Lee PrecisionGunsmithing Tools

I have had this loader I got from amazon for about 3 months. I have loaded at least 3,000 rounds of 45 acp both large and small primmer cases on it. Any problem I have had has been directly my fault. If you keep this press clean, you will have no problems. I can do about 300 rounds per hour using it. I usually weigh about every 20th case just to check powder throws and they are within .05 gr every time (thats using Hodgdon Universal powder).Here are my tips:1. When the primer tray runs out, fill it up. The weight of the primers in the feed tube push the primer into seating position. Keep it full and have zero primer problems.2. I put a baffle in my powder hopper and it evened out the consistency from when it is plum full to almost empty. If you don't do this try and keep the powder at about the same level. Maybe fill it up after every hundred rounds or so.3. Keep a can of "canned air" handy to blow any powder that hops out of the case when indexing.4. Run the press as smoothly as you can. Always go full complete movements. Run the handle and feel each stage and the press works.4. THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP. Once you get it all put together spend an hr or two figuring out exactly how it operates and functions. Then do fine adjustments on anything you see that needs it and slowly work into it. If you jump into it two fast and don't know what you are doing, you are bound to fail.This is a great press for the money if you take your time setting it up and getting it ready. Don't buy the negative ratings. If you have any mechanical aptitude you can run this press around 300 rnd per hr without problems. If you want a blue loader then buy a blue one. If you want a loader that will do 300 rnd per hr and not break the bank buy this one.

This press seems to be a love it or hate it deal.That being said,the people that can set it up correctly will be able to make it work well.And if you don't mind spending extra time polishing the bullet eject tray and tweaking the bullet ejector pin.Then you can really make this work to its potential.Is this press as nice as an RCBS or a Dillon progressive.Probably not.But its half the price. My recommendation to any new owner would be to.Take the flair powder drop die apart and polish the part that flairs the case.It will work without doing that.But it works smoother when its polished.The instructions they give you arnt terrific. But there videos on the Lee sight are very simple to understand and will teach you how to set it up and keep it going smooth. Make sure its mounted to a solid bench or stand.The stiffer and stronger the mount the more stable the press will be.This also makes the press run smoother. Once you get the feel for how this press works and keeping your primer tray and case feeder fed, knocking out 2 to 300 rounds an hour is possible.Ive made close to 1000 rounds through the press in my short time of owning this.Ive had no major issues other than making sure to pay attention to the things ive stated earlier. I have had a couple of crushed primers because i didnt pay attention to the amount of primers in the shoot.Being that its gravity fed i now make sure i put about 120 primers in for the batch of 100 that i do.This way the weight is sufficient enough to feed primers the hole batch. I change between 9mm and 38/357 ,Make sure if your changing calibers you learn how to Zero out (( Calibrate )) the indexing. Its an easy procedure.But if not done correctly you can flip or crush primers. Id tell anyone first buying this press to load the first few rounds with the auto case feeder not engaged to make sure everything is working smooth,Once it is engage the feeder and start pumping out volume. I still give it a 5 star because keeping it running good has been easy so far.

Great entry level progressive setup. As others have said, the primer feed can be a bit finicky, but once you get it running, it does very well. I found that a can of compressed air to occasionally blow any extra powder out of the primer lifter is very handy as many of the primer feed issues seem to come from flakes of powder getting down in the lift. The other biggest thing was making sure the primer feed tray is full. I was easily able to get it humming at 300+ rds per hour and this is my first progressive press. The drive gear on my did break with the very first cycle of the handle, but Amazon made it right. Its pretty easy to change calibers with this as well, takes maybe 15-20 minutes to get it set up and dialed in.