reloading questions/advice if you would please?

[Old_Me]

I have been using a dillion since 1987 and its been bulletproof.
I decided to give the new 2023 "improved" lee pro1000 a try. I can not get this machine to load more than 20 rounds without it dropping a primer causing me to stop everything and retrieve the primer because it get stuck under the press and you can't put the ram all the way down or flip the primer and put it in backwards. It now sits in the corner and will probably never be used again.

well i did that "trick" to expand the large and small primer plastic "pusher" and it works great frankly.

however, i am not really terribly fond of my Lee, i "just like it" enough to load my 9mm's.

when i can afford to do so..??

i'm gonna buy another 550c, and the roller handle, and the bullet tray.....i got everything else.

the "Lee primer trick"......and it works..!!!!

 

[Old_Me]

the new Lee breech lock press came as well as the swag set, also Lee, and the bench mount.

I git it adjusted, to just accept the primer, i may have to fine tune it a bit more or less.

i only swaged 3 shell casings, the rest (about 60) will be done at a later time.

i mounted it where the Lee Pro-4000 goes

the Lee swag set.

 

[jumpinjoe]

the new Lee breech lock press came as well as the swag set, also Lee, and the bench mount.

I git it adjusted, to just accept the primer, i may have to fine tune it a bit more or less.

i only swaged 3 shell casings, the rest (about 60) will be done at a later time.

i mounted it where the Lee Pro-4000 goes

View attachment 43630

the Lee swag set.

View attachment 43631

Old_Me, that little press may not be the best choice to do a lot of primer pocket swaging. It's a great little press for reloading off the tailgate of your truck at the range for a few practice rounds, and particularly those that were fired from the same gun you're reloading for and not doing a lot of 'full length' resizing especially on rifle, bottleneck cases. It also is a good choice for those who have an assortment of presses for dedicated jobs like bullet seating and/or neck sizing only.

As I said, it's a great little press, but note the word little. It's known to be a little weak at the point of the base where the ram comes up through, or right at the bottom of where the die screws down through. Now I'm not one to bash Lee since I've been a confirmed user since the early 70's and would not trade any of my Lee equipment for any others. But I've learned to not misjudge them for the job you intend to do and primer pocket swaging of military brass is hard on presses. For that particular job I would highly recommend considering the Breech lock 'O'frame press. It will never fail no matter how many cases you may swag.

If that would be a consideration for you, it might be wise to contact the seller and explain you have has second thoughts considering your need, and see if they might make a trade with you. If you still have all the original box and paperwork and the little press is still new. they might consider it due to good customer service.

Just my thoughts and suggestions my friend. Certainly your decision. Good luck.

 

[Old_Me]

Old_Me, that little press may not be the best choice to do a lot of primer pocket swaging. It's a great little press for reloading off the tailgate of your truck at the range for a few practice rounds, and particularly those that were fired from the same gun you're reloading for and not doing a lot of 'full length' resizing especially on rifle, bottleneck cases. It also is a good choice for those who have an assortment of presses for dedicated jobs like bullet seating and/or neck sizing only.

As I said, it's a great little press, but note the word little. It's known to be a little weak at the point of the base where the ram comes up through, or right at the bottom of where the die screws down through. Now I'm not one to bash Lee since I've been a confirmed user since the early 70's and would not trade any of my Lee equipment for any others. But I've learned to not misjudge them for the job you intend to do and primer pocket swaging of military brass is hard on presses. For that particular job I would highly recommend considering the Breech lock 'O'frame press. It will never fail no matter how many cases you may swag.

If that would be a consideration for you, it might be wise to contact the seller and explain you have has second thoughts considering your need, and see if they might make a trade with you. If you still have all the original box and paperwork and the little press is still new. they might consider it due to good customer service.

Just my thoughts and suggestions my friend. Certainly your decision. Good luck.

well thanks, Joe...but i will keep this one and at least gain the experience of swaging. i only sweep up a nominal number of others peoples brass at the range, maybe if i am "lucky" about less than a full 50 piece box worth.

it is a much lighter press, i "saw that" right away, but at the time, i just did not want to go full bore into swaging "pistol only" brass for the few i actually save from time to time.

 

[Old_Me]

UPDATE:

well i gave it some extra thoughts.

someone here, that shall be left nameless, but his initials are @jumpinjoe , (keep this a secret) mentioned the other Lee press i had may not be well suited for swaging.

so i went and checked for the "O" Lee press as he mentioned.

the prices were the same, no matter where i get it from, and i decided to order it from Midsouth Shooters, which took a God awful amount of time to pull that order, even though it was in stock.....i may have to re-evaluate future purchases from them....Midway USA, Natchezz, Brownell's, pull and ship the orders in a day.........HHMmmmmm..........

anyway, it is NOT a cast iron press, even though in the description, it says that IT IS.....which is why i bought it from Midsouth, where all the other online suppliers specifically mentioned is is NOT cast iron....!!!!!!

i did check the Lee catalog that came with this, and Lee's cast iron press is a whipping $250.......way too much for the little use it'll get.

so anyway, i set it up, and finished swaging 60, 9mm military casings.

next step will be to reload just those casings, maybe with the Berry's bullets FMJ's i have

 

[jumpinjoe]

Sorry about the confusion there Old_Me, but I didn't suggest the cast iron press. I knew about it and especially how expensive it was, so what I suggested was the "Breech lock 'O'frame press" which is what you ended up with. It's an aluminum cast press with the 'O' frame design and a direct descendant of Lee's older Challenger 'O' frame press. You have a much better press for your purpose now.

The twe presses in question are both 'O' frame designs, but one is 'cast iron', very heavy, unbreakable for a lifetime, and costs a lot, and now also comes with the breech lock design. The other (like you have) is also an 'O' frame press, cast aluminum, breech lock design, much lighter weight, and with normal care will also last a lifetime, even doing primer pocket reaming. jj

 

[Old_Me]

Sorry about the confusion there Old_Me, but I didn't suggest the cast iron press. I knew about it and especially how expensive it was, so what I suggested was the "Breech lock 'O'frame press" which is what you ended up with. It's an aluminum cast press with the 'O' frame design and a direct descendant of Lee's older Challenger 'O' frame press. You have a much better press for your purpose now.

The twe presses in question are both 'O' frame designs, but one is 'cast iron', very heavy, unbreakable for a lifetime, and costs a lot, and now also comes with the breech lock design. The other (like you have) is also an 'O' frame press, cast aluminum, breech lock design, much lighter weight, and with normal care will also last a lifetime, even doing primer pocket reaming. jj

yeah Joe, no matter the "O" design press i looked at, like RCBS< Lee, they were at least $250 +.....too much money for what i need it for.

like i said, i gave it "deeper" consideration as to what you said about the other Lee press, so i sent that back, for credit, and got this one.

of course too, i had previously bought another bench mount plate, for quick change overs.

if i wasn't so dang limited to space, i'd have like 4, maybe 5 work benches set up with all that i need.......but then too, maybe a good thing i DON'T have all that space........cuz the Mrs will have to live at the Bingo parlor to support that monkey on my back...!!!!!