LEE Pro 1000 progressive reloading presses

[1911crazy]

I got a LEE Pro 1000 progressive press set up for 45acp for free.  An older shooter was giving some reloading stuff up.  I didn't much about it until i set it up.  I had 3,000rds of 45acp brass to run.  But i have a problem with progressive presses.  We can clean out the primer pocket nor trim the brass to the proper size.  I'm a perfectionist and i do things exactly the way i was taught.  I don't skip or take short cuts.  I decap,  tumble the brass with the rough media, clean the primer pocket, resize the case and trim the case length. Then i polish the case with the fine media with some case polish too.  Now i'm ready to prime, charge and seat the bullet next.  But i use the progressive press for charging and seating the bullet only.  I find it very hard to change my ways.

How do you guys use the progressive presses?  Do you resize/decap, then prime/charge, then charge the case and seat the bullet all one shot?

I'm just finding it hard to change my ways.  I'm proud of the way my ammo looks too.  Its very clean and looks like new ammo.  I figure if i don't clean and polish the brass it will tarnish over time.  I still have ammo i reloaded in '78 that still looks like the day i did it.

So do you check the length of the case or trim it?  Do you clean the primer pocket or just run them and load it?      CZY

Sorry for the dumb questions.

[JustaShooter]

For the handgun calibers I run through the progressive, I take a hybrid approach (because I'm a bit particular as well...)  I have a turret with a universal decapping die and use the case feeder on the progressive to run them all through then tumble.  (I don't clean primer pockets or trim to length for handgun calibers.)  Then I change turrets to one with the standard 3-die set and size / primer / charge / seat in the 2nd pass.

Just a Shooter

[Savage]

Well, sounds like you enjoy reloading. I've never trimmed a straight walled pistol case in the near 50 yrs I've been reloading.  I use progressive presses to load all my high volume pistol ammo. (9mm/.40/.45)  A turret press works well for my low volume stuff. (10mm/.45 Colt/.44Spl-Mag/.38-357) Sounds like you'd be about as well off with a turret or single stage.  Now with .223, I  deprime, size, trim, swage primer pockets, and clean, before loading them on the progressive. When I reload, my mission is to assemble quality ammunition in sufficient quantities to keep me shooting,as quickly as I can. Clean cases are fine by me.  I don't spend any more time polishing cases than is required to thoroughly clean them, and I don't fuss with primer pockets on pistol ammo.   Works for me.
Savage

[Lloyd Smale]

same for me. I havent cleaned a primer pocket or trimmed a case for a handgun in more then 20 years. Only exception is that when i get new brass i will trim it to the same lenght as what i have. Handgun brass doesnt grow so theres no need to retrim agian.

[Blackhawker]

I have an old Pro-1000 that I bought new back in the 80's.  I loaded 45's progressively for a few years but then as I started loading more calibers, I wanted to do more as well (trim, de-burr, clean the primer pocket, etc).  I began to only use the progressive side of the press for resizing and that was it.  I was able to fill the hopper with brass and "ka-ching, Ka-Ching, Ka-Ching....., resized brass was flying out of that thing as fast as can be!  When it came to any other loading steps, however, I actually removed the center indexing plate etc and loaded single stage.  I even considered buying a single stage press in addition to my pro-100 because I was tired of removing the shell carrier etc.  Then I wised up; I removed all of the shell carrier and indexing parts and began to use the press as a turret press.  I've used it that way ever since.  I cannot tell you the hundreds of thousands of rounds that have been loaded on that press and it still works great!  What a deal for $129.00!

[1911crazy]

The time saved and with the speed of automatically loading the cases,  charging the cases and seating the bullets and having the assembled ammo pop out like popcorn is awesome with the lee pro 1000.  I love using it.  Now with what you guys are saying i'll try resizing, priming, charging and seating all one shot next with used brass.  That would be even faster too.  I like reloading but i want to speed it up with less time doing it but still want a quality ammo comming from it.  I want the LEE pro 1000 progressive presses in 44spc/44mag,  38spec/357mag and in 9mm luger next.  I want the complete press setup for each caliber with no change over needed.  Taking less time in reloading is important to me.   CZY

Next i'll apply the LEE Master progressive press to my 308win and 30-06.  I figure the LEE 4 hole turret will do all my other rifle calibers next too.

Right now i have 4 single stage presses set up and we use them for decapping,  resizing,  priming and seating bullets in smaller amounts.  Or if i want a match grade ammo i load each powder charge to the same exact amount.  I did this with 5 k of 308 two years ago and more last winter.  I count my rounds by the amount of primes we use so i know when we do 5,000rds of ammo.

[Blackhawker]

Although I miss pounding out pistol ammo progressively, the one thing I don't miss is the inaccurate powder dispensing.  If you bump the press once and then use it lightly for two or three strokes, your powder dispensing accuracy will be all over the place.  I went through this for years. 

If you're just looking to load plinking stuff, the Pro 1000 is the way to go.  If you're looking for accuracy and accurate powder dispensing, it can be done but you have to be deliberate with each stoke and keep the table vibrations exactly the same in order not to pack the powder in the powder measure up top.

[McDerry]

Trim 45 acp for length    Trimming non magnum pistol calibers is a waste of valuable time.

The cases split before they are out of trim speck.


Mind you I decap off the press, inspect the case then re-prime the case.  I also hate monkeying with a jammed primer feed so I can live with the extra work.   After which I run them through the pro 1000, and it spits out pistol rounds as fast as it can.   A round every 3 to 4 seconds adds up real quick in an hours time.  Change over from one caliber to the next is pretty quick, takes all of ten minutes half the time if you have seperate bases so you don't have to change the plates.  I love doing 9mm on the pro, can fit 100 so cases into the tubes at once and need to be refilled every 5 so minutes. 


One more thing I thought I'd mention is that if you pull the center pin for the auto advance out and use a plate for the 45 acp, you can do .308 winchester on this press aswell as .243, 7mm-08 and most any other short action cartridge...

[Blackhawker]

Trim 45 acp for length    Trimming non magnum pistol calibers is a waste of valuable time.

Unless one is loading 45 ACP for a single action revolver where the cartridge length is critical to chambering on the headspace.  This is especially true of the 30 carbine when being loaded for the Ruger Blackhawk or even the Thompson Contender.

It all depends upon one's needs if the Pro 1000 is for you or not.

[Old Fart]

I've had a Pro 1000 set up for several years now that cranks out my 45 acp plinkers.
I haven't had any issues with it, well at least after I got it setup and running.

For the most part I've just bought once fired brass off the internet and cleaned it.
Loaded it up and shot the heck out of it.

[Troyboy]

I  sort my brass by headstamp. Measure with the calipers. Tumble. Load brass in the collator. Install primer tray. Set out boolits. Pull the handle. I find the brass sorting is what works best with range brass. The different brands have a different feel so I like to run like brass. Ya got to watch the primers keep the chute clean and pay attention to the feel when seating. Make sure to keep the primer feed chute full. The P1000 works great. It is quirky but once you know what to watch for it will spit the ammo out.

[McDerry]

Unless one is loading 45 ACP for a single action revolver where the cartridge length is critical to chambering on the headspace.  This is especially true of the 30 carbine when being loaded for the Ruger Blackhawk or even the Thompson Contender.

Umm, that example is like comparing 44 russian to 44 magnum for case stretching purposes.

45 acp tapers .003 thousands from neck to base and works at 21,000 psi.  Apples

30 carbine tapers over .020 from neck to base and works at 38,500 psi.   Oranges

I can see the .30 Carbine stretching and needing to be trimmed, I can't see .45 acp stretching enough to be out of headspace before other problems arise. 

[Blackhawker]

Unless one is loading 45 ACP for a single action revolver where the cartridge length is critical to chambering on the headspace.  This is especially true of the 30 carbine when being loaded for the Ruger Blackhawk or even the Thompson Contender.

Umm, that example is like comparing 44 russian to 44 magnum for case stretching purposes.

45 acp tapers .003 thousands from neck to base and works at 21,000 psi.  Apples

30 carbine tapers over .020 from neck to base and works at 38,500 psi.   Oranges

I can see the .30 Carbine stretching and needing to be trimmed, I can't see .45 acp stretching enough to be out of headspace before other problems arise.

Well, until you've tried it, theory is just theory.  I've had several 45's not chamber in my Blackhawk due to lack of trimming.  Maybe it was the alignment of Jupiter to Mars  (apples), or maybe the equilibrium between the Wal Mart parking lot and the cows in the pasture (oranges) ........ ...but it HAS happened.

[MGMorden]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one not trimming pistol cases. Adds too much time to my already time consuming loading.  I don't have a progressive press - most of my loading is done on a single stage press - and until recently I didn't have have carbide dies for my .38 spcl.  Believe me loading up 200 of those things makes the long way makes you appreciate each shot when it goes bang .

I'd love to get a progressive press but I'm waiting until I get a bigger place.  Just not enough space in my current area to put another complex device.