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Posted: 1/15/2014 6:16:06 PM EDT
| How many of you guys use one? What do you think of it? Any regrets? Other thoughts? |
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I'm on my 6th year using the Pro 2000. I have a friend who loads much more than I, and he passed 300,000 rounds last October(oops 2 years ago...time passes quickly when you're having fun!) The press is tough as nails, and besides Dillon's commercial 1050, the Pro 2000 is the only cast iron progressive press. With a bullet feeder and APS preloaded primers it very fast as well. One strong suite is the simple and quick caliber conversions that allow me to load several calibers an evening if I choose without buying caliber change kits and powder measures for each one.
As for a Piggyback Conversion kit mounted to single station press comparing to a Pro 2000? It's not quite the same even though the later Piggyback 3 and 4 reincarnations of the original Piggyback use some Pro 2000 parts that have improved the original concept. Though these later kits even share the fast and reliable APS primer system, they are still limited by the small castings and the 1" rams of the press below. The Pro 2000 with its massive iron casting surrounding a 1-1/2" ram was designed from the beginning as a strong and smooth progressive, with users given the choice of either manual advance or auto-advance. The Dillon 550b is only a 4 station press and manual advance at that. In it's manual incarnation, a Pro 2000 is like a Dillon 550 with an extra station. In its auto-advance incarnation, it compares closer to a Dillon 650. For fast caliber changes and fast, trouble free primer feeding nothing compares. If a factory case feeder is important the Dillon 650 does that best, but bullet feeders are available for the Pro 2000 which makes them equally fast unless you feed both ends. Feeders cost money.....many don't spend it. There is another way......make your own feeders. On my Pro 2000 while I bought a Hornady Bullet Feeder for it, I spent $60 in parts and made a working case feeder. Others use the "$28 Bullet Feeder." I don't know of anyone buying a progressive (RCBS, Dillon, or Hornady) who doesn't love them once they learn their system. But each press has its strengths that fits an individual best. All of them beat the old slow way! (for all but the benchresters, and some of the long range rifle competitors.  )
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| I have had my RCBS Pro 2000 for Five years now, and have NO regrets what so ever! I primarily use it for pistol. Caliber changes are super easy and FAST! And another big point to touch on is RCBS customer Service is as good if not better than Dillion. I have broken, lost or just needed a part and they send it out to me no questions asked. The service alone is worth it! Happy Reloading! |
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Quoted: I have had my RCBS Pro 2000 for Five years now, and have NO regrets what so ever! I primarily use it for pistol. Caliber changes are super easy and FAST! And another big point to touch on is RCBS customer Service is as good if not better than Dillion. I have broken, lost or just needed a part and they send it out to me no questions asked. The service alone is worth it! Happy Reloading! This is true. I asked about a missing part on my press that I bought used and all they asked for was my address. They shipped out both parts (Large and small primer plug assemblies) even though I only needed one. No charge, even for shipping! Plus they will walk you through the press set up and reloading process over the phone. |
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I have a 550 and have always thought about getting a Pro 2000 with auto advance as a second press, the thing that has always stopped me is the no case feeder option and I was always a little confused about the powder station.
Does the Pro 2000 bell and drop powder at the same station? Or do you need a separate station for that. If the two are separate that 5th station wouldn't be much of an advantage. Koz |
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Quoted: I have a 550 and have always thought about getting a Pro 2000 with auto advance as a second press, the thing that has always stopped me is the no case feeder option and I was always a little confused about the powder station. Does the Pro 2000 bell and drop powder at the same station? Or do you need a separate station for that. If the two are separate that 5th station wouldn't be much of an advantage. Koz They make a case feeder, although it's a plastic tube you hand load. Whoops... I meant a bullet feeder. |
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Quoted:
Does the Pro 2000 bell and drop powder at the same station? Or do you need a separate station for that. If the two are separate that 5th station wouldn't be much of an advantage. Quoted:
Does the Pro 2000 bell and drop powder at the same station? Or do you need a separate station for that. If the two are separate that 5th station wouldn't be much of an advantage. Originally, the Pro2000 was designed to leave the powder measure in the fixed station #3 (this station is part of the frame, not part of the removable die plate). In theory, this worked well, as you only needed one powder measure, and just had to adjust the powder throw when moving from one caliber to another. As bullet feeders have become more popular, it's not common practice to move the powder measure to station #2, and with the combination of Powder Expanders (same as a Dillon powder funnel, or a Hornady PTX expander), bell and powder charge in the same station. Many of us do this, with dedicated lower powder dies in each die plate, to facilitate the quick moving of the powder measure from one die plate to the other. In my case, I have dedicated station #3 in my Pro 2000's (I have two of them) to powder checking. That leaves station 4 for a bullet feeder, and a seat/crimp die in station 5. Or, you could seat in 4 and crimp in 5, if you placed bullets manually. The lack of a case feeder precludes you from running really high round-per-hour counts, but honestly, isn't that much of a detraction - especially if you have a bullet feeder. At that point, your left hand isn't really doing anything anyway, so using it to feed in a case, as the shell plate rotates around, really takes no extra time. You have a bin full of cases sitting right next to (to the left of) your completed catridge bin, so they're right there for your left hand to access. I can still comfortably turn out 600 rounds per hour, loading .45 ACP, with a bullet feeder. That's a real number, too - not the artificial numbers like 900, 1200, or 1800 rounds per hour I've seen quoted on some Dillons. Those are artificial, because they're computed by saying, "well, one cycle of the press takes 3 seconds, so that's 20 pr minute, or 1800 per hour). I tend to deal in practical throughput. By that, I mean sit down at 3PM to start loading, and by 4PM, there are 600 rounds sitting in a bin. That's factoring in time to refill the powder measure, re-fill the case bin, empty the completed cartridge bin, re-fill the bullet feeder, deal with the occasional problem (small primer pocket in the case, upside-down bullet). Notice I didn't specify any time to refill the primer tube - because there isn't one. You just keep feeding in APS primer strips every 25 rounds, which takes literally 3-4 seconds. ETA: Quoted:
They make a case feeder, although it's a plastic tube you hand load. If by 'they', you mean RCBS, then you're thinking of a bullet feeder. The only case feeder for a Pro 2000 in existance that I know of belongs to forum member GWhis, designed and manufactured by GWhis
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Quoted: Originally, the Pro2000 was designed to leave the powder measure in the fixed station #3 (this station is part of the frame, not part of the removable die plate). In theory, this worked well, as you only needed one powder measure, and just had to adjust the powder throw when moving from one caliber to another. As bullet feeders have become more popular, it's not common practice to move the powder measure to station #2, and with the combination of Powder Expanders (same as a Dillon powder funnel, or a Hornady PTX expander), bell and powder charge in the same station. Many of us do this, with dedicated lower powder dies in each die plate, to facilitate the quick moving of the powder measure from one die plate to the other. In my case, I have dedicated station #3 in my Pro 2000's (I have two of them) to powder checking. That leaves station 4 for a bullet feeder, and a seat/crimp die in station 5. Or, you could seat in 4 and crimp in 5, if you placed bullets manually. The lack of a case feeder precludes you from running really high round-per-hour counts, but honestly, isn't that much of a detraction - especially if you have a bullet feeder. At that point, your left hand isn't really doing anything anyway, so using it to feed in a case, as the shell plate rotates around, really takes no extra time. You have a bin full of cases sitting right next to (to the left of) your completed catridge bin, so they're right there for your left hand to access. I can still comfortably turn out 600 rounds per hour, loading .45 ACP, with a bullet feeder. That's a real number, too - not the artificial numbers like 900, 1200, or 1800 rounds per hour I've seen quoted on some Dillons. Those are artificial, because they're computed by saying, "well, one cycle of the press takes 3 seconds, so that's 20 pr minute, or 1800 per hour). I tend to deal in practical throughput. By that, I mean sit down at 3PM to start loading, and by 4PM, there are 600 rounds sitting in a bin. That's factoring in time to refill the powder measure, re-fill the case bin, empty the completed cartridge bin, re-fill the bullet feeder, deal with the occasional problem (small primer pocket in the case, upside-down bullet). Notice I didn't specify any time to refill the primer tube - because there isn't one. You just keep feeding in APS primer strips every 25 rounds, which takes literally 3-4 seconds. ETA: If by 'they', you mean RCBS, then you're thinking of a bullet feeder. The only case feeder for a Pro 2000 in existance that I know of belongs to forum member GWhis, designed and manufactured by GWhis Quoted: Quoted: Does the Pro 2000 bell and drop powder at the same station? Or do you need a separate station for that. If the two are separate that 5th station wouldn't be much of an advantage. Originally, the Pro2000 was designed to leave the powder measure in the fixed station #3 (this station is part of the frame, not part of the removable die plate). In theory, this worked well, as you only needed one powder measure, and just had to adjust the powder throw when moving from one caliber to another. As bullet feeders have become more popular, it's not common practice to move the powder measure to station #2, and with the combination of Powder Expanders (same as a Dillon powder funnel, or a Hornady PTX expander), bell and powder charge in the same station. Many of us do this, with dedicated lower powder dies in each die plate, to facilitate the quick moving of the powder measure from one die plate to the other. In my case, I have dedicated station #3 in my Pro 2000's (I have two of them) to powder checking. That leaves station 4 for a bullet feeder, and a seat/crimp die in station 5. Or, you could seat in 4 and crimp in 5, if you placed bullets manually. The lack of a case feeder precludes you from running really high round-per-hour counts, but honestly, isn't that much of a detraction - especially if you have a bullet feeder. At that point, your left hand isn't really doing anything anyway, so using it to feed in a case, as the shell plate rotates around, really takes no extra time. You have a bin full of cases sitting right next to (to the left of) your completed catridge bin, so they're right there for your left hand to access. I can still comfortably turn out 600 rounds per hour, loading .45 ACP, with a bullet feeder. That's a real number, too - not the artificial numbers like 900, 1200, or 1800 rounds per hour I've seen quoted on some Dillons. Those are artificial, because they're computed by saying, "well, one cycle of the press takes 3 seconds, so that's 20 pr minute, or 1800 per hour). I tend to deal in practical throughput. By that, I mean sit down at 3PM to start loading, and by 4PM, there are 600 rounds sitting in a bin. That's factoring in time to refill the powder measure, re-fill the case bin, empty the completed cartridge bin, re-fill the bullet feeder, deal with the occasional problem (small primer pocket in the case, upside-down bullet). Notice I didn't specify any time to refill the primer tube - because there isn't one. You just keep feeding in APS primer strips every 25 rounds, which takes literally 3-4 seconds. ETA: Quoted: They make a case feeder, although it's a plastic tube you hand load. If by 'they', you mean RCBS, then you're thinking of a bullet feeder. The only case feeder for a Pro 2000 in existance that I know of belongs to forum member GWhis, designed and manufactured by GWhis You are correct! |
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I also use a Pro2000 and really like it.
I originally bought it in Manual index and have since upgraded to auto. Auto is much better, IMO. Primer system is great. Loading pistol, I use all 5 stations 1. Sizing and De-prime 2. Prime, bell case & powder charge. [ koz4guns asked about this ] 3. Lockout die that locks the press for double or no charge. 4. Seat 5. Crimp It is a great press with fantastic support from RCBS. |
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Quoted:
How many use the powder baffle ? I do, and try to keep the level over the baffle. I keep track of where to set the micrometer for target charge for each powder, so I have a good idea where to start, then run about 10 or more throws manually before I start adjusting. It's usually right on, or damn close. Also, I've polished the inside of the Uniflow. |
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Quoted: Thanks. Im getting my to do list together before setting it up to minimize problems as much as I can. That leaves more of my small amount of brain power free for loading. If you don't have a baffle, you should make one. Instructions at the top of the page, not hard to find. |
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