Lee Precision Progressives

[Metalliman27055]

So I've had my Loadmaster for I think 4 years or so now. I've always had issues with consistent indexing. I have just chalked it up to my lack of mechanical ability. I have been able to disassemble and clean, then reassemble the shell carrier and it'll run for 500 - 1,000 or so rounds then have trouble again. I've gotten pretty frustrated with it the last month or so and haven't dealt with it. Realistically I have anywhere from 2-4 hours spread across 2 days a week that I can dedicate to reloading and its frustrating to spend almost all that time troubleshooting and not finding what I'm doing wrong. I've all but decided I want to give the Auto Breech Lock Pro a try as the loadmaster is super convenient when it is running smooth compared to my lyman turret or Rcbs single stage. And the price point is just too good. I don't have 400+ to put on a new press and drink the blue.

I got my loadmaster from Lucky13 and honestly, thats where I had purchased all my supplies other than my tmag2 that was clearance at basspro. Now that he's out of the game, I've tried looking for another local supplier and just can't find the experience or knowledge I got with Don, or the selection. I even "preordered" both the Lee bench prime and autodrum from Lucky13 once announced by LEE and he called me when it actually shipped to their supplier. Don basically taught me how to set it up before I left his shop and helped me troubleshoot the first little bit until I got it running consistently.
Long story short--
3 Questions:
Where can I go locally to feed my addiction (I'm near Winston-Salem) I've tried the Gun store and Gun Rack in kernersville, Foothills Firearms in Yadkinville. I've talked to chuck at Little Hardware in Charlotte. Nobody really has a focus on reloading. Is there anywhere I've missed?

If I buy a new press from Titan Reloading, whats the likelihood of recovering any funds from the loadmaster in it's current state(shellplate fails to cycle every 2/3 pulls of the handle; have to remove the flipper and turn then reinsert the flipper)? It came with a set of .40 dies that haven't left the red plastic case.

Is there something else I should be looking at than the Auto Breech Lock Pro? I'd like to stay under $300 especially if I am not gonna get anything out of the loadmaster. At the very least I want something that is auto-indexing if not a full blown progressive.

Thanks for reading my rant/book!

 

[CDR_Glock]

There really isn’t a quality autoindexing progressive for that price. The Dillon 650 is Double that. The Hornady LNL is $399 on sale and $450 street.

Even a Dillon 550B which is not Auto indexing is $550.

Those auto indexing presses (apart from Dillon) can be finicky, and they can require routine cleaning.

I considered a progressive as my 6th press. I don’t mind rotating the base or the head. It isn’t that hard. There is a slight decrease in output but I’m only doing 50 rounds at a time (but it is a few times a week).

I acquired an RCBS Turret, instead. It was $180. The heads are only $40. Now I am using it for only rifle.

I have a single stage for large Magnums in 454, 460 and 500. I have progressive for 357/38, 9 mm, 44 Mag, 45 ACP.

Manual indexing allows more oversight of what is happening. It’s how I always did it. Progressives were my first two presses.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[dave33]

Is the major problem you are having failing to index, or is it causing other problems as well?

Do you have a little left to right play in the handle of the press? If so try cycling the handle and on the upstroke put a little right to left pressure on the handle instead of just running it straight up and down. That will put just a little extra pressure on the flipper against the rail and it should cycle reliably.

 

[Metalliman27055]

It is failing to index, tends to bind up on the way down. Just continued to get worse and I got frustrated with it. I'm not very mechanically inclined, and have to slow myself down to very methodical steps sometimes to actually locate issues. I took the time to fully disassemble the press this morning, hopefully by next week I will be able to completely lubricate and reinstall. I have pretty much concluded that I had the carrier assembly turned too far clockwise, which has caused wear on the flipper and the part of the frame that kicks the flipper out on the way down. Just hoping I haven't caused too much damage to keep using it. It's well beyond Lee's 2 year warranty and If I'm gonna pay 1/2 the cost of it for a reconditioned unit, I will likely just buy a different press and pay more attention to what is happening where, as well as ensuring I don't miss any preventative maintenance steps. (I've not done more than lube the ram since I got it, aside from cleaning out the carrier plate/primers dumping; several years and many thousand rounds ago)

 

[I_load_my_own]

I have the load master and have dedicated it for 9mm and like others, had issues at first but with the help of Youtube and some tinkering, I have it running pretty smooth now. I would like to give you a heads up on the Auto Breech Lock Pro that it basically ships with the press only, you still have to buy the shell plates, primer system, case feeder, powder dispenser and if you want it the bullet loader, I do not have that part.
I am trying to set mine up for rifle only, 556 and 300. I really have not had much time with it but it does not seem as well made as I hope. I also have the Lee Turret that I plan on keeping for decapping and to load my .40 on.
Of all the Lee presses I have, the Load Master has turned out thousands and thousands of rounds for me, but like I said, it does take some tinkering.
Watch Youtube on how to to make it run smooth and upgrades, there are a lot of intelligent people that have it running great.
Once I spend more time with my Auto Breech Lock Pro I will try to update my feelings on it, but as of now it is a 4 out of 10.
Stick with the Loadmaster if you can, it will come around and work for you. If you haven't, call Lee and talk to them, they are great to work with.

 

[Catfish]

Re-setting the index should take a couple minutes at most. If this video doesn't work you might have damaged the indexamawatsit rodmajigger. Since it's a plastic part its a good idea to keep a spare on hand.



My press seems fairly sensitive to tension on the shell-plate nut and lube on the bottom of the shell plate. Too tight, too loose, too wet, too dry and it doesn't run right, but just-right and it'll click along indefinitely.

this guy has a cool mod to improve function:

 

[BowWow]

The Gun Store has the best local selection. A little further south is Blue Collar Reloading. Theres a shop in wilkesboro that has a good selection too, but i cant remember the name.....

 

[cold1]

One of the most frustrating things to find that was causing indexing problems on mine was the spring that is on the the shell kicker. It had bent too far down and as a result, it allowed the shell plate to rotate backwards a little too much during the stroke. It would cause binding, misaligned shells, etc. I removed the kicker and bent the spring section up just a little bit, and all the indexing problems disappeared.