Lee has a new press.

[Kevin Stenberg]

I have seen the new lee press and it sounds interesting. All it does is deprime or reprime brass. They call it the ACP press. It has case feed and a new primer feed system. It uses no shell holders. It looks a lot like the APP press.
They have already made 2 upgrades on the machine. An both upgrades went from plastic parts to "metal" parts.
If you go to either Lee or the Titen sight. You can see videos on how the press works.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

A APP off shoot. Case prep press.

 

[fiver]

my rock chucker de-primes brass just fine, and my bench mounted priming tool puts it back in,,,, everything.

 

[Bret4207]

I'm with Fiver. You can overdo the equipment end of things.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

While I agree. These new LEE presses are darn quick and cheap but seem adequate.
I only have APP for bullet sizing. Quicker then lee push thru (I ise NOE sizer) but lee push thus work on the APP too just updown down.

 

[JonB]

IMHO, Lee over did it, with the APP. They just needed to make their little press named the "reloader", in a inverted fashion, for sizing bullets using the standard thread sizing dies, and sell it for the "reloader" price.

With that said, it was easy enough to mount my "spare" Lee classic cast press upside down. It has better leverage and the fully adjustable (360º) handle (including left or right side).

 

[Jeff H]

I'm with Fiver. You can overdo the equipment end of things.

My take as well.

I'm all for innovation, and LEE ha innovated over the years and found ways to make handloading and casting ore accessible to more people. I had full access to some pretty classy and classic reloading stuff as I grew up, but when I had to start my own program, buy my own stuff, LEE made it possible to start out with ENOUGH equipment that I wasn't cutting any corners, even if I didn't have every cool gizmo.

Maybe this is useful to someone - maybe a LOT of someones, but I prefer a basic press that can do anything I need to do. I'm still using a LEE, three-hole turret press from 1982, and still think that was one of LEE's crowning innovations. I still need to grab one of their "hand-presses," assuming they're still made. With all the engineering effort focused on "MORE, FASTER," I should maybe worry that the little portable, SLOW single-stage may go away some day.

Not to insult anyone's choice of equipment, but some of the newer stuff seems more like it may be meant to appeal to the guy who needs the next new thing his buddies don't have. I prefer to have less tooling than more. How many different presses will a fella need to load stuff eventually?

 

[richhodg66]

Looked to me like it would be appealing to any high volume shooters of semi-auto handguns. I'm not one of those guys, can't see this as being worth the bench space for a guy like me.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Goes hand in hand with the popularity of wet tumbling and new shooters.

 

[Freezzman]

The Lee APP is an awesome piece of equipment . I load on a Dillon 550. The backside of a Dillon iis that after 500 or so rounds the primer bar starts t stick. This means you need to dissasemble and clean at the most unopportune time. Depriming with a Dillon is worse thane agonizing may be 300 per hour. I can deprime 1,000 pices of brass in less than 45 minuetes and thats taking my time. It inexpensive, Small, and EZ to change to a different caliber. As far as sizing it cant be beat I powder coat so the mess is minimized no sticking in the tubes no finger smashing. I shoot 900 to a 1,000 rounds a month it a real times aver for less than $80.00

 

[waco]

I use the Dillon as intended. Brass comes out of the tumbler(with spent primers in the case) and right into the press. Decap and then prime. One stroke.Been doing it that way for 20+ years. Life is too short to monkey around with pistol primer pockets IMHO.

 

[Ian]

Run all the dirty pistol brass through a Pro-1000 with just the universal decapping die in place, then wet tumble, then load on the progressive with clean pockets. I guess the APP is fine if you started with a progressive and don't have a good single-stage press to use for all your bullet sizing and case prep needs.

 

[todd]

i just have a lee classic case press and a universal depriming die. i used to use lyman turret press, but i like to keep things simple.

 

[fiver]

if you have to stop every 300 rounds with your Dillon your doing it wrong.
a little graphite or mica on the slide will keep it going for a week.
if your dumping primer gunk all over then a little beard or tooth brush will keep that area clean, every primer fill and 2 swipes.... done.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I don't wish to rain on anyone’s parade, but I fail to see a huge advantage in the Lee APP.

As a single stage press, it’s overly complicated and as a progressive press it falls WAY short of producing finished cartridges. It appears to be a press for intermediate functions of the overall reloading process, and I’m not sure why I would want that?

A good single stage press is hard to beat for its durability, reliability, and flexibility of functions.

A good progressive press is hard to beat for its higher production rate when compared to a single stage press.

The middle ground between a single stage press and a progressive press is a turret press.

I just don’t see the need (or usefulness) of a press that only partially fills the functions of a progressive press.


And if you’re having serious problems with running a Dillon 550 series press, you’re doing something wrong. The Dillon has some minor weaknesses, and the priming system is one of them. But even that failure to reach perfection is insignificant in the overall picture. With just a little bit of mechanical aptitude and a tiny bit of attention to the machine – a Dillon 550 will run with boring reliability. I’ve loaded tens of thousands of rounds on one and see no signs of that reliability ending.

 

[Freezzman]

Hi Everyone Lets clear this up Have you seen how the APP can size bullies ,outperforms a single stage a hundred times. I have clean primer pockets deprime before cleaning. Have you ever used flake powder in a dillion eg. 700-x it drips gets in the primer cup. All who love their single stage press
I am with you I would not ever give mine up. The APP is fun make and makes my Dillon run better. The 45 min's it takes to do a 1,000 is insignificant. I been using my Dillon for 16 years now until the APP came out I used it as it was decapping with the machine. The problems P&P are not serious just an annoyance. To make statements on how someone use their press without knowing all the parameters is well you know.
The APP was never designed to replace a press it APP = Automatic Processing Press that what it does

 

[richhodg66]

Again, if I was one of the fast increasing group of shooters whose only desire is to send rounds down range through an auto pistol as fast as they can pull a trigger, this is probably a good piece of gear. I don't do that, so I'll pass on the APP. I do have to agree, it's usefulness is rather limited if you ask me.

 

[Freezzman]

NRA Certified Range Officer
NRA Certified Pistol Instructor
NRA life Member 15 Years
Northwest best indoor range 8 years supervision
Passion for reloading 16 years
In shooting sports over 20 years
I am not New sir
And to each his own

 

[Ian]

Goes hand in hand with the popularity of wet tumbling and new shooters.

That makes no sense. How long have you been shooting? I could say that "The popularity of powder coating goes hand in hand with all those new mall ninja shooters who just want cheap bullets for their progressive loaders to blast away by the zillions while they play out their favorite video game." But you that's not accurate and doesn't apply to you, who powder coats more bullets than Federal. Wet tumbling is superior to any other method in every way. Cheaper, better, safer, and easier. Is wet tumbling with stainless-steel pins a relatively new process for shooters? Yes it is, but it's not just for high-volume or "new" shooters.

And to each his own

Yep. You're gonna get a lot of opinions when a new product comes out. Some will look at it and see a good use in THEIR process, maybe try it, maybe sell it off or love it and buy three more. Some will mutter sour grapes. Some will buy it just because and maybe find a use for it, or not. I have zero use for the APP because I already have those processes covered very well with real reloading presses that are sturdy and fast. For the next guy, it might be the cat's pajamas. It takes all kinds to make a world.

 

[Dimner]

The APP has been a game changer in my reloading setup.

I think those who are not seeing any use for it may have numerous reloading presses and have a tried and true workflow that has worked for them for years.

However, when I purchased it, I had the lee single stage and the lee classic turret. My workflow was agonizingly slow for brass prep.

The APP was able to change the game for me in feeding brass to my decapping die, primer pocket swage, and sizing operations. for the price of about $125

Some will say that why do you need to process so much brass? Do you even aim at targets? The answer is CMP format High Power shooting. Multiple rifles and I can shoot anywhere between 100 and 150 rounds an evening once a week. More if I practice on my own another day during the week. There are plenty of other shooting formats that go through even more rounds than that in a day.

If I only needed to load a hundred rounds for the whole season, I'd be fine. But the season is 16 weeks long.

So to each his own. But I don't see a better 125 dollar option for processing a bunch of brass. It's not a standalone system, it's a system that can speed up your reloading workflow with little investment.