Lee Loader

Well, it's happened. My Lee Breech Lock Pro Progressive press is worn out already.

My 45 Colt brass no longer lines up with the die, so I have to push each brass in to get it to work. It's still OK on .357 and .45, but a PITA on 45 Colt. I bought my press in June 2018 and haven't made 45 Colts since September. I've only made about 6,000 .357,.45 and .45 Colts on the press to date.

So I guess it's off to Hartford, WI after the holidays.

I don't have the press, but do the instructions address indexing the shell plate to the turret?

Perhaps it is just a matter of a simple adjustment. Works fine with other calibers, but not with 45 Colt? Maybe a shell plate adjustment is needed?

PBaholic wrote:Well, it's happened... so I have to push each brass in to get it to work.

So is it a shell plate issue or is it the case feeder? Case feed adjustment is easy. Not sure of the shell plate on that press for adjustment.

I dont own one but have been salivating over thr instructions for a few months now amd the shellplate adjustment is addressed in the initial setup instructions which can be downloaded via a link on the press' page https://leeprecision.com/auto-breech-lock-pro.html

It may not be worn out after all.

I took it up to Lee, and they think that all their #11 Shell Plates for the Breech Lock Pro are bad. They think that the depth of the shell in the #11 plate isn't far enough towards the center, and have new shell plates being made, due in a month or so.

Lee seemed to think that this was only because I was using new brass, and I couldn't convince them that it wasn't new brass. I size and de-prime, clean and prime my brass before I reload. My brass looks really clean, almost better than new, as I stainless pin tumble it in Lemishine and Armor-All car wax, and it really gets bright and stays bright. That also means that the case is straight, like new brass. They were expecting me to have slightly crimped brass to size and de-prime in the first position, so it didn't need to be pushed in as far. I guess this would be true for reloading brass, but I would expect it to work with new brass as well.

I don't prime on the progressive, so I drop powder in the first position, using the Lee Powder Die. I removed the Powder die, and opened up the mouth a little bit on the lathe. This gave it just a little more room, and works flawlessly now, with the original #11 shell plate.

My setup is:

Auto Disk Powder Measure
RCBS Lock-Out Die
Bullet Seat
Factory Crimp

I made about 1,000 45 Colts and had no more issues.

P.S. I LOVE the RCBS Lock-Out die! It is so nice to know your powder is correct in every bullet.

GRV01 wrote:I don't own one but have been salivating over the instructions for a few months now and the shell plate adjustment is addressed in the initial setup instructions which can be downloaded via a link on the press' page https://leeprecision.com/auto-breech-lock-pro.html

There really isn't any Shell Plate adjustment. It's either installed or not. You tighten the center threading with an Allen wrench, and install the rod which turns the Shell Plate. There is a big pin that comes from below that aligns the shell plate on every stroke.

I use the case feeder, and it has a few adjustments, but my issue was that the brass didn't go in quite far enough.

I've posted a mod to the Universal case feeder for 45 Colt brass, as the pusher is a bit too small for 45 Colt brass, and it catches occasionally pulling back the brass a little, every once in a while. The mod fixes this issue.

The case feeder is now my biggest issue. I had a problem with 45 ACP's in that the brass would catch on the brass above it, and be pushed out cock-eyed and usually drop to the floor. I made a special 45 ACP riser that fixed this issue. I don't have a picture, but I could take one if anyone was interested.