Tell me about your Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro Progressive Press

[Prof Young]

I've been looking at the Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro Progressive Press on line and am liking what I see. It may be the next step for me. I'd like to hear from people who have real world experience with one.

Talk to me.

Life is good.

Prof Young

[LE-28]

I have a pro 1000 and an ABLP Lee press. My pro1000 is late 1980s and is a POS.
My ABLP is a decent press. It has 4 stations instead of three so you can seat and crimp in two separate steps.
It is easy to retime, if you get it out of time you just twist the shell plate back into time when it is above the alignment pin and drop the shell plate back home.

You may see videos about having to reach around the press uncomfortably to set a bullet. That's crap.
You can run the handle with one hand and set bullets with the other hand just like you do on a Hornady LNL-AP. Very comfortable.

Now, Priming on an ABLP is slow, because Lee has you priming one at a time, manually like on the Lee Classic Cast Turret press.

I prime off the press when loading on my ABLP and with feeding it primed cases, it is as fast as you can keep the case feeder full.

You won't spill as much powder with the ABLP as you do with the Pro1000 because the shell plate doesn't have as far to go with each stroke as it does with the Pro1000.
The shell plates are the same diameter so the four station press doesn't generate the same speed per handle stroke as the three station Pro1000 does. It will always spill more powder per handle stroke.

Now, the forth station in the ABLP only really works if you want to seat and crimp in two different stations.
Other than that it doesn't do that much more for you than the New Pro 1000 which uses the same alignment pin the ABLP uses.

I much prefer the ABLP over the Pro1000 but I haven't use one of the new Pro1000s with the alignment pin yet and I don't plan to.

I like to shoot coated bullets and they are hard for me to load in three stations unless I trim all my cases and have my dies set to perfection.

Seating and crimping in two different stations takes all the pain away from that with coated bullets and not trimming your brass.

Both the new ABLP and the new Pro1000 use a low profile base that puts the handle way down there on the down stroke.

You may find you want to elevate the press to make it comfortable to use.
When I bought my ABLP and set it up I felt like I was reaching half ways to the floor to complete the stroke.

The ABLP is a solid press and is actually fun to use, no timing issues or drama like the old Pro1000, but again, I prime off the press for what I run through a Lee press.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by Prof Young

I've been looking at the Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro Progressive Press on line and am liking what I see. It may be the next step for me. I'd like to hear from people who have real world experience with one.

Talk to me.

Life is good.

Prof Young

Had one since last May, so about a year.

It uses the same base as their new "Value Turret", and redesigned Pro 1000. I wish they'd have used the Classic Turret. Oh, well. It's not built on as robust a frame as the Classic Turret.

I have no major complaints about it. I'm no big fan, at this time, of the Breech Lock quick change bushing system. It does work, though.

The indexing rod is different from any of their other turret or progressive presses, being fixed at the top. Changing to manual advance is dead simple -- remove that rod.

No indexing adjustment! The shell plate is aligned by a fixed post. This is a major improvement over Lee's earlier progressives.

The primer feed is manual, with the Lee Safety Prime dispenser system. I don't find this to be a problem, once you get into the rhythm. I have had to take apart the dispenser head of the Safety Prime, and smooth up parts, if it starts to get "wonky". A zip tie around the primer chute keeps the two halves from spreading when they shouldn't.

I have not yet messed with either the case feeder, or bullet feeder. Probably won't.

I've seen people complain about damaging the plastic top of the shellplate carrier. I have not had this problem. They're cheap from Lee, anyway.

I had, once, spent primers get stuck at the top of the disposal chute, and build up under the shellplate until it caused a problem..Easy to resolve, once noticed.

I like it.

(I have had and used the Lee Pro 1000 and Lee Loadmaster. I still have a Lee Classic Turret.)

[kmw1954]

I have and use 3 Lee presses. An old 3 hole turret press, a Pro1000 and the new ABLP press. There are things about each that I like and each is a different animal. The Auto Breech Lock Pro press is kind of a cross between the Pro1000 and the Turret press.

I bought the ABLP because I needed a 4th station because I have a 45acp that was causing problems and the Lee Carbide FCD fixes it. So since I already had everything needed on the Pro1000 it was a choice between the ABLP and the new upgraded Value Turret press and because the price difference between the two presses was only about $20.00 I went with the ABLP.

I truly believe the new ABLP press is a natural step up from the Lee Turret press if one wants a bit more speed as they both work very similarly it's not a big learning curve and the ABLP is at least twice as fast. Still not as fast as the Pro1000 but close.

I also believe that for the $125.00 including a shell plate that you could beat this thing to death and not be out anything. Heck the wife and I could blow $125.00 in an evening at the bar and have nothing to show for it but a headache!

[darkgael]

About the Lee Pro 1000.....it is a machine that is often criticized. My own experience was a good one....it worked fine as long as I did not let the primer tray run low. I loaded more than 70,000 rounds of .45 ACP with only an occasional stoppage (always primers)
Pete

[Whirlwind06]

I have the Lee classic turret press and at one time had the Pro-1000.

I had a lot of problems with priming and light powder throws with the 1000. I had up until that time used just a single stage press.

and maybe it was to much of a step up for me. Should have gotten the turret press.

Anyways, after way to many light powder throws and me tapping bullets out of the the barrels of my revolvers I sold the 1000 and bought 2 more single stage presses and deprimed the brass and hand primed them as I was either watching TV, or while sitting in a guard box at my part time job.

Then with 3 presses I could finish the loading process and have pretty good quality rounds.

So then I upgraded to a 4 hole turret and with some tweaks with the safety prime I was able to do all of the steps at one time.

With the turret press the safety prime is right in front of the press and I could get a clean primer drop 99% of the time.

But it's still 4 pulls to make 1 finished round.

I just bought the Lee Auto Breech Lock press with the case feed and case collator. After getting it set up I quickly realized that for me the safety prime set up was going to be a problem. It's off the left of the station and getting a clean primer drop is pretty frustrating. I just gave up and ended up pouring the primers into a coffee can lid and putting the primers into the pocket by hand then using the press to seat the primer. The rest of the press seems to work pretty well.

So I ordered a bench priming system and a universal decapping die, and will do the decapping and priming in batches with a single stage press and the bench primer. Then run the primed brass though the press with the decapper removed so I just size the brass. I don't mind handling the brass twice, one of the things that I liked about the 3 press setup was that I could find .357 brass mixed in with my .38. And I could also find bad brass that needed to be scrapped.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[chiefr]

Lee makes good products, but their progressives are not one of them. I know a number of people who have bought into the notion they save a few hundred bucks with a Lee rather than spend the money to buy a Dillon. You will spend more time trying to get the darn thing to work and making adjustments than you will making ammo.


My advice is to spend the extra bucks and buy Dillon. You will thank me for it.

[kmw1954]

One of the good things about opinions is we don't have to agree with them. My opinion is worth no more or any less than any others. Actual experience is worth something though.

One was stating that with the Pro1000 they were having many problems with light powder charges. Well that issue has nothing to do with the press, that is all about whatever powder measure you were using. So to blame the press is just wrong.

I too was having issues with the Safety Prime on the ABLP. I was setting primers with my finger on top and was dropping almost every primer. I then was told to try with finger underneath and dispense with the thumb. For some reason that seems to work!

Not everyone Needs or Wants a Dillon! Though some seem to think that way.

[pete2]

Lee makes good powder scoops..................................

[kmw1954]

pete2 thanks, that's good to know!

[pete2]

Sorry, they I also have a taper crimp die that is good.

[Real Gun]

I like mine and suggest an owner add the case feeder. You have to reach around the back to place a bullet, but messing with their bullet feeder may not be your thing, if using lead bullets.