Unboxing Lee Auto Breech Lock Pro - User Review / Discussion < No Bashing >

Status
Not open for further replies.
Well then.

255-D6-ECB-B432-4-DB8-840-B-D0-F95825780-E.jpg

Somehow I got an upside down case on the plastic slider and when I stroked the press down it got crushed by the die head and cookie cuttered into the plastic. Have to call lee and order some parts. I think I’ll just get a spare of all the plastic parts.
 

Attachments

  • 255-D6-ECB-B432-4-DB8-840-B-D0-F95825780-E.jpg
    255-D6-ECB-B432-4-DB8-840-B-D0-F95825780-E.jpg
    18.5 KB · Views: 2
If it is 9mm case, use the spent 22LR and penny mod on the case collator.

Drill a hole in a penny and use a spent 22LR case to hold the penny in the center of case collator - No more upside down cases.

index.php
 
Must have taken some sort of effort to punch that case thru the plastic. I use the clear plastic tubes with the case feeder too and can easily see when one gets upside down.

As for the collator I've used this trick; I've done this and it does work wonderfully with both 9mm and 380.
 
If it is 9mm case, use the spent 22LR and penny mod on the case collator.

Drill a hole in a penny and use a spent 22LR case to hold the penny in the center of case collator - No more upside down cases.

index.php

I was using that but must have lost it and forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Well then.

View attachment 809804

Somehow I got an upside down case on the plastic slider and when I stroked the press down it got crushed by the die head and cookie cuttered into the plastic. Have to call lee and order some parts. I think I’ll just get a spare of all the plastic parts.
I wonder if you were going too fast, if you didn't catch the resistance.
 
Lurking thru this thread as I don't (yet) have a lee auto breach lock pro, but have noticed that you often refer to a "Pro 4000" press.
I believe that was the name used in development "leaks" from Lee, why do you continue to use it, knowing that the "Lee Auto Breach Lock Pro" (ABLP) is the actual name of the press?
just curious,
:D
Maybe because I have a Pro1000 and I get tired of typing out Lee Breech Lock Pro every time I need to refer to this press and still don't like the (ABLPQRST). Pro4000 is just easier, that's all it is. Can't just use Pro as that would confuse people as to which Pro.

Don't know why the manufacturers think they need a mouthful of words to name new presses. We RCBS fans have had the same problem. Pro 2000 became Pro2k, and Pro Chuckers became PC5 and PC7! ;)

You guys have the right idea.....Lee Auto Breach Lock Pro is just too long......yet Pro 4000 is a bit confusing because most do not know about the pre-production "code" name.

How about just "Able Pro" for a nick name. :D A uto B reach L ock PRO.
 
Don't know why the manufacturers think they need a mouthful of words to name new presses. We RCBS fans have had the same problem. Pro 2000 became Pro2k, and Pro Chuckers became PC5 and PC7! ;)

You guys have the right idea.....Lee Auto Breach Lock Pro is just too long......yet Pro 4000 is a bit confusing because most do not know about the pre-production "code" name.

How about just "Able Pro" for a nick name. :D A uto B reach L ock PRO.
How about Pro 4000?
 
Well since it is Halloween how about bringing back the original Zombie Thread?
First you have to tie up Walkalong and tickle him until he unlocks the thread. ;)

BTW, Ginger for me :D (I choose still all Made-In USA C-H and Lee Precision products for me). :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
It took very little resistance, by the time I felt it, it was too late. No matter, its probably a $3 part.

As I recall Lee has 2 parts kits for the plastic parts in the Pro. And you are correct in that they are pretty cheap. Next time I make an order from Titan Reloading I will be adding one of each as backup spares.
 
Although I have been using the Auto Breech Lock Pro for some time now, I am quite not ready for a full user review as I am still learning different things about Lee's latest press. But here's an excerpt of my post from another thread - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-auto-breech-lock-pro.843029/#post-10955898

"Since I started using Auto Breech Lock Pro, I noticed Lee addressed every single "issue" with Pro 1000 to resolution:
  • 4 stations instead of 3 for separate seat and crimp operation
  • Solid steel base (2018 Pro 1000 also got this)
  • Ergonomic roller handle (Pro 1000 already got this)
  • No play. Period: Ram, Handle linkage, Shell plate, Shell plate carrier, Dies in Breech Lock bushings
  • Lock ring eliminator (For Lee lock ring haters) - https://leeprecision.com/lock-ring-eliminator.html
  • Exact indexing with rod through shell plate holes (2018 Pro 1000 also got this)
  • Smooth captured indexing of shell plate (Compared to "free float" shell plate of Pro 1000)
  • Improved case slide and feeder mount (Spring instead of solid Z-bar)
  • Spent primers drop through ram into collection tube (No more pesky spent primers. We do have a mod for Pro 1000 that is 99.5%)
  • 100% drop of loaded rounds into collection bin (2018 Pro 1000 did rotate shell plate carrier clockwise for better collection location and improved visualization of powder in case)
  • Ram mounted under station #1 where resizing of case applies more pressure on shell plate (Pro 1000 already got this)" - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...progressive-press.833604/page-2#post-10779966
As to Safety Prime being used for Auto Breech Lock Pro, I am not ready to post my full comment yet.
 
Last edited:
I had spent small pistol primers jam up under the shell plate, stopping the press, and while cleaning that up, I decided that I might want to spray that area periodically with brake cleaner. There was a pretty nasty mess there. I do wonder if brake cleaner would damage the catch tube, so I guess I will remove that for the spraying.
 
I had spent small pistol primers jam up under the shell plate, stopping the press, and while cleaning that up, I decided that I might want to spray that area periodically with brake cleaner. There was a pretty nasty mess there. I do wonder if brake cleaner would damage the catch tube, so I guess I will remove that for the spraying.

If the brake cleaner would damage the catch tube, wouldn't it damage the other plastic parts? Dry them out?
I found that oil was seeping into my catch tube and caused it to clog all the primers in the ram. It's probably from using too thin of an oil on the ram. I will change the type of oil and make cleaning it out a part of regular maintenance. Just something to watch out for.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20181029_092230.jpg
    IMG_20181029_092230.jpg
    74.2 KB · Views: 17
Brake cleaner can be hard on plastic parts. A little more expensive, but safe for plastic in it's newer form, is Powder Blast.

Dave
 
Brake cleaner can be hard on plastic parts. A little more expensive, but safe for plastic in it's newer form, is Powder Blast.

Dave
I ordered some Powder Blast, but believe I really need something that will flush the area down the chute. I might try some other non-greasy, gun cleaning product like Slip2000
 
Have had this Breechlock Pro (BP) sitting in its box for about a year. Finally unboxed it about a week or so ago to set up new reloading room. Set it up today for 38spl. I like it. Seems like the perfect progressive press for the budget reloader to crank out pistol ammo. Lee did well with this one.

I bought the press and shell plates, 38 and 223, thinking I had the other accessories covered. Saw where people were having trouble with primer feed and ordered new grey design about six months ago to have on hand. Only loaded about a hundred rounds today but I had zero issues feeding primers. Got used to that swing arm when I loaded on the LCT a few years ago. Used the same technique of push in and then up just a little at the end as I did on the LCT. Use this type of feeder for awhile and you’ll naturally develop the “feel” to get it right every time. Didn’t miss a beat or drop a single primer.

Used a case feeder off of one of my other Lee presses. Saw in the instructions where you need a case riser to feed 38spl cases. Used some double sided tape and an appropriately sized piece of wood to support top of case while it’s being pushed forward and stopped them from being flipped off ramp. I see Lee has a new universal case feeder with said riser but I’ve got enough Lee case feeders. No problems out of case feeder after setup. Filled up tubes and ran’em all through a couple of times. The case collator does well with 38. None of the cases today were upside down. Right mods on case feeder and you’ll rarely see an upside down case from other calibers, either.

Have a bullet feeder I used to use on my Loadmaster but have no intentions of installing it. The bullet feeder works fine but I see no advantage, operationally or time, to using a bullet feeder you have to manually fill tubes. This bullet feeder or any tube fed bullet feeder. Just slows you down, really.

Been loading 38spl mostly on a Pro 1000. Difficult to see in case and verify powder on that press since 38 cases are tall and the powder sets low in case. Thought I would use the fourth hole on this one as a powder check station. Deprime/size on 1. Prime/powder/flare on 2. RCBS powder check die on 3. Bullet seat/crimp on 4. That puts bullet seat die on opposite side of press to use my left hand for placing bullet. Didn’t think that one thru but it was working out and there’s enough room to just get my hand in there. Bullet seat in 3 and crimp in 4 would be easy to do.

The rhythm on this press is different than any of my other presses. Started getting the rhythm going after a bit and the flow seemed fluid enough to crank out some rounds in short order if that’s what you need.

COL was as consistent as my ogive. No complaint there. Keep the shell plate full, of course.

You’ll need to slide a card into the grooves on the front of your catch bin. Same as other presses. It’ll fill up and bounce rounds out onto floor. That’s just the off the shelf bin design they all seem to use.

Presently load 38spl, thanks to the Henry lever action in 357 and a SAA, on a Pro 1000 and a Loadmaster. Different bullet profile in each. Different bullet profile? Yeah, that’s how I justified another press, lol. Both of those presses work great. They both have the latest updates. If I had to choose just one of the three for pistol ammo it would be a tough call. Although, I do like watching 30-06 rounds fall into the bin on the Loadmaster, one after another.

For the price you can’t go wrong. It gets the job done. You can buy presses that cost ten times as much but they won’t do ten times the job.
 
You’ll need to slide a card into the grooves on the front of your catch bin. Same as other presses. It’ll fill up and bounce rounds out onto floor.
When I set up my bin, finished rounds bounced off the bin with a loud "plop" and fell to the floor.

My cheap fix was lining the bin with foam packing sheet. Now rounds quietly fall into the bin without bouncing onto the floor.

full&d=1553219034.jpg
 
I used a piece of foam at first, but since then I switched to a longer bin. Akro-Mils 30224. With those bins, nothing bounces far enough to fall out and they hold more cartridges too.
 
Well then.

View attachment 809804

Somehow I got an upside down case on the plastic slider and when I stroked the press down it got crushed by the die head and cookie cuttered into the plastic. Have to call lee and order some parts. I think I’ll just get a spare of all the plastic parts.

Last night I was running off a couple hundred in 9mm. Halfway through, I noticed the Universal case feeder was loose. I tightened it, maybe a bit too much. Shortly after, I had a case misfeed. Ran the ram up with too much resistance. I should have backed off the pressure.

20190916_045514.jpg

I'm not sure how it got marred that far out of the press!?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top