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TalkingRock

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I am confused! Looking for the real skinny on Lee pro 1000. I know it is not a Dillion, I have a dillon 650 that is set up for 38. I am changing caliber to 44 special and do not want to put another $700 plus in a loader and do not want to make a caliber change I got other family members shooting 38. Does anyone know what material the dies in a lee are made of. Steel or Titiuam? Would appericate some input from you Cowboys!

 

Thanks,

Talking Rock

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carbide steel .

I load with lee and have no problems.

The Pard who got me in to reloading has been using Lee for 25 years .

He still uses the same press and the same dies .

So for the money you cant beat them .

You can spend more and all you get is a name !

( except the load all sucks ) lol

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I tried one and didn't like it. I got a Loadmaster and it does quiet well. The primer system seems to give more issues on the Lee machines than anything else. I have found that the large primer feed gives much less trouble than the small primer system. I use the Lee for loading .44mag. and .45acp, use a 650 for small primer jobs.

 

Your mileage may vary

Blackfoot

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Lee dies for straight wall cartridges such as 38. 357, 44, 45, 38-55, 45-70, are carbide steel. The bottle-neck cartridges, such as 32-20, 38-40, 44-40, 30-06, etc, are regular steel and require lubing of the cases. The carbide dies benefit from some lubing of the cases.

 

Used dies from RCBS, Lyman and Hornady can be found easily.

 

Many shooters use the Lee 1000 with little or no problems. I prefer Dillon since caliber changes are fairly easy but I have two 550s, one for small and the other for large primers. Consider that a caliber conversion for the 650 will cost less than a Lee 1000. You'll need a new toolhead, dies, powder measure and primer conversion for the large primers.

 

DD

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I have two of them. One thing to remember is they reccomend only

CCI or winchester primers. They are the 2 hardest primers to set off

and that will affect what springs you have in your guns. The lighter

the springs the smoother revolvers run, etc. Wolfe springs are OK.

 

Mosey West

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The most often voiced complaint is the primer feed on the Lee's. I have found if you insure the loader is level and the primer trough is clean most of those problems go away.

 

My Load Master which I've used for 8 to 10 years and a Pro 1000 I picked up used 3 or 4 years ago seem to prefer Winchester over CCI primers. I can use CCI's or even Remingtons when that is all I can get with few problems, the Winchesters just seem to feed a little better. I don't know if this has any thing to do with it but the CCI's and the Remingtons are made of a silver colored alloy where the Winchesters are made of a brass colored alloy.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Smoke

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I don't like the Lee loaders near as much as the Dillons. I started with Lee equipment, then bought Dillon. I use my Lee dies in my Dillon press for the best of both worlds.

Cash

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I have 2 Dillon 550's, one for 18 years and the other is only 5 years old. I got a very good deal on a LEE 1000 and I went for it as it had the case and bullet feeder. I gotta say, after using Dillons the LEE always felt like it was on the verge of breaking. Just way too many plastic parts. In the LEE manual is says to NEVER force the handle as you will break parts, and I can believe it. With the Dillon if I was to force the handle all I would do is crush cases. Maybe I am just to ham handed but I sold off the LEE and don't regret it one bit. Their dies work fine though in my RCBS single stage, not so good in the Dillon, too short.

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I have a Loadmaster and I like it. I had probs with the primer feed at first, but I think that was just me learning the machine. The more I've used it the less trouble I've had. I also had a problem with a few high primers but once I got it adjusted correctly that went away. I realize a Dillon is considered a better machine, but for the money this works fine for my purposes. I've looked at Dillons and seen them in action, there are things about them I don't like, such as those primer tubes. The Loadmaster also comes with a case feeder, on a Dillon that's extra, and expensive.

 

I paid about $250 for my Loadmaster, with dies and all. Got it from Natchez Shooters Supply. It will load a lot of ammo in a short time. As I said, for my purposes it's great.

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I have a lot of Lee reloading equipment and think that it is great. EXCEPT the primer feed on the progressive press is WAY BAD. Had one for a short time and got rid of it. Still have a Lee turret press for short jobs and love it. My high volume loading is done on 2 Dillon 550's. One for large primer calibers and one for small primer calibers (too lazy to make the change over). I can't for the life of me figure out why Lee won't address this problem with their primer feed system. If they fixed the primer feed problem they would really give Dillon a run for their money on price. BUT, you still can't top Dillons customer service. Go for a Dillon caliber conversion as you'll be loading the same size primer.

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Jee whiz - a general discussion on loaders!!

 

Let me put in my 2 cents for a Hornady Lock-n-Load Auto progressive loader.

 

It is between a Lee and a Dillon - both in price and (I suspect) quality.

 

I like mine - it is TOUGH and fairly easy to set up (if you follow the DVD that comes with it.

 

I am sure others will jump in on this topic. :rolleyes:

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I had one for years. The only real problem I had was, like others have said, was primer feed (also the biggest problem I have on my 2 Dillons).

 

The cheap plastic seeming powder thrower actually threw very accurate for me with Trail boss and 231. You will want to throw a few charges before starting to load to stabilize the powder. Once in a while it would mis-charge on the first 5-6 until I got in the habit of throwing about 10 charges before starting to load. This was a tip I was giving by a fellow shooter who loads on Lee progressives and has for about 12yrs I've known him.

 

I did have it go out of time, but is quick to get back in. Oh yeah I only used it on 45LC. Never did get around to changing it over to anything else. Went to Black and didn't want to try the powder thrower with black, or would still have it.

 

I've had Dillon, Lee, and an old RCBS and will say I prefer Dillon, but the Lee is my second pick. Not tried a Hornday yet. might be an excuse for a new machine.

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I'll add my 2 cents worth. . . I bought my first Lee Pro 1000 13 years ago from a pard who had loaded 25,000 rounds on it. I found a second one real cheap about 2 years ago and picked that up, too. About 4 years ago I added a Lee Loadmaster to my collection. I love them all, but especially the Pro 1000s. Like many mechanical devices, the Lee Pro 1000 likes to be kept cleaned and lubed.

 

Like many progressive presses, the primer feed is the area that will give you the most challenges, as others have said. I found that a coating of Turtle Wax on the inside of the primer assembly keeps the primers feeding smoothly. Mine seems to work best with CCI primers, and I agree with the other post that indicated large primers are more troublefree than the small ones.

 

If you are not mechanically-inclined, or don't have patience to troubleshoot the occasional problems that come up, perhaps the Lee isn't the press for you. I troubleshoot electro-mechanical devices for a living, so I am able to diagnose and correct most issues with my press without too much difficulty.

 

If you get one and are having issues, don't be afraid to reach out here on the Wire --- that's what it's for!

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  • 2 months later...

According to my research the loadmaster primer issues are not covered well in the documentation.

 

And a complete and permanent solve of the problem can be found on YouTube from several users.

 

I like my lee tools. And really enjoyed reading Richard Lee's loading Manuel.

 

The world could use more down to earth straight shooters like Richard Lee

 

Future owner of a loadmaster.

 

My $0.02

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I have had 3 lee 1000's one set up for 38 special, one for 45 Acp, one for 45LC. I could load a couple of hundred rounds one night, come back the next night and have to readjust the press.

I currently am loading on two Dillon 650's one set up for small primers the other set up fot large primers.

I loaded many 1000's of rounds on the Lee presses. How ever the Dillon is much much faster. It does not come out of adjustment. The primer feed system works. The case feeder works.

There is a problem with a product that you have tweak to make it work.

Mant people reshape the the primer feed area on the primer tray. Again there is a problem that should have been addressed by Lee.

I didn't give much credit to all of the shouting about how great Dillon was over the others. Well I eventually tried a Dillon and was sold.

I have also loaded on Rcbs and Hornady presses and I have two Dillons. The Dillon press is not prefect bur they do support it with a kick ass warrenty.

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I am confused! Looking for the real skinny on Lee pro 1000. I know it is not a Dillion, I have a dillon 650 that is set up for 38. I am changing caliber to 44 special and do not want to put another $700 plus in a loader and do not want to make a caliber change I got other family members shooting 38. Does anyone know what material the dies in a lee are made of. Steel or Titiuam? Would appericate some input from you Cowboys!

 

Thanks,

Talking Rock

Look at titanreloading.com for your Lee reloading needs. Best prices I could find and great customer service. I love my Lee Pro 1000.

Good luck with all.

Fire Boss

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According to my research the loadmaster primer issues are not covered well in the documentation.

 

And a complete and permanent solve of the problem can be found on YouTube from several users.

 

I like my lee tools. And really enjoyed reading Richard Lee's loading Manuel.

 

The world could use more down to earth straight shooters like Richard Lee

 

Future owner of a loadmaster.

 

My $0.02

 

As a 45+ year reloader, and I do use a few Lee Factory Crimp dies, this I can tell you from using just about every press out there......

DILLON :FlagAm:

Cry one time....GO BLUE ;)

OH-BTW, you REALLY need to meet Mike Dillon B)

LG

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To OP

 

One bit of insight on lee the progressive 1000 is 4 or 5 pumps per round while the loadmaster is one pump one round. (500 + per hour) all for $50 more

 

I would love a Dillion press the price difference is pretty large. Maybe I'll find the right deal someday. Then

 

I can have multiple calibers set and ready.

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To OP

 

One bit of insight on lee the progressive 1000 is 4 or 5 pumps per round while the loadmaster is one pump one round. (500 + per hour) all for $50 more

 

I would love a Dillion press the price difference is pretty large. Maybe I'll find the right deal someday. Then

 

I can have multiple calibers set and ready.

 

My Pro 1000 produces a completed shell with every pull of the handle. I probably wouldn't recommend it for a beginning reloader, but it sounds like you are experienced enough to troubleshoot the occasional little quirk. I bought the Pro 1000 to use as a small portable reloader when living in the motorhome and it has worked out very well.

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I have both Lee and Dillon presses. I love Dillons but the Lee's have been good work horses. They are "kinky" (but) when you get used to the kinks, they run pretty well. I don't de-prime or prime on the Lees. I de-prime "off the loading press" on a single stage press with a "universal de-primer" and use an RCBS bench primer to pre-prime my cleaned shell casings.

This really helps to eliminate high primers and allows me to concentrate on the powder load level and the final "crimp".

If you are loading 38's "a lot" how about considering a Square Deal? Even though it uses "small" dies, it's just great for the "smaller" diameter straight walls. Good luck and happy loading the lee factory crimp die works great for roll crimping due to it's design. I am currently loading 38's on one of the simple litte Lee turrets presses. It just keeps chugging them out. If you want to "automatically" ensure your powder charge is always "close to correct" you will need the 5 station press in order to inatall the powder ndicator .

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One tiny flake of powder will stop the flow of primers

down the slide on the Pro-1000. As the measuring disk works

back and forth an occasional powder flake will fall into the

area of the primer seating punch. I take a recipe card and

tape it under the piece holding the measuring disk. Bend it

in a 'U' shape and angle it off to the side. It works like

an eve-spout and prevents this problem. An occasional blast

of canned air in this area every so often never hurts either.

 

Mosey West

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