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Lee 1000 (PRO?)

5K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  nfmMike 
#1 ·
Looking at anything I can find on-line, I don't see that a Lee 1000 loads 30.06 - is this a short rifle/pistol caliber loader only?

Reason I ask... I am getting one today for the right price, and was hoping to load 30.06 in it. Hmmmm....
 
#2 ·
Hi, Mike:
Handloader's Digest #17 gives the length of stroke as 3.0". This is shorter than the 3.34" C.O.L. of the .30-`06, but I get by with my old RCBS Jr. and it's 3 1/8" stroke. This is with Hornady dies and the sliding seater does get in the way, but I can tip the loaded shells out base first. The Lee should be usable, if a bit awkward.

Bye
Jack
 
#3 ·
Ok, thanks, we will see how it goes, I may just keep this for the 357 and later the .45 (hopefully).
 
#4 · (Edited)
Well, I got it today! It is a Lee Pro 1000 with .45 APC die set. So, now that I have read the literature that came with it, I have come to two conclusions.

1. It is indeed for pistol and short rifle (up to .308 Rem.) ammunition - at least that is what the paper says.

2. (which I find very nice) It can be used either as a single or progressive press. That part makes me feel alot better.

It looks as if all the parts are there, the "story" I am told is: a friend of a friend bought this about two years ago, put some of the pieces together (die on the press) and then didn't use it. He later bought a (A-550?) new press, put the Lee in the new box, and offered it to my buddy. Well he didn't need it, he already had the same thing, so there it sat in the owners garage for all this time, til this weekend, after I was talking to my buddy, and expressing the interest in re-loading, he said he was pretty sure he knew where one was that could be had, and now you know the rest of the story!

What a wonderful thing it is to know people from all walks of life. Thanks Scot!

So, the "PRO" either means professional, or progressive. I'll go with progressive.

Learn something new every day!
 
#5 ·
Ok, now I feel like the newbie I am. I did find a site with quite a bit of good information in it concerning reloading, particularly in reference to the Lee PRO 1000. Here is the link for anyone interested:

http://www.geocities.com/leereloading/index.htm

I don't know who put this together, but it is a good job and useful to someone that does not yet have a reloading book.
 
#6 ·
I personally wouldn't waste my money on a Lee Pro 1000. I speak from experience as I bought one several years ago and soon thereafter got rid of it. I got fed up with primers not feeding correctly, index bushings constantly stripping out, toggle arms coming loose, generally sloppy indexing, constant jams & the Lee auto disk powder measure setup has got to be the most inconvient powder dispensing system ever devised. Besides that, it only has 3 die stations so if your one who likes to use a powder checking die or crimp separately from seating you're out of luck. A much better & much better made progerssive is the RCBS Rockchucker with their Piggyback progressive attachment. If you would rather not have a full progressive the new Redding T7 turret press can't be beat. It's top of the line but costs a bit more. If you're serious about making quality reloads go with quality; unfortunately the Lee line of presses doesn't measure up. You get what you pay for. I have, however, had good results with Lee dies.
 
#7 ·
Well, cukamp, the price was right, and the person that brokered the transaction has one he uses for .44s and likes it, so, to begin with, I can't lose - it was an extra, know what I mean?

Thanks for the reply though.
 
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