[Rico567]

To address the original question, I used two Lee Pro1000s to reload many thousands of rounds of pistol ammo over two decades. The Pro1000 will turn out reloads every bit as good as any other press, but it's a progressive reloader, and therefore probably not a good "starter" press for a new reloader. You don't say if you are or not, but if you're new to this game, I suggest getting a single-stage press and learning on that.

There are some "must do" things when using a Pro1000, and I mean "must." If you don't do them, you WILL have trouble, and repeatedly. Some may be found in the instructions, some not:

1) You must keep the machine clean. Plan on cleaning everything up every few thousand rounds, or if you put the machine away for an extended period, before you use it again.

2) You must keep it lubricated. This is in the instructions, but it's worth mentioning here, too.

3) As a previous poster alluded to, you must keep the primer trough full of primers. This system is strictly gravity feed, and unless the trough is kept filled with primers, the weight of the remaining primers will be insufficient to push a primer in place atop the primer punch. As the other poster said, you will then have a jam, and these are not fun to clear.

4) Do not attempt to win a race with the Pro1000. Its speed is best kept limited to no more than 300-400 per hour.

In addition, when you get your press set up, I suggest you run a single case around all three stations, loading one round at a time, until you get a feel for the action of the press and an understanding of what is going on at each stage. Then start to feed the cases through continuously. This "getting the feel" is particularly important with a progressive press, and you need to do it with a Dillon or RCBS or Hornady or whatever, not just Lee.

The above is not to imply that there's anything wrong with the Pro1000. It's the best bargain going in a progressive press (as of this writing, you can get it on sale at Natchez and Midway for under $120, and that's complete with powder measure and carbide dies). But you always get what you pay for, to some extent. The speed of the machine is limited, and it's not really suitable for reloading bottleneck rifle cases, although Lee sells it set up for .223. I sold my Pro 1000s and bought a Dillon XL650 because I wanted more production, and I wanted to reload rifle ammo.

Note: There are lots of people on Internet forums who love to jump all over Lee equipment as being "junk." All this rhetoric is relative. Some people must like Lees, because my two well-used Pro1000s sold on eBay for 75% of the cost of new machines today. Also, there are drawbacks to any machine, e.g., my Dillon 650 is a wonderful, speedy press to load on once it's set up and adjusted, but caliber changeovers on the Dillon are far more complex and there are adjustments that don't even exist on the Pro1000, and the last caliber change I bought for my Dillon (less dies!) cost almost as much as a new Pro 1000.