Lee Loader

I have been using my Auto Breech Lock Pro for several months now and generally speaking it has been working well.
I have loaded 32 H&R, 30 Carbine, 32 Auto and now I am loading 380 ACP. My most common problem, and it seems to be very much worse with the 380 is that when the case slider pushes the cartridge towards the shell plate, the case hits the outer edge of said shell plate and stops. Then I have to stop everything and fiddle with the empty case to get it into the shell plate. This happen about 90 % of the time. Maybe it is just the nature of the 380 casing but I have had this problem to a degree on the other cartridges that I have loaded.
I am hoping some one else has found a fix for this particular problem.
Another occasional problem is that the spring that pulls the case slider back to it's start position sometimes disengages at the top where it hooks onto the press.

Thanks for any help.

Welcome to the forum! Someone should be able to offer some help. I don't have the press, I'm a turret & Load-Master guy.

Okay, I took a good look at my ABL press and I believe I know what is causing the problem. Part #PR3692, 3 cavity Family Mold is what LEE calls the part in question.
This is the Red color ramp that the cartridge slides on as it makes it's journey towards the shell plate. Looking at mine I can see that it has a visible indentation that looks just like the imprint of a cartridge case because that is exactly what caused it in the first place. When the empty cartridge slides into this "divot" it tilts to the left causing the rim of the Cartridge to bump into, rather than slide into, the shell plate. Okay, what caused this in the first place. Well, when the press was new I found that the cartridge pusher would sometimes pull the Cartridge back out of the shell plate just a bit. Then, when the ram was raised it would crush the cartridge between the shell plate, Red ramp and the size die. Because the Red plastic Ramp is somewhat "Soft", over time it created an uneven Divot and Tilt to the Plastic part. This is why the problem became progressively worse over time. The Divot became deeper and more pronounced each tie this happened.
I went to Lee's web site and as a registered user they are sending me the parts for just the cost of shipping. The part only cost $5.00 anyway. I will try to install the new part and report back later.
Wish me Luck

Great problem-solving! Looking forward to the report!

Ranch Dog wrote:Great problem-solving! Looking forward to the report!

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Received the part from LEE and it was a simple installation. Just remove 4 screws and remove the old piece and replace with the new piece. Now the press feeds the empty cases just as it should and I am a Happy Camper.

G.A.Custer wrote:Received the part from LEE and it was a simple installation. Just remove 4 screws and remove the old piece and replace with the new piece. Now the press feeds the empty cases just as it should and I am a Happy Camper.

Good detective work and a good fix from Lee. I've read where others have had some issues with that cover
in kinda the same manner. I would expect Lee will come out with a "sturdier" part soon to eliminate that depending on how prevalent it is.