The progressive press is dedicated to those individuals who obviously either desire to reload in large volume or wish to reload at a higher speed; the two actually are interrelated. I often reload 600 to 1000 rounds at a time, but also at times reload a few rounds as I work up loads. I definitely enjoy using a progressive over the slower presses i.e. single stage or turret presses when reloading large volume and also have no problems reloading one round at a time on a progressive press either. If you are not a large volume reloader or don't prefer to load at a quicker rate then I would look at the Lee Classic Turret press as it is built very well, reliable, and is fairly inexpensive. The Classic Turret enables one to still load around 150 to maybe 200 pistol rounds in an hour taking your time which isn't bad for a person who doesn't shoot tons of rounds every week and doesn't mind reloading time. I have owned all types of presses and have moved from one to the next as my volume increased and opinions changed.
Here is my opinion on progressive presses! I am a cost efficient person and will look towards finding products that are reliable at a better price. I was a Dillon owner by family trend, father was a Dillon man, and although the Dillon 650 is a nicer finished machine and had fewer issues out of the box (due to better factory control--I will discuss this a little later) it cost 3 to 4 times as much as a Lee Load-Master and the caliber changes are much more expensive than a lee as well. Once I modified some parts, sanded or filed here and there for the indexing rod, and set the indexing correctly I have actually had the same repeatable success with the Load-Master as I did with any of the Dillons I owned (had a 550 before selling it to pay for the 650). There has been no tinkering or adjusting once I did all the initial setup and performed the minor modifications found on Loadmaster Zone -
http://loadmastervideos.com/
Once I worked with the Load-Master long enough (four years and thousands and thousands of 45 acp rounds later) and felt that it was a solid functioning press, I finally ensured myself that I could let go of Dillon comfort blanket. I sold the 650 to a Dillon nut who thought I was the nut and now own two Loadmasters and still have not come close to the cost of the 650. I did not have the case feeder with the Dillon as it would cost more than an entire lee loadmaster kit in itself so again the Loadmaster prevails as it comes with this if you buy a kit. I could actually buy another Loadmaster kit and would be getting closer in cost to the Dillon 650 and its caliber changes.
I may be one of the few who have actually sold a Dillon to buy a Lee and maybe the only one to post it on a forum but having two progressives presses dedicated to certain cartridges is really nice and I have no problems showing my cost efficient nature. I actually bought my Loadmasters as rebuilt or reconditioned for $175 shipped directly from Lee Precision. They were both kits so I had everything I needed except the extra die for crimping (454 casull reloader and prefer crimping in another stage) and the universal decaping die which I use in station 1.
NOTE: if you choose rebuilt keep in mind you are receiving a press that is used so there are sometimes cosmetic flaws etc. but everything will work fine and if you don’t think something is right call lee and they will send you what you need at no cost.
A little more about the Load-Master and my experiences:
There are many mixed results on the Loadmaster and there are tons of forums concerning the topic. Once set up properly coupled with the fairly easy modifications the Loadmaster performs without a hitch, but one needs to be patient during setup and make sure everything is adjusted properly. If one chooses a Loadmaster I highly recommend the website: Loadmaster Zone @
http://loadmastervideos.com/ You will immediately see that the factory directions are less than desirable so having videos helps tremendously and I still wished there was this website when I setup the first press.
The videos eliminate errors as well as saves time and parts; in fact I never ruined a single part the second time around even the plastic ones that people are so concerned about. Yes, I did mention there are plastic parts and if you look at the Dillon, Hornady, or RCBS presses they all have plastic too. I see plastic as a good thing on the Loadmaster as these parts are very inexpensive $1 and help save the more expensive ones (simply have spares so if you the operator accidentally messes up you are not left without ammo). I rarely have broken parts though. If you are frugal like me, one doesn't even have to pay for the parts. Mail out the broken parts to Lee, usually for the cost of a postage stamp, and put in a little note with what you need and they will have new parts sent in the mail in a few days. I've even called them and they sent me parts free of charge as well.
Progressive presses in general: AGAIN BE PATIENT during setup as all progressive presses have problems at first, but more so with Lee progressives as I don't think their presses leave the factory with such watchful eyes as Dillon, RCBS, or Hornady and I believe this is why the Loadmaster and Pro 1000 receive such bad reviews. People expect to pull these Lee machines from the box and have them index and feed primers correctly with no adjustments and I will tell you, this is not probable. I took a good 3 hours from mounting, to making the case ejector modification (Loadmaster Zone video), to adjusting the indexing, to lubing, to running dry runs before I started to reload single rounds. Reloading about 50 single rounds to fully see how the press ran I then move to full progressive and was off and going.
With the videos I actually reset the 1st press and with the case ejector modification I eliminated those occasional indexing problems I once had; it runs smoother than ever. I also suggest if one decides Loadmaster that you size at the same time you prime (station 2) as this keeps the brass in place while priming. A good tip, make sure the press indexes without any problems before you setup the dies in the turret etc. The correct indexing alignment (shell plate carrier and case ejector modification) as well as using the sizing die in station 2 is a critical part to success of this press.
