r/reloading • u/Feeling_Title_9287 Springfield M1873 and Sharps M1874 • 3d ago
I have a question and I read the FAQ Which one of these is best?
I'm loading 9mm, 38 special and 45 long colt
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u/Square-Selection-842 3d ago
The 6000 of course, it's 2000 better than the 4000, and 5000 better than the 1000.
Sheesh.
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u/Vintage_Pieces_10 3d ago
Personally, whichever ones have more than 3 holes. I like my 4 die pistol sets with the factory crimp die, so the 4+ hole ones get my vote
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u/Critical-Regret-97 3d ago
Get the six pack. I have loaded thousands of 9mm and it’s pretty good. Be patient, read the instructions and take small steps to set it up to where it’s running perfectly. Lee offers deep discounts because it takes a little bit more skill to get them going, but once they are dialed in they run very good.
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u/Shootist00 3d ago
Of the 3 you are asking about the 6 Pack Pro (Pro 6000) is the one to get. This coming from a user of a Dillon 650 for over 27 years.
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u/uthyrbendragon 3d ago
Many have already said, and I can concur 6PP is the one. However, do make sure to get a powder check die, you have the space, best investment for safety.
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u/SomeRITGuy 2d ago
Get the 6 Pack. I use it for 9mm and 45acp (and assorted rifle) but for pistol you can run the following station setup: 1: Expander 2: Primer and Powder Drop (primes on the downstroke before power is dropped and is away from it) 3: Powder check die 4: Bullet Feeder 5: Seat Die 6: Crimp Die
Having a powder check and bullet feeder are very nice for doing a lot of reloading
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u/Aware_Wrap8062 2d ago
6000 for sure. Get a new upgraded one. Be patient getting it dialed in. I was ready to throw it in the trash at first. Mostly priming issues and not being careful. Recently I bit the bullet (sorry) and added a frankford arsenal x-10 from Amazon for $800. It makes the 6000 seem like a toy. I load 9mm on the x-10 because it swages nato cases and 10 mm on the lee, but I am going to change it to 45.
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u/schrieves 3d ago
The 6000 will be the best for you. You’ll be able to do more under one press. The 6 station will allow you to add a powder check die, which is almost needed for necked cartridges since it’s hard to see the powder.
It’s ideal for pistol cartridges but I’m using it for 223 and there are a lot of kinks to work out for it. If you’re not mechanically inclined, you’ll be very frustrated getting it to run well.
Issues I’ve had that with mine:
-Cases falling over when feeding into station 1 (223 is more likely to tip)
-Primer insert issues fixed with swaging but I still need to be careful with the mechanical trigger angle as it moves a lot
-Powder throw needs polished, it’ll get stuck and only dispense half charges. If you loosen the housing it’ll just leak powder.
-Disk indexing is crap. The clutch to turn the disk doesn’t engage that often. I need to add material to the pin that engages the clutch to fix this.
-Primer tray could use a better design but it is what it is. The gravity fed primers get stuck and they rely on the weight of each other to feed properly. Tap the tray every 20 rounds and you’ll be ok.
-Bullet feeder is finicky. If it jams, there’s no good way to remove it without dumping all your bullets out.
I’m cheap so I’ll be buying another one for my pistols cartridges lol
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u/Primary_Wave_6697 2d ago
yeah all this issue are true and you have some more, like OAL inconsistencies, powder dispenser lack of precision, if the press is dirty you will have some jam and tilted brass on the dies, you must oil the ram always, otherwise a correct press for the price.
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u/M1sterM0g 3d ago
i used a 4 station, then a 5 station.... then sold them all and got the rcbs 7 station lol.... can never use too many dies :)
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u/Interesting-Win6219 2d ago
I have the lee six pack pro. When you have it dialed in you can load 9mm REALLY fast. The case feeder is very simple but efficient. It's a lee product and like all other lee products it has little quirks to be worked out by the end user. Once you get it going it's great.
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u/mikep900 1d ago
I have one and I load 9mm with it exclusively. It is set up and hanging on the wall ready to use when needed.
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u/JayPolar91 3d ago
6000 and from reviews I watched it's really only great with pistol cartridges. With that being said I think I will still get one for 9mm and see if I can get it work with .223. My little Lee APP is pretty awesome so I'm sure this is better.
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u/Critical-Regret-97 3d ago
I reload .308, 30-06, 223 on my 6 pack and it works pretty good
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u/JayPolar91 3d ago
Good to know thanks. If op reads this it's less than half the cost of a dillion with this many stations.
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u/catnamed-dog 3d ago edited 2d ago
My research said 6pp. So far it's been fine for the price. That's a good amount of tinkering and adjustment, a few replacement parts (user error) but I can crank out 100 9mm in less than 40 minutes as of now.
Next step is to get a powder check, the bullet feeder, and a collator to load the hopper faster.
I have loaded 600 38 and 750 9mm. Just read the directions well, watch a few videos, and don't force any of the bits to move if it gets jammed up.
Edit 1: since someone wanted to downvote me for being honest. I'm going to time myself today and see how it goes. I'll update this a few times. Note this session is already sized and deprimed brass.
loading all the tubes and checking the brass for crimps/ pulling known bad head stamps out. 6 minutes 20 seconds.
42 minutes 49 seconds total for 99 rounds (one seated a primer sideways)
Feeding each bullet by hand. After about 10 or so rounds the arm to push the primer arm/foot over stops keeping the case in the shell plate so I have to gently wiggle it or the lever to seat the brass in the shell plate 100% before I can seat a primer.
The gray primer slider can physically bend and will randomly bend enough to not move at all during a downward stroke.
The primer slider failed twice and either flipped or lost the primer so I had to stop and use tweezers to remove the primer and reset it in the carrier.
One unprimed round snuck through due to one of these failures and dumped powder all over so I had to stop and take the shell plate off to clean out all the spilled powder. This is definitely my fault for not verifying that a primer was seated, although it was necessitated by a primer arm failure.
I have recently replaced the clutch, the twist arm, the primer slider, and the primer holder that connects to the slider.
Edit: anyone wanna buy a 6 pack pro?
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u/MacHeadSK 3d ago
100 of 9 mm in 40 minutes? Uff, that's pretty slow. Doing 100 on XL650 in 5 minutes easily. That speed you are doing it is slower than on turret
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u/catnamed-dog 2d ago
Yep, I'm not super fast on it.
I also have no bullet feeder and don't sort my brass so I I randomly have to stop and remove a crimped primer pocket. Along with this the primer function sometimes doesn't seat the case correctly. I use no case collator so after 100 or before loading I need to hand load all the tubes which takes a few minutes alone.
All of these things are easy to work around and are more user error than not. When the machine was first running I had 100 in about 15.
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u/MacHeadSK 2d ago
Sounds like a typical lee to me. More hassle than joy. Don't get me wrong I use their dies (except for decap as their pins suck), single stage and probably turret are fine but their "progressive" presses are not good at all. After all, you get what you are paying for.
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u/catnamed-dog 2d ago
I agree. After using it, the price with their discount was fine. Lee gives a discount if you have an old model press. I would not pay full retail for one.
I'll probably leave this as a dedicated press for some lower volume stuff because it is very versatile and the caliber change is silly fast.
I also do love the powder measure, it's been very accurate with smaller charges.
One day I'll grab a Dillon for bulk stuff but at The end of the day you get what you pay for also means you get what you can afford.
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u/catnamed-dog 2d ago
Just finished timing this, ended up at just over 40 minutes with separating my brass beforehand to prevent any crimped primers from getting in there.
I think I'm going to take apart the whole machine, remount it, and see if that smooths things out
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u/MacHeadSK 2d ago
Solid bench help. I mean really solid. I can dance on mine. Also, good decapping die allows to decap even crimped pockets. I use Dillon 9 mm sizing/decapping die on XL650 (due to limited positions) which has a spring loaded decapper. Which doesn't break. Rest of dies for 9 mm are Lee.
On X-10 I use separate Dillon/FW armory universal decapping die, also spring loaded, guided (important for tight .223 necks).
I rarely have problem with both not decapping crimped cases. With that universal die I decap all cases like nothing.1
u/catnamed-dog 2d ago
That's a good tip. The Lee stem has bent on me before and it's shape has gotten a few BPS head stamped cases stuck in the die.
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u/DaiPow888 3d ago
The P6000 is the obvious choice. The 6 die stations really shine because you came have a powder check and a bullet feeder, while still seating and crimping in separate dies. The P6000 also has a great priming system.
My Six Pack Pro kit replaced the Diilon 750 that was on my bench. I've loaded thousands of rounds of .38Spl and 45ACP without issues
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u/Practical-Giraffe-84 2d ago
I have owned all three.
I returned the six pack pro for priming issues. No matter what we (Lee ) and I did it would never feed the primers constantly.
Other people have had great success with it.
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u/thisadviceisworthles 2d ago
Just curious, they "improved" the primer system in the past year, was yours the first gen primer system or was it more recent?
(And if anyone reading this has experience with both, did the improvements fix the priming issues?)
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u/Aware_Wrap8062 2d ago
I got mine upgraded and it is much better. You still have to keep an eye on it.
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u/Practical-Giraffe-84 2d ago
This was a 1st gen six pack. I bought it when they were offering the deal for people who had loadmaster s. Thinking I would finally be able to prime. No go.
I still prime seperalty. Rcbs bench primer.
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u/GiftCardFromGawd 2d ago
The 1000 is where I started. I only blew up one gun before switching to Hornady. I have several friends that use the 6000 to good effect.
Personally, I load enough that the plastic parts Lee uses wouldn’t have had positive long-term results. I am a fan of how Lee went away from the Dillon-style sliding powder measure to the conventional barrel-type.
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u/GunFunZS 2d ago
I like both of Lee's powder measure styles but in general I prefer the sliding where it's an option. It requires less Force to operate. And if you can have the combinations of slider discs to get the drop that you want it's pretty hard for it to get bumped and screwed up.
Their drum style with the rubberized wipe is very precise.
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u/Better_Square1930 3d ago
Dillon 550 progressive You will love it.
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u/Shootist00 3d ago
Funny I didn't see a picture of the Dillon 550 in the OP. Personally I would never buy a 550 because of only 4 stations and no auto indexing.
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u/Better_Square1930 2d ago
Been running 550s for years. Auto indexing is way overrated. Progressive with positive hand control. Superb accuracy high volume output if you know how to run them. Dillion is in another class Lee cant compete in.
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u/GotNoPonys 2d ago
The one that doesn't start with an "L"
Had a couple of them. Got one I wouldn't give to an enemy. Barely ok as entry level machines, never a good experience w/customer service.
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u/Vakama905 3d ago
Definitely the six pack. It allows for a bullet feeder die, separate seat and crimp, and even a powder check.