Lee Pro 1000

[Gunnut9465]

I am new to reloading and have a Lee Pro 1000 in 40 cal. I also want to reload the following; 9mm,10mm,32 acp,45 colt,454,223 and 308. What is the best way to do this. Time is not a major concern but want to avoid as much hassle as possible when makeing caliber changes. I am looking to you all for tips here. Thanks.

 

[Uncle Don]

I'm not trying to be hard on you - but I have to ask. Why a fully progressive press for your first time out of the chute? I'm worried that you may be in for some frustration because tyring to master the basics of reloading along with a fully progressive press, which by nature needs allot of attention could be a bit overwhelming.

I highly recommend not using the casefeeder and using it to load a single round at a time until you clearly get the hang of it. Then, put one in, get it past the priming station and manually put in another for a hundred or two hundred rounds. After that, if you feel comfortable, hook up the casefeeder.

As to caliber changes - a progressive is what a progressive is, and that is a slight hassle changing calibers. Additionally, while the Pro 1000 can do short rifle, it really was designed for handgun and the powder measure will most likely not have enough capacity to load your .308. While you may master this, I've been loading since 85 and have a Loadmaster which works pefectly, but all my rifle is loaded on a single stage (now my Classic Turret).

It's too late for this advise now, but I belive that a Turrt Press is the best overall value. It can do 250 handgun rounds an hour to which I contend that all but the most demanding shooter needs an output that exceeds five boxes an hour. The turret press can go through a caliber change both inexpensively and extremely quick. You can also disable the auto index in seconds and use it as a single stage for those precision loading sessions. The new Classic Turret is heavy cast iron and has a high clearance for large rifle rounds.

You'll get along fine with the choice you made, but there is going to be a learning curve with a press that automatically feeds cases, primes without you seeing it and auto indexes. Once you get past that, you'll definately be able to pump out handgun rounds by the buckets.

 

[Matchshot]

Thankyou for your timely post. I have been shooting for several years a want to start reloading. Have been looking at new and used presses on-line with the thought that if I am going to buy for the long term I might as well buy the best. The other side which I see in your post is to buy a simpler outfit, get started and learn the ins and outs, then, perhaps up grade with the knowledge gained.

I want to load .45 acp, .357/.38, .44 mag. and .223., your opinion is that a turret press is the best way to start and 200-250 rnds per hour are feasible?
Are the starter kits that Lee and others offer a good buy or should I buy by the component?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Falconeer]

I recently went from loading 9mm & 357 Sig on a Pro 1000 to loading 357 Sig & .308 on a Classic Turret. The Pro 1000 won't load the .308 as it's too long(the shell plate wants to rotate while the case is still in the die).

I've been very happy with the Classic Turret. The four die holes allows me to use an FCD with the 357 Sig, and the strength of the press means I can load anything I may pick up in the future on it. I have dreams of doing 45 LC for SASS shooting one day.

When I once again have a 9mm pistol, I may pull the Pro 1000 back out and set it up for that. But until then it's up on the shelf.

 

[Uncle Don]

Thankyou for your timely post. I have been shooting for several years a want to start reloading. Have been looking at new and used presses on-line with the thought that if I am going to buy for the long term I might as well buy the best. The other side which I see in your post is to buy a simpler outfit, get started and learn the ins and outs, then, perhaps up grade with the knowledge gained.

I want to load .45 acp, .357/.38, .44 mag. and .223., your opinion is that a turret press is the best way to start and 200-250 rnds per hour are feasible?
Are the starter kits that Lee and others offer a good buy or should I buy by the component?

Thanks for the help.

Personally, I think this is an opportunity to buy a single press that meets all your needs and that you may very well never find the need to upgrade. It's cast iron, has high clearnance and is auto indexing and four holes. You can also outfit it with a priming system to where you never have to touch a primer. To be honest, I had a four hole regular turret and liked it allot, but it did shoot primers out of bounds now and then and it doesn't have as much clearnance. If I had a Classic Turret to begin with, I probably wouldn't have a progressive, even though it works great and I like it very much. Caliber changes are quick and painless as well as inexpensive. You can also remove the auto indexing in seconds and have a high clearance cast iron single stage press for batch loading.

There is a video on the Lee website showing it's use and the person loads five rounds is just a hair over one minute. That works to between 240 and 300 rounds per hour with the auto indexing. www.leeprecision.com go to the Help Videos under Turret Press Operation.

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I agree with Uncle Don. I own a Hornady LnL which I love, but it's more press than I need.

If the Lee Classic Cast Turret had been available when I first started, I would have bought it. It's like the Rock Island Armory pistol for the reloader, perfect for most folks and inexpensive, but quite good at what it does.

It doesn't come as a kit, but that's ok. You're usually better off to hand pick the items you want because with a kit, you get stuff you find you don't like or want.


I would recommend getting the Safety Prime and the Auto Disk Measure with it to reload pistol and getting the Perfect Powder Measure to reload rifle. I think most folks would be happy with that press alone and need nothing more.

If they do, then by the time they are ready to upgrade, they'll have a better idea how much press they need and what features they want.

Regards,

Dave