Lee Pro 4000 questions

[Woodythedog]

I am thinking about getting the Lee Pro 4000....based on reasonable price, availability and not having the need for more than 300-400 rounds a month. Anyone have firsthand experience?

[IrishJoe3]

I'd stay away from Lee. Save up and get something better. Years ago I bought a Lee Pro 1000 which I still use. Every time I set it up I curse the name of Lee and regret having bought it. It at this point I've modified it so much and bought so many parts and accessories it had become quite an investment, and one that's mediocre at best.

Buy once cry once, that's what I wish I'd done.

[IrishJoe3]

If you're only doing 300-400 rounds a month, maybe look into a turret press? I have an RCBS turret press which probably costs a little less then the Lee 4000, but is a quality press that doesn't need tweaking or modifications, and my kids will be able to use after I kick the bucket.

For only 3-400 rounds you don't really need a progressive press.

ETA, yeah this is the turret press I have. I think you'd be much more satisfied with it with much much less frustration than the Lee progressive. https://www.rcbs.com/presses/turret/.../16-88901.html

[tabascoz28]

I have the base kit, breech lock pro with 4 stations. For me it's great but I use both hands. It does 400pcs of 9mm or 223 in 1 hour! I don't do precision rifle on it as it has too much slop and no leverage for big cases. It's good at high volume, small case\caliber stuff.

[TomReloaded]

I've loaded a couple thousand rounds with mine now.

It's ok. It's not perfect by any means. Do the penny trick on the case feeder to make it feed 9mm correctly.

It must be ran with brass in all 4 positions or the oal ends up all over the place. Keep it full and it runs fine for the most part.

I had to chamfer all my dies and polish them because they dont exactly line up perfect all the time. No big deal though, that's 5 minutes with a Dremel. There's play in the press, but not at topout or bottom out so its kind of ok.

You need to get into a rhythm with the primer arm and making sure the cases feed. It's awkward and clumsy at times. I still think it's a good press, but expect something you'll have to fidget with constantly. It'll crank out hundreds of rounds an hour no problem, but there will be occasional hiccups.

[BrassCase]

I just moved to a Lyman 8 station turret press from a RCBS Rockchucker and I am very happy. It has sped up my 9mm production by light years. It is also on sale at both Midway and Amazon for $183.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07CTRLJCQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

[newbie1234]

Had one and love the auto lock breech features. With the auto lock breech I can swap the from one type of ammo to the other in a minutes (9mm, 45ACP, 38SPL, 44SPL).
The only draw back is you have to buy a set of breech bushing, a set of lock ring and blade for each set of die you have, but after that you can swap the dies set in minutes and you can reload right away with out re-adjustment for difference type of ammo. That is what Auto Lock Breech 4000 is designed for.
I had 3 Lee presses: Single stage, Turret Classic and Auto Lock Breech 4000. The ALB 4000 see most of the action.

[walkonmars]

I agree with Irishjoe3, stay away from Lee presses. The only things from Lee that are worth purchasing are their priming tools and some of their dies (only if you are a beginner).
I run 2 Dillon 550 progressive presses and Forster single stage. No regrets ever. I have one for small primers and the other for large primers. I save a lot of time in the long run. The minor cost savings from a poor working machine will curse you to taking your own life. I owned a Lee progressive and two O-frame Lee presses. I had to retire all of them. At one point I used the Lee progressive only to de-prime brass and it still would have stoppages and hang-ups. I stopped using their dies to have rifle dies with a floating expander ball. I only use their priming tools. Dillon really sets the standard but I'm sure anything other than Lee will be better than Lee. You can read more about Dillon progressives on the Brian Enos web pages.
Yes, I like to reload but I like practicing marksmanship at the range more. Stoppages are just a waste of time.
I only save my Lee presses to use as a weapon against my future enemies. Someday I will meet someone I really hate and wish were dead. I will gift wrap one of the Lee presses and gift it to him/her. Without proper intervention, this will result in certain death/insanity/self destruction for him/her.
My own path to self destruction was stopped by a good friend loaning me his retired Dillon 550. (Disaster averted.)

[tabascoz28]

I always thought I might upgrade to a higher quality press after "learning" from my lee turret press. 20 years later I got a Rock Chucker to make the bigger caliber ammo but my turret still sees action for cartridges I don't shoot a lot. I got a 2nd Lee, this time that Breech Lock to do 9mm and 556 in bulk. To me it was money well spent, money saved that I could use to buy components to shoot more. I also have a Load All for 12g.

If I was a competitor trying to make 1k yard shots inside of a few inches I would probably go Dillon. If I was shooting 1k 9mm and 556 a week for competitions I would buy the automation pack. But my Lees allow me to keep shooing at my consumption rate which is 1-200 a week of various calibers.

The other day I was looking at the Lee Value Press on sale to replace my 20yo Turret, I won't lie, that thing is sloppy, dirty and the primers go all over, but it still works.

[TomReloaded]

I wouldn't avoid Lee. It makes better than factory ammo with a few minor hiccups.

For the price of a case of ammo, you can buy a lee press and make your own case of ammo. That's not a bad deal.

[H3nchman]

My brother has one and we have run many thousands of 9mm on it. It works. Definitely can take some tinkering. However, the price is right. If you are only loading 400 round a month just go lee turret press and if you want more production save for a 550.

[IrishJoe3]

Just keep in mind the lee press is designed to give you a reloading press as cheaply as possible. That comes with the compromise of quality. Those minor hiccups are things like constantly having to stop and unjam your primer feed system, or pull the bullets out of all the cartridges that didn't get primed. Or disassemble your press trying to unjam the shell plate. Or replacing the nylon (yes nylon) cogs because they predictably stripped. Or constantly sweeping up powder from a loose fitting powder charging system. If you don't mind constantly fiddling and adjusting it, go for a Lee. If you just want to reload ammo smoothly without hiccups, don't go with Lee.

There is a reason lee is marketed towards new shooters.

Unfortunately also I think Lee's quality has dropped significantly over the years. I had a hand primer from Lee that I loved, reloaded many thousands of casings it was a great hand primer. I ham handed it and broke the pot metal handle. Lee wouldn't replace the part but offered a half off upgrade. So I bought their replacement deluxe hand primer, absolute piece of garbage. The critical piece that fed the primer from the tray to the ram was cheap plastic with massive tolerances, meaning it never fed the primers correctly or had them aligned and it never primed properly. No matter what pieces or accessories I got to fix it it never fed right. I recently had an indexing pin on a Lee bullet mold fall out. That's not a removable piece and it's not supposed to come out. Lee offered me a replacement mold at half the price plus shipping. With shipping it conveniently came out to be about the price of brand new mold.

For the price of a case of ammo, you can buy a turret press your grandkids will be able to use. For the price of two cases of ammo you can buy a high-quality progressive press that will actually work smoothly and frustration-free

[aspenvalley]

[tabascoz28]

I have 2 disk feeders I like it so much. One is spring loaded (turret) and the other is chain return loaded (BLP). With the more precision or hunting loads I attached a funnel to the powder drop and measure by digital powder drop/trickler. Basically if it's ball/flake I use the disks. If it's stick I do it by hand.

Having worked with machines for much of my life I don't think any machine is frustration free. In fact, one might feel more frustrated paying 3x for something that has issues and broken parts. In 20 years, the only part that has worn out once is the plastic indexing square in the center drive. That part x10 was literally $10 and should last longer than my press.

[bigbossman]

I wouldn't avoid Lee. It makes better than factory ammo with a few minor hiccups.

For the price of a case of ammo, you can buy a lee press and make your own case of ammo. That's not a bad deal.

I would not avoid them, either. They make great bang for the buck products. I have three Lee 1000 that I use regularly and they have lasted for over a decade with almost no issues