used lee loadmaster , whats it worth ? warning large pics ....

[Jeepers]

looking at getting into reloading and seeing that someone stole my old lee 1000 i had stored up on the ranch i am looking once again for a press, this has three shell plates but not for any calibers i will be reloading so will still need to buy a few more..

so who knows there lee press's that can tell me what i am looking at here to make a fair offer on this set up

[SmokeWagon]

Well I can tell you a few things before the blue crowd pounces in. This is an excellent press and when tuned up properly it will produce a heck of a lot of perfectly good ammo that rivals anything a Dillon or Hornady can do. It's not as fast because it doesn't offer all the expensive automation the two aforementioned presses do but then at 1/3 or less the cost of the others one has to be realistic.

As to cost, you can buy a brand new one including a set of dies and shell plate for any caliber of your choosing for about $255.00 online plus shipping. Natchez is one vendor who is in this ballpark. Ebay is also a good source for a new one for a price of $250.00-$300.00, maybe cheaper if you are lucky with the auction. If you go the new route I suggest you do NOT get it in 223, instead buy a pistol caliber as you get the upgraded Pro Powder Disk whereas with the 223 kit you get the old powder disk the same as the one shown in this used kit. Better to buy a pistol caliber and then buy 223 dies and shell plate separate if that is a round you wish to load.

Now the reason why I spoke to going new over this used one.
1. This kit comes with the old style powder disk measure instead of the new improved Pro powder disk measure in the new kits.
2. This used kit also comes with the old style small and large primer kits which were always the weakest link in Lee Progressive presses. Lee improved upon his design of the primer kits in I believe 2011 and the new kits are color coded (Black) for the small primer attachment and a (Red/Orange) for the Large primer attachment. These alone are worth getting the newer kit as they will save you a lot of headaches with the priming part of the process. They can be purchased separately for about $15 each as can the Pro Powder measure kit which is in the $50 something dollar range.
To sum it up I would not pay more than $140 or so for this used kit as I see it. I do not see any dies and those are $40 a set right there and shell plates run another $20 a piece or so.

So to upgrade this you will need:

Dies if none are included.......$35-$40
Shell plate to match dies.......$20+
Pro Powder Disk Kit..............$50+
Sm and Lg new Primer kits....$15 each
Small case feeder kit............$25 or so (I see what looks to be the large or Rifle case feeder I can't tell but if you plan on doing any 9mm, 380, 45ACP you will need the small case feeder kit, yes 45ACP uses the small slider with the large case tubes. So hopefully this gives you a better idea of where the price should be IMHO and why I would just go new if you can at all afford to. This used kit does throw in the Lee perfect powder measure with the powder through die attachment which some people like, however I think the LEE powder disk measure is a hell of an invention and works great.

Happy shopping and future reloading in whatever direction you go.

[NorCalDustin]

Its a good press once dialed in (and it will take some time to dial in)... Assuming there are no dies, I agree with the poster above me... I would not go over $140ish.

I would add though, that I would get the primer explosion shield (~$5) and a case collator (~$15)... They are worth while upgrades for the Lee Load Master.


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[johnny1290]

Meh I have a Pro 1000, so basing my experience on that rattletrap, I'd go low. I like my press, but I wouldn't even think of selling it to someone. Too much liability for a few bucks.

That press is an old design, and Lee's don't age well. Someone might pay $140, but to fool with a used one? It'd have to be around $50-100 to be worth it.

I wouldn't touch it unless it was cheap, not worth the hassle. JMHO.

[johnny1290]

Meh I have a Pro 1000, so basing my experience on that rattletrap, I'd go low. I like my press, but I wouldn't even think of selling it to someone. Too much liability for a few bucks.

That press is an old design, and Lee's don't age well. Someone might pay $140, but to fool with a used one? It'd have to be around $50-100 to be worth it.

I wouldn't touch it unless it was cheap, not worth the hassle. JMHO.

[mindwreck]

the loadmaster is a good press once you getting it up and running correctly. it requires a bit more work and tweaking to get it to run well. I've had mine run thousands already still chugging along.

that press looks in clean and good condition. if it functions just fine, i'd say 140 for the lot, no higher. the rest of the stuff is older designs, useable but not worth much.

[XDRoX]

Well I can tell you a few things before the blue crowd pounces in. This is an excellent press and when tuned up properly it will produce a heck of a lot of perfectly good ammo that rivals anything a Dillon or Hornady can do.

Ya, you have to worry about the blue fanboys chiming in...

[Jeepers]

thanks folks thinking i will follow your advice and look at a new one, not a fanboy of much , more of a value wise guy and until i really get into loading i don't need to drop a huge amount of $$ i dont have on anything fancy and have known lots of folks over the years that use Lee products just fine along with those that say they are crap , at the price point i think its worth a try ....

[pisarski]

the one that I have has run just fine for thousands of rounds and it still runs like new . I load 9mm , 38 super , 45 acp , and .223 works great