Press Preferences

I've only been doing this a few years, but basically my first question is "will this LEE product do what I need it to"? If not, then I look elsewhere.

I still use the Lee "whack a mole" for 303 british because it works and I don't load many rounds for it. If I was a competition shooter then I'd definitely go with a Dillon. I'd love to have a reason to use Hornady, as I'm a huge fan of their bullets but I just don't see a reason to.

Lee Classic Turret is what works for me. The price is great, Lee holds the patents that other companies pay royalties for, they aren't owned by a bigger company (and thus aren't subjected to the burdensome oversight that a parent company brings) and the products work fine for my limited needs.
 
LOL! Reading the Lee Manual? Not likely. Dillon case feeder and Home Made bullet feeder is cheating. When did you acquire the Lee to play with?
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A fellow on another forum gave it to me last month. I ordered new plastic parts primer system, case feed etc and had been wanting to play with the Hornady bullet feeder so I bought one of them too.

I understand why people get frustrated with them now but also understand that they can be made to run well. Not a "bolt down and go" press


Should have a new Pro 2000 here next week to play with, care to send me info and pics on your case feed conversion?
 
Fair and objective; I collect presses. I have a few bolted to stands. I have one stand with 4 presses bolted to it. The stand came from an old cream separator. All 4 presses are Herter presses, one is a super three, and another is a 6 position turret, then there is the two ram press and the fourth is the ‘U’. I have used all four; the one thing I can not do is turn my back on them because they have Auto Park. When parked the ram wants to be up and the handle wants to be down.

The one press I have that I have for the sake of having one is the RCBS Pardner. To use it I would have to unbolt another press, for me it is to balky, when I want to size something heavy it balks like my little Lee, I have a Lee, I do not use it but I have it just in case. Then there are Rock Chuckers, I have one bolted to a stand with a Dillon R550 B, I have two that are attached to Piggy Back 11 progressive presses. I know I should be upset because my Rock Chuckers do not cam over; I am not. I can deal with it because the Rock Chucker would not work with the Piggy Back attachments if it ‘cammed’ over.

I have already been reported to RCBS, a kind member called and told them what I said. The rep at RCBS gave the member his name and phone number and said “Have him call me”. I also have press instructions, my instructions from RCBS calim there are cam over press and there is non cam over presses. And then, they furnished instructions for adjusting both and they furnished information to determine if the press is cam over or non cam over.
 
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Should have a new Pro 2000 here next week to play with, care to send me info and pics on your case feed conversion?
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Be glad to. 99% sure you can do a better job and give me some great ideas on how I might automate the manual feed to boot......I know your Dillon collator will work great with it.:) I quit tinkering beyond the manual feed because it just didn't seem to me to need it as long as the press remains a manual crank progressive, with nothing for the left hand to do anyway.

http://s935.photobucket.com/user/gstrad/media/RCBS%20Pro%202000%20Case%20Feeder/IMG_1219.jpg.html?sort=6&o=40 All the frames are captioned and some explained a little.....the third one is a video you can watch or bypass if you want.

In fact all my threads on the Pro 2000 projects are at AR15.com's tacked threads....... Here.

The thread on the case feeder project might have a little more written info, than at Photobucket. PM me with any questions so we don't screw up this thread. Hope you have as much fun with it as you did the Lee.:)

Back to this thread: The Dillon 650 and the Pro 2K were my finalists when I chose a progressive. The choice wasn't hard to make, and certainly wasn't made by choosing Mr. Ultimate Progressive, because there isn't one. You just have to find what fits your personal needs.

Frankly, age, mechanical ability, shooting hobbies, # of calibers to load, ability to focus for long periods, and patience all play a part in a person's choice. Notice I put age......first.....The RCBS Pro 2000 was simpler, safer, and easier to use than the 650 for an old fart like me......set in his 40 years of reloading ways. I tried the 650 first. 650's are fine for smarter, younger, more patient ...hell maybe even more intelligent guys who can remember all 59 pages of that manual!:rolleyes: Reflection's on me not the press.:D
 
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I own a pickup truck, motorcycles, and I just sold my Porsche. All of them have performance parameters. The pickup will do offroading just fine, the Porshe will not. The Porsche would easily exceed the lawful speed limit where the pickup is sucking wind. One motorcycle is a dual purpose bike, the other a classic. Each has its uses. But all will take your hiney from one place to another.

I see presses in much the same way. Each has a performance range that will work well for some applications, not so well in others. I have owned many. For high volume loading, I liked the RL 1050, but I don't shoot that much of any one caliber anymore. Changing over from one cartridge to another with that press takes a lot of time. I shoot a number of different chamberings these days, and find the Lee Classic Cast turret to be a good choice for pistol cartridges. It allows very quick change over from one chambering to another, inexpensively.

I use a single stage press for my rifles. I just find it easier for me to use when loading the 50 cartridges I need for a silhouette match. I've been using a RCBS Summit press for a couple years now, but I'm mothballing that press and switching to a Lee Classic Cast single stage press for my uses now. It facilitates lovingly lavishing careful attention to each hard to find 32-40 casing, or precisely loading 6.5x47 Lapua, or 30-30. It works great for oddball cartridges like the 32-20/310 Cadet with heeled bullets.

I guess look at the features of each press, and determine which is most likely to fit your needs. No one manufacturer makes the best presses for all needs, I don't think. Each manufacturer presents presses with their own unique features, each press has strengths and shortcomings in its performance range.
 
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