Lee Pro 1000 Progressive press. Thoughts from anyone who has/had one.

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  • BigT5g

    Ultimate Member
    May 12, 2014
    1,442
    Dayton MD
    Im currently loading on a Lee turret press and I am satisfied as its a good bit faster than single stage hell, and it paid for itself after the first 1500rnds.

    But im looking to speed things up. Anyone have experience with the Lee Pro 1000 progressive press?

    Yes yes dillon dillon dillon, but if I can get a working progressive press for a 5th of the price of a 650 then I'm down with some quirkiness.

    I like the look of the Lee from based on the video below, but if anyone here has further insight it would be appreciated.
     

    Phoenixsm

    Active Member
    Aug 29, 2010
    513
    You will likely be disappointed with the priming system. There are some inventive fixes to assist in the feeding but, after trying them I still found myself having to hand-prime many cases. Bottom line was I was spending a significant amount of time fiddling with the machine vs. producing rounds. If you're looking to speed-things-up you should strongly consider investing in a higher end reloader. Your time is valuable.

    Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
     

    stu929

    M1 Addict
    Jan 2, 2012
    6,605
    Hagerstown
    Ive been leaning toward the LNL progressive but had seen some decent reviews on this. Most notable issue was what you mentioned primer issues.

    Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
     

    kraftyone

    Active Member
    Mar 9, 2013
    966
    I have had mine for couple years now as stated the priming system is very hit or miss. I have gotten to where I run my cases through deprime them. They I run them through again prime them dropping no powder. Then third time through drop powder and seat bullet. It just doesn't function consistently enough for me to trust it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    kraftyone

    Active Member
    Mar 9, 2013
    966
    My suggestion if you are serious about loading a lot of rounds drop the extra coin once, and don't be disappointed. And I am generally a guy who goes for the cheapest route which I did and I regret it all the time. That press made me spend many frustrated nights in my basement.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    Guess I'm the oddball then. Have had mine for some years now - loaded .45, 5.56, 300BLK, .50Beo, and .260Rem (pushing it's limits there, but it does it) on mine. It's turned out more rounds than I care to keep track of.

    Yeah, it does have some weak points - and the primer feed can be one on certain cartridges (.223 and 300BLK, need to have the pocket swaged cleanly, and sometimes even chamfered).

    But, for what I have into it - versus what I've gotten out of it over the years, I can't speak too badly of it. It can be a fussy son of a bitch at times, but when it's right, it does it's job just fine.
     

    kraftyone

    Active Member
    Mar 9, 2013
    966
    I won't argue with you I have rolled 1000's of .45 out of mine and saved tons of money when ammo prices were crazy. My comments to the OP if you are buying with the idea of saving time and money on ammo factor in the extra time it will take you to make ammo on each of the presses you are considering. The Lee is cheap and serviceable and works for the couple 1000 rounds I shoot a year. If however you are hoping to reload for competition shooting and practice with many 1000 rounds a year I would look elsewhere


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Cochise

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 5, 2008
    1,383
    Rockville
    I like Lee dies fine, their hand primer tool is ok. Their presses and bullet molds are trash. You get what you pay for
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    Have loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds on a couple. They do work, and all presses have quirks. The primer feed is really easy, no tubes or vibra-prime loaders to deal with, but it takes about 20 extra primers to keep them feeding. Plastic flashing is everywhere and has to be trimmed to keep from jamming stuff up. The standard powder measure/chain suck, inconsistent weights with most flake/extruded powders, fine ball powder(H110) will leak. There is a lot of flex in the press and shellplate, so OAL and case flaring can vary if all the stations aren't filled or you get a stubborn case. Have to unbolt the press and make a mess to clean out the spent primers. There isn't much leverage so takes a fair ammount of effort. The roller handle is basically clamped in place and comes loose, as do the guide bolts on the sides. The shell plates are a pain to swap, but carriers are easy and cheap. Only 3 stations so you need to flair with the powder drop, and can't use a FCD or powder cop. The case feeder is simple, but tips a lot of cases. I never had luck with rifle calibers, had to feed manually, and the powder measure plain won't work, very inconsistent OAL, and jams up constantly.

    I went shopping for another press, went with the LNL AP over the 650, loaded on both, and the Hornady was MUCH easier to swap calibers for, MUCH better powder measure, and being the case head is supported by the top plate instead of the shell plate it was easier to load rifle ammo. The LNL bushings seem gimmicky, but work much better than you would think. Being 5 stations I can add a bullet feeder, and FCD to really crank out ammo easy. It is also far easier to feed single cases by hand, pull/return a case from a station and it doesn't feed and eject from hard to reach spots. The Dillon is a great press, but IMO not worth the cost difference.

    The LNL took a little fiddling with, but outside of an occasional tipped case from the feeder it runs great, and is a huge step up from the lee in ease of use, reliability, and ammo consistency. The accesories like the primer pocket swager, bullet and case feeders, and aftermarket bin/handle setups are very nice. I feel like it is worth the cost over the Lee if you load a lot of ammo, want to setup for a lot of calibers, or want to load rifle on it. The case feeder was a must for me, and it costs almost the same as the press, so you are around $700 + shellplates. With that I can stamp out about 500 handgun loads in an hour, or use it as a single stage and probably size 1,000 rifle cases. Takes 10 minutes and a $30 shellplate to swap any caliber, 5 minutes if they use the same primer size and powder drum. Bought mine a couple months ago, so far I've done about 6K handgun and 4k 5.56 and 308, and am very happy with mine.
     

    BigT5g

    Ultimate Member
    May 12, 2014
    1,442
    Dayton MD
    Have loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds on a couple. They do work, and all presses have quirks. The primer feed is really easy, no tubes or vibra-prime loaders to deal with, but it takes about 20 extra primers to keep them feeding. Plastic flashing is everywhere and has to be trimmed to keep from jamming stuff up. The standard powder measure/chain suck, inconsistent weights with most flake/extruded powders, fine ball powder(H110) will leak. There is a lot of flex in the press and shellplate, so OAL and case flaring can vary if all the stations aren't filled or you get a stubborn case. Have to unbolt the press and make a mess to clean out the spent primers. There isn't much leverage so takes a fair ammount of effort. The roller handle is basically clamped in place and comes loose, as do the guide bolts on the sides. The shell plates are a pain to swap, but carriers are easy and cheap. Only 3 stations so you need to flair with the powder drop, and can't use a FCD or powder cop. The case feeder is simple, but tips a lot of cases. I never had luck with rifle calibers, had to feed manually, and the powder measure plain won't work, very inconsistent OAL, and jams up constantly.

    I went shopping for another press, went with the LNL AP over the 650, loaded on both, and the Hornady was MUCH easier to swap calibers for, MUCH better powder measure, and being the case head is supported by the top plate instead of the shell plate it was easier to load rifle ammo. The LNL bushings seem gimmicky, but work much better than you would think. Being 5 stations I can add a bullet feeder, and FCD to really crank out ammo easy. It is also far easier to feed single cases by hand, pull/return a case from a station and it doesn't feed and eject from hard to reach spots. The Dillon is a great press, but IMO not worth the cost difference.

    The LNL took a little fiddling with, but outside of an occasional tipped case from the feeder it runs great, and is a huge step up from the lee in ease of use, reliability, and ammo consistency. The accesories like the primer pocket swager, bullet and case feeders, and aftermarket bin/handle setups are very nice. I feel like it is worth the cost over the Lee if you load a lot of ammo, want to setup for a lot of calibers, or want to load rifle on it. The case feeder was a must for me, and it costs almost the same as the press, so you are around $700 + shellplates. With that I can stamp out about 500 handgun loads in an hour, or use it as a single stage and probably size 1,000 rifle cases. Takes 10 minutes and a $30 shellplate to swap any caliber, 5 minutes if they use the same primer size and powder drum. Bought mine a couple months ago, so far I've done about 6K handgun and 4k 5.56 and 308, and am very happy with mine.

    Very good post thank you. And thanks for everyone's helpful input. The Hornady is another option I am seriously considering
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    I'll add to #9 to say their medium to heavy duty single stage presses are perfectly servicable light to medium duty presses at great prices.

    Unless you are going to drop the coin on a Redding T-7, the LEE Turrets do the turret thing at great price.
     

    OEH

    Active Member
    Nov 18, 2010
    353
    29B
    Have loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds on a couple. They do work, and all presses have quirks. The primer feed is really easy, no tubes or vibra-prime loaders to deal with, but it takes about 20 extra primers to keep them feeding. Plastic flashing is everywhere and has to be trimmed to keep from jamming stuff up. The standard powder measure/chain suck, inconsistent weights with most flake/extruded powders, fine ball powder(H110) will leak. There is a lot of flex in the press and shellplate, so OAL and case flaring can vary if all the stations aren't filled or you get a stubborn case. Have to unbolt the press and make a mess to clean out the spent primers. There isn't much leverage so takes a fair ammount of effort. The roller handle is basically clamped in place and comes loose, as do the guide bolts on the sides. The shell plates are a pain to swap, but carriers are easy and cheap. Only 3 stations so you need to flair with the powder drop, and can't use a FCD or powder cop. The case feeder is simple, but tips a lot of cases. I never had luck with rifle calibers, had to feed manually, and the powder measure plain won't work, very inconsistent OAL, and jams up constantly.

    ...
    I started on the Lee cast turret press (like it a lot) and bought the 1000 to crank out 9mm range fodder. What alucard said above is pretty spot on. I upgraded to the autodrum powder measure which did away with the chain drive and made the drops much more consistent. The 9mm cases don't have as much problem with tipping so it may or may not be a concern depending on what caliber you're reloading. Mine likes CCI primers and not letting them get any lower than necessary before refilling helps a lot. As with a lot of Lee's equipment - you have to operate the press the way IT wants to operate, you can't force it to run the way YOU want to operate. When mine is being temperamental I know it's something that I'm doing wrong or not paying enough attention to. Mine works well but you need to be able to tinker to get the most out of them. Bottom line for me is that I would not be able to afford one of the Hornady or Dillon presses so it's this one or no progressive at all.
     

    BigT5g

    Ultimate Member
    May 12, 2014
    1,442
    Dayton MD
    I started on the Lee cast turret press (like it a lot) and bought the 1000 to crank out 9mm range fodder. What alucard said above is pretty spot on. I upgraded to the autodrum powder measure which did away with the chain drive and made the drops much more consistent. The 9mm cases don't have as much problem with tipping so it may or may not be a concern depending on what caliber you're reloading. Mine likes CCI primers and not letting them get any lower than necessary before refilling helps a lot. As with a lot of Lee's equipment - you have to operate the press the way IT wants to operate, you can't force it to run the way YOU want to operate. When mine is being temperamental I know it's something that I'm doing wrong or not paying enough attention to. Mine works well but you need to be able to tinker to get the most out of them. Bottom line for me is that I would not be able to afford one of the Hornady or Dillon presses so it's this one or no progressive at all.

    Good to know thank you. Even with the quirks, did your rounds per hour increase dramatically over the turret press? I can do about 150 9mm an hour at a relaxed pace and about 180-190 pushing the tempo on the turret.
    I know that can be at least tripled with a D650.
     

    GHETTO BLASTER

    Active Member
    May 27, 2013
    983
    I can't speak for the lee 1000 but, I recently upgraded from the lee classic turret to (and I know you don't want to hear it)Dillon 550c and even though it doesn't auto index it kind of gives me peace of mind checking and re-checking through the process. I've tripled my output per hour on pistol rounds. I haven't tried rifle rounds yet but have the conversion kits. The only thing that takes longer than my turret is changing over the powder measure but that's just until I break down and but buy one for each caliber. Look into it and you won't be disappointed.
     

    OEH

    Active Member
    Nov 18, 2010
    353
    29B
    Good to know thank you. Even with the quirks, did your rounds per hour increase dramatically over the turret press? I can do about 150 9mm an hour at a relaxed pace and about 180-190 pushing the tempo on the turret.
    I know that can be at least tripled with a D650.

    My guess is that I can easily make 3 times as many on the 1000.
     

    Derek

    Si vis pacem, para bellum
    Mar 7, 2017
    394
    Denton, MD
    Looks like the new presses are different, but mine is from 2000. It's still running great. I push out 100 .45ACP in about 30 mins. I started out wiht the bullet fingers and case collator, but have since removed them. Every stroke, add a case and add a bullet. I find it helps me stay more focused, able to check for powder and mechanical stability. Gearing up to add a turret plate and shell plate for quick changes to 9mm.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Good to know thank you. Even with the quirks, did your rounds per hour increase dramatically over the turret press? I can do about 150 9mm an hour at a relaxed pace and about 180-190 pushing the tempo on the turret.
    I know that can be at least tripled with a D650.

    More like 4x plus that rate.

    I do 9mm at about 900 per hour. .45 ACP at 1000 per hour.

    .40 is the slowest, but since I was loading a lot, Dillon changed the .40 part that guides the cases as they drop, and it got much better.
     

    Nanook

    F-notso-NG-anymore
    The loadmaster might be a better bet for you instead. Look at FSreloading(dot) com for alternative prices that are pretty cool.

    I have a couple super 1050s with Posness Warren power drives for bulk processing, have given some smaller red turret presses away to my newer shooters to make room, and use the Loadmaster to make my match ammo. I have a NIB .50BMG I haven't had a reason to unpack yet...maybe in a couple more years.
     

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