Lee Loadmaster, is it just cheap or is it half decent?

[JFettig]

Background: I'm borrowing a RCBS rockchucker from my neighbor and the rest of his reloading gear, I've slowly been picking up a few things to top it off nicely, loaded probably 1k-1.5k of .223 and looking to buy a press for myself.

Now, what I'm wondering is if the Lee Loadmaster is a decent press, it looks decent, seen a few reviews and it seems decent as well as videos.

How well does the powder measure work, is it rigid? etc....

I plan on loading 9mm and possibly .40s too soon, I'm planning on buying it set up for 9mm and adding the .223 stuff(set up in 9 so I get the shell feeder and whatnot, I think thats how it works?).

I'm a long ways out from being able to afford a dillon, just way too much.

I'm not sure I'd like progressive loading of .223 because I trim and debur all my cases, I do think it would work really well to set up a decaping die then a sizing die and put cases in every other slot, that way it would be quicker than what I already do.


Suggestions welcome!

Jon

[pastorpaul]

i asked about it when i was at sportsman's warehouse (see the thread about the LockNLoad). they don't carry the Loadmaster. the opinion of the 2 guys who are the "reloading experts" was to get the LockNLoad rather than the Loadmaster. it had something to do with reliability and consistency. i didn't pay much attention to what they said because they gave me a lot of information about the dillon 550 and the LNL. i can't give any first hand feedback, only the recommendation from the guys at sw. i guess we should check out what the reviews are on some dedicated reloading sites.

[pastorpaul]

just looked on ebay. there's a loadmaster up for bids, cheap at the moment.

[Seismic Sam]

I have never gone beyond a Lyman cast iron 6 station turret press, so with that caveat in mind here's what I have heard from many other people, and it pretty much agrees with what I know. Lee made its name on producing, cheap, simple, and durable reloading equipment, and I still have the old Lee "hammer die" 9mm reloading set I bought for $7.56 in 1972. Richard Lee has come up with a lot of simple solutions, like his Auto Prime, that I have used since he invented it about 30 years ago. As far as buying a progressive press, however, Dillon is way above Lee in quality and the amount of ammo you can load, and their customer service is superb. If you think you're gonna go progressive, go Dillon. If not, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with a Lee press.

As far as the LNL, I got too many dies in too many calibers to consider buying all those bushings, and a lot of time I'm doing weird stuff like using a 45 seating die to partially neck down a 50 AE case to .440 Corbon Magnum, and you have to fiddle with die settings anyway. Same for my benchrest rifle ammo in .308 and .338 Ultra.

[DeanC]

I have never gone beyond a Lyman cast iron 6 station turret press

Great minds think alike. I have 3 presses and I use my Lyman T-mag the most.

[EJSANDSTROM]

As far as the origional question it is better than half decent. I own a Lee P1K and a LM. Price was my main concern and I wanted a progressive. The P1k FIT THAT BILL FOR .45AUTO but then I started with .223 and the P1K wont do it. So I got the LM and havent looked back, I am currently buying the stuff to convert to .45 and ditch the P1K. The LM is VERY simple in design and that makes it reliable and easy to maintain. I have had a few problems with it, like an upside down primer, smashed primer, and a few other growing pains. Now that it is set, I reloaded 500 rounds in one sitting only taking time to refill powder and primers. Is a Dillon better? That is a hard question, the finish is very nice and there are a few more options avalable for the upgraded presses. Both will make reliable and safe ammo, one does it cheaper one does it smoother. The powder feed is about as accurate as you would hope. Dont let the plastic construction fool you, it could be metal, but why? The pull chain for the return is a little schetchy but it has never failed and has never given me a double charge unless I screwed up. IMHO it is well worth the price. I intend to one day be able to afford the Dillon but for now my cheap @ss will pull the handle on a LEE.

YMMV

[JFettig]

EJSANDSTROM, thanks for the reply. Have you checked the powder drops for variances? Thats one of my main concerns at this point.

It'll be a few weeks to a two months before I purchase anything, thanks for the help.


Jon

[EJSANDSTROM]

I have checked many times. I dont do it as often as some, but I only load for plinking and not sub MOA accuracy. IIRC I am loading 23.4gn of AA#2230. I have a cabelas dig. scale and my drops have varried from 23.3 to 23.6. I have seen a baffle that some have used with good results. I believe it is from Midway but made for a different MFG. but will fit. However for me a .3gn variance is good enough for the girls I go with.