[robertgreen_86]

Thinking about gettin a pro 1000, in 45acp and one in 9mm. My biggest question is does the bullet feeder attachment that you can buy for it work ok with tumble lubed cast bullets?? Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

primal has one. i know he loads cast bullets with it, maybe shoot him a PM if he doesnt respond to this in a day or two.

SW

 

[PrimalSeal]

Bob, I don't have the bullet feeder for my pro 1000, as you would have to have a separate one for each bullet you use. For instance, I use the cast lead bullets in .45ACP, that would be a different bullet feeder for that one versus one for plated or jacketed bullets as they go by OAL of the individual bullet itself. That's way more trouble than it's worth IMHO, and costly.


Also, just buy 1 Pro 1000, that's all you need. I have mine, and I bought the entire shellplate, with a primer tray and everything, from Midway for roughly $40.00. I have, I think, 5 individual shellplates for my Pro 1000, one for each caliber I load. What this does is makes it really easy to change from one caliber to the next. All you have to do is loosen the hex head screw on the bottom of the shellplate, lift it from the ram, out of the press, install the next one, screw it down, change the turret to the new dies and you're ready to load. As cheap as the shellplates are, it was WAY worth it, that way I don't have to buy any more additional equipment and I can still load every pistol caliber I have on the progressive press.

When I get to Alaska, you'll have to come down and I'll show you my setup.

 

[Super_Virgil]

Primal, do you use a factory crimp die in a seperate operation??? The pro 1000 is a thre hole press right???

 

[Stryker1]

^^ Thats what I do. I think I am going to a Dillon though... The Lee priming system and shellplate is giving me fits....

 

[PrimalSeal]

Primal, do you use a factory crimp die in a seperate operation??? The pro 1000 is a thre hole press right???

For my blasting ammo, and since I am now resizing my cast boolits, I usually don't use the FCD unless I am making ammo for my revolver, or I'm cooking up some match grade stuff. Granted, I've only done that once, and man, that was some sweet shooting ammo. The reason why I don't use it all the time is because rimless cases like 9mm, .40S&W, and .45ACP headspace at the case mouth, so putting a hard crimp on them can cause the case itself to go deeper into the chamber than it's supposed to and cause extraction issues. Now, the ammo I just made up for Andronicus I went ahead and ran that through the FCD on my turret press. On my .50AE loads, I don't crimp them at all. I tried crimping them once and man those bullets didn't shoot well for crap.

 

[perotter]

FWIW:

I use a Lee bullet feeder on my Load Master. I don't know for sure if they are the same. But, this is my experience.

I've had no big problems with it & normal tumble lubed bullets. No data, but less than 0.5% 'misses' with dry bullets. For my max .357 load I mix the tumble lube with lithium grease. These cause more 'misses'.

It's one more thing to be watching. And I'm not sure that it saves any time when loading several hundred rounds at a time. The reason being how long it takes to load the bullet tubes. I have nothing to autoload the tubes.

I'm glad I have, I just need some one to be loading the tubes while I'm loading.

 

[robertgreen_86]

so it isnt difficult to change between cals?? I think i am gonna get one but i will likely wait untill primal gets here then take a trip and check his out. I am getting tired of loading with single stage for my pistol and my turret press went to that big bench in the sky........I dont mind it if i am loading 50-100 at a time but genrally i load 500-1000 plus at a time that takes a while with the single stage.........

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

i do all my loading on a single stage. it allows me the best QC of any press. i just dont think i can make as good a ammo product on a progressive.

SW

 

[Super_Virgil]

I have the lee 4 hole turret, But i always use the FCD. usually just a light crimp to ensure chambering. My lswc for 38 special will not chamber without it. Even for .45 and 9mm, i want to make sure everything chambers perfectly. you never know when your blasting ammo will become your shtf ammo.

 

[PrimalSeal]

SV, you have a very valid point, and like I said, if it's just blasting ammo, I usually only make up about 200 at a time, right before the trip to the range. Once I get to Alaska, I'll be making up large quantities of SHTF ammo, as when it's cold out I won't be hitting the outdoor ranges as much as I do now. So, when it's winter time, all I'll be doing is casting boolits and loading ammo. Hopefully I'll be able to load a few thousand of every caliber I shoot to keep for a rainy day.

Once I start doing that, of course, I'll be resizing all of my boolits and using a FCD for everything. Adding a crimp to the round also helps to seal the brass around the bullet so it's less likely for water or any condensation to get into the case and cause a squib load.

 

[Super_Virgil]

I have always reloaded with the mindset, that my life, and the life of my loved ones,may depend on the round i just made. It doesn't matter wether you are loading xtp's or LRN. I understand blasting ammo, but you never know. That is why everything gets the FCD.

 

[nicadflyer]

You can easily switch the Pro 1000 from 9mm to 45ACP in a few minutes. You will also need the large case feeder for the 45 ACP cases. I also recommend the case collector, it makes that job so much easier.

If you are having troubles with the primer feeding try re-timing the shell plate. That's done with the bolt under the shell plate exit slide.

When I us the FCD on my PRO 1000, it's mounted over the ram (position 1) per the Lee tech I asked. I set the FCD up in it's own turret and do it as a separate step.