Any reason I shouldn't get the Lee Classic Turret?

L

llcwalsh

Member
Rating - 100%
18   0   0
Location
Central Ontario
Hey folks!

I'm planning on getting into reloading as a hobby and as a money saver for ammo.... Eventually. Is there any reason I should be looking at another press than the LCT? It seems to be fairly intuitive, fast and well priced? I do intend to get a single stage at some point for dialing and higher accuracy stuff. For now I'll be reloading 9mm, .40, and .223 for an AR.

Someday I'll get a proper progressive so please no Dillon talk.

Any time and money saving tips would be sweet.

Thanks,

Walsh
 
What is your shooting volume per month? The lee turret is a popular press and seems capable of producing a decent amount of ammo. I don't personally have one but always kick around the idea of one.

Are you only undecided on your press? Do you already know all the other items you will need to reload those calibers?
 
I have the classic cast turret. I would opt for the classic cast as opposed to the aluminium one. Main reason is the classic cast is more rigid and the primers go into a drop tube. The aluminium ram is smaller and the primers drop on the floor.
 
I have the Lee Classic as well for the same reason Sherlock mentioned. A great press, you can't go wrong for all around reloading.
 
llcwalsh said:
Hey folks!

I'm planning on getting into reloading as a hobby and as a money saver for ammo.... Eventually. Is there any reason I should be looking at another press than the LCT? It seems to be fairly intuitive, fast and well priced? I do intend to get a single stage at some point for dialing and higher accuracy stuff. For now I'll be reloading 9mm, .40, and .223 for an AR.


Someday I'll get a proper progressive so please no Dillon talk.

Any time and money saving tips would be sweet.

Thanks,

Walsh
Click to expand...


Maybe you have heard this , or maybe not. Lol. I said the exact same thing as you just said. " I'll start reloading as a hobby and to save money on ammo." Well I said that to someone else. He laughed and said you won't save any money, if anything you can just shoot more then you did when you bought pre rolled. Lol
All fun a side .
I started out with a single stage hornady classic O press. Just for the simple fact you can do everything on it. That's what I would recommend . But you need to ask a yourself a few questions.
What is my volume required monthly
What is my precision req
What all caliber a do I own. Can everyone one of my cal go on a LCT press
What all does the LCT come with.
Does it require she'll plates, can I get them?
If you are really set on the lct I agree with Sherlock go with cast.

Mind you I cannot remember a 100% what comes with LCT
But I can say stay away from any rcbs piggy back reloading system. Not the best!
 
hillbillywilly85 said:
Maybe you have heard this , or maybe not. Lol. I said the exact same thing as you just said. " I'll start reloading as a hobby and to save money on ammo." Well I said that to someone else. He laughed and said you won't save any money, if anything you can just shoot more then you did when you bought pre rolled. Lol
All fun a side .
I started out with a single stage hornady classic O press. Just for the simple fact you can do everything on it. That's what I would recommend . But you need to ask a yourself a few questions.
What is my volume required monthly
What is my precision req
What all caliber a do I own. Can everyone one of my cal go on a LCT press
What all does the LCT come with.
Does it require she'll plates, can I get them?
If you are really set on the lct I agree with Sherlock go with cast.

Mind you I cannot remember a 100% what comes with LCT
But I can say stay away from any rcbs piggy back reloading system. Not the best!
Click to expand...

I would ignore this suggestion for a single stage. Assuming you are feeding semi autos, the turret press you are leaning towards will provide adequate accuracy but also a production rate that will keep you from pulling your hair out. I think the index rod can be removed for true single stage function
 
Yes, the Classic Cast Turret is excellent. I could never, ever go back to a single stage press. Buy enough of the 4 hole turrets to have one for each caliber you reload for (and maybe a few spares for future ones) and you can adjust your dies once, and leave them. Saves huge amounts of time. I use mine with a RCBS Charge master dispenser/scale. By the time I reach the turret hole to add powder, the dispenser has I weighed and ready. No waiting.
 
llcwalsh said:
Any time and money saving tips would be sweet.
Click to expand...

Why not save up and buy a good (perhaps used) progressive?
This will for sure save time reloading.
Initial investment is higher of course but if you can find a decent used press your depreciation will be pretty much zero.
In the long run you will likely be happier.

my $0.02

ps.
I bought a used Hornady progressive and it has lifetime warranty even though it's probably 15 to 20 years old.
Had two damaged parts when I bought it and one email to the manufacturer and they mailed the parts out free of charge.
 
Sherlock Gnomes said:
I have the classic cast turret. I would opt for the classic cast as opposed to the aluminium one. Main reason is the classic cast is more rigid and the primers go into a drop tube. The aluminium ram is smaller and the primers drop on the floor.
Click to expand...

Yeap, 1000% agreed. I love my Classic Turret, just makes reloading easier. Add in the swappable turret plates and set-up is a one time deal for the most part :D
 
I am new to reloading. Got a classic turret press, just did my first 2 batches. So far so good. The scale sucks, but otherwise, its a great kit. The price is right and if you decide its not for you, you wont be out a ton of cash. The manual costs 40$....So since its included, its an even better deal. Go for it.
 
Thanks gents. The single stage argument is negated by the turret's ability to to be manually indexed. If I get into precision long range shooting down the road I'll just get a co-ax.

Thanks for the insights fellas. I'm feeling good about the turret press.
 
The issue I have with progressive press is loading 223.
9mm and 40 cal could not be easier. Just stick in the brass and start cranking out rounds.
However, you will need to do some case prep with the rifle. Unless I am missing something that should be so very obvious.
I tumble my brass, then resize on a single stage. The brass then gets measured, trimmed, chamfered and deburred, and the primer pockets all get checked as well. Any left over crimp in there makes it difficult to prime, and may not even let a primer go back in if there is too much of the crimp left. Picking up you r brass at the range, you sometimes get someone elses brass in with yours.
Then is can go over to my progressive press to get primed and on its way through the reload process.
My press does not "auto index" as the one you are looking at does. I would imagine you could disable to auto index if you were to resize only, then pull the brass back out to have it resized before running it through the other stations.
 
I also have a classic cast. My first press. I wanted the ease of changing die sets. The Lee single stage you can use a quick release ring but the turret is much more versatile. I've loaded .45, .357, .223 and .308 on this. My only minor issue was it was hard to find replacement turrets locally. I bought from budget shooter for additional turrets.
 
The huge advantage is with the turret Lees is the ease of switching from calibre to calibre - it takes seconds to switch and no die resetting. Two sets of rifle dies - full length and seating - will fit in each four hole die.

Grind the stops off if you want cam over stroking.

Drill the turret holes larger so the turret can be centered more accurately than factory.
 
llcwalsh said:
Thanks gents. The single stage argument is negated by the turret's ability to to be manually indexed. If I get into precision long range shooting down the road I'll just get a co-ax.

Thanks for the insights fellas. I'm feeling good about the turret press.
Click to expand...

That's a good thought on the C0-Ax..
 
The turrent press is a solid investment. I moved from the lee single stage to the classic then ended up getting a dillon progressive. The real decision maker is the volume you really need to reload in a given time. The turret is 2-3 times faster than single stage if you use it correctly (mainly saving the handling of brass repeatedly). The progressive is another 2-3 times faster than the turret. If you have the time then a classic turret is a great investment and will increase your productivity and possibly reduce loading errors. I still use my turret for the lower volume calibers I shoot and save the dillon for the 9mm/45 and 223.
 
Closing in on 10K rounds of various calibres with my year old Lee Classic turret set up, I offer the following observations:

Get more spare turrets than you think you need as they can be hard to come by sometimes
Get some spare little plastic rod follower dohickeys as they do wear which throws off the indexing or break from over enthusiasm thus stopping the indexing altogether (X-Reload is the only place I've found them)
Keep a roll of painters masking tape handy as it is useful for all kinds of things like covering the slot in the ram where the primer lever fits when decapping and securing the lid on the powder measure
Reinforce the primer feeder guides with tape - cheesy but works great
If the primers aren't feeding into the levers properly - tweek the position of the primer feeder by rotating it a few degrees clockwise - I rarely drop a primer now
Buy the double disc kit for the Autodisc powder measure - maybe even the adjustable charge bar too - I have one but haven't used it yet
Clean the inside of the dies every so often - some brake cleaner and compressed air work fine
Get a dedicated recapping die and it's own turret - way faster for decapping and then any cleaning can clean up the primer pockets
Remove all the deapping pins from the resizing dies and keep them as spares
The RCBS primer pocket swager mostly fits but the pushing off thingy appears to require removing the indexing bits that clamp to the ram - I haven't done too much with this yet so I haven't bothered to verify that
Adjust the handle as short as comfortably possibly to reduce the amount of arm movement required - after a long session you'll understand why that matters but on big rifle cases you might need all the leverage you can get
Keep a set of dedicated tools handy or at a bare minimum a #2 phillips screwdriver, 1/2" and 3/4" combination wrenches.
Check all the bolts give it a light spritz of oil occasionally

Based on the wear that I've seen on mine compared to it's usage, I'd guess that it should be good for many more 10's of thousands rounds maybe 100's.
For my needs right now, I'm quite happy with this set up and if I ever get to the point of making ultra precise bench rest type ammo that does require better more expensive equipment, fine so be it but this kit will have paid for itself many many times over by then and will probably still be useful to someone.

My opinion based on my direct experiences only.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom