Lee pro 1000

[JOLLYROGER]

seems like people dont like these ive watched videos seems like the way to go what are your opinions, do they have problems, do they break, mess up ,just curious

[Bill Steele]

seems like people dont like these ive watched videos seems like the way to go what are your opinions, do they have problems, do they break, mess up ,just curious

Answer to your questions: yes, yes and yes.

Can you make them work effectively for loading handgun rounds? Yes.

Are they the deal of the century while they are working? Yes.

Are you mechanically inclined and patient by nature? Only you can answer that one.

[bongfoo]

i use a lee pro 1000. i got a heck of a deal on it. i bought it off craigslist from a guy for 65 bucks.It was already set up for .45ACP. i went ahead and set it up for 9mm as well. i cannot complain for what i paid for it. once you get it set up and operating smoothly you can do hundreds of rounds easily. one of the biggest pains though is the primer feeder. you have to be patient with that. i don't have a bullet feeder for it so i have to place the bullets manually. i've heard that the bullet feeder is kinda fickle, but i have no first hand knowledge of i t although i am considering purchasing one.

[quicksilver914]

Lee Pro 1000

I have one and really got it going well after I watched Cowboy T's videos. google San Francisco Liberal with a gun, and you will find he has posted lots of videos that give great instruction on setting it up and keeping it going.
The biggest issue is keeping the primer feed ramp from the tray clean. I keep a can of compressed air to blow it out if I have a primer misfeed and it dumps powder. If you do so, you can load hundreds of rounds without issue. I can load around 300 rounds of .357 mag in about an hour.
One modification I made was to add a spring to replace the lamp cord chain that cycles the powder dispenser. the chain was a PITA and broke at times or didn't have enough tension to cycle the dispenser, which if not fully cycled, will result in a light load.
I've also loaded hundreds of rounds of .223 with great success.

[quicksilver914]

http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com/pro1000.html

[bongfoo]

I have one and really got it going well after I watched Cowboy T's videos. google San Francisco Liberal with a gun, and you will find he has posted lots of videos that give great instruction on setting it up and keeping it going.
The biggest issue is keeping the primer feed ramp from the tray clean. I keep a can of compressed air to blow it out if I have a primer misfeed and it dumps powder. If you do so, you can load hundreds of rounds without issue. I can load around 300 rounds of .357 mag in about an hour.
One modification I made was to add a spring to replace the lamp cord chain that cycles the powder dispenser. the chain was a PITA and broke at times or didn't have enough tension to cycle the dispenser, which if not fully cycled, will result in a light load.
I've also loaded hundreds of rounds of .223 with great success.

i use this to alleviate the chain problem it works well

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/537685/lee-auto-disk-powder-measure

[CalTeacher]

I use two of these for all my handgun ammo and .223

They work well if you keep them clean...especially the primer chute. Once you understand how it operates it will churn out a lot of ammo quickly, and with minimum hassle. Most of the problems I see people complain about are user induced. These are solid little machines that will have you loading progressively on the cheap. It's true that they aren't built as well as a Dillon, but they also don't have a Dillon price tag.

[bill_k_lopez]

I own 2 of them and have no issues making ammo on them. 44mag & 223. There is a bit of a new user learning curve, but once you understand how it functions and run a few thousand rounds through it, its reliable and affordable.

I don't use the disks for powder measure anymore, I use the Adjustable Powder Bar a very good $10 investment.

[johnny1290]

As my first reloading machine, I did myself no favors by buying one. Finally I got the hang of it and I can really crank out the ammo. Bill Steele is 100% correct.

I wish i'd bought the loadmaster, but not terribly so. It looks sturdier and it'd be nice to do rifle other than .223 on it but not a huge deal, considering how few I load anyway.

It's quirky and you have to mess with it sometimes. You can't just yank the handle like a monkey, it takes finesse. Most of my problems with it were user error.

If you have no mechanical inclination, you will hate it. If you have patience and tinker, you'll be happy with its function and price. just my 2 cents

[1Fastrider]

I had 1 for loading 9mm. Loaded a couple thousand rounds and switched to a dillon rl550b. I'm much happier with the press "just working" than reading about the Lee's problems and trying to tweak it to work. Just my experience.

[AdidasCJ]

My first press is a lee pro 1000 for .40, Once i got it dialed in, i went thru and loaded up 500 rounds with out an issue, and still use it! Im setting up one for 9mm as well. The primer ramp is a pita, but if you pay attention to it, make sure it stays clean, and tap it making sure it stays feeding it will work just fine.

Like others have said if you have no mechanical skills, it will kick your butt. But if you have even minimal mechanical skills you will be just fine, and for the price you cant beat it really. I will be moving onto a different press sometime when i do get into rifle round reloading. But for the hand gun loads, my pro 1000 works just great!

[repomanNWP]

I use my 1000 to reload .40 and .45; it works well for me, but I do all my priming by hand (I like to keep a large amount of primed brass ready to go) and I set the bullet by hand because I like to combine my final visual inspection of the powder charge along with my placement of the bullet on the case. Get one, play with it, figure out a system that works well for you. If you really get into reloading and do a large volume, then upgrade to a Dillon.

[Paul E]

I ordered one last week. It should arrive tomorrow.

Its my first press, and I'm a little nervous about it, but I'll give it a shot. For the price it was hard to beat, and I figure if other people can get em to work...I can too.

[ns3v3n]

I love mine, I have no problem loading 45 acp and 357 Mag ammo with it. There are a few things to watch out for, if you're primer feed is low, it will causing problems, most people want to crank out faster than they should, if you slow down a bit, pay attention to your rounds, it's a great press. You should slow down and double check yourself anyways, other wise, you'll end up with rounds with no powder in there or double charge because you were too busy worrying about "how many rounds I can crank out in an hour".

[mif_slim]

I bought the 40sw bundle and use it for .223 and 40sw. The press had pushed out at least 10k through it....had to fix the quirks but after I did its been running smooth. It runs the cci primers better then brass ones though.