Lee Loadmaster

[johnwilliamson062]

Lee Loadmaster full progressive reloading press with auto index and auto case feed. Approx 3 years old in perfect condition. Also included is 3 spare turrets, primer shield, and case collator. I will include 1 set of dies (either 38, 357, 40, or 45 of your choice) already setup on turret with matching shellplate in the deal. Other sets of dies could be included for an additional $50 each. They are all 4 piece Lee die sets (with factory crimp die.)

I have a chance to pick this up for $300. I have never reloaded, but am interested in starting. My understanding is progressive is very important. Would this be a good way to get into reloading?

[kyle663]

lee's website sells new loadmasters for 330 caliber set up. i'd check with the local sporting goods store or your gunshop and see what they can get it for. i was also told i should start with a single stage press first. still have that press on my bench and use it once in awhile.

[CrustyFN]

I don't think that's a good price. This is from Graf's web site.

LEE LOADMASTER 40 S&W PROGRESSIVE PRESS
Item Number: LEE90940 · Availability: Only one in stock
Add to Cart Price: $217.79

That should be everything you mentioned except the extra turrets. It's the same price for any caliber.
Rusty

[crazylegs]

Yep, that's not a good deal. I'm with Crusty. I bought mine from Graf.
Crazylegs

[CrustyFN]

The other thing I see is he is selling extra $30 die sets for $50.

Rusty

[Alleykat]

In the not-too-distant past, I shipped my Loadmaster, with all accessories, sans dies, to a total stranger from a gun forum. I even paid shipping. I would have been embarrassed to have even accepted the cost of shipping for the Loadmaster. In my humble opinion, the Loadmaster is THE most poorly designed progressive press made, period.

[crazylegs]

Yes, Alley, agreed...........for those without the skills or proper instruction on setting one up. I love mine.
Crazylegs

[johnwilliamson062]

Yes, Alley, agreed...........for those without the skills or proper instruction on setting one up

Man am I glad I posted here, I obviously lack these skills. The guy actually told me this was a bad press to start with though. Thanks for all the input on that guys.

I go to a lot of auctions, and I was wondering if there are some key features i should look for in a press? Should I just eat it and pay retail for a certain one to start with? I imagine there is a decent starter press somewhere for a reasonable price? I doubt I will ever reload seriously, but I would like to have the option.

[Trapp]

Here is something to chew on.....

You can get the Hornady LnL plus a thousand free bullets.....Not a bad deal.

You can get a Dillon any Dillon, and be able to sell it off with not much loss.

I went with the Hornady for the bullets. Not to mention, a bit cheaper to change calibers. I imagine I will get a Dillon sometime in the future. Then I might know what I am missing.

[Alleykat]

I get a kick out of the Loadmaster groupies who always post that the only reason Loadmasters have such a lousy reputation is because of the incompetence of the operators. I loaded 80,000 rounds or so of acceptable ammunition on a Loadmaster. I don't need any technical assistance to tell me that a machine is a p.o.s. when I've used that machine for a number of years. The engineering of the Loadmaster looks like it was done by a mediocre h.s. dropout...certainly not by a real engineer.

Pot metal is as pot metal does!

[Sevens]

I imagine there is a decent starter press somewhere for a reasonable price? I doubt I will ever reload seriously, but I would like to have the option.

The Lee Loadmaster is what's known as a progressive press. That means that multiple things are happening all at the same time when you pull the handle. As reloading goes, a progressive type of machine is the most complex machine you can buy.

The benefits of a progressive machine are that you can produce ammo much faster than using a simple single stage machine. With a single stage machine, you simply have one vertical ram, and one place to screw in a single die-- a single die that does only one operation, and one single part of the process of building reloaded ammunition. It's much more simple, but much slower, and usually, much cheaper.

If you aren't sure that you are going to fully embrace reloading, and you would like to begin with a starter setup, you should be looking at a single stage press and one set of reloading dies. There is a sticky thread near the top of this forum that gives you an idea of equipment basics.

IMO, you don't need a progressive machine.
You don't need a Lee Loadmaster.
And nobody needs a Lee Loadmaster and for sure as hell those dies at those prices.

[DEDON45]

If your are a true "noob" to reloading, I definitely suggest a single stage press. Even as you progress in the hobby, and may at some point find yourself drawn towards acquiring a higher capacity progressive at some future point, you will always find a use for the single stage or turret press you first bought for "grunt" work, or for precision target ammo (though I just need one for grunt work, like pulling stuck cases, small batches of rifle cartridges, etc.).

Since Die sets are pretty much universal, you won't be wasting any of your investment. I started out on a lee challenger press, and have upgraded to a Hornady LnL progressive (if you look at going towards progressive, BTW, I would look hard at the Hornady LnL, the Dillon 650, and the RCBS progressives... while Lee presses are quite inexpensive, they can be a bit cantankerous) ... I find myself needing a single stage occasionally (and I don't have one). My buddy has an OLD Lyman turret press, inherited from his father, that has had 10s of 1000's (we can only guess at this point) of rounds made on it, and it's still working just fine.

Look at the Hornady LnL Single Stage Press kit, the excellent Lyman Kits (both turret and single stage), or the RCBS kits. One thing I would add, if it's not included in the kit you're looking at, get a good powder measure... I'd recommend the Lyman 55 measure, as it's the most flexible out of the box. If you are going progressive, I really like my Hornady measures. A good scale (it can be electronic or a beam scale; I personally like my beam scale) is also very important. Lee includes little plastic dippers; while they can work, I found consistency difficult to achieve with them... I'd skip that.

Dies: These are pretty much up to you. Lee dies are fine, I prefer Hornady and RCBS... a little better quality, and the Hornady dies work better in my progressive (and will work fine in any single stage press). Redding is also an excellent brand.

If you really have no budget at all... well, then a Lee cast press (not the Challenger, I broke the one I used several times) with some lee dies would work fine... if you buy a kit, make sure a scale is included... the Lee powder dippers aren't all that great. A powder measure, like the Lyman, is something I'd recommend as well. Hey, although I'm not a fan of Lee's, they have definitely allowed more folks to start out in the hobby than could have otherwise... I have no qualms with anyone starting out with them, it's just most folks that try other more expensive brands of equipment (the "other" Red, Blue, and Green brands) often move to them and stay there, and maybe give their Lee stuff to a budding reloader, or keep a single stage around for grunt work.

Bear in mind, you do get what you pay for; generally, the more expensive equipment also gets you more durability, better support, better warranty. Good quality equipment, maintained properly, will be working when your grandchildren decide to try out the hobby (God willing).

Oh, and I agree with the other posters; those prices are way high. Check out Graf's or Midway ... either will have much more reasonable pricing on any equipment you buy.

Forgot something ... make sure you get a good reloading manual or 2... the front of most of the manuals describe the mechanics and theory that you will need to understand to reload safe and reliable ammo... I like the Hornady manual, have a speer Manual, and also like the sierra manual. You can also get some reloading data online from the various powder manufacturers. And, of course, the guys on this board (and others) are always willing to help... I've gotten some of my questions answered here, as I have no other resource... having been out of the reloading game for quite a while, I found I had forgotten a few things. There's no such thing as a dumb question! My buddy and I constantly come up with questions for each other as we are getting back into it more and more.

[totalloser]

I got a loadmaster for my first press and I think it was kind of a mistake. I love the thing, and it works fine for me, but it was a lot of things to keep track of for a beginner. I eventually got a turret in addition and I think I would have been much better off learning on a turret, and getting the second progressive later.

The big problem with being new to it and starting off with a progressive is that you have no "feel" for when something is going wrong and too darned many things are happening at once. Loading a single shell the first time is enough to learn without having a million little adjustments and things to go wrong.

Another thing that really should be taken into account, is that it is DESPERATELY hard to contain your excitement and take your time with a new machine getting into reloading. (or at least it was for me!) Having a warp speed progressive makes it even harder to exercise patience!

Books are your friend. Get a couple before you even consider a press is my advice.

[crazylegs]

I get a kick out of people who'll use any opportunity to slam the Load Master when the original post was one concerning cost.
Crazylegs

[floydster]

Crazylegs,
You are sooo right, it's like the Harley guys, " you don't gotta bike if it's not a Harley, man", it's all B.S.
Floydster

[Alleykat]

I get a kick out of people who'll use any opportunity to slam the Load Master when the original post was one concerning cost.
Crazylegs

I was addressing cost, in hopes of being of help to the OP. In my humble opinion, a free Loadmaster is grossly overpriced.

[totalloser]

Well I guess it's not for everyone. I consistently roll 1000 .223 in an hour from range brass to new rollies on mine though and am quite fond of it. I posted a pic of my custom setup that trims brass in the same pass on this forum somewhere here...

I really have a hard time understanding the vitriolic distaste of this product, though. The only problem I have run into is fiddling with the primer system, which once it is working is very handy as far as my experience with it. I guess the other products must be pretty spectacular. I guess they better be since they generally cost several times as much.

[ForneyRider]

I bought a Lee Pro 1000. It's a 3 stage progressive. After a while, I went back and got the Lee Breech Lock single stage and Pro 1000 won't fit large rifle cases.

You'll see the gamut of opinions on Lee, Hornady, Dillon. To each his own.

I recommend getting a single stage first.

Lee kit is about 80$ with scale, powder drop, and accessories.

RCBS kit is about 215$ with scale, powder drop, and accessories.

Either of these can produce lots of quality ammunition. Many will end up keeping a single stage around, even after getting a progressive. It's handy. Even when I am loading pistol on Pro 1000, I use the single stage to decap and taper crimp. And use the hand prime to prime.

[IGO1320]

I bought my Loadmaster used from someone that could not get it to work correctly, they had buggered up some of the parts by misadjustment and who knows how else. Lee techs were very helpful in the diagnosing of the problems....they even sent me some necessary parts and some spares free of charge (yes I did tell them I had bought it used). I got into the loader very cheaply, it runs well with very little maintanence, I can change calibers very quickly without having to readjust, and I know it may not be the "best engineered" unit out there but it paid for itself very quickly where as if I had bought a Dillon (which the guy I bought it from replaced it with) It would still have not paid for itself. Price is a big concern for me that is one of the reasons I reload. My wife and I fire around 300 rounds a week and we could not afford do this if we had to buy "white box" from Wally World. Lee will also set the loader up for you if need be, but I did not want to ship it back and forth, so they spent the time on the phone with me to sort it out.

[bfox]

I agree with the others the price is to high .

I wouldn't recomend it for your first press like others have said . Unless you know someone that has one that can help
you .

I have 2 Loadmasters and I like them .
Anybody that want to ship me one for Free I will
gladly take it .
Heck the Nice Guy that I am I'll even pay for the shipping .

Bill

[bfox]

http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/f...8d98035b5443c6


iF you do get one they can help you here .

Bill

[sc928porsche]

I have reloading equipment in many different makes. I always hear people complain about lee products and am a bit puzzled. The lee equipment that I have works very well and have never had a real problem with them. I have a load master and a challenger press, along with the little C frame. I also have a Rock Chucker. I have used the Dillon, RCBS, and Hornady progressives and they all function well. It has gotten to the point that I no longer use the progressive because I prefer to weigh each charge. Especially for rifles. If I am loading up a bunch of pistol cartridges for plinking, then I will use the progressive.

[CrustyFN]

bfox:
I agree with the others the price is to high .

I wouldn't recomend it for your first press like others have said . Unless you know someone that has one that can help
you .

I have 2 Loadmasters and I like them .
Anybody that want to ship me one for Free I will
gladly take it .
Heck the Nice Guy that I am I'll even pay for the shipping .

Bill

Now that is a generous offer with the price of shipping these days. Bfox is aight. If Bill gets to many I'll take a free one too.
Rusty

[bfox]

Crusty

I always put that AWESOME Deal up but I never get any takers . Don't know why , everyone says they are Crap but
they don't take me up on my Generous offer .

Bill