Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro

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  • Santa wife got me one for Christmas. From my research, they are not truly progressive presses, more like a turret press on steroids trying to be a progressive. I'm under the impression that 350-400rds per hour is very feasible.
    Once I get it up and running, I will post updates. Note that I am going to be starting with .357 Sig, which is supposedly a royal PITA to load.

    Go ahead "Dillon People", I'm ready for the bashing. DaemonAssassin will be bashing me in:
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    LGood48

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 3, 2011
    5,959
    Cecil County
    Looking at the Lee Precision web site video it appears that the Auto Breech Lock Pro does function as a true progressive.
    https://leeprecision.com/auto-breech-lock-pro.html

    You can add a case feeder, bullet feeder, powder measure. It also uses a 4 position shell plate as opposed to a turret and single shell holder. I'm personally not a fan of the Lee Safety prime system, but would allow you to prime on the press easily.

    As an aside, I've used nothing but Lee products since the mid 80s and have absolutely no issues with them. My sole departure is a Lyman EZ-Prime tool.

    Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    Looks like an auto-indexing progressive press to me. It even has bullet and case feeder options. One of the things that I see is that you could choose to use lock-n-load bushings with that press since it supports 1¼"-12 threads. IMHO, you should investigate that.

    There is no need for us Dillon people to bash you. You'll know if/when it's time to go blue. In the mean time, let us know how you like it.
     
    Looks like an auto-indexing progressive press to me. It even has bullet and case feeder options. One of the things that I see is that you could choose to use lock-n-load bushings with that press since it supports 1¼"-12 threads. IMHO, you should investigate that.

    There is no need for us Dillon people to bash you. You'll know if/when it's time to go blue. In the mean time, let us know how you like it.

    It is an inside joke between DA and me. I call him Mr. Dillon Uber Alles.

    The reason I said it is not a true progressive is the primers need to be manually fed for each round.
    I got the case feeder, but will be manually feeding bullets for starters- several people have had issues with the bullet feeder not consistently functioning properly.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    You could look at it this way without additional automation. With the 550, I: 1) index the plate, 2) insert case, 3) insert bullet, 4) pull handle, 5) prime, 6) Repeat. With your new Lee, 1) Insert case, 2) insert bullet, 3) pull handle, 4) push primer feed, 5) prime forward, 6) Repeat. Not a big difference in my mind. 5 steps to a completed round. It's every bit as much of a progressive as a 550. You have multiple rounds "in progress" of development at the same time. This differs with a turret in that you only have one round in the press at a time.
     
    Looks like an auto-indexing progressive press to me. It even has bullet and case feeder options. One of the things that I see is that you could choose to use lock-n-load bushings with that press since it supports 1¼"-12 threads. IMHO, you should investigate that.

    There is no need for us Dillon people to bash you. You'll know if/when it's time to go blue. In the mean time, let us know how you like it.

    I set it up and did some dummy runs last night. Today, after work, I ran about 50 loads of .357 Sig through it. To say it is a learning curve over a single stage is an understatement. I can run a single case through all the steps without issues. Once I have all 4 stations going I keep messing something up. I'm sure it is just getting into the groove of doing the steps in the same order after each pull.
    There are two negatives I can come up with so far:
    1- I do not like the priming system at all. It is flimsy, I drop primers on the floor and have an occasional one end up upside down.
    2- You have to go up 100% and then down 100%. If you stop midway through a motion (forgot to add primer, etc) it screws up the timing of the shell plate and it will no longer line up with the dies. This action can't be undone; you have to pull that station's shell and wait for its turn again and return the brass to the same station.

    I will post more updates as I familiarize myself with the system.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    Santa wife got me one for Christmas. From my research, they are not truly progressive presses, more like a turret press on steroids trying to be a progressive. I'm under the impression that 350-400rds per hour is very feasible.
    Once I get it up and running, I will post updates. Note that I am going to be starting with .357 Sig, which is supposedly a royal PITA to load.

    Go ahead "Dillon People", I'm ready for the bashing. DaemonAssassin will be bashing me in:
    3 I'm a Dillon guy, but I'm no bigot. I has Lee dies on my Dillon... :innocent0
    2
    1

    :D
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    I set it up and did some dummy runs last night. Today, after work, I ran about 50 loads of .357 Sig through it. To say it is a learning curve over a single stage is an understatement. I can run a single case through all the steps without issues. Once I have all 4 stations going I keep messing something up. I'm sure it is just getting into the groove of doing the steps in the same order after each pull.
    There are two negatives I can come up with so far:
    1- I do not like the priming system at all. It is flimsy, I drop primers on the floor and have an occasional one end up upside down.
    2- You have to go up 100% and then down 100%. If you stop midway through a motion (forgot to add primer, etc) it screws up the timing of the shell plate and it will no longer line up with the dies. This action can't be undone; you have to pull that station's shell and wait for its turn again and return the brass to the same station.

    I will post more updates as I familiarize myself with the system.

    Dillons can be just as screwy.
     
    I'm finally getting the hang of this thing and am really starting to like it. If I go slow and deliberate, I'm guessing I could do ~250 rounds per hour.
    I still don't like the priming system, as there is way to much play considering how tight the tolerance is for a good primer drop. People say there is a technique, and once it "clicks" in one's head they will really like it. I haven't found that technique yet- even w/Youtube videos explaining it.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    Glad to hear it's going well! I take my time. I normally don't load more than 200 or 300 in a session, and I'll be at my Dillon 550 for an hour or two including documentation, cleanup, and organization. Any longer and interruptions are more likely to occur from my wife and son - interruptions are one of the dangers to the reloader.
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    Sometimes it's easier and quicker to run ammo through twice, especially with bottleneck calibers. Use the case feeder, and a single sizing/depriming die, sometimes using a 40S&W then a 2nd 357sig die with the decapper out is better, no need to mess with powder, primers, or bullets, just fill the case feeder and keep pulling the handle. Prime off press with something fast like a bench prime, then return the primed cases to the feeder, and without the drag from the sizing die, it's easy to run through fast.
     
    Sometimes it's easier and quicker to run ammo through twice, especially with bottleneck calibers. Use the case feeder, and a single sizing/depriming die, sometimes using a 40S&W then a 2nd 357sig die with the decapper out is better, no need to mess with powder, primers, or bullets, just fill the case feeder and keep pulling the handle. Prime off press with something fast like a bench prime, then return the primed cases to the feeder, and without the drag from the sizing die, it's easy to run through fast.

    I have been thinking of doing almost exactly what you are advising...
    Single Stage- .40 S&W carbide and de-prime. or Run this stage only through progressive with the other stations empty. The case feeder would speed things up.
    Auto Prime for hand priming
    Breech Lock Pro:
    1- .357 Sig sizing, no decapper
    2- Powder charge
    3- Bullet seating
    4- Factory crimp

    ETA- I think this might actually save some time, but it would surely make the process smoother. That auto prime is a major PITA. The other bonus would be the "muscling" for re-sizing/decapping wouldn't have any bearing when going progressive.
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    I have been thinking of doing almost exactly what you are advising...
    Single Stage- .40 S&W carbide and de-prime. or Run this stage only through progressive with the other stations empty. The case feeder would speed things up.
    Auto Prime for hand priming
    Breech Lock Pro:
    1- .357 Sig sizing, no decapper
    2- Powder charge
    3- Bullet seating
    4- Factory crimp

    ETA- I think this might actually save some time, but it would surely make the process smoother. That auto prime is a major PITA. The other bonus would be the "muscling" for re-sizing/decapping wouldn't have any bearing when going progressive.

    I started out progressive loading with a Lee Pro1000 after single stage and a turret, the main issue with ALL progressives is the primer feed, they generally suck, but better presses suck less, and they flex less, so you get more consistent results, especially when a lot of pressure is applied in one station, like carbide sizing 9mm. Moved up to a Hornady LNLAP, and it's a lot faster with far less "tweaking" time to fix problems, but I still follow similar setup and procedures. I can dump brass into the feeder and crank out 1K+ sized cases in an hour, I do this for rifle cals, a ton faster and easier than sizing on a single stage. Then I tumble to get the lube off, and trim/debur on a FA prep center, and return it to the press for a 2nd turn to charge, seat, and crimp. I hate primer tubes, but made a ghetto "vibra prime" from old Lee handi prime parts to fill tubes quickly by flipping rounds in the attatched tray, and shaking them into the tubes, the primer feed on the press is the single biggest improvement over the pro1000 I used previously, and will run clean spent pistol brass all the way to completed ammo in a single trip through the press. For the Lee press, It was just as fast to size a batch, then grab a few peices of brass at a time, and run them through my now discontinued Autoprime 2. The Hornady powder measure is also a ton better, easier to use, and WAY more consistent, I like to have an open station between the powder measure and bullet seater, zip-tie a bullet tray high on the press next to it, with a desk light overtop. This allows me to check powder and place a bullet without having to wiggle my hand inside the press.
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    Santa wife got me one for Christmas. From my research, they are not truly progressive presses, more like a turret press on steroids trying to be a progressive. I'm under the impression that 350-400rds per hour is very feasible.
    Once I get it up and running, I will post updates. Note that I am going to be starting with .357 Sig, which is supposedly a royal PITA to load.

    Go ahead "Dillon People", I'm ready for the bashing. DaemonAssassin will be bashing me in:
    3
    2
    1

    :mad54:

    Dillon, Dillon, Dillon. Rah rah rah. Blue Kool-aid, Blue Kool-aid, Blue Kool-aid.

    Presses suck, so embrace the suck. Grumble, grumble, grumble.





    :lol:

    Ok, now that we have that out of the way. I'm sure you are enjoying the speed that you are generating ammo, and that is a good thing. I'm happy to see that you moved into the progressive world, no matter who made the press.

    I'm going to have to sort some more brass from the UL and I know there is more 357 Sig in there. I'll put it into the Ziplok bag that I already set to the side for you.
     

    cstone

    Active Member
    Dec 12, 2018
    842
    Baltimore, MD
    I have a Lee Challenger Breech Lock, an RCBS Rock Chucker, and a Dillon 550. I would love to get a 650 but I just can't justify the case feeder for the volume I produce. Before the 550, I had a Lee Pro1000. It was good but four holes/positions is better than three. As stated above, the priming system is the weakness in most presses. The other thing that I have moved away from is spending too much time at the bench just to prep cases.

    When I bring a bucket of brass home from the range, I will sit on the front porch depriming, sorting, and giving an initial inspection of the brass. I use a Harvey deprimer and I haven't found anything that I can't deprime with it under .50 caliber or shotgun hulls. It is nice being able to deprime almost anything boxer primed without any type of shell holder. After a while you just get a rhythm going. Once finished the brass goes into the vibratory tumbler by caliber. I will run the tumbler all day for the initial cleaning, giving the brass another secondary inspection once it is clean. Most of my pistol brass is sized on the Lee Challenger using Lee carbide dies. Then I use an RCBS universal hand priming tool to prime the sized pistol cases. .357 SIG brass is a bit different as most of what I shoot is Speer nickel plated brass which has a smaller than standard flash hole. Since these cases are once fired by me, they aren't very dirty to begin with. Once sorted and inspected, I resize and deprime with an RCBS carbide .40 S&W die with a small depriming pin. This pin is a bit bigger than the flash hole and opens it up just enough that on further reloading I can use a standard depriming pin in the Harvey deprimer. Once tumbled, these will get hand primed, normally while sitting on my front porch (yes I am that guy in the neighborhood who watches everything : ) Prepped and primed, my pistol reloading on the 550 is easy. Right hand is feed a case and pull the handle. Left hand is place a bullet. I have a light from Inline Fabrication that lets me see the volume of powder being dropped and on my pistol tool heads I have Lee Auto Disk Powder measures with the spring return. Once you know which hole produces the desired powder charge for a given caliber and powder, the process is pretty dead simple. On .357 SIG, first position on the 550 is a .357 SIG sizing die with the deprime pin removed. This essentially neck sizes the case, which is pretty important for this caliber as neck tension matters. Second position is the powder drop, third is bullet seat, fourth and last is a Lee factory crimp die primarily to remove the bell in the case mouth.

    Other than sizing and loading finished rounds, a lot of my brass prep is done outside while enjoying the beautiful Colorado sunshine.

    Rifle case prep is similar with the addition of swaging (Dillon Super Swage) once fired brass and trimming (Giraud) after resizing and retumbling to remove case lube after sizing. Prepped and primed is how I store most of my brass. This makes reloading almost anything on the 550 pretty straight forward. Speed isn't that important for me but it comes with a rhythm. Brass prep is a never ending process. There are always containers of something that needs something done to them. I enjoy reloading almost as much as shooting...almost.

    Be safe.
     
    I ordered .40/10mm dies and am going to start the double run method.
    I already bought spare depriming pins, chucked them up on my drill press and slightly narrowed them with a fine file. As cstone said, a lot of Speer .357 Sig brass has very small flash holes.

    FWIW- I took my first 25 loads to AGC yesterday with my chrono. They were running around 1400fps, with all but one between 1390 and 1415. The outlier was 1445, which is hot (even for .357 Sig) but not something approaching "kaboom" territory. I recovered 24/25 pieces of brass and didn't see any pressure signs. Once I got the auto drum tuned in, it was throwing charges within .1gr of my target load.
    My load: Speer brass, CCI sm pistol, 8.8gr Power Pistol, RMR 124gr HP, 1.140 OAL
     
    Last edited:

    cstone

    Active Member
    Dec 12, 2018
    842
    Baltimore, MD
    Just looked at my .357 SIG recipe:

    I use CCI small pistol or Tula KVB-9 primers interchangeably (until I run out of the Tula)
    125 Gr Montana Gold FMJ
    8.4 gr Power Pistol Lee disk hole .76

    5.8 Gr Promo Lee disk hole .88

    My goal is to get a similar feel to the Speer .357 SIG 125 gr GDHP I normally carry. I also try to get the same felt recoil from my .40 S&W reloads. I shoot all of this, .357 SIG and .40 S&W through my G22, G27, P229, P250, and I have ARs chambered in both calibers.

    My .40 S&W recipe:

    155 Gr Montana Gold JHP
    7.2 Gr Power Pistol Lee disk hole .66
    KVB-9 Tula spp

    .40 S&W Self Defense recipe
    nickel plated brass
    155 Gr Speer GDHP
    8.4 Gr Power Pistol Lee disk hole .76
    CCI #500 spp


    I do verify my charge weight when beginning a reloading session and periodically while reloading. The fixed volume holes in the Lee disks are almost idiot proof enough for me. As long as the handle stroke is complete, the disk makes full travel back and forth, and the powder is flowing, the cases fill to the same level just about every time. Some cases, like .45 ACP are easier to check than .357 SIG just because the case mouth is larger, but the light shining straight down from the tool head makes it easier to see.

    Be safe.
     
    I took Alucard0822's advice and it worked like a charm. I put the resized to .40 and primed brass into the feeder tubes. On the second run, I size the neck, light flare/charge, seat then factory crimp.
    Being the nerd I am, I timed myself. I am comfortably and safely loading 10 rounds per minute on the second run. I am happy with that speed.
    I am checking every round in my case gauge and do the setback push test on a random 5-6 rounds per run. If they all pass, I don't test the rest.
    By the way, I really like this case gauge. The steps make reading the length really easy. https://www.amazon.com/9mm-Case-Amm...d=1547321593&sr=1-2&keywords=the+shooters+box
     

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