Lee pro 1000

[kriller134]

I want to get into reloading and was wondering what calguns thinks about this press. I read Randall's sticky and he recommended this as an economical way to get into the game. I'm planning on getting the 223 kit. I'd also like to get 9mm and 45 dies down the road.

[Fordtrucks]

Get the classic turret set better. More versitile and less fiddling. That's just my view.

[dsltech]

I also recommend a turret. The little extra spent is well worth it. Easy to turn the turret to change the die being used vs unscrewing and changing dies. I have a progressive but I rather have an extra turret instead of my extra single stage.

[kriller134]

Thanks I was originally looking at that until I read the sticky. Should I buy the kit or piece it out?

[stilly]

Thanks I was originally looking at that until I read the sticky. Should I buy the kit or piece it out?

I have to agree with the others. You really should start with the Lee Classic turret. NOT THE ALUMINUM ONE, the CAST ONE. There is a red one that looks like an arrow kinda and then there is a more boxy looking taller one made of aluminum. Start with the 4 hole Lee Classic Turret that is flatter and looks like an arrow.

I am glad you read the stickies, but the Pro 1000 is prolly meant for people that are on a budget that just have to crank out ammo and might need to tinker with the press to get it to work properly for them.

I have no experience on the Pro 1000, but it is a progressive and the general rule of thumb is you should not start reloading on a progressive.

With that said now here come all the blue men and those that think that everyone is an exception to the rules...

I will leave that part be.

As for kit or not, that is your choice. I personally would not buy a kit, but I like to shop and customize everything. I once bought a car and had the exhaust, rims, and tint on it before it even pulled into the driveway for the first time...

There is really nothing wrong with the kit, but it sends you down one path and you might want to go a different direction so maybe you should spend a little more money and get different things. I like to have a balance beam scale that I can trust, although I have not used mine in the past year since I have a trustworthy digital scale. If you can live with the kit, then maybe you should buy one and then just go buy another scale and maybe other items that you might want to swap out, but from what I hear, the only things that many folks swap out in the kit is a scale.

If you buy the kit, FSreloading.com is the cheapest and then Titanreloading.com is the second cheapest usually. After that it is all over between midsouth, grafs, recobs, palmetto whatever...

If you are looking for a decent digital scale to use as a second scale, have a look at this:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-GEMINI-20-Portable-MilliGram/dp/B0012TDNAM

That scale is mr popular when we have reloading clinics. Also, that scale has been through a lot and has a really good scale for the price. If you spend about another $40 you can get one that will do around 50 grams but I forgot what that was called and this one has always been good for me.


Ya know what we need? We need a FLOW CHART to help people buy their first press... I think I should get started on one.

Good luck in your choices...

[kriller134]

Thanks for the long response stilly. It's really insightful. Looks like I need to figure out what I want as far as the kit goes.

[Goesfaster]

Lots of good advice. I love my Pro 1000. 9,45,38,357,41 and 223 all work like a dream. You said you were looking at .223 so please know that 80%(roughly) is case prep which you will want to do off the press. Also with only a 3 hole turret which the 1000 is it limits your ability to crimp as a separate station.

Like I said before I love mine, looks like you are doing your research, enjoy the options available to you.

[BAWunder]

I started reloading back in the early 90s. At that time I didn't have a lot is extra cash so I went with the Lee 1000. By the 00s I was spending most of my spare time racing so I got rid of all my reloading stuff. Earlier this year I started shooting IDPA and decided I needed to get back into reloading. At this stage of my life I could have afforded to go with a Dillion. But based on my past experience I picked up another 1000 and continue to successfully crank out the ammo and save fair amount of $s.

People complain that it is finicky but I really didn't find that to be the case. One thing I would recommend is to NOT start off by going full progressive. Do one round at a time until you learn to feel what the press is telling you (seating of the primer etc.). Don't rush it. Once you know your press well (1K+ rounds), THEN go progressive.

[rmfool]

We have two of them. Bought one new then was given to us. New one works ok, take your time the faster you go the more problems you have. We can do about 80 rds in 5 mins no problem. The other get changed between 223 38 44 45. Been having problems with the timing. All in all not too bad for the money. Wish we would have got the bigger press so we can do 30-06 and 308 for the semi autos.

[bigbossman]

Another vote for the Pro 1000. It is really easy to load single stage on it as a learning process, and once you have the basics down you will really appreciate the progressive aspect of loading pistol ammunition. I have two of them - one is set up as a dedicated .45acp press because I shoot a lot of IPSC, and the other I swap tool heads in/out for 9mm, 44mag, and 32-20. I find that I can easily load 400 - 500 rounds of 45 an hour, just plodding along.

Great, inexpensive presses. Keep them clean and maintained, and they'll run forever. I bought the 1st one in 1996 or so, and have probably loaded close to 100k rounds on it. I've worn out a primer tray or two, but that's it...... everything else is original.

[jpm804]

Was in the same boat recently also since im a new reloader and went with the classic turret and couldn't be happier ...

I went with the kit, but you can decide if it's worth it to you. I use everything in the kit minus the scale but use it as a backup.

Look for coupons from opticsplanet and they have free shipping on the kit ...

[Cowboy T]

I use both models being discussed here rather extensively, the Classic Turret and the Pro 1000. Here's my take on it.

Getting started? Don't even *THINK* about *ANY* progressive at this point. I would recommend you pick up the cheapie little $30 "Lee Reloader Press", a hand primer, and learn your basics. Crawl before you walk, and definitely before you try to run. Safety first. It will not got to waste if/when you go turret or progressive. It's always handy to have a single stage on your bench for a whole lot of reasons.

Given the rounds you said you want to load, I'd suggest your next press should be the Classic Turret Press. I have videos which explain this press's operation (check my sig). The CTP is very user-friendly and pretty simple to use. It's also probably one of the most versatile presses out there.

Once you get some experience, *then* consider a progressive if your shooting volume merits it. In my case, I have twin Pro 1000's. One is for small pistol primer rounds, the other's for LPP rounds. While the Pro 1000 can handle .223 and 7.62x39 (even .308 Winchester if you pull out the auto-index rod and do your indexing manually), it really was designed primarily as a handgun-round press. That's where it really shines. My Pro 1000 will give me 375 rounds/hour of perfect .38 Spl (or .357M) rounds. That rate of production is measured over the full 60 minutes, including powder/primer/case-feeder refills over that period of time. I love both of mine. But as a first press? No way. No freakin' way. Get some experience first so you know what to look for WHEN, NOT IF you make a mistake.

Here's my recommended shopping list to get you started. It's a "kit" that I put together from various manufacturers and has worked very well.

http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com/ReloadingShoppingList-Beginners.html

[Cowboy T]

One other thing: have you bought a couple of reloading manuals? I suggest that this should be your very first purchase. Two good ones are as follows.

- Lyman Reloading Handbook, 49th Edition
- Modern Reloading, by Richard Lee (a.k.a. "the Book of Lee")

There are other good ones, but these seem to be the most popular, general-purpose ones. I have them, and they're rather good.

[klewan]

Look at the Loadmaster as well. You can do a lot rifle calibers on it the 1000 can't. Caliber changes are cheaper and faster too.

[kriller134]

Wow thanks for all of the great replies. I will get the hand books and get more informed.