Going progressive

[JackOfAllTrades]

I've heard horror stories about the Lee Loadmaster, and won't touch one with a ten foot pole. That said, as I am a tried and true RCBS single stage guy, I've got Dillon blue on my bench too.  Right along with some Lee, Lyman, Dillon, RCBS dies, Lee and Lyman molds, and other reloading tools from various manufactures.

The BEST progressives were made by STAR in the 60's. (yes, automatic case feeders forty years ago)  Love my OLD Dillon 450 that has 550 updates on it. The customer service from Dillon is second to none -if you were to ever need it.   

-Steve

[Jekemi]

In my last post I said that the Lee priming system for the Loadmaster was a piece of junk. It still is. However someone demonstrated an ingenious modification that makes it almost foolproof. No more springs, little plastic parts, etc. The primer feed tube remains plastic but the slider has been milled out of think nylon with a brass piece on top. The primer riser has a 1/8" brass pin soldered to it so primers don't tip. It greatly simplifies and strengthens the mechanism increasing its reliability to that of other primer mechanisms. I'll send pictures as I receive them. The can be found on the independent Loadmaster video site. http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/viewtopic*.php?t=1633

[Jekemi]

Jackofalltrades: You are right about the Loadmaster. But the horror stories are about the additional Lee components not the press itself. The bullet feeder, case feeder, auto primer, powder measure are cheap, plastic, and unreliable.
The base Lee press is a great one. If you modify the priming mechanism as I have suggested, use the Hornady LNL case activated powder measure, the Hornady LNL bullet feed die, and my home-made case feeding mechanism you have a very solid, secure, reliable, and productive auto-progressive system. It will load 800 rounds per hour year after year. With those changes I'd stack it up against any other press on the market - all for about $550.