the adjustment point to completely stop this. The more cases that are in the tube (more weight pressing down on the bottom case) the more likely it is to happen. It never does it with 10 or less in the tube. I'm hoping I can adjust this out, but keeping less cases in the tubes may be the final answer, possibly even shortening the tubes and reinstalling the collator. The case collator works very well. Die adjustments MUST be made according to the Lee videos or Uncle Don's notes and not like how you'd do it on other presses or you'll have trouble. Consistant and full handle strokes are mandatory to proper operation, lubing the cases really helps with this. Using powdered graphite in the primer feed parts seems to keep the primers flowing properly, but to be honest, as soon as I set the primer depth adjustment according to the Lee video my problems with the primer feed disappeared.
After some initial trouble (my own fault) the press is running well and the ammo coming out is very consistant. I bet almost every new Loadmaster owner, no matter how careful, is going to break a couple of those primer sliders before understanding the press operation and adjustments and getting it running well. It's a 99 cent part, might be worth picking up a half dozen with a new press just to save the time and extra shipping costs.
So, at least to this point, count me a happy Loadmaster owner.
I'm going to setup and run 9mm next week, hopefully I won't have much hassles changing calibers now that I understand how to make the proper adjustments (and have a few spare primer sliders!)
Sorry to run so long, I hope this helps some others with their press decisions.
I'm happy things are working out for you. As you have discovered, set it up and it works as designed. To cure your tipping cases, consider reducing the space between the top of the case and the bottom of the black assembly that they come out of . You are pumping out more at a time than I do, so I don't use the casefeeder that much unless I'm got large numbers to do. I'm also happy that the notes I've provided have been of use to you and as you have discovered, everything starts with properly set dies. I think that if the primer seating system was on the bottom of a stroke, many people would have less problems because it would be a non-adustable feature. Personally, I like it the way it is but it's because we understand how it works - as a result, everything is done at the top of the stroke.
JoseM
Member
Uncle Don...what notes are 3rdpig referring to? Is it in this thread or did you publish something seperately somewhere?
Sistema1927
Member
I don't know if I will ever have a need for a progressive. I just finished loading 100 rounds of .45 Colt using my Lee Classic Turret. Took a total of 40 minutes, and this included:
Changing out the turrets from .45 ACP to .45 Colt, and
changing the adjustment on the Auto-Disk, and
Filling the hopper on the Auto-Disk, and
Loading primers into the Safety Prime, and
weighing the first 3 rounds and 5 others at random, and
putting the excess powder back in the jar when finished.
Changing out the turrets from .45 ACP to .45 Colt, and
changing the adjustment on the Auto-Disk, and
Filling the hopper on the Auto-Disk, and
Loading primers into the Safety Prime, and
weighing the first 3 rounds and 5 others at random, and
putting the excess powder back in the jar when finished.
That's a good point and one I've been trying to make. Even though I enjoy my progressive and have gotten used to it's speed, I enjoy using my Classic Turret and contend that very few of us have a need to load more than the four to five boxes an hour that it can turn out. In my opinion, it's the best value going when considering cost, throuhput, ease of use and the inexpense of caliber changes.
Ford VS Chevy will always exist. But, I know first hand that if you are not gifted at following directions Lee will frustrate a person. As long as the ammo goes bang, who cares if it was Red/Blue? Certainly not me! I drank the Blue Kool Aid a long time ago! I will not recommend to people to buy anything but Dillon Blue. They flat out stand behind the product!
P0832177- you're right, the Loadmaster requires a user who's willing to work with it, it's unforgiving to an out of adjustment condition or to a user who won't learn to make full and steady handle strokes. A person needs to take the time to learn how it operates so he can understand what the adjustments actually achieve, that way he realizes what is needed when it's out of adjustment. A reasonable level of patience is also required when first getting started with it. Anyone who thinks they're going to take a Loadmaster out of the box and just start producing ammo is going to be ordering a Dillon by the end of the day, and I'm willing to bet they'll have some problems with that too.
I'm also willing to bet that the Classic Turret would be much more forgiving and may be a better choice for someone like this than any progressive loader, even one more forgiving such as a Dillon.
And while 500 rounds isn't much (I should be at 1000 by tomorrow evening) to base an opinion on, it seems to me at this point that if you're reasonably mechanically minded, have the patience and willingness to understand the machine you're using, that the Loadmaster offers a heck of a lot of bang for the buck and turns out quality ammo very quickly.
Sorry for the time out, we'll now return you to our regular schedule of Lee bashing.
I'm also willing to bet that the Classic Turret would be much more forgiving and may be a better choice for someone like this than any progressive loader, even one more forgiving such as a Dillon.
And while 500 rounds isn't much (I should be at 1000 by tomorrow evening) to base an opinion on, it seems to me at this point that if you're reasonably mechanically minded, have the patience and willingness to understand the machine you're using, that the Loadmaster offers a heck of a lot of bang for the buck and turns out quality ammo very quickly.
Sorry for the time out, we'll now return you to our regular schedule of Lee bashing.
Uncle Don said: "I enjoy using my Classic Turret and contend that very few of us have a need to load more than the four to five boxes an hour that it can turn out. In my opinion, it's the best value going when considering cost, throuhput, ease of use and the inexpense of caliber changes."
I couldn't agree more. I sold my two Lee Pro1000s because I wanted to consolidate my reloading and reload bottleneck rifle rounds on a single machine. I've got a Dillon 650 that I like a lot, but freely admit that it's overkill for my reloading volume, and the caliber changes are complicated. In retrospect (and since the Classic Turret wasn't available when I made this transition) I would have been as well off, and out a lot less money, to settle on it as my "single machine." I have pointed out to several people that an entire Lee Classic Turret, plus their Safety Primer Feed, can be had for the cost of a single caliber conversion kit for my Dillon 650. As for the people who complain about Lee's aluminum construction, hold a magnet to any of those big blue parts on a Dillon 650- and watch it fall off.
I have no complaints about my two decades loading on Lee Progressives. Most of the problems I had, in the beginning, were of my own making, and those that weren't were quickly put right by Lee customer service.
I couldn't agree more. I sold my two Lee Pro1000s because I wanted to consolidate my reloading and reload bottleneck rifle rounds on a single machine. I've got a Dillon 650 that I like a lot, but freely admit that it's overkill for my reloading volume, and the caliber changes are complicated. In retrospect (and since the Classic Turret wasn't available when I made this transition) I would have been as well off, and out a lot less money, to settle on it as my "single machine." I have pointed out to several people that an entire Lee Classic Turret, plus their Safety Primer Feed, can be had for the cost of a single caliber conversion kit for my Dillon 650. As for the people who complain about Lee's aluminum construction, hold a magnet to any of those big blue parts on a Dillon 650- and watch it fall off.
I have no complaints about my two decades loading on Lee Progressives. Most of the problems I had, in the beginning, were of my own making, and those that weren't were quickly put right by Lee customer service.
I loaded 500 rounds of 9mm last night on the Loadmaster. I had some problems that I didn't have loading .40, which were my fault. I didn't have the dies setup in a turret, so I ran through all the adjustments for both press and dies.
When I was loading the .40 I was using once fired WW cases. Loading the 9mm I had a totally mixed bag, including some military cases and dumb me didn't chamber the primer pockets, so I had some primer problems, mainly primers going "crunch" when pressed into the non chamfered pocket. Most of these are shootable, but some had to be decapped, chamfered and reprimed.
The case feeder worked better with 9mm than it did with .40, I had none of the bottom of the case kicking out like I did with .40. The .40 case feeder setup uses the large case feeder with the small case slider, which I think why it's less reliable than the small feeder with the small slider. I've got a modification in mind, and it just so happens I've got a spare small slider. I also had a problem getting the cases belled right, resulting in me wrecking about 10 of the copper plated slugs.
I would have made both these mistakes with any press, and hopefully won't make them again. Oh, and I ran the powder measure dry and had to pull some bullets. Dumb! I'm rusty and it shows.
But I still got the dies setup and adjusted and 490 9mm's loaded in about 2.5 hours, even with all my stupid mistakes. If I hadn't made any mistakes (yea, like that's ever gonna happen!) I could have easily produced the 500 rounds in less than an hour, specially if the dies setup and in a dedicated turret. With a properly set up press and dies and a skilled operator the Loadmaster cranks them out at a suprisingly fast rate.
I've also started preparing .223 cases. I set up the rifle case feed and the sizing/decapping die in an otherwise blank turret. The case feeder for the .223 works surprisingly well, better than I expected really considering how tall an narrow the cases are. It was pretty fast running them through just sizing and decapping. Now that they're sized, decapped, tumbled, trimmed to length and CHAMFERED (D'oh!) I'm going to run them back through the Loadmaster to prime, charge and seat the bullet. Since I don't have any slugs yet that will have to wait.
When I was loading the .40 I was using once fired WW cases. Loading the 9mm I had a totally mixed bag, including some military cases and dumb me didn't chamber the primer pockets, so I had some primer problems, mainly primers going "crunch" when pressed into the non chamfered pocket. Most of these are shootable, but some had to be decapped, chamfered and reprimed.
The case feeder worked better with 9mm than it did with .40, I had none of the bottom of the case kicking out like I did with .40. The .40 case feeder setup uses the large case feeder with the small case slider, which I think why it's less reliable than the small feeder with the small slider. I've got a modification in mind, and it just so happens I've got a spare small slider. I also had a problem getting the cases belled right, resulting in me wrecking about 10 of the copper plated slugs.
I would have made both these mistakes with any press, and hopefully won't make them again. Oh, and I ran the powder measure dry and had to pull some bullets. Dumb! I'm rusty and it shows.
But I still got the dies setup and adjusted and 490 9mm's loaded in about 2.5 hours, even with all my stupid mistakes. If I hadn't made any mistakes (yea, like that's ever gonna happen!) I could have easily produced the 500 rounds in less than an hour, specially if the dies setup and in a dedicated turret. With a properly set up press and dies and a skilled operator the Loadmaster cranks them out at a suprisingly fast rate.
I've also started preparing .223 cases. I set up the rifle case feed and the sizing/decapping die in an otherwise blank turret. The case feeder for the .223 works surprisingly well, better than I expected really considering how tall an narrow the cases are. It was pretty fast running them through just sizing and decapping. Now that they're sized, decapped, tumbled, trimmed to length and CHAMFERED (D'oh!) I'm going to run them back through the Loadmaster to prime, charge and seat the bullet. Since I don't have any slugs yet that will have to wait.
whitechevywhite
Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 7
lee load master
i'am new to reloading, i have purchased a kit and other extras. im reloading 243win. and 30.06 iv'e had to tinker a bit! but i like it so far. i was upset i could not buy a case feeder for my cases so i went to work to get the large rifle case feeder to work. what i come up with is a longer 1/4-20 bolt that mounts the case feeder,a piece of 3/8 Outboard Marine Corp. fuel line [i am a marine technician.] 'duck taped to the top of the case inserter.'there is better way to do this but it works for me' cases now feed.yeah the plastic parts are cheesey haven't broken any yet but there is a reason they send extras, i am sure of this.i would like to find a way to make a bullet feeder kit work for my rifle bullets. im going to be setting up to load 45acp soon and im going to buy the the bullet feed kit for 45 cal then i can see how it works and take it from there. any body like to shed some light on these subjects, no i am not going to buy another press, i refuse to give up!:banghead:
i'am new to reloading, i have purchased a kit and other extras. im reloading 243win. and 30.06 iv'e had to tinker a bit! but i like it so far. i was upset i could not buy a case feeder for my cases so i went to work to get the large rifle case feeder to work. what i come up with is a longer 1/4-20 bolt that mounts the case feeder,a piece of 3/8 Outboard Marine Corp. fuel line [i am a marine technician.] 'duck taped to the top of the case inserter.'there is better way to do this but it works for me' cases now feed.yeah the plastic parts are cheesey haven't broken any yet but there is a reason they send extras, i am sure of this.i would like to find a way to make a bullet feeder kit work for my rifle bullets. im going to be setting up to load 45acp soon and im going to buy the the bullet feed kit for 45 cal then i can see how it works and take it from there. any body like to shed some light on these subjects, no i am not going to buy another press, i refuse to give up!
:banghead:
bfox
Member
If you haven't try here .
http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/
Good Luck with the Bullet feeders .
They are Cool when they work .
But in my case they were more trouble than they were worth .
http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/
Good Luck with the Bullet feeders .
They are Cool when they work .
But in my case they were more trouble than they were worth .
LiveLife
Member
My bullet feeder:
chineseboxer
Member
I have never used anything other than my Lee Classic Turret press and it has been simple to use and has not given me any problems. i am loading 9mm and .223. One thing I will say is I am not really in a rush so I have never even counted how many pcs per hour. It seems everyone is hung up on speed and paint color. I haven't really seem a bad review of the LCT. For the $$ and my needs it was the perfect purchase.
evan price
Member
Nearly all of my gear is Lee. There are a few pieces and parts that are RCBS or Lyman but only a few.
If you're the kind of person who wants to open a box and push a button and VIOLA it works, Lee progressives are NOT for you. If you have no idea how to clean the carburetor in your lawn mower, Lee progressives are not for you. If you have enough money that you can afford to just toss it at a problem to make it go away, then Lee gear is probably not for you either.
I've said it so many times- some guys want the John Deere or Kubota lawn mower. Some guys do fine with the Sears lawn mower. A commercial operator needs commercial gear. A homeowner with 1/4 acre does fine with Sears. Some guys have the money and want the best. They buy Dillons. I'm not bashing Dillon's products. They are good, solid pieces of kit. But if all we had to reload on was Dillon, lots of people would not be able to afford to reload because of the upfront cost involved.
Lee's market niche is building a machine with the features of high end gear and the cost of K-mart. Sure, a lot of plastic and aluminum and some things seem sort of kludgy. But with appropriate tweaking they work. Once you get used to how they like to run, they work fine. I've loaded tens of thousands of rounds on my Pro-1000; Sure I've had a few primers get mangled. By and large, that is mostly an operator error, either in setting the timing of the shellplate advance, or due to a dirty primer chute or punch pin pocket, or letting the primers get low in the feeder.
If I was shooting competitive events, needing thousands of rounds every month, I'd have a Dillon 650XL with case and bullet feeders on my bench.
Since I shoot maybe five hundred a month now, the Lee does fine by me.
Seriously, I'm not writing this to try to sway over anybody who doesn't like Lee. You are entitled to your opinion. You are probably right. For you, Lee stuff is junk. You can't make it work, and it won't work for you. Buy a Dillon or a Hornady or whatever you want.
For someone on a budget who wants to get into reloading, you could do far far worse than a Lee turret press. The newer classic cast 4-hole turret is a heck of a press. As strong as an RCBS or anything else out there. The progressives are tricky at first. Most of the problems involves setup; caliber changes are where you can get it wrong if you don't time the shellplate right. I wound up buying complete carrier assemblies for each caliber I would normally change; this means they stay setup right and it takes only a few minutes to change calibers.
If you need any assistance making your mind up, feel free to post. Good luck with whatever you choose.
If you're the kind of person who wants to open a box and push a button and VIOLA it works, Lee progressives are NOT for you. If you have no idea how to clean the carburetor in your lawn mower, Lee progressives are not for you. If you have enough money that you can afford to just toss it at a problem to make it go away, then Lee gear is probably not for you either.
I've said it so many times- some guys want the John Deere or Kubota lawn mower. Some guys do fine with the Sears lawn mower. A commercial operator needs commercial gear. A homeowner with 1/4 acre does fine with Sears. Some guys have the money and want the best. They buy Dillons. I'm not bashing Dillon's products. They are good, solid pieces of kit. But if all we had to reload on was Dillon, lots of people would not be able to afford to reload because of the upfront cost involved.
Lee's market niche is building a machine with the features of high end gear and the cost of K-mart. Sure, a lot of plastic and aluminum and some things seem sort of kludgy. But with appropriate tweaking they work. Once you get used to how they like to run, they work fine. I've loaded tens of thousands of rounds on my Pro-1000; Sure I've had a few primers get mangled. By and large, that is mostly an operator error, either in setting the timing of the shellplate advance, or due to a dirty primer chute or punch pin pocket, or letting the primers get low in the feeder.
If I was shooting competitive events, needing thousands of rounds every month, I'd have a Dillon 650XL with case and bullet feeders on my bench.
Since I shoot maybe five hundred a month now, the Lee does fine by me.
Seriously, I'm not writing this to try to sway over anybody who doesn't like Lee. You are entitled to your opinion. You are probably right. For you, Lee stuff is junk. You can't make it work, and it won't work for you. Buy a Dillon or a Hornady or whatever you want.
For someone on a budget who wants to get into reloading, you could do far far worse than a Lee turret press. The newer classic cast 4-hole turret is a heck of a press. As strong as an RCBS or anything else out there. The progressives are tricky at first. Most of the problems involves setup; caliber changes are where you can get it wrong if you don't time the shellplate right. I wound up buying complete carrier assemblies for each caliber I would normally change; this means they stay setup right and it takes only a few minutes to change calibers.
If you need any assistance making your mind up, feel free to post. Good luck with whatever you choose.
chagasrod
Member
My Loadmaster comes out of adjustment all the time, when it's not the case feeder system is the bullet feeder system.
Like many other people i agree to say that Lee makes an affordable product so people can get started in the hobby.
I am slowly changing all my equipment to RCBS products.
I Just bought a Single Stage (Rock Chucker) and soon will be replacing my Progressive Loadmaster for the RCBS Pro 2000.
I Just think that RCBS has more quality than Lee.
Like many other people i agree to say that Lee makes an affordable product so people can get started in the hobby.
I am slowly changing all my equipment to RCBS products.
I Just bought a Single Stage (Rock Chucker) and soon will be replacing my Progressive Loadmaster for the RCBS Pro 2000.
I Just think that RCBS has more quality than Lee.
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