Lee Six Pack Pro at 4k rounds

[vanfunk]

Hi All:

I’ve been enjoying having a lot more free time on my hands so I’ve been buying guns and making ammo! I decided to upgrade to a progressive press and bought a Lee Six Pack Pro back in the summer. I’ve now loaded more than 4000 rounds of .357 and .44 Magnum ammo and this is my quick run-down:

- primer feeding was finicky until I worked out a few things. 1) Getting the updated primer chute from Lee with the larger “action bar” helped to keep primers flowing. I had some double feeds with small pistol primers and found that the primer slide was binding occasionally. One reason was that the slide itself is easily bent, and once bent, can never be made straight satisfactorily; best to replace it for $4. The other was the need to keep it “slick” somehow - the answer provided by another forum member was powdered graphite.

- Case feeding was finicky too and I would have cases falling to the side, cases flipping over, etc. I got tired of it and ordered the updated universal 5-tube case feeder and collator. Best $40 I can imagine spending on a press part. The thing just damn works and I have had zero problems since the upgrade. The spring-loaded gate keeps cases in place until they’re fed into the shellplate. Picture below.

- the six die stations are perfect and allow for a powder cop, bullet feeder and separate seating and crimping dies.

Conclusion:

This is a fantastic press for the money. With some use, a couple of upgrades and general “wearing in,” the press has become very reliable. This morning I banged out 100 rounds of 158 grain SWCs and 200 rounds of 158 grain JHPs in a little over an hour, taking care to monitor each step along the way. For the money I have into it, it has more than paid for itself already. Could it be better? Sure - there are many plastic parts that might be better if made out of aluminum or steel BUT they’re pretty cheap and easy to replace as-is. The money I saved over an RCBS or Hornady got me a lot of powder, primers and bullets, for sure! Lee still lists the press for $500 on their site but I got mine from Midway, with .44 magnum dies, for $309 on sale.

Anyway, thought I’d share for anyone contemplating this budget-friendly but highly capable press!

 

[JohnMc]

Sure - there are many plastic parts that might be better if made out of aluminum or steel BUT they’re pretty cheap and easy to replace as-is.

My understanding of Lee's philosophy on some of the plastic is that many of those parts are sacrificial when something isn't right and they break before critical stuff does. And as you said, they're cheap and easy to replace, compared to machined aluminum or steel.

And thanks for the post. I'm glad it's working for you. I like Lee, though not 100% of my stuff is Lee, a good chunk is.

 

[benvigil]

Sorry for the thread necro... I wonder if they sell that case gate separately?

I have a home made rubber band + sheet metal case gate so I don't wanna pay $40 or $50 just for that little door.

 

[LiveLife]

Sorry for the thread necro... I wonder if they sell that case gate separately?

I have a home made rubber band + sheet metal case gate so I don't wanna pay $40 or $50 just for that little door.

Welcome to THR.

I beta test/product test for Lee Precision and forwarded your question to Calvin, my contact at Lee Precision. I will post back when I get a response.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I put one of these 5 tube feeders on my ABLP press, it barely fits. but sadly I had to take the gate off to feed .357 mag brass. The case head was landing on top of the gate and only about half of the cases would drop down to deck. The shuttle didn't come back far enough to let it work right.

I think it's from the case feeder being designed for the Pro 6000 and not the 4000. The 4000 case shuttle apparently doesn't come back as far as the 6000 shuttle does so it doesn't have as much room to work with.

It feeds .357 cases fine without it. I bought it for .327FM cases and I think it will work fine for them due to it's smaller size.

It won't work on an APP or App deluxe either, the gate puts enough drag on the case shuttle that it doesn't make it to where it needs to be. So primer don't line up and of course you can't de-prime with it either for the same reason.

 

[LiveLife]

I think it's from the case feeder being designed for the Pro 6000 and not the 4000 ... It won't work on an APP or App deluxe either, the gate puts enough drag on the case shuttle that it doesn't make it to where it needs to be.

New 5 tube case feeder is "Universal" case feeder designed to work with following presses - https://leeprecision.com/deluxe-case-feed-magazine

"5 case feed tubes automate the case feeding operation on the APP, Deluxe APP, Pro 1000, Pro 4000 Kit | Auto Breech Lock Pro, Load-Master, and Six Pack Pro presses. Increases rates and has been optimized for bottleneck cartridges."​

I put one of these 5 tube feeders on my ABLP press, it barely fits. but sadly I had to take the gate off to feed .357 mag brass. The case head was landing on top of the gate and only about half of the cases would drop down to deck.

Spring tensioned gate will adjust to any position and if dropping cases are hitting the top of the gate, gate needs to be adjusted more forward.

 

[Bartojc]

Boy have I quit paying attention. I was unaware of an "improved" five tube case feeder. I still have the 4 tube that came a year + ago. I have had no real issues operating exclusively 9mm

I did finally order a slow twist rod and an expander button for the powder through die. Hoping the expander is the new M step style. Had no issue with the old style thanks to setup pointers from this firum. I'm between 2500 rounds and 3000 rounds and pretty easy operation. I'm ether getting used to it or it is getting used to me

-Jeff

 

[benvigil]

Boy have I quit paying attention. I was unaware of an "improved" five tube case feeder. I still have the 4 tube that came a year + ago. I have had no real issues operating exclusively 9mm

I just bought a Six Pack Pro kit in October and it came with the old 4-tube also. I think (?) the 5-tube w/case gate is an upgraded item you have to buy separately.

 

[benvigil]

Welcome to THR.

I beta test/product test for Lee Precision and forwarded your question to Calvin, my contact at Lee Precision. I will post back when I get a response.

Thanks! I appreciate that. I mentioned you in a Lee support email yesterday.

At 12:15am on Jan 1st, 15 minutes into the new year, the entire Six Pack ram and carrier separated from each other leaving the carrier dangling from a [now stuck] case in the sizing die. That led me here to THR, where your posts and others about the torque specs sent me off to Home Depot to pick up a 3/8" hex bolt. 70 ft lbs later, it was fixed, but time and testing will tell if my alignment was accurate enough. But so far, so good.

I also have the Deluxe APP kit (which is worth 2x its price because it's so freakin' fast). I bought this custom case deflector from @jasonjgazdik on eBay, which is pretty amazing. It's surprising how rinky dink that press feels, but it Just Works™, in spades. So far, I use it for decapping, trimming, and swaging. I'm going to give resizing and priming a try on the APP, but I'm not sure it will handle 300BLK. I feel like it's so much faster than the Six Pack, that it might make sense to do more with it, leaving the powder, seating and crimping to to the Six Pack.

 

[RashQuestion]

I wonder if they sell that case gate separately?

I have a home made rubber band + sheet metal case gate so I don't wanna pay $40 or $50 just for that little door.

Welcome to THR.

You will find a great deal of extremely helpful information here. I know I did! Thanks to all!!!

I have an ABLP 4000 with a 4 tube feed that was throwing cases all over the place. Didn't matter how slow or fast I went or how I adjusted it. I went on "Thingiverse" and downloaded a Lee Loadmaster Rifle Case Feed Mod #2784742 and took it to my local library and they 3D printed it for me for free. It is very similar to Lee's gate/door on the 5 Tube set up that @LiveLife pictures above.

I set up my own spring control that wraps around the threaded rod they provide and it works great.

Good Luck and God Bless!!!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

New 5 tube case feeder is "Universal" case feeder designed to work with following presses - https://leeprecision.com/deluxe-case-feed-magazine

"5 case feed tubes automate the case feeding operation on the APP, Deluxe APP, Pro 1000, Pro 4000 Kit | Auto Breech Lock Pro, Load-Master, and Six Pack Pro presses. Increases rates and has been optimized for bottleneck cartridges."​

Spring tensioned gate will adjust to any position and if dropping cases are hitting the top of the gate, gate needs to be adjusted more forward.

If I move the gate far enough forward it so the case doesn't land on it then it hits the under side of the die head on the up stroke and stops the press.
Have you tried to run 357 cases through a 5 tube case feeder with the gate on an ABLP?

 

[LiveLife]

Have you tried to run 357 cases through a 5 tube case feeder with the gate on an ABLP?

Sorry, I PIF my ABLP to my sister/BIL and gave away all .38/357 brass to reloaders who reload those calibers during post Covid shortage.

Can you post picture of what the case feeder/gate is doing?

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I didn't take any pics of it, I guess I need to start taking more pictures.
Maybe I'll put the gate back on and try it with 327. Obviously I could then run some 357s through it also and take pics of what happens.
Supposed to have an ice storm tomorrow morning so it may be a good time to experiment with it.
Depends on what the storm does.

 

[LiveLife]

Properly adjusted with spring tension, gate should stay in wherever position you put it (To allow case to drop down without hitting the gate) while preventing case grom falling/moving away from slider.

Then slider should push the gate out of the way for slider to insert case into shellplate and return back to original position when slider is returned under the case feeder.

If the gate is not doing that, then spring tension may not be properly adjusted.

 

[blackd24]

If I didn’t already have a Hornady lock n load with all the shell plates and parts, I would buy a Lee 6 pick pro. I still might one day when I have more disposal income but there are other things I could spend $350 on.

 

[RashQuestion]

If the gate is not doing that. Then spring tension may not be properly adjusted.

The Gate/Door should close completely not impeding the next case from dropping in place as the cases in the tube put pressure on the case mouth next in line to drop. It does on my 4-tube set up. I don't have Lee's 5 tube design but the principals should be the same. I don't load 357 so again I can't really help but I think @LiveLife is correct (as usual) and check the spring tension on the gate.

Stay Safe and God Bless!!!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

With the gate closing on the up stroke, it has to be already closed before the ram tops out or it comes up under the die head which will break it off. It also has to be twisted around far enough to clear when when closed when it tops outs.

I can make it work if I twist the case feeder around away from me but then the spring that operates the shuttle rubs on it and hampers it. I don't like the sound it makes.

But lets get back to the Van Funks Six Pack Pro. I want to hear about the primer feeder.

- primer feeding was finicky until I worked out a few things. 1) Getting the updated primer chute from Lee with the larger “action bar” helped to keep primers flowing. I had some double feeds with small pistol primers and found that the primer slide was binding occasionally. One reason was that the slide itself is easily bent, and once bent, can never be made straight satisfactorily; best to replace it for $4. The other was the need to keep it “slick” somehow - the answer provided by another forum member was powdered graphite.

@vanfunk , You said you bought yours last summer. Did you have to pay for the updated parts for your press? You said you got and updated primer chute.

Does anyone know if the updated, redesigned parts, are being put on the presses now?

(I still want one of these presses but I'm not buying one until I know they fixed their problems they had with it. I bought one of the first ones that came out and it had to go back.)

Until then I will use my ABLP.

I have to do two passes though,.

 

[LiveLife]

Have you tried to run 357 cases through a 5 tube case feeder with the gate on ... ?

I got a hold of some .44 Mag cases.

If the gate is not doing that, then spring tension may not be properly adjusted.

You adjust the spring tension/gate position with the black plastic nut below the gate.


And gate should stay put wherever you put it. This is normal position.



I turned the "black plastic nut" and gate is held open part way like this



I can even hold the gate open so slider won't even touch it like this

With the gate closing on the up stroke, it has to be already closed before the ram tops out or it comes up under the die head which will break it off. It also has to be twisted around far enough to clear when when closed when it tops outs.

So I filled the tube full of .44 Mag cases and adjusted the height of the 5 tube magazine body so dropping cases would readily slide forward with gate in closed position.



Pulling back on the ram handle dropped the case held by the gate



Forward moving slider/case pushed the gate to the side



Slider returning under the 5 tube rotary magazine closed the gate

 

[benvigil]

You said you bought yours last summer. Did you have to pay for the updated parts for your press? You said you got and updated primer chute.

Does anyone know if the updated, redesigned parts, are being put on the presses now?

I got mine in October, 2023. Mine has the updated agitator bar thingy.

As far as I know, the primer feed update he is referring to is the "agitator" cross bar that rubs against the support column as the press moves up and down. They made that bar a larger diameter at some point so that it rubs against that column more reliably and gets agitated by the chamfer/detent.

 

[9mmepiphany]

If I didn’t already have a Hornady lock n load with all the shell plates and parts, I would buy a Lee 6 pick pro.

I have a Hornady LNL that I load 9mm and .38Spl on.. I had a set up for .45ACP, but I hated changing primer feed and punch. When the Pro 600 came out, i thought it would be a great time to get a press dedicated to loading .45ACP on. I got the 6 Pack Pro (SPP) to see how Lee had changed over the years (I've never had a Lee die set).

I the SPP had been available when i started reloading, I might not have considered the LNL or the Dillon 650/750 at all . Now that I'm older, the LNL has the advantage over the SPP of having more space on the tool head between dies...older fingers need more room to manipulate the bushings

 

[LiveLife]

... older fingers need more room to manipulate the bushings

There, you heard it from IDPA state champion ... SPP is for "younger" fingers.

Since I can still install/remove breech lock bushings just using my fingers, I must still be "young"?

 

[9mmepiphany]

Since I can still install/remove breech lock bushings just using my fingers, I must still be "young"?

I've always thought of you as being young...as least younger

I was curious enough to actually measure the tool head differences between my Hornady LNL and the SPP. While neither is really "regular sized", I found that the LNL gave me about 1" more diameter...and it only had to carry 5 dies. I can add and remove the LNL bushing by gripping and twisting with my fingers, the SPP requires me to use my Lock Nut wrench

 

[LiveLife]

I've always thought of you as being young...as least younger

Blame goes to my stepfather who enjoyed restoring classic 40s-60s cars when I was teenager and we always had like 7-9 cars around. Starting Friday afternoon til Sunday night, I turned wrenches and hand manipulated bolts seemingly on hundreds of cars while moving heavy car parts to where my grip strength and hand dexterity was strong (Continuing my martial arts training ... My Dojo had us pound heavy pillars wrapped with rope with bare fists and preparation for Army, I was already doing push ups on fists and finger tips with mild rock climbing).

While I may not readily crush red bricks with bare knuckles anymore, playing the piano for wife maintains hand dexterity. Approaching 58, time and aging is catching up to me though as I wake up with tingly hands and stiff fingers that require some hand exercises to get them warmed up and moving smoothly so I can make coffee and breakfast for wife.

 

[GW Staar]

It sucks to get old, I hit 74 last month....wait til the neuropathy sets in to your fingers and toes. Dexterity goes out the window no matter how much you exercise them....guess the Lee engineers are younger folks. Old eyes are even worse to contemplate. I can still focus, but everything's dimmer, darker. Real pain in the ass.....have to supplement normal light everywhere....

But back to the Six Pack Pro.....I'm in love with mine, in spite of the necessary wrench, the finicky primer feed. The six stations IMO is necessary once you discover the "M" dies, the powder cop and the bullet feeder. The only thing I wish, is that it was designed with a removable tool head like my Pro Chucker 7. What's better than Lee's six heads.....seven. (that's why I've been playing with a feed-n-seat combo on one station!)

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/feednseat-in-one-save-a-station.917972/

 

[9mmepiphany]

While I may not readily crush red bricks with bare knuckles anymore, playing the piano for wife maintains hand dexterity. Approaching 58, time and aging is catching up to me though as I wake up with tingly hands and stiff fingers that require some hand exercises to get them warmed up and moving smoothly so I can make coffee and breakfast for wife.

I'm a little older...not quite a generation, but more than a decade...at 70. My dexterity isn't bad, parents made me play piano for 8 years, but my hand strength is nothing close to that (Tai Chi and Bagua were much softer). My main complaint is dealing with my hip replacement...I thought I'd get my 3D printer set up while recovering (didn't happen)

Anyway I'm really taken with the SPP too. I know it isn't a Mark 7 Apex-10 (that I was drooling over) but it isn't even 15% of the cost. I recently introduced a shooting buddy to reloading and steered him away from the Blue Kool-aid to the SPP...it is the perfect introduction progressive press. Plus I promised I'd help get him started and rolling