RCBS Pro 2000

David Bachelder · May 18, 2012, 04:58 PM

Im looking at the RCBS Pro 2000 press.

Questions?
Primer strips? Whats up with that? Do you buy them or do you load empty strips?

Auto Index? Does the press auto index? If you have to buy something what does it cost and what is it called?

Seems pricey, maybe a LNL AP would be a better buy?

frumious · May 18, 2012, 06:05 PM

I have a Pro2000. I replaced a Lee LoadMaster. Never looked back.

The APS strips can be bought pre-filled from CCI or you can fill them yourself. The basic Pro2000 kit I bought contained a strip filler. You can load 100 primers (4 strips) in a minute or so. I load my own strips even though I use CCI primers anyway as the pre-filled strips are more expensive. The APS system works really well. I think mainly because the strip is what is being fed, not individual little itty-bitty primers.

My Pro2k is not auto-index. I kind of like it even though it adds a little time...I feel like I have more control over the process. You can get them auto-index though, and there is an add-on that makes a non-AI into an AI.

I like my Pro2k. Caliber changes are fast (just a minute or two, even if you have to change primer sizes) and require no special tools.

-cls

Bailey Boat · May 19, 2012, 08:11 AM

Ditto the above post. The APS primer strip system is probably the safest going. Mine is also non auto and that's the way I like it since I'm in control of all functions including the indexing. If something isn't right the plate doesn't move until its corrected.
I ignore the color coding of the strips and since I don't load them until I'm ready to use them it isn't an issue. Mine came with several strips and they are still in service.

Peter M. Eick · May 19, 2012, 04:48 PM

Buy the strips preloaded. I buy them in bulk with another pro2000 loader and you can get some good deals. They come in boxes like this:

That is something like 75000 primers sitting there ready to be sorted out.

When they are used they go here:

I am coming up on 300,000 rounds loaded on my pro2000, I bought the progressive option and like it. Great press, I would never go back.

Lonely Raven · May 29, 2012, 02:39 PM

Peter, you're my hero.

I bought my Pro2000 right about the same time as you, but haven't done nearly as many rounds as you have.

I keep bumping into misinformed hate threads for this press...it's laughable.

Though I have to say, the LnL Ammo Plant is pretty sweet, and if I had the cash I would get that as my machine (today).

11-12 years ago when I got my Pro 2000, I felt it was the best bang for the buck. I love the APS system!

GWS · May 30, 2012, 11:46 AM

I bought the manual Pro 2000 and the Auto-advance Udate Kit at the same time. Two reasons...

January after Obama November was a time when finding progressive reloading tools was super difficult. I wanted Auto-advance but nobody had them. So I bought what I could find.

Besides there was reason two....I thought maybe I ought to learn to load with a progressive in a manual machine. (after 38 years of Rock Chucker experience)

After setting it up and using it for a couple of hours, I couldn't resist installing the auto-advance kit. Never had any desire to go back to manual mode. Get the Auto-Advance.

Compared to the Hornady or Dillon 650, the P2K is simple. Fewer moving parts, fewer things to go wrong, and way better & safer primer system.

Peter Eick was the reason I picked the P2k. Am sure glad I read his review on the press at Handloads.Com! He had loaded only 150,000 round on it mostly trouble free once he got it setup. As he said, he's nearing double that now....still no hint of dumping it for another press. He could in a heartbeat if there was some advantage to it.

BTW, because it is so simply designed, its easy to make your own feeders. I spent a whole $40 on my case feeder. I bought and modified Hornady's bullet feeder for it also.

1in9twist · June 2, 2012, 04:45 PM

Holy smokes Peter!

Where do you buy your preloaded strips from?

Peter M. Eick · June 3, 2012, 10:21 AM

Powder valley. Custom order them. They get whatever I want as long as I buy enough at one time.

Next time I will go 100,000 primers as we now have 3 of us that load pro2000's at work.

GWS · June 3, 2012, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Next time I will go 100,000 primers as we now have 3 of us that load pro2000's at work.

You are luckier than me by a long shot. My friends are po folks, not pro folks.

Well they are pro folks in another way....they bought Pro 1000's. I can't possibly order primers in the necessary number to get bulk prices.

frumious · June 3, 2012, 09:58 PM

GWS, even if you were *given* 100,000 primers, the Pro1000 would never feed them all

-cls

GWS · June 3, 2012, 11:30 PM

That's exactly why I have an RCBS Pro 2000 and not a Lee Pro 1000. I just couldn't talk my friends into spending the few extra bucks. We could have bought beautiful primers together.

I do know a guy who has a Dillon 650, but he isn't going to buy APS either. BTW, using his press for a couple of weeks when I was researching presses, is why I went to the Pro 2000. Wasn't my cup of koolaid.

He will never load that many primers either....in his lifetime.

south.texas.dead.I · June 9, 2012, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter M. Eick

Buy the strips preloaded. I buy them in bulk with another pro2000 loader and you can get some good deals. They come in boxes like this:

That is something like 75000 primers sitting there ready to be sorted out.

When they are used they go here:

I am coming up on 300,000 rounds loaded on my pro2000, I bought the progressive option and like it. Great press, I would never go back.

What are you gonna do with all the strips?! Haha

Living another day
To CRUSH another clay

Peter M. Eick · June 9, 2012, 05:03 PM

That is just the indoor bucket. I have a (couple?) more out in the garage. I have given away a bunch of strips, just plain boxes full but lately I just throw them in the bucket and add more "ballast" to the garage.

GWS · June 9, 2012, 07:10 PM

I do covet the volume you do. Perhaps if I quit inventing mods and case feeders and such for the Pro 2000 I might do better.

Peter M. Eick · June 10, 2012, 08:44 AM

Sorry about the pm confusion on my part. Go with the second PM. My error.

Your mods are very useful and make a lot of sense. I tend to view the pro2000 as a tool and just use it as it is. My modifications have been more along the lines of modifying it to a behavior I like better like all of the expanders I have tried now. The current RCBS expanders are close but not perfect yet. I am thinking of buying a lathe to make my own versions. That could be a lot of fun.

I note hat I tend to site down 5 to 8 times a month and generally load around 1.5 hours for fun. I usually crank out between 500 and 700 rounds a session but some times I do a thousand on the weekend. Then work gets in the way and I might miss a month or so. This ends up running about 20,000 to 30,000 rounds loaded per year so it just adds up over time.

I freely admit I wish I was more creative like you on the mods but I tend to sit at the machine and just focus on making ammo. The act of making ammo actually takes my mind off the stress of work so it works well for me. I actually probably enjoy making the ammo more than shooting it which is why I have so many manuals.

GWS · June 11, 2012, 12:25 AM

Quote:

...My modifications have been more along the lines of modifying it to a behavior I like better like all of the expanders I have tried now. The current RCBS expanders are close but not perfect yet. I am thinking of buying a lathe to make my own versions. That could be a lot of fun.

Yes it would be. What would you do different from the RCBS expander?

I note hat I tend to sit down 5 to 8 times a month and generally load around 1.5 hours for fun. I usually crank out between 500 and 700 rounds a session but some times I do a thousand on the weekend. Then work gets in the way and I might miss a month or so. This ends up running about 20,000 to 30,000 rounds loaded per year so it just adds up over time.

Wow! I'm just not that dedicated, I guess. I get tired after an hour. Then there's the money factor. My biggest problem is justifying what it takes to keep the components in stock to do that much reloading.

I freely admit I wish I was more creative like you on the mods but I tend to sit at the machine and just focus on making ammo. The act of making ammo actually takes my mind off the stress of work so it works well for me. I actually probably enjoy making the ammo more than shooting it which is why I have so many manuals.

It's a matter of difference of interests, is all. I probably enjoy tinkering with the setup as much as I enjoy reloading. The #1 reason I bought the pro 2000 was its simplicity. I can make it do what I want it to with very little effort and money. Plus that simplicity with its small moving parts count, means a simpler to keep running press, than the other machine I was serious about. (The venerable, but more complicated Dillon 650) Especially as I intended to change calibers twice or more a session. Something most Dillon users don't like to do. Then there's the APS primer system....the most misunderstood yet most worthwhile advance in reloading in a long long time.

lll Otto lll · June 11, 2012, 01:40 AM

Curious, since CCI primers with APS strips are about $5 more expensive than CCI primers without the strips why such a larger accumulation?
Unless you actually use them, I don't see paying 20% extra for the same primers.

GWS · June 11, 2012, 06:57 PM

You didn't notice the picture before the one you posted? Buying bulk, at least at amount he orders, they're not much if any more expensive.

Quote:

Unless you actually use them

You're kidding right? That bucket is the result of using the hell out of them....at the rate he reloads he most likely has several more buckets of empty strips around the house.

Why buy a press that uses APS? You don't have to spend time loading tubes, you don't have to worry about a 100 explosives sitting one on top of the others waiting for an accident, you don't ever have to handle primers. And you get to argue with traditional tube loaders, who haven't tried it.

If you miss the time you spend loading tubes, you can use the strip loader and load conventionally packaged primers into strips, at about the same speed as loading tubes unless you got a speed loader that works.

Or in my case I use the strip loader to load the conventional primer stash I accumulated before I bought my Pro 2000.

lll Otto lll · June 12, 2012, 12:25 AM

Quote:

You didn't notice the picture before the one you posted? Buying bulk, at least at amount he orders, they're not much if any more expensive.

Yeah, I noticed but I would have preferred the explanation from him since it's his photo and his strips. And whether he buys at wholesale or not, APS primers cost more than non-APS even for distributors. Why buy CCI APS primers when there's buckets full of empty strips that are re-loadable...perhaps Peter can provide the answer.

Lonely Raven · June 12, 2012, 08:43 AM

I'm betting as much as he reloads, it's worth the few cents extra to buy the strips pre-loaded.

Since I don't even load 10% of what he does, I reuse my strips over and over till they are worn out. I wouldn't mind scoring one of Peter's buckets! It would probably last me a lifetime! LOL

Edit to add: I see a lot of people complain about the time it takes to load the APS strips, I can do a tray of 100 in under 120 seconds. I've not timed myself, so it could possibly be even faster...but I don't try to go fast when handling primers...just in case.

May 19, 2012, 04:48 PM	#4
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	Buy the strips preloaded. I buy them in bulk with another pro2000 loader and you can get some good deals. They come in boxes like this: That is something like 75000 primers sitting there ready to be sorted out. When they are used they go here: I am coming up on 300,000 rounds loaded on my pro2000, I bought the progressive option and like it. Great press, I would never go back. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

June 2, 2012, 04:45 PM	#7
1in9twist Member Join Date: August 13, 2011 Posts: 38	Holy smokes Peter! Where do you buy your preloaded strips from? __________________ 1in9twist Reloading should be enjoyable. www.inlinefabrication.com

June 3, 2012, 10:21 AM	#8
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	Powder valley. Custom order them. They get whatever I want as long as I buy enough at one time. Next time I will go 100,000 primers as we now have 3 of us that load pro2000's at work. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

June 9, 2012, 05:03 PM	#13
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	That is just the indoor bucket. I have a (couple?) more out in the garage. I have given away a bunch of strips, just plain boxes full but lately I just throw them in the bucket and add more "ballast" to the garage. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

June 10, 2012, 08:44 AM	#15
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	Sorry about the pm confusion on my part. Go with the second PM. My error. Your mods are very useful and make a lot of sense. I tend to view the pro2000 as a tool and just use it as it is. My modifications have been more along the lines of modifying it to a behavior I like better like all of the expanders I have tried now. The current RCBS expanders are close but not perfect yet. I am thinking of buying a lathe to make my own versions. That could be a lot of fun. I note hat I tend to site down 5 to 8 times a month and generally load around 1.5 hours for fun. I usually crank out between 500 and 700 rounds a session but some times I do a thousand on the weekend. Then work gets in the way and I might miss a month or so. This ends up running about 20,000 to 30,000 rounds loaded per year so it just adds up over time. I freely admit I wish I was more creative like you on the mods but I tend to sit at the machine and just focus on making ammo. The act of making ammo actually takes my mind off the stress of work so it works well for me. I actually probably enjoy making the ammo more than shooting it which is why I have so many manuals. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

May 18, 2012, 04:58 PM	#1
David Bachelder Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2011 Location: Trinity, Texas Posts: 636	RCBS Pro 2000 Im looking at the RCBS Pro 2000 press. Questions? Primer strips? Whats up with that? Do you buy them or do you load empty strips? Auto Index? Does the press auto index? If you have to buy something what does it cost and what is it called? Seems pricey, maybe a LNL AP would be a better buy? __________________ David Bachelder Trinity, Texas I load, 9mm Luger, 38 and 40 S&W, 38 Special, 357Magnum, 45ACP, 45 Colt, 223, 300 AAC, 243 and 30-06

May 18, 2012, 06:05 PM	#2
frumious Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: Carrollton TX Posts: 521	I have a Pro2000. I replaced a Lee LoadMaster. Never looked back. The APS strips can be bought pre-filled from CCI or you can fill them yourself. The basic Pro2000 kit I bought contained a strip filler. You can load 100 primers (4 strips) in a minute or so. I load my own strips even though I use CCI primers anyway as the pre-filled strips are more expensive. The APS system works really well. I think mainly because the strip is what is being fed, not individual little itty-bitty primers. My Pro2k is not auto-index. I kind of like it even though it adds a little time...I feel like I have more control over the process. You can get them auto-index though, and there is an add-on that makes a non-AI into an AI. I like my Pro2k. Caliber changes are fast (just a minute or two, even if you have to change primer sizes) and require no special tools. -cls

May 19, 2012, 08:11 AM	#3
Bailey Boat Junior member Join Date: December 10, 2006 Location: NC Posts: 365	Ditto the above post. The APS primer strip system is probably the safest going. Mine is also non auto and that's the way I like it since I'm in control of all functions including the indexing. If something isn't right the plate doesn't move until its corrected. I ignore the color coding of the strips and since I don't load them until I'm ready to use them it isn't an issue. Mine came with several strips and they are still in service.

May 29, 2012, 02:39 PM	#5
Lonely Raven Member Join Date: January 10, 2001 Posts: 24	Peter, you're my hero. I bought my Pro2000 right about the same time as you, but haven't done nearly as many rounds as you have. I keep bumping into misinformed hate threads for this press...it's laughable. Though I have to say, the LnL Ammo Plant is pretty sweet, and if I had the cash I would get that as my machine (today). 11-12 years ago when I got my Pro 2000, I felt it was the best bang for the buck. I love the APS system!

May 30, 2012, 11:46 AM	#6
GWS Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2010 Location: New Mexico Posts: 688	I bought the manual Pro 2000 and the Auto-advance Udate Kit at the same time. Two reasons... January after Obama November was a time when finding progressive reloading tools was super difficult. I wanted Auto-advance but nobody had them. So I bought what I could find. Besides there was reason two....I thought maybe I ought to learn to load with a progressive in a manual machine. (after 38 years of Rock Chucker experience) After setting it up and using it for a couple of hours, I couldn't resist installing the auto-advance kit. Never had any desire to go back to manual mode. Get the Auto-Advance. Compared to the Hornady or Dillon 650, the P2K is simple. Fewer moving parts, fewer things to go wrong, and way better & safer primer system. Peter Eick was the reason I picked the P2k. Am sure glad I read his review on the press at Handloads.Com! He had loaded only 150,000 round on it mostly trouble free once he got it setup. As he said, he's nearing double that now....still no hint of dumping it for another press. He could in a heartbeat if there was some advantage to it. BTW, because it is so simply designed, its easy to make your own feeders. I spent a whole $40 on my case feeder. I bought and modified Hornady's bullet feeder for it also.

June 3, 2012, 09:58 PM	#10
frumious Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: Carrollton TX Posts: 521	GWS, even if you were given 100,000 primers, the Pro1000 would never feed them all -cls

June 3, 2012, 11:30 PM	#11
GWS Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2010 Location: New Mexico Posts: 688	That's exactly why I have an RCBS Pro 2000 and not a Lee Pro 1000. I just couldn't talk my friends into spending the few extra bucks. We could have bought beautiful primers together. I do know a guy who has a Dillon 650, but he isn't going to buy APS either. BTW, using his press for a couple of weeks when I was researching presses, is why I went to the Pro 2000. Wasn't my cup of koolaid. He will never load that many primers either....in his lifetime.

June 9, 2012, 07:10 PM	#14
GWS Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2010 Location: New Mexico Posts: 688	I do covet the volume you do. Perhaps if I quit inventing mods and case feeders and such for the Pro 2000 I might do better.

June 11, 2012, 01:40 AM	#17
lll Otto lll Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2008 Location: Lone Star State Posts: 295	Curious, since CCI primers with APS strips are about $5 more expensive than CCI primers without the strips why such a larger accumulation? Unless you actually use them, I don't see paying 20% extra for the same primers.

June 12, 2012, 08:43 AM	#20
Lonely Raven Member Join Date: January 10, 2001 Posts: 24	I'm betting as much as he reloads, it's worth the few cents extra to buy the strips pre-loaded. Since I don't even load 10% of what he does, I reuse my strips over and over till they are worn out. I wouldn't mind scoring one of Peter's buckets! It would probably last me a lifetime! LOL Edit to add: I see a lot of people complain about the time it takes to load the APS strips, I can do a tray of 100 in under 120 seconds. I've not timed myself, so it could possibly be even faster...but I don't try to go fast when handling primers...just in case.