Are the Pro 4000 and Pro 6000 decent kits?

[Sigma.40]

I have a chance to buy a complete Pro 4000 kit for $100. I could also buy a Pro 6000 6 Pack for $250. Those prices are including everything I need except a mechanical scale. Are either of these decent? Is the Pro 6000 worth the extra $150? I’ve been looking at the Rockchucker Supreme kits but from what I’ve watched I keep liking the Lee Progressive kits.

FWIW I’ll be loading .300 Blackout, 5.56 and 9mm Luger. Possibly a few batches of .40 S&W down the road as well.

 

[TonyinKY]

I’d recommend a single stage press for a first press. If you need to turn out large/fast volumes get a progressive. Buy the Pro 4000 for the $100. IF you ever feel the need to upgrade you should be able to recoup all or most of your money.

I personally run my large/fast volumes on a Lee progressive and save my money for accurate rifle necessities.

 

[Sigma.40]

I’d recommend a single stage press for a first press. If you need to turn out large/fast volumes get a progressive. Buy the Pro 4000 for the $100. IF you ever feel the need to upgrade you should be able to recoup all or most of your money.

I personally run my large/fast volumes on a Lee progressive and save my money for accurate rifle necessities.

Tell me if I’m wrong, with 4 spots I’d need 1 for decapping, 1 for powder/expanding and one for bullet seating/crimping. Could the 4th be powder checking?

 

[TonyinKY]

Tell me if I’m wrong, with 4 spots I’d need 1 for decapping, 1 for powder/expanding and one for bullet seating/crimping. Could the 4th be powder checking?

That should be possible, although I’ve never done that. Maybe someone with more experience on that with a Lee progressive will chime in.

 

[bozo699]

Tell me if I’m wrong, with 4 spots I’d need 1 for decapping, 1 for powder/expanding and one for bullet seating/crimping. Could the 4th be powder checking?

The 9mm and 40 can be seated and crimped in one station but most crimp as a separate operation.
Wayne

 

[jk80]

I would pass on them. I had a progressive 1000 when they first came out. It was the most miserable pos I've ever dealt with. Sold it at a loss. Ended up buying what I should have the first time, a Dillon 550. Had it forever and have lost count on how many cartridges have been through it. Bought a second one 10 or 12 years back cause I'm just lazy enough I didn't like changing primer feeds! Lol. Both will outlast me and have been trouble free. I do use Lee and Lyman products including a single stage press and am happy with them. Jmho.

 

[bozo699]

I would pass on them. I had a progressive 1000 when they first came out. It was the most miserable pos I've ever dealt with. Sold it at a loss. Ended up buying what I should have the first time, a Dillon 550. Had it forever and have lost count on how many cartridges have been through it. Bought a second one 10 or 12 years back cause I'm just lazy enough I didn't like changing primer feeds! Lol. Both will outcast me and have been trouble free. I do use Lee and Lyman products including a single stage press and am happy with them. Jmho.

^^^^^^^ This is sound advice!….
Wayne

 

[Leo_B]

I like Lee. There's just something about the company/equipment that speaks to me. It doesn't hurt anything they are as good as the rest for a good bit less money. I don't have room for anything so I have their hand press. But my shooting is in dozens, at most scores, so it's plenty to keep up with me.

 

[charlie b]

I have had quite a few Lee presses and had a lot of good use from them. Original turret, Loadmaster, two Breechlock Pro, Challenger, Reloader and Hand presses. I had the Loadmaster for almost 20 years. But, I modified several parts of the press to make it reliable. The 4000 and 6000 are updated versions of the Breechlock Pro. They address several of the shortcomings of the Loadmaster.

The biggest problem with progressives is the primer feed system. There is a tendency to flip primers, especially the small rifle/pistol primers. Just be aware that sometimes it happens. The new Lee presses have a different feed system than the older ones so not sure of their reliability, but, they look better than the previous types.

The big difference in the 4000 and 6000 is the size of cartridge you can load. The 4000 is really intended for pistols and short rifle cartridges (.223 length). I loaded for a .308 with the Breechlock Pro, but, it was a royal PITA. If you are considering regular rifle loading then go with the 6000.

Number of stations. Nice to have more....but. When loading for rifles I found myself running two steps. Decap, size, prime in one setup. Then charge, seat in another. I wanted a better feel for seating. If you are sizing and seating in same run, the force of sizing masks all the other steps.

For pistols I'd go all in one run. Size and decap, prime, expand/charge, seat, crimp. The extra stations on a 6pack would allow for a bullet feed die and a powder check die. These are VERY nice to have. Especially the powder check die. A great safety feature. A bullet feed die speeds things up quite a bit.

The biggest caution is double charging. It usually results from a short stroke. You will get situations where the process is interrupted. Usually due to a wrong size case, an upside down case or something like a .380 case stuck inside a .45acp. Also when a primer flips sideways (again a small primer issue). When a problem occurs I learned to unload the whole setup, toss the partial rounds and start over. Trying to 'fix' the problem usually just causes more issues, like a double charge.

What do I use now? RCBS Rockchucker. I only load for my three rifles and I am not pressed for time. I weigh and trickle each powder charge and I want to feel the seat pressure of each bullet. I use a ram prime on the press as well. Sizing and seating are adjusted to close tolerances.

IF I wanted to load high volume again I'd look at the Dillon 550, especially compare the primer feed on it to the Lee's. I might still get the Lee instead, but, knowing that the press might need a 'tweak' for optimal performance. FWIW, Lee's case feed system works really well, as long as you pay attention to it. Seems 'cheap' but it works.

 

[bozo699]

I like Lee. There's just something about the company/equipment that speaks to me. It doesn't hurt anything they are as good as the rest for a good bit less money. I don't have room for anything so I have their hand press. But my shooting is in dozens, at most scores, so it's plenty to keep up with me.

I like Lee products also, I use there straight wall dies almost exclusively but to say Lee is as good as the rest is like saying when you was a kid your folks saved cereal box tops for a cheap plastic truck for Christmas and your Grandma bought you a metal Tonka Truck…. If you couldn’t tell by looking at it you sure could by playing with it!…. Now I own several Lee presses that I use for different applications, there hand presses for my .22Hornets, a inexpensive Breechlock dedicated for depriming and a value turret for range work with pistols and they all work fine but to say there as good as anything else is a bold statement as if for some odd reason you can’t tell by looking you for sure can tell the difference in quality by using a value turret by Lee and a 550 by Dillon.
Wayne

 

[steve210]

Tell me if I’m wrong, with 4 spots I’d need 1 for decapping, 1 for powder/expanding and one for bullet seating/crimping. Could the 4th be powder checking?

First die decap and size, 2nd bells the mouth and powder dump,seat in 3rd die,crimp in the last one

 

[Leo_B]

Ok, that was a generalization. But not too far off, especially when cost is factored in. I am not loading yet. I'm in the learning stage. When I do start next year it will be with the Lee hand press loading, coincidentally, .22 Hornet and .32/.38 revolver loads. I hope to undo two decades of cluttering at some point and make enough space for a small, emphasis on small, work/loading bench and get a "real" press, the Lee Challenger III being a very likely suspect.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I suggest a single stage but also kits are silly. Piece it together and buy once cry once. You will be throwing most the stuff in the kit away in no time.

I personally would do something like:

Single stage press of your choice
Chargemaster lite
Lyman prep station
Lyman case trim xpress
Primer seater of your choice.
Area 419 or similar high quality funnel set
Imperial wax
Igauging digital caliper
Hornady headspace comparator
Hornady bullet comparator
A notebook for every gun you load for.

Vibratory tumbler, but you can start with just rubbing alcohol, ziplocks, and a towel to remove case lube. Thats all I do for small batches.

Thats basically all you need and if you outgrow that then you are a gun nut and will probably be moving to a dillon or something.

Loading is a lot more fun when every task isnt slow painstaking carpel tunnel inducing misery!

 

[DirtySteve]

I have never met anyone happy with a Lee Progressive that shoots a lot.

There is a Dillon 450 for sale in the classifieds that is a much better press.
Edit: I can no longer find the 450 listed for sale.

 

[charlie b]

I was happy with my Lee, especially for the price difference. But, I was only loading several hundred a month.

Small space? This is my reloading bench. Half of a bedroom closet. And, yes, it used to have a Lee Loadmaster instead of the RCBS.



PS when I started I had a Lee Turret Press. It came with a maple box for storage. The box could be opened up and the press bolted to it. A small C clamp to hold it to the kitchen table. I loaded thousands of rounds like that when we were in government quarters.

 

[SSL]

I have loaded handgun cartridges for years on Lee progressives. Started with the 1000 series (wore one out and bought another when I was competing in the late '80s and early '90s and shooting three 48-round matches a week as well as 100 rounds an evening on most days practicing) then moved up to the Loadmaster. Lost count of how many thousand rounds of .45 ACP, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt to date on a combination of 1000 and then Loadmaster and .38 Special (.38 still on a 1000 to this day). My Loadmaster is still chugging along and is set up as follows: Station 1 - size and deprime, Station 2 - prime (also have another sizing die to help center the case ), Station 3 - powder and expand casemouth, Station 4 - start/seat bullet, Station 5 - apply crimp to case. I know of some who use a "universal" depriming die on Station 1 and size at Station 2.
The primer issue has been long cured ever since Lee re-engineered the priming feed/seater.

 

[tommeboy]

I have 2 of the 4000 presses. But they are not how you get them. I added a pin on the bottom and 2 on top to locate the shell plate. Otherwise they are all over the place and noting lines up. If you just want to load some plinking loads for a pistol, that is all they are good for as they come. They come with one pin on the bottom to help align the plate but it is not enough.

All of my better ammo is loaded on my 2 single stage presses. My blasting ammo is done on the Lee 4000s. And I prime off press on the LEE APP press. The primer setup on the regular presses are a joke. I get more primers on the floor than in the brass.

 

[KMW 1954]

For $100.00, buy it. If it has the die bushings, and Powder measure you will only need the correct dies and shell plate. I have one and do not use the Safety Prime on it because I am faster w/o it. As said, at $100.00 you won't loose money on it.

If you buy it, come back and LUK and I'll give you better insight and tricks.

 

[charlie b]

Ok, that was a generalization. But not too far off, especially when cost is factored in. I am not loading yet. I'm in the learning stage. When I do start next year it will be with the Lee hand press loading, coincidentally, .22 Hornet and .32/.38 revolver loads. I hope to undo two decades of cluttering at some point and make enough space for a small, emphasis on small, work/loading bench and get a "real" press, the Lee Challenger III being a very likely suspect.

Sorry I didn't see the part about the hand press before.

For a first press I'd really suggest avoiding the hand press and get one that bolts down. Bolt it to a piece of oak and clamp that to a table if you need it to be removable. The hand press works (I still have one) but has poor leverage for many tasks. If you aren't careful when seating a bullet the powder spills out or the bullet falls off the case. Lee's little C press does ok unless you try to size big cases. I use mine for .223 when traveling in our small RV and at the range for bullet seating tests. Light and easy to pack around. And the C press is cheaper than the hand press.

 

[Leo_B]

My limits are low recoil. In my handguns I've pretty much fully transitioned to revolvers, .32 and .38 and their magnums. I might, although pretty unlikely, eventually graduate to a .44SPL also but not too likely. In rifles it will be the .22-250 or something lower in the list on this site: https://backfire.tv/recoil/ I guess the 6mm BR being the largest case I might ever load and almost guaranteed to only be one starting with a 2 or maybe .17 Hornet. And most probably of all only ever being the .22 Hornet I already have.