New RCBS Pro 2000 ordered

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Chuck Perry

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After much research and deliberation, I have ordered an RCBS Pro 2000. I went with the the manual index. I am a former Dillon 650 owner, and like the idea of being able to control the shell plate on my own.

I ordered a few shell plates and tool heads. Is there anything else I am going to need to start loading when it arrives?
 
Chuck,

I ordered the Pro 2000 Auto advance and received it just today. It comes with a single die plate, a case activated powder drop, a Uniflow powder measure w/a micrometer adjust, a bullet tray, a cartridge bin, a case bin, a primer strip loader, a bundle of primer strips and the instructions. Knowing what comes in the box with the press should help a great deal in picking what extra you need.

I'm guessing yours will probably have the same stuff. I know the Uniflow is a good powder measure for rifle powder and many pistol powders. You might want to add either a Lee Pro Auto Disk or two or a Dillon powder measure or two for powders that don't feed good in a rotating cylinder measure. You know what the Dillon needs for powder through activation. For the Lee's, should you choose them instead, you'll need a Lee die with powder through expander.

I've used all the measures described above with great results. The Lee works as good as the Dillon, but lacks the larger powder reservoir.

I hope this helps. I didn't mention dies because that was obvious.

Best Regards,

Dave
 
Chuck Perry, Congrats on buying a great press. I have a Pro 2000 with auto-index. You will really grow to like it over a Dillon 650 in time. I learned to load progressive style on a friends 650 and 550B. I found the Pro 2000 to be a better press.

I have had very good reults with the Uniflow. I found it more consistent than the Dillon slide bar type measures. The micrometer feature it comes with is awesome. I load everything from 9mm to .308 Win on it. Almost all handgun powders are spot on except Unique. Unique may vary +/- 0.1 grains. With course/stick rifle powder like IMR 4895, I occasionally have +/- 0.1 grains, with once in a blue moon variance of 0.2.

I have never loaded anything requiring more powder charge than the small cylinder capacity. You will be shocked at how many extra parts come with the Pro 2000. Dillon requires you to buy them all.

Just remember to clean the APS every once in a while. If you use LEE dies, you will accumalate small brass shavings inside the APS over time. Once every 3 to 5 thousand rounds, I take the APS apart and clean it. Cleaning the APS is faster than a Dillon primer swap..
 
Great press, had mine for over nine years, I also like the manual indexing better the the auto. Just remember there is a learning curve so take it slow. When everything is adjusted just right it will run like no other press can and do it without fail. That thing is really tough.

About the APS, as I have mentioned here befor, use some "caned air" to blow the crud out after each session and you will not have clean it, hardly ever.
 
To better give you advice and help, tell us what you are planning on loading. Pistol, rifle, or both.

About the Uniflow Powder Measure, be sure to completely clean the packing lube from its insides, drop tubes, cylinders, etc. or it will not throw powder well.

Also, use the cylinder with the small powder reservoir for everything you can. Obviously, if the powder charge exceeds it, you'll have to use the big cylinder. Small charges thrown from the big reservoir tend to be less accurate and uniform than that thrown from the small one.

RCBS NOW(finally) makes a powder thru expander for each pistol size. (and they are good ones) What that means is, you can move the Uniflow to station 2 (for pistol only) and there prime, expand, and charge in station 2.

Why would you want to do that? Because then you can:

Size/Deprime in Station 1
Prime, Expand, Charge in Station 2
Powder check or Lock-out die in Station 3
Seat Bullet in Station 4
Crimp in Station 5.

And if you end up buying a bullet feeder or at least bullet feeder dies (see $28 bullet feeder thread), optionally, in stations 4 & 5:

You can feed bullets in Station 4
And Seat and Crimp in Station 5.

The important point is...a Lock-out die is pretty important for pistol loading.

Also, If you plan to load rifle, you will need a trimmer and case prep tools.
 
If you opt to use powder-through expanders, you will eventually want to purchase from RCBS parts, a CAPM Powder Die, lower brackets with screws, and lock nuts, for each die head populated with pistol dies. That way its super fast and simple to just unscrew the thumb screw on the measure, pull the spring, lift the PM body off, dump the old powder, and transfer the powder measure to another powder die. Then just refill & reset the mic adjustment. Then throw your new charge.
(CAPM means case-activated powder measure)

I already had a Uniflow with my Rock Chucker, so I have two. I use one for Pistol (small cylinder) and the other for rifle.
 
Pictures

Chuck please post a picture or ten when you can. Dave it would be cool if you could post pictures - or if you already have - a link.

My Blue bench with its touches of Red would look good with a Green accent piece before I goof up and get a RCBS melting Furnace.


regards,
:):):)
 
I load mostly pistol, but will be doing some rifle here and there as well. I wanted a five station press so I had the most options for die setup. It came down to the Pro and the LNL. I read about many issues with the LNL priming system. I can't seem to find a bad review on the Pro 2000 though, with the exception of the auto index spilling powder when the shell plate moves while loading short pistol rounds that are near full with powder. The Dillon had a tendency to do that too. That was reason one for selecting the manual advance. Number two was that with the Dillon, if I did some bone head thing and had to run a piece of brass through a particular die again, it was a major pain. Reason three for the Pro was the ease of use and switch over of the priming system. The LNL seems plagued with priming woes, while RCBS users report none. Too, I really like that the RCBS is really easy to switch primer size on. Another bad memory from the Dillon; hated switching that sucker over from one size to another!
In regards to the powder thru expander dies, I am a huge fan of the Redding expander dies (Lyman M die copy). Does RCBS make a unit that duplicates this type of expander for the PTE dies, or is it just a traditional flare?
 
...

Just throwing this out there as well, does the PTX die work well with the PRO?

I'm leaning towards the pro2000 as well, was just hard finding as many owners to talk about as the other major brand progressives.

Chuck you may have convinced me, I already have a RCBS turret kit for sale.
 
I'm not aquainted with Lyman "M" expanders or Reddings either. Here's a picture of an RCBS .45 acp version:
152982.jpg

Somebody is asking for pictures? Here's my setup:

IMG_0904.gif

IMG_0553.gif
OOPS! That one slipped in by accident.:) Changing primer size is as easy as looking at this picture.......except I look.....longer....the airplane is beautiful!;)
IMG_0431.jpg

Peter Eick has the best Pro 2000 review on the web. His review is why I bought a Pro 2000 after playing with a friends Dillon 650 for a couple of weeks. Not sorry, for my needs. I load too many different rifle and pistol calibers to be happy with the Dillon....as good as it is for some things.

Another informative review is Here.

BTW, I started with a manual Pro 2000....I ordered the auto advance kit at the same time with the idea, I'd start with the manual and get to know the steed before I advanced. The learning process was about two days. I installed the autoadvance kit the first weekend.....so much for that.:eek: Still there are people to keep do it manually. The pro 2000 is the ONLY 5 station press where you can have it both ways. The APS system is just super, once you learn it....I'll never go back to pecking tubes.

I have to warn you...I'm not one to keep anything stock. But I share what I learn with everybody. Over on AR15.com they have a "gateway thread" where they keep threads worth keeping. I have a few on the RCBS 2000 mods I did, and also on the Hornady bullet feeder I added. The RCBS stuff is near the bottom of page one. The bullet feeder is on page 2. Here's the link to the Gateway. Just page down to near the bottom to "RCBS Stuff".
 
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My press arrived earlier this week. I have spent much of this weekend playing around with it. So far I have loaded around 1,000 rounds between two different calibers (327 Fed Mag and 40S&W). Overall, I am very happy with the performance of this press.

The press arrived nearly free of defects. The metal portion of the APS strip loader has some rust on it. Nothing bad, but it definitely doesn't give one pride in ownership. I may ask for a replacement and see what RCBS does.

I purchased and installed the press with the RCBS Accessory base plate. This is an aluminum plate that is drilled and tapped with mounting holes for all RCBS bench mounted equipment. The plate is mounted to your bench with four wood screws. After the base plate was secured, I mounted the Pro 2000 to it using two bolts and washers. If I want to switch out to the Rockchucker, all I need to do is unbolt the Pro and bolt in the RC in it's place with those same two bolts. Very nice system, they should advertise it better!

Changing shellplates is mostly quick and easy. The detent spring/ball setup takes some finess. I crushed and twisted the spring the first time around. Got it back into operational shape, but I'll be calling RCBS for one of these. Something of note on RCBS customer service: they're only open Monday thru Thursday. Not a huge deal, but who's closed on a Friday?

I am so far not a fan of the Uniflow powder measure. The pistol rotor came with some thread damage, which in turn damaged the threads on the micrometer screw body during the first install. Note to self: if something doesn't thread right by hand, don't apply a wrench. :banghead:The screw body doesn't thread all the way in, which causes some issues. Especially frustrating is the inability now to use the spacer washers to move the micrometer display around so I can see it. The directions caution you to not leave powder in the hopper, as it can etch and damage the hopper. Emptying the measure isn't fun. You have to dismount the powder measure from the assembly, then try to dump the powder out. I say try because the powder (Win 231) really stuck to the inside of the hopper and measure assembly. I had to use cannned air to blow it all clear, which just resulted in powder flying everywhere. That was the final straw for the Uniflow. I tried my Hornady LNL powder measure and surprise, it was a drop in fit. I have all the gizmos for the LNL, and am quite familiar/comfortable with it's operation. I am going to run with it for now, and may revisit the Uniflow after I've replaced it's bad parts.

APS priming is AWESOME!!! I had one strip go bad and jam in the press, but other than that the biggest problem is that I don't have enough strips. The loader tool works well and is alot less hassle than filling Dillon tubes. Switching primer sizes is a helluva lot easier than on the Dillon 650. All you need to do is swap out the threaded primer punch assembly, which is easily accessible. Basically you're unscrewing a bolt and putting another one in it's place. Very easy, very quick.

I am glad I got the manual index version. With the 650, I always felt like I was struggling to keep up with the machine. The manual index allows me to set my own pace. Nothing moves unless I move it. I am not cranking out the rounds like I could on the 650, but I feel I am making a better product. Speed will eventually come as I develop my rhythm with the Pro 2000.

If you are considering the Pro 2000, read up on it, and if it's operation and features seem like what you want, order it. There are no hidden gotchas that will make you regret your purchase. The press is well thought out and ruggedly constructed. It works, plain and simple. Wish I had bought one years ago!
 
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I thought the APS system was stupid and looked unreliable. When I got my RCBS 2000, I had planned to get a tube primer system refit kit. Once I tried the APS system, I loved it. I am sure once the patent runs out Dillon will adopt it to their presses.
 
I thought the APS system was stupid and looked unreliable. When I got my RCBS 2000, I had planned to get a tube primer system refit kit. Once I tried the APS system, I loved it. I am sure once the patent runs out Dillon will adopt it to their presses.
Click to expand...

Same here. I thought... This is silly. Then I tried it.
 
I have the hand APS priming tool and like it.

i also have the strip loader and I am still figuring on the most efficient way to use it.
 
Chuck,

Couple of tips on the APS system... every few hundred rounds or so, stick the nozzle of a compressed air can in where you load the strips, and blow it out. Keep that system nice and clean, and it will keep running.

Also, if after a while you start to notice the strips not advancing, adjust the aluminum cam block (the piece of curved aluminum that actuates the APS system when the ram is lowered) in slightly. After a while, mine worked a little loose, and wouldn't completely advance the strip anymore. A simple adjustment got everything back and running correctly.

And, of course, if anything ever jams up (you mentioned the one bad strip), never, EVER try and pull the strip out the other way... it's a one-way street on the APS system. If you can't push the strip out in the correct direction manually (with the ram raised about half-way up), then disassemble the press (remove shellplate, remove the little allen-head screws holding the plastic plate with the spring levers on it, then remove the three larger allen-head screws holding the APS top plate on) and fix the jam-up.
 
i also have the strip loader and I am still figuring on the most efficient way to use it.
Click to expand...
I load in 200 primers at a time into the strip loader. Using CCI primers, I put a box on the left-side, and slide the sleeve off. Then I put another box next to that on the right side, and slide the sleeve off. Pull the trays up, and GENTLY shake the unit side-to-side to flip all the primers anvil-side up. I've seen videos of people who shake their trays too much, causing right-side primers to flip back. If they do that, you're shaking too hard.

After that, place the clear cover on, depress the handle about 3/4 of the way, and slide in an APS strip from the left, with the hooks going in last. You push it in until just the hooks are sticking out, then you can release the handle and all the pins align with the holes in the strips.

Now, with my left thumb putting slight pressure down on the hooks (to keep the end of the strip below the level of the "shelf"), I tilt the back of the loader down, and tilt side-to-side to fill the strip with primers. With large primers, this works very well. With small primers, sometimes you get two primers trying to occupy the same hole. Tilt the back up slightly, so that the the primers not already seated in a hole slide back down, but not so much that you dislodge primers already in a hole. This takes some time to get down, but once all 25 holes are filled, push down on the handle to seat all the primers, let up slightly, and use a new strip to push the old strip out, from left to right. Repeat 7 more times, then start with two more boxes of primers.

That's how I do it, anyway... I mostly use CCI primers, and I'm almost out of my "box of 100's", ready to move on to the ones pre-loaded in APS strips. Occasionally I load in Federal match primers, and due to the construction of their packaging, I can only load 100 at a time.

I try to keep 500 primers at a time ready to go in APS strips, and it only takes me about 10 minutes to load 500. 500 rounds is about my limit for a loading session, so that works out well.
 
Walkalong said:
The heck with the plane GW, that Remington 600 is sweet. :)
Click to expand...

Yes, it is a rare bird these days...like the P-40. That one is a .243 I bought in 1972 for $110 new! The thing is amazing....shoots inside a nickel with the original barrel and my reloads....still. In the early days it was a dime.........hmmm........maybe its not the used barrel. My eyes and trigger finger are a lot older. The Mac girl btw has to be 50 years old now. A shame, damn shame...the P-40B Warhawk however still looks the same.:D When I was 25, I got to sit in the cockpit....I was born in the wrong time.
 
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Tips I have for using the strip loader.

1. Start a strip....press the lever down just enough so the strip slides, the using a razor-point Magic Marker make a line on the loader along where the lever is next to the green plasic. Then all you have to do to find the "sliding point" is to lever down to the mark. No more trial and error guessing.

2. Using the Magic Marker, blacken the alignment marks on each end of where the strips go. Makes it faster and easier to get the strips in the right place side to side. BTW its faster to just hook two strips together. Fill one then lower lever to the mark and push in the second one.

3. The most common problem people have with the loader is not pressing the lever down enough and they can't get the strips to slide. The trick is not to be prissy with pushing the lever. Make sure the primer bottoms are absolutely flush with the strip. You can see it easily. If not press harder. You'll get the feel real fast.

4. As strips get uses over and over, they may warp a little. That means one end or the other may not lie down nice to allow a primer to fall into all the holes. If that happens to you, just keep an exacto knife handy, to reach in and push the end down...then those last few primers fall nicely into place. New strips don't usually have that problem.

5. To keep jams far far away from my APS system, after filling 3 or 4 strips, I use a wall paper roller to roll over the strips making sure each primer is flush with the strip bottom. It only take one quick stroke over 4 side by side strips to do the job....then I stick them to the backer and store them away.
 
GW Staar said:
Tips I have for using the strip loader.


2. Using the Magic Marker, blacken the alignment marks on each end of where the strips go. Makes it faster and easier to get the strips in the right place side to side. BTW its faster to just hook two strips together. Fill one then lower lever to the mark and push in the second one.
Click to expand...

Tom488 and GW Staar, thanks for the tips. There are a couple of nuggets there i will have to try.

I figured out quickly to blacken the mark on the loader's base for aligning the strips.

GW, nice picture of the P-40. Too bad the view is obstructed.:)
 
I find it easier to just buy the strips preloaded.

aps_primers.jpg

You get them in boxes like these and after a little while with the press you end up with buckets filled like this:

strips.jpg

I love the APS and it works great but I can give or take filling primer strips. I just buy them ready to go.
 
jediagh said:
@GW Staar

I like your counter idea you posted here:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/324316_.html

Sadly http://moontaj.com/ is no longer in biz. :(
Any idea if anyone else makes these?
Click to expand...

Well that's not good! I'll attempt to email the man and see if he will still make them on his own time.

I know you can buy a electronic kit that will do it from Carl's Electronics (www.Electronickits.com) kit 154, because I bought one. It has a programmable microcontroller. As is it will work for what we want to do, but it has to be reset every time power is turned on. That's when I wen searching for and found moontaj.

I'll post again to let you know if we make contact again.

Sorry....nothing stays the same it seems.....he obviously couldn't make his venture work in this economy.
 
It is one heck of a stout press with some cool features. What about a casefeeder? Has anyone adapted one or is RCBS coming out with their own?
 
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