Lee Loadmaster - Page 2

shootniron · July 13, 2015, 11:33 AM

samfried...look nationally...my local area had nothing, either.

axismatt · July 18, 2015, 09:17 AM

My Lee Loadmaster works great. Tens of thousands of rounds through it. But I will admit, I do not use the priming system, and here's why...

It's the one part of the reloading process where I can't perform a visual check. I DID make it work, and it seemed to work fine, but I never got comfy with it.

I love using the Lee Auto prime, though it can make your hands sore. I just ordered the Lyman hand priming system to see if it offers more comfort.

The reason I prefer to hand prime before loading into the case feeder... I can visually inspect every case. I can prime 6-8 cases per minute with the hand primer, look at each case for issues (cracks, damaged ejection grooves/rim, excessive bulge on .40 cal, etc...). Plus, I can do this particular process almost anywhere... not stuck at the bench.

I've removed the de-capping pins from my sizing dies and now the rest of the loading process in the Loadmaster runs very smooth and considerably faster.

So, for the money and for someone new to reloading, Lee products are more than adequate. As with any loading system, a ROCK SOLID bench is the biggest part of making your press work well. Any system that jiggles and bounces will cause powder to splash, as well as a list of other problems. I honestly think a fair number of people who complain about their Lee products have handicapped themselves from the start due to a bench that's flimsy. My $.02.

Reloader2 · July 18, 2015, 12:53 PM

I loaded for 20 years with a single stage press. Mostly rifle so it was working up loads three at a time and then mostly boxes of 20.
I did dabble with pistol loads but never in quantity.

Then I bought some 9 mm semi autos and my world changed.

I went with the Lee Classic Turret press and personally I doubt I will ever
need a progressive. Honestly the Lee took some tweaking and modifications to get set up initially but cranks out ammo fast enough to keep me supplied.
I like the way I can speed up my loading but still monitor the action at each stage as the round is being processed.

Btw I have been very impressed how well the companies that manufacture reloading equipment back up their products even when I do something stupid.

jsflagstad · January 7, 2016, 10:56 PM

I have a Loadmaster, Classic Turrret, Original Turret, Dillon (dad's), Single stage Pacific (Dad's), and an old single stage RCBS RC.

They all work great. The Loadmaster takes some attention to get setup, but works great once you get it. I was going to quote a few differnt guys here that said that you need to view a lot of the online videos for the Loadmaster, have a good mechanical aptitude and "LOOK" to see what is causing the issue and you WILL be successful.

Is the blue better than red? Maybe...there are pro's and con's to both. My dad's Dillon is a 650 and no where near as automated as my Loadmaster. I / we've had as many issues or more setting his Dillon up as we have with my Loadmaster.

The Loadmaster is a bit of a Rube Goldberg setup, and once you understand it and get to know it, it'll be your favorite.

qball16 · January 10, 2016, 12:09 AM

I have a Loadmaster. I'm not sure that I would recommend it. Depends on the person. I load .38 special, .45 Colt and 357 sig with it. I also load .225 Win and .308 on a single stage press. It is the the only progressive that I own so I don't have anything to compare it to.
The Loadmaster takes a good deal of fiddling to set up and get running well. The priming is definitely the weak link in the system. Case feeding can also be a pain to get running reliably. There are occasions that I've gotten frustrated and just abandoned the priming stage altogether and primed on the single stage. I would fill the case feeders and just resize, then hand prime and re-feed the feeder to charge and bell, seat and crimp. This takes at least twice as long. There have been other times that I've run 500 primers without a problem. I've been quite happy with the disk powder measure.

jmorris · January 10, 2016, 10:20 AM

I have owned Dillon's for 30 years but was given a "basket case" Loadmaster last month (the fellow had switched to a 450). Lots of plastic parts and less than ideal instructions to go by but with a few hours tweaking a few mods, I was able to load 100 rounds in under 4 minutes with it.

Here is the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9pjmuHAkBU

Won't be selling any of my Dillon's though.

MrWesson · January 10, 2016, 10:41 AM

If you reload for competition and need 1000 rounds quick(1 session) then starting on a progressive might not be a terrible idea.

500rds a month? A lee turret will do that in 2-3 hrs easy with less frustration(ie none).

I have a lee pro 1000 progressive that runs well but won't crank out 500 rounds without any hold up or issue. I have nodded mine heavily btw.

Are you prepared to reengineer certain aspects of the loadmaster? If not then you will be disappointed. If you are prepared and need a small ammo factory then its a great bargain.

July 18, 2015, 12:53 PM	#28
Reloader2 Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2013 Posts: 263	Lee Loadmaster I loaded for 20 years with a single stage press. Mostly rifle so it was working up loads three at a time and then mostly boxes of 20. I did dabble with pistol loads but never in quantity. Then I bought some 9 mm semi autos and my world changed. I went with the Lee Classic Turret press and personally I doubt I will ever need a progressive. Honestly the Lee took some tweaking and modifications to get set up initially but cranks out ammo fast enough to keep me supplied. I like the way I can speed up my loading but still monitor the action at each stage as the round is being processed. Btw I have been very impressed how well the companies that manufacture reloading equipment back up their products even when I do something stupid.

January 7, 2016, 10:56 PM	#29
jsflagstad Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2005 Location: Up Nort Posts: 419	I have a Loadmaster, Classic Turrret, Original Turret, Dillon (dad's), Single stage Pacific (Dad's), and an old single stage RCBS RC. They all work great. The Loadmaster takes some attention to get setup, but works great once you get it. I was going to quote a few differnt guys here that said that you need to view a lot of the online videos for the Loadmaster, have a good mechanical aptitude and "LOOK" to see what is causing the issue and you WILL be successful. Is the blue better than red? Maybe...there are pro's and con's to both. My dad's Dillon is a 650 and no where near as automated as my Loadmaster. I / we've had as many issues or more setting his Dillon up as we have with my Loadmaster. The Loadmaster is a bit of a Rube Goldberg setup, and once you understand it and get to know it, it'll be your favorite. __________________ JSF "Is your rifle interesting? -Larry Potterfield

July 13, 2015, 11:33 AM	#26
shootniron Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2011 Location: Georgia Posts: 1,599	samfried...look nationally...my local area had nothing, either.

July 18, 2015, 09:17 AM	#27
axismatt Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2015 Posts: 141	My Lee Loadmaster works great. Tens of thousands of rounds through it. But I will admit, I do not use the priming system, and here's why... It's the one part of the reloading process where I can't perform a visual check. I DID make it work, and it seemed to work fine, but I never got comfy with it. I love using the Lee Auto prime, though it can make your hands sore. I just ordered the Lyman hand priming system to see if it offers more comfort. The reason I prefer to hand prime before loading into the case feeder... I can visually inspect every case. I can prime 6-8 cases per minute with the hand primer, look at each case for issues (cracks, damaged ejection grooves/rim, excessive bulge on .40 cal, etc...). Plus, I can do this particular process almost anywhere... not stuck at the bench. I've removed the de-capping pins from my sizing dies and now the rest of the loading process in the Loadmaster runs very smooth and considerably faster. So, for the money and for someone new to reloading, Lee products are more than adequate. As with any loading system, a ROCK SOLID bench is the biggest part of making your press work well. Any system that jiggles and bounces will cause powder to splash, as well as a list of other problems. I honestly think a fair number of people who complain about their Lee products have handicapped themselves from the start due to a bench that's flimsy. My $.02.

January 10, 2016, 12:09 AM	#30
qball16 Junior Member Join Date: January 2, 2016 Posts: 12	I have a Loadmaster. I'm not sure that I would recommend it. Depends on the person. I load .38 special, .45 Colt and 357 sig with it. I also load .225 Win and .308 on a single stage press. It is the the only progressive that I own so I don't have anything to compare it to. The Loadmaster takes a good deal of fiddling to set up and get running well. The priming is definitely the weak link in the system. Case feeding can also be a pain to get running reliably. There are occasions that I've gotten frustrated and just abandoned the priming stage altogether and primed on the single stage. I would fill the case feeders and just resize, then hand prime and re-feed the feeder to charge and bell, seat and crimp. This takes at least twice as long. There have been other times that I've run 500 primers without a problem. I've been quite happy with the disk powder measure.

January 10, 2016, 10:20 AM	#31
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	I have owned Dillon's for 30 years but was given a "basket case" Loadmaster last month (the fellow had switched to a 450). Lots of plastic parts and less than ideal instructions to go by but with a few hours tweaking a few mods, I was able to load 100 rounds in under 4 minutes with it. Here is the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9pjmuHAkBU Won't be selling any of my Dillon's though.

January 10, 2016, 10:41 AM	#32
MrWesson Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2010 Posts: 357	If you reload for competition and need 1000 rounds quick(1 session) then starting on a progressive might not be a terrible idea. 500rds a month? A lee turret will do that in 2-3 hrs easy with less frustration(ie none). I have a lee pro 1000 progressive that runs well but won't crank out 500 rounds without any hold up or issue. I have nodded mine heavily btw. Are you prepared to reengineer certain aspects of the loadmaster? If not then you will be disappointed. If you are prepared and need a small ammo factory then its a great bargain.