Reloading Press Quandary - What to do???

kev74

kev74

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I've got 3 Lee Pro1000s on my reloading bench. Despite their less that stellar reputation, they have served me well for many years. I like being able to switch between calibers without having to change anything over. And I like being able to keep a relatively few replacement parts on hand.

Last night, the shell plate carrier broke on my 9mm press. I was loading some 9mm with some sticky cases and I forced it a bit too much. Unfortunately, Lee no longer makes the shell plate carrier.

Here's where the quandary comes in to play. Lee will sell me a new press for half price in leu of warranty repair.

I'm debating whether to get a new Lee press - either Pro4000 or Six Pack Pro. Or should I suck it up and get a Dillon.

If I'm upgrading, I want to have a 4th station for a factory crimp die.

If anyone has experience with either the Pro4000 or the Six Pack Pro, I'd like to hear about your experience. Or if there's something else I should be considering...
 
Mosinitis

Mosinitis

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Get a Dillon. I can sell my Dillon 550B for more than I paid for it in mid 1990's and I used it for 30 years. I can still get all the parts, but never had the need to, everything held up.
 
togmaster

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Dillon fan here. I have a 550 for about 15 years and just upgraded to a 750 with a bullet feeder. Makes it a breeze to load large quantities of 9mm. I'd be happy to show you the setup if you want to look before you buy.
 
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repete

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Sorry to hear about the Lee (RIP), I too have a few Lee Pro 1000 and I've chose them over Dillon 3 times! I'm used to Lee running counterclockwise whereas the Dillon run Clockwise, and I just couldn't get used to it. The Dillons I've had were picked up as part of estate sales and I set them up and ran each and decided to part with each, I have to admit they are smooth running and did bring a decent return when sold.
Personally I'd stick with the Lee as you still have a couple others, as far as Six pack or 4000 no idea.
 
218bee

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Another Dillon fan here. Have a Square Deal B since the 1990’s and it’s been flawless. Service is second to nome.
 
RooftopKorean

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Even though im a Lee fan, I'd just get a Dillon because unlike Lee, they seem to keep producing parts for their presses or the parts also seem to be in abundance unlike the Lee presses.

It would suck just having to retool for a Dillon.
 
RedBreast21

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It really comes down to how much you reload. If you're doing thousands of rounds a month for sport the clear choice is Dillon. If you're doing a few thousand for the year then in my opinion it doesn't really matter. Dillon if you can afford it but if not, you're not suffering. :beer:
 
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JunkBoxFull

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Ughhhh, Kev, that sucks man.
This is just my own opinion (as have others here have said here too), If i were to ever do it over again, Dillon, and done.
One day when/if you give up reloading, you`ll have many people that would gladly take that Dillon off your hands without much of a loss.
 
kev74

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Still not sure how to proceed. Not happy with Lee right now.

Was going to get the 6 Pack Pro. Sent an email to Lee. They responded with an invoice. Press was 50% off their list price which is almost double retail. Plus they add on $42 for shipping (shipping from Titan reloading is $20) plus an $11.25 digital payment convenience fee.

I'm not really sure why it's supposed to cost me almost $350 to get a working press.because they decided to stop supporting the one that I bought with a lifetime warranty.

I'd like to get the Dillon. I can deal with the price of the press, but the caliber conversions would cost a ton to get what I have now.
 
Depick

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kev74 said:
Still not sure how to proceed. Not happy with Lee right now.

Was going to get the 6 Pack Pro. Sent an email to Lee. They responded with an invoice. Press was 50% off their list price which is almost double retail. Plus they add on $42 for shipping (shipping from Titan reloading is $20) plus an $11.25 digital payment convenience fee.

I'm not really sure why it's supposed to cost me almost $350 to get a working press.because they decided to stop supporting the one that I bought with a lifetime warranty.

I'd like to get the Dillon. I can deal with the price of the press, but the caliber conversions would cost a ton to get what I have now.
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Lots of Pro 1000s on eBay. I saw them as cheap as $225.00 before tax and shipping. Might be the quickest option to get you back up and running.

Or buy the Dillon in 9mm and keep the other two presses. Add conversion kits when you can.
 
kev74

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Depick said:
Lots of Pro 1000s on eBay. I saw them as cheap as $225.00 before tax and shipping. Might be the quickest option to get you back up and running.

Or buy the Dillon in 9mm and keep the other two presses. Add conversion kits when you can.
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I'm still up and running. I have two other pro 1000s on my bench.

Mostly I'm just annoyed that they refuse to support the press that they sold with a lifetime warranty. Apparently this peace breaking is enough of an issue that they've got notices all over their website about it.

It's also kind of crappy that they're 50% discount works out to just about retail price.
 
Depick

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kev74 said:
I'm still up and running. I have two other pro 1000s on my bench.

Mostly I'm just annoyed that they refuse to support the press that they sold with a lifetime warranty. Apparently this peace breaking is enough of an issue that they've got notices all over their website about it.

It's also kind of crappy that their 50% discount works out to just about retail price.
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I’ll give you that. Their customer support and instructions leave a lot to be desired.
 
Robin

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Lifetime guarantee? I don't like double crossers and would be done with them. Take what I got to a crusher, crate it up and ship it to them along with a letter outlining their guarantee, their scam offer and just how they handled the whole episode in general.
Honestly, I thought Lee was better than this and it pisses me off just reading about it.
Good luck Kev.
 
JunkBoxFull

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GTN said:
Not a Dillion owner but wish I bought it instead of my lock-n-load
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I have had excellent luck with all 3 of my hornady`s. I would of went blue, but i didnt like the cost of the change over tooling. I know i know, buy once cry once. But before all the craziness, i bought my L-N-L`s for $350 each, shipped. Today, they`re twice that now in alot of places.

Until these hornady press`s start crapping out on me, i`ll continue running mine. They might take a little tinkering to get them running right when you first set them up, but once you get that quirk out of the way, they run just as good as any Dillon, for alot less money.

If i were going to buy new presses today, it would be Dillon. Because the hornady now cost about the same as the Dillon. I like that Dillon takes care of you no matter what happens. Hornady`s CS track record with me, lets just say i`ve had better customer service elsewhere.
 
JunkBoxFull

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Here`s a thought @kev74
Box all that LEE stuff up, sell it all, and get the Dillon. What you get out of the LEE stuff will help take the sting out of the Dillon.
And Dillon will always take care of you. Something that LEE (and hornady) has forgotten to do for their customers as of lately.

Its your choice, your wallet.
 
Jmac00

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I had two Dillion presses, Dillion has a LIFE TIME, NO BULLSHIT WARRANTY.

My buddy has over 100,000 rounds through his dillion and started to get 'sloppy', he sent it back, they rebuilt it and sent it back, for shipping charges only. All new part. no questions asked
 
GTN

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JunkBoxFull said:
I have had excellent luck with all 3 of my hornady`s. I would of went blue, but i didnt like the cost of the change over tooling. I know i know, buy once cry once. But before all the craziness, i bought my L-N-L`s for $350 each, shipped. Today, they`re twice that now in alot of places.

Until these hornady press`s start crapping out on me, i`ll continue running mine. They might take a little tinkering to get them running right when you first set them up, but once you get that quirk out of the way, they run just as good as any Dillon, for alot less money.

If i were going to buy new presses today, it would be Dillon. Because the hornady now cost about the same as the Dillon. I like that Dillon takes care of you no matter what happens. Hornady`s CS track record with me, let’s just say i`ve had better customer service elsewhere.
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Hornady has lifetime warranty but I always had to argue with them to get them. I had 2 pawls and a couple plate springs break. They insisted it was all my fault and they weren’t going to warranty it until I reminded him that it’s a lifetime warranty no matter what.
 
JunkBoxFull

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GTN said:
Hornady has lifetime warranty but I always had to argue with them to get them. I had 2 pawls and a couple plate springs break. They insisted it was all my fault and they weren’t going to warranty it until I reminded him that it’s a lifetime warranty no matter what.
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Exactly GTN, i`ve had to call them a few times, it was like pulling teeth to get them to take care of my issues. As i said earlier, if i had to do this all over again, today, i would not hesitate, DILLON, would be on my benches, not hornady. But in my situation, i`m heavily vested into the hornady presses, so i`ll stay with those, for now. After all the puttering around when i first bought them years ago, they`ve been running flawless, since.
 
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