lee pro 1000 vs loadmaster

[flyingmunkey]

hi guys. i'm about to pick up my 357 revolver and lever action and i'm thinking that my Co-Ax isn't gonna be fun to try to load as much as i'm planning on shooting. i have no problem tinkering with a press to get it rolling smoothly, that's why i'm looking at the 2 lee presses. my question would be is the loadmaster worth the extra cost? i'm pretty sure it is, especially if i decide to take any rifle loads off of the Co-Ax (the 1919A4 has a big appetite lol). anyone have experience using the 2 that can offer words of wisdom? is there anything that doesn't come in the kit for 38/357 that i would need to add on to my purchase? thanks!

[lpspinner]

I have since graduated to blue, but my first progressive press was the Pro 1000.

It's a basic press and I didn't know any difference back then. I loaded hundreds of .38/.357 loads and thousands of 9mm. The difference I can see is the Pro 100 is only 3 holes vs the Load Master 5 holes. This will allow you to decap/resize/prime / charge / seat and crimp all in one stroke.

The Pro 1000 will require the Factory Crimp die is a separate process.

[bigbossman]

The Pro 1000 will require the Factory Crimp die is a separate process.

Depends - most Lee seating dies also crimp. For instance, I load 38spl and 45 acp on my Lee 1000. In both instances, I seat and crimp at the last station. If that is not sufficient for your needs then yes you'd have to "factory crimp" as an extra step. For pistol ammo you can pretty much crimp as you seat and be done with it

The big difference is that the Loadmaster can do large rifle reloading, but the Pro 1000 is pretty much a pistol press. Yeah, you can do small rifle rounds like 7.62x39 omn the Pro 1000, but nothing much bigger than that.

[klewan]

Get the LM, the caliber changes are cheaper and faster than the 1000. You'll end up buying a lot more calibers if you're anything like most reloaders.

[jdbark1952]

I recently went through all the info I could on what progressive to buy, I'd go with the loadmaster buy you need to use the right primers, it has been known to set off primers that are from other makers.

This guy has a lot of things he has done to a LLM to make it sing along.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pHqjL9TDLvBei4LRfeM8A

[stand125]

LEE Classic Turret Press all the way. I have had both the lee 1000 and Loadmaster and am back at the Classic Turret press for a reason.

[wild_weasel]

I just bought a Lee Classic Turret Press kit set up for 9mm. I can knock out 100 to 150 9mm per hour which is a great improvement over my 30+ years old RCBS Jr single stage.

[Cowboy T]

I have a Loadmaster and a couple of Pro 1000's. On the LM, I load .45 ACP. On one of the Pro 1000's, I do .38/357 (the other P1K does .44 Spl/Mag and .45 Long Colt).

In my experience, the Pro 1000 is the better choice for handgun rounds. It allows me both faster output and less fussing-around with the press. Granted that the LM is a five-station press (well, four, in practical terms), but the 3 stations on the Pro 1000 are quite sufficient. Lee's Factory Crimp Die (FCD) is totally unnecessary unless you're in a very specific corner-case with your own homemade cast boolits, i. e. if you don't know specifically why you need the FCD, then you don't need it. So, 3 stations really are enough.

How do I know 3 stations are enough? Well, over the last 5 years, I've probably reloaded about 50,000 rounds of combined .38/357 with a Pro 1000, and shot them at my local range with my wheelgun (so far, so good!). A small percentage of those rounds were with Berry's Plated Bullets, especially when I was getting started. The rest are with my own cast boolits, specifically 105gr LSWC (the majority) and 158gr RNFP.

Now, if you're doing a lot of, say, .308 Winchester for something like a CETME, H&K 91, or AR-10/LR-308 and you don't care so much about absolute precision (say, 1.5 to 2 MOA is sufficient for you--quite reasonable, given the listed firearms and their purpose), then a Loadmaster is a good choice for banging out lots of those rounds. But for handgun-only, the Pro 1K gets my nod.

What about those who say the Classic Turret Press is a good choice? They're right; it is, and I love mine. It's a mighty fine "do-everything" press. It's just not going to be as fast at output as any progressive press.

[EclipseDS]

I only have the LM and it's been going on mighty fine. Sure, you have to check all screws are tight and case retainers are properly adjusted before starting, but that's about it to keep it happily chugging along.

I won't think twice getting another LM, if I have to.

[ARog]

The Lee Loadmaster will suit all your reloading needs. (for the most part) My only complaint about the Loadmaster is the priming mechanism...it sucks but there are tons of youtube videos that show you how to make it run nice and smooth! Enjoy!

[flyingmunkey]

thanks for the input guys. i went ahead and ordered a LM, it should be here tomorrow. now to hunt down some supplies for it.

[dreyna14]

I've been able to do 200 rounds per hour on my Lee Classic turret. Great press, especially for the money. Upgraded to a Hornady progressive. Worth the extra money.

[Cowboy T]

thanks for the input guys. i went ahead and ordered a LM, it should be here tomorrow. now to hunt down some supplies for it.

If you run into problems with sideways and/or flipped primers, check out this post. This is a mod that solved that problem for me, and now my LM works just fine.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showpost.php?p=13706786&postcount=26