Thanks for sharing. It's all about personal preference but I found that priming off the press eliminates all the BS with the priming system on the press. Also I just put the bullets on by hand. Its a decent press when you consider the price.
I have been using the 4 hole turret press for about 3 years. Just got the Lee Loadmaster. Then I found out about this press. I wish I would have gotten this one instead of the loadmaster. The priming system on the loadmaster sucks. This priming system is the same as on the 4 hole turret. I'm fine with that system. Because it works.
Sell the LoadMaster on eBay. If its very new you can get 75% or better of what you paid. If you have a Lee scale, throw it in for free to sweeten the deal, because Lee scales really suck.
The priming system on the Lee Loadmaster is terrible. It never seats the primer at the right depth. So I stop using the the priming system on the Lee Loadmaster. Now I use the RCBS atuo bench priming tool. It's faster and the seating depth of the primer is perfect.
I've had the LoadMaster press for a long time and have gotten good service from it but the priming system is a bit finicky and causes the most problems for reloaders. Using the Safety Prime system is probably an improvement. You seemed to be reloading at a very good pace.
I never could get the bullet feeder working properly. Many hours with adjustments and a few crumpled cases. Personally I think the bullet feeder is garbage and not worth the money
I can see it before it index’s if you lean forward a bit. Power pistol and 700x fills the case well. I don’t think you would be able to see it with a low density powder like titegroup.
someguy325es Thanks for the reply and of course I'm stocked up on lots of Titegroup. Think I will give it a try its inexpensive enough that it won't hurt the budget.
@@triggersafe1 Its difficult to see with the TG. I ended up buying a cheap endoscope camera of amazon and hooked it up to an old tablet I wasn't using and positioning it to look into the case. Simple cheap solution.
LEE has a post on their website about the older safety prime version have problems. They made the latest in Summer of 2017 and the parts are a grey plastic.
I bought the new one with the press and it was crap. The most reliable combo I found is to take the trigger mechanism off the new grey one and put it on the old round black tray. If you look closely in the video you’ll see it’s the new style trigger and old style tray.
Awsome! Finally some1 else's perspective on this press great points and good job. Seem's to work great for 9mm. I'll be uploading a video soon showing this press indexing 30-06. Noticed you trust the autodrum measure quite well. Your opinions on that with fine powder?
I'm thinking about one of these presses also. I do .45ACP and .223 plus occasionally some 30-30 and 7mm Rem Mag on a Lee classic now. It works for me, but I'd like to play with a progressive for fun and some more speed at times. They say .223 is too long to auto index. How's the manual indexing work? Would that be a hassle, or no big deal. I suppose there are spring pin detents or similar to locate each position. Do you just turn the plate by hand? I just bought that new Safety Prime and it works well once you learn a couple little technique tricks. You need to push it laterally, smoothly into place and lightly hold it there, and THEN push down somewhat firmly to set the primer level in the anvil. After the first dozen primers I had the routine down and it's worked nicely since.
I sold it and upgraded to a hornady LNL. After accidentally loading a couple of squibs I decided I needed a 5th station for a powder lockout die. I love the hornady.
Thanks for the nice informative video. I have to ask, when watching I seen the press had a lot of movement on the bench when working it. Was that from the bench plate or the bench top itself flexing? It was hard to tell in the video with the glare from the light. Seems like all that press mounting flex might be contributing to some of the problems with the bullet feeder?
Yes, the bench top and the bench plate both flex a little bit. The bench is an old army desk with a big welded bracket underneath to support the press but it still flexes. The reason I have the bench plate is because I have 3 presses and also have a portable bench that I take places so I like to be able to swap presses between the 2 benches and 3 presses without drilling my bench full of holes. I believe the press movement is why bullets fall out of the feeder. I am going to try putting some friction tape in there to keep the bullets shaking out.
When the next bullet drops down it’s just sitting on a metal shelf and the only thing holding it there is gravity and friction, so I’m sure the press moving doesn’t help.
I could not make it feed 223 for the life of me. I gave up on that. I do not like this press at all for 223 unless your just loading preprimed brass, there is way too much going on having to feed everything by hand. I will go back to my turret for loading 223 unless it’s preprimed brass. I am still happy with it for loading 9mm and 38 special.
Im thinking of getting this to do 9mm, 223, and 300blk and using my lee turret for my 308 and precision 223 loads. Thanks for the video so I can see that it works good. Ive wanted a turret for so long. What do you think about this one compared to the loadmaster? I would think this would work a little better since its newer and they could work bugs out of their other progressives.
I love my turret press for reloading rifle ammo. I do not have a loadmaster but I have used one. The reason I got this is because on the loadmaster I used there would be a primer jam every couple hundred rounds or so and because everything is under the shellplate you had to take the whole thing apart to fix it. I like this because its all out in the open on the front. I still may buy a loadmaster as well just to try and see which I like better.
The loadmaster is not easy to set up , and you must be very careful with the priming system, if you are new to progressive reloading get the Breach Lock Pro. This press is much cheaper , with the Loadmaster you have to buy extra die plates as well as shell plates . I ordered this press today and am going to leave my Loadmaster set up for two rifle calibers because its such a pain in the ass to switch it to pistol. I have two Lee turret press's on my bench as well . I have been reloading thirty years. Stay away from the from the Lee Progressive 1000 , mine is currently on my boat in case I need an emergency anchor.
Think of it has a cheap alternative for someone who wants much faster production rates of ammo, but is cash constrained or simple does not need to burn through 500+ rounds a week. I would trade my classic turrent press for one in a heartbeat. It's is not 100% progressive but makes the classic and lee value presses look like a turtle in comparison.
That is quite the recommendation. I also have a Lee Classic Turret -- which has performed excellently for me. But the new press affords 1/4 the number of strokes / round. Is the new press sturdy enough to replace my Classic Turret?
They are pretty close in price. This cost me $160 for the press, shellplate, and case feeder. Plus the bullet feeder which doesn’t come either the loadmaster either. I already had everything else. The apeal of this to me was having the priming system in the front rather than under the shellplate, even if it is manual.
Yes, I am decapping and resizing. The only thing done to the brass is tumble it. I got this in addition to my classic turret. I will do 9mm, 38, 223, and 300 blk on this and bigger stuff on the turret. I do about 150-200 9mm per hour on the turret and about 400 an hour on this.
jesus christ thats fast. i'll definitely add this to my bench as some point as i've been pretty fond of Lee products and the price is very affordable. if you're doing 223 on this im assuming you sizing and decap separately right because of the case lube process to size and then to tumble again to clean it off? How is the stickiness on the pull when the case is being extracted from the powder thru expander die?
I have not done 223 yet, I only got the 9mm shellplate to test it out first. For everything I load I dry tumble them in walnut with the primers in, then spray them in a bucket with Hornady One Shot, and reload them in one step. I don’t have time to decap, clean, size, clean. That is just a waste of time. With a light film of One Shot it’s very easy to pull them out of the expander. It does not affect primers or powder
I dont want to hate. But you really did over complicate this press by adding all the attachments. Just get a lee pro 1000. Does all what you are trying to do here without issues you bare having.
someguy325es lee pro 1000 does everything you're doing here but more consistent. It also sets the primer in automatically. I am not a fan of the bullet feeder as I like to visually see powder in the case before seating the head. I swear by lee products. But if you're looking to load progressively like you are here and pro 1000 would be more consistent for you.
No I can’t. I need 4 stations for some of the calibers I load and the max OAL on the pro1000 is too short. I can see the powder in the case. If I wanted a pro1000 I would have bought one.
It's cool bro. I'm just suggesting something that'll work better. You don't have to justify too me why you're constantly picking primers and bullets off of the floor.
I have the same model 4000 and I have to slow down because my case feeder isn’t working properly for some reason.it try’s to drop 2 cases on the platform and this makes the feeder that pushes the case to the shell plate bind up
Mine does too, I ruined the plastic are by forcing the it up not knowing there was one case of top of the other, crushed the cases but worse it bent the plastic. So I had to take a knife and trim some off the sides, but it left that indentation which made it worse so I’ve put some tape over it worst thing is this is the second one I ruined but I’ve done it enough now I think if I bought another plastic base piece i’ve learned to slow down and would work OK
Good Video , thanks for taking the time , all the other breech lock video's were driving me nut's !
took me forever to find a vid like this
Thanks for sharing. It's all about personal preference but I found that priming off the press eliminates all the BS with the priming system on the press. Also I just put the bullets on by hand. Its a decent press when you consider the price.
Priming off the press would require depriming and loading in two stages. I like to do it all in one shot. Each to his own
I have been using the 4 hole turret press for about 3 years. Just got the Lee Loadmaster. Then I found out about this press. I wish I would have gotten this one instead of the loadmaster. The priming system on the loadmaster sucks. This priming system is the same as on the 4 hole turret. I'm fine with that system. Because it works.
Sell the LoadMaster on eBay. If its very new you can get 75% or better of what you paid. If you have a Lee scale, throw it in for free to sweeten the deal, because Lee scales really suck.
The priming system on the Lee Loadmaster is terrible. It never seats the primer at the right depth. So I stop using the the priming system on the Lee Loadmaster. Now I use the RCBS atuo bench priming tool. It's faster and the seating depth of the primer is perfect.
I've had the LoadMaster press for a long time and have gotten good service from it but the priming system is a bit finicky and causes the most problems for reloaders. Using the Safety Prime system is probably an improvement. You seemed to be reloading at a very good pace.
I actually moved on from this press to a hornady AP and am quite pleased with it.
I never could get the bullet feeder working properly. Many hours with adjustments and a few crumpled cases. Personally I think the bullet feeder is garbage and not worth the money
Thanks for the video. Can you see the powder load at the bullet seating station as its towards the back of the press? Thanks
I can see it before it index’s if you lean forward a bit. Power pistol and 700x fills the case well. I don’t think you would be able to see it with a low density powder like titegroup.
someguy325es
Thanks for the reply and of course I'm stocked up on lots of Titegroup. Think I will give it a try its inexpensive enough that it won't hurt the budget.
Perhaps a small mirror might help. They also make little snake cameras that plug into a smart phone or tablet for like $20
ruiz212 so did it work for you with titegroup?
@@triggersafe1
Its difficult to see with the TG. I ended up buying a cheap endoscope camera of amazon and hooked it up to an old tablet I wasn't using and positioning it to look into the case. Simple cheap solution.
LEE has a post on their website about the older safety prime version have problems. They made the latest in Summer of 2017 and the parts are a grey plastic.
I bought the new one with the press and it was crap. The most reliable combo I found is to take the trigger mechanism off the new grey one and put it on the old round black tray. If you look closely in the video you’ll see it’s the new style trigger and old style tray.
A little Rube Goldberg but it works. Good video. Kaldor from THR
Awsome! Finally some1 else's perspective on this press great points and good job. Seem's to work great for 9mm. I'll be uploading a video soon showing this press indexing 30-06. Noticed you trust the autodrum measure quite well. Your opinions on that with fine powder?
The auto drum has never failed me. I can see the powder in the case just before it indexes over.
It throws within .1 grains. 30-06 will be to long to auto index unless you’ve got something up your sleeve
I'm thinking about one of these presses also. I do .45ACP and .223 plus occasionally some 30-30 and 7mm Rem Mag on a Lee classic now. It works for me, but I'd like to play with a progressive for fun and some more speed at times. They say .223 is too long to auto index. How's the manual indexing work? Would that be a hassle, or no big deal. I suppose there are spring pin detents or similar to locate each position. Do you just turn the plate by hand? I just bought that new Safety Prime and it works well once you learn a couple little technique tricks. You need to push it laterally, smoothly into place and lightly hold it there, and THEN push down somewhat firmly to set the primer level in the anvil. After the first dozen primers I had the routine down and it's worked nicely since.
oops. I guess I have the Challenger. Has the big LEE written down the side of the frame.
Thanks for the video!
Cool video, how's it holding up a year later? Any regrets?
I sold it and upgraded to a hornady LNL. After accidentally loading a couple of squibs I decided I needed a 5th station for a powder lockout die. I love the hornady.
Thanks for the nice informative video. I have to ask, when watching I seen the press had a lot of movement on the bench when working it. Was that from the bench plate or the bench top itself flexing? It was hard to tell in the video with the glare from the light.
Seems like all that press mounting flex might be contributing to some of the problems with the bullet feeder?
Yes, the bench top and the bench plate both flex a little bit. The bench is an old army desk with a big welded bracket underneath to support the press but it still flexes. The reason I have the bench plate is because I have 3 presses and also have a portable bench that I take places so I like to be able to swap presses between the 2 benches and 3 presses without drilling my bench full of holes. I believe the press movement is why bullets fall out of the feeder. I am going to try putting some friction tape in there to keep the bullets shaking out.
Thanks for that reply. I was thinking the flexing of the mounting couldn't help the bullet feeder work correctly.
When the next bullet drops down it’s just sitting on a metal shelf and the only thing holding it there is gravity and friction, so I’m sure the press moving doesn’t help.
I do find the case feeder doesn’t work very well with 223. I’m looking for tips to see if it can be improved
I could not make it feed 223 for the life of me. I gave up on that. I do not like this press at all for 223 unless your just loading preprimed brass, there is way too much going on having to feed everything by hand. I will go back to my turret for loading 223 unless it’s preprimed brass.
I am still happy with it for loading 9mm and 38 special.
Looks Mickey Mouse but seems to work. I always wear safety glasses when reloading.
Im thinking of getting this to do 9mm, 223, and 300blk and using my lee turret for my 308 and precision 223 loads. Thanks for the video so I can see that it works good. Ive wanted a turret for so long. What do you think about this one compared to the loadmaster? I would think this would work a little better since its newer and they could work bugs out of their other progressives.
I love my turret press for reloading rifle ammo. I do not have a loadmaster but I have used one. The reason I got this is because on the loadmaster I used there would be a primer jam every couple hundred rounds or so and because everything is under the shellplate you had to take the whole thing apart to fix it. I like this because its all out in the open on the front. I still may buy a loadmaster as well just to try and see which I like better.
Cool, thanks for the reply. I think I would like having everything out in the open too.
The loadmaster is not easy to set up , and you must be very careful with the priming system, if you are new to progressive reloading get the Breach Lock Pro. This press is much cheaper , with the Loadmaster you have to buy extra die plates as well as shell plates . I ordered this press today and am going to leave my Loadmaster set up for two rifle calibers because its such a pain in the ass to switch it to pistol. I have two Lee turret press's on my bench as well . I have been reloading thirty years. Stay away from the from the Lee Progressive 1000 , mine is currently on my boat in case I need an emergency anchor.
Is it possible to set up a motor to run the crank 😂
Yes, just like it is possible for a tortoise to climb Mount Everest
Would the bullet feeder work with the pro 4000?
Hi,
how many bullet per hour? Thanks!
I have a Lee Loadmaster; I'm trying to decide if I need this. So far, no.
Think of it has a cheap alternative for someone who wants much faster production rates of ammo, but is cash constrained or simple does not need to burn through 500+ rounds a week. I would trade my classic turrent press for one in a heartbeat. It's is not 100% progressive but makes the classic and lee value presses look like a turtle in comparison.
That is quite the recommendation. I also have a Lee Classic Turret -- which has performed excellently for me. But the new press affords 1/4 the number of strokes / round. Is the new press sturdy enough to replace my Classic Turret?
After adding all the accessories isn’t the price close to a lee loadmaster? 🤔
They are pretty close in price. This cost me $160 for the press, shellplate, and case feeder. Plus the bullet feeder which doesn’t come either the loadmaster either. I already had everything else. The apeal of this to me was having the priming system in the front rather than under the shellplate, even if it is manual.
is it worth it to upgrade my classic turret to this? By the way are you actually decapping and sizing during this process?
Yes, I am decapping and resizing. The only thing done to the brass is tumble it. I got this in addition to my classic turret. I will do 9mm, 38, 223, and 300 blk on this and bigger stuff on the turret. I do about 150-200 9mm per hour on the turret and about 400 an hour on this.
jesus christ thats fast. i'll definitely add this to my bench as some point as i've been pretty fond of Lee products and the price is very affordable. if you're doing 223 on this im assuming you sizing and decap separately right because of the case lube process to size and then to tumble again to clean it off? How is the stickiness on the pull when the case is being extracted from the powder thru expander die?
I have not done 223 yet, I only got the 9mm shellplate to test it out first. For everything I load I dry tumble them in walnut with the primers in, then spray them in a bucket with Hornady One Shot, and reload them in one step. I don’t have time to decap, clean, size, clean. That is just a waste of time. With a light film of One Shot it’s very easy to pull them out of the expander. It does not affect primers or powder
What is the exact model of this setup? Is it the Pro 4000 Kit
leeprecision.com/auto-breech-lock-pro.html
Audio... Please ! tjl
There is audio. Perhaps your mute is on.
I dont want to hate. But you really did over complicate this press by adding all the attachments. Just get a lee pro 1000. Does all what you are trying to do here without issues you bare having.
A pro 1000 does not fit my needs. I don’t see how this is complicated.
someguy325es lee pro 1000 does everything you're doing here but more consistent. It also sets the primer in automatically. I am not a fan of the bullet feeder as I like to visually see powder in the case before seating the head. I swear by lee products. But if you're looking to load progressively like you are here and pro 1000 would be more consistent for you.
No I can’t. I need 4 stations for some of the calibers I load and the max OAL on the pro1000 is too short. I can see the powder in the case. If I wanted a pro1000 I would have bought one.
It's cool bro. I'm just suggesting something that'll work better. You don't have to justify too me why you're constantly picking primers and bullets off of the floor.
I clearly explained why I cannot use a pro 1000 for all the cartridges I want to load but I guess your too dense to accept that. Happy reloading.
I have the same model 4000 and I have to slow down because my case feeder isn’t working properly for some reason.it try’s to drop 2 cases on the platform and this makes the feeder that pushes the case to the shell plate bind up
Mine does too, I ruined the plastic are by forcing the it up not knowing there was one case of top of the other, crushed the cases but worse it bent the plastic.
So I had to take a knife and trim some off the sides, but it left that indentation which made it worse so I’ve put some tape over it
worst thing is this is the second one I ruined but I’ve done it enough now I think if I bought another plastic base piece i’ve learned to slow down and would work OK