A Turret Press that works??

t-star said:
in the loamaster and the 1000 the turret doesn't move- it's the shellholder/plate- a LOT less to go wrong
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colinjw said:
I have a Lee turret press and load 9mm & 45acp also. When I first got it I had some
problems with the turret not always lining up.
There are some very good tips in the previous posts.
1. A little oil or grease on the turret helps.
2, The square indexing ratchet can cause havoc if it is worn. I replaced mine.
3. There are numerous videos on YouTube on how to adjust the indexing.

Now mine works 100% .
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Thank you!
 
theshootist said:
The only thing I'm not super happy about is the tolerance in seating depth I get with my rifle rounds. My average is around +/- 0.003" Not sure if that makes a difference to my groups or not. I use regular Lee reloading dies.
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My guess is that this is die related. If your seating die punch pushes on the bullet tip you will get varying seating depths because bullets (especially pointed rifle bullets) are often not uniform lengths. A seater die that pushes on the bullet ogive will give much more consistent seating depths. Unless you uniform the bullets lengths (a tedious job) uneven rounds lengths are always going to occur. If you seat with an ogive style seater the bullet lengths will have very little effect on accuracy.
 
You get what you pay for in the end. There is a reason dillions cost a bunch. Simply that they work all day, everyday.

My dillon has paid for itself.
Over the lifetime of the press, what is the difference between 300$ and 900$ when you've loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds for 50x the cost of that press and the frustration (or lack of) fixing it, or resetting it up.

Same as a gun. Own it for 20years, 500$ in ammo a year and your 250einfield vs your 1700bench rifle means nothing next to ammo costs.
 
snooze98k said:
Over the lifetime of the press, what is the difference between 300$ and 900$ when you've loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds for 50x the cost of that press and the frustration (or lack of) fixing it, or resetting it up.
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1.the difference between $300 and $900 is $600. That's half the price of a decent gun so not chump change.
2. Dillons break down just like any other press and there have been many posts here relating to problems setting up Dillons.
Are Dillons excellent presses? Yes. Are they magic presses that don't have problems. No. Sometimes I really get tired of the Dillon snobbery I see on this site.
 
Building on what colinjw, theshootist and ted_dent said (all of which is great advice)
- Are you trimming your brass / measured your brass for consistency of length? It’s kind of the flip side of what ted_dent was talking about. I hate doing it as it can be tedious, but it improved my end product a lot – especially when loading SWC bullets.
- Also if you are using lead bullets with wax gas checks its necessary to clean the wax out of the seating die occasionally. I use brake clean and compressed air (be sure to use PPE – you don’t was brake clean in your eyes – don’t ask how I know)
- You may also need to adjust your sizing die down a few thousands of an inch - this also help me with avoiding crushed cases with the flow thru and seating die.
- Finally it was suggested I soak my bullets with Lee liquid Alox – specifically for the SWC – but I have found it helps with all types of pistol and revolver reloads.

Hope this helps. YMMV.
 
I had a guy at the range recommend a lyman Tmag, he only reloads riffle, I bought one a couple months ago, I mainly load for pistol, fantastic turret press, don't know about the lee, but the lymann has 6 holes in the head, I still use my old Pacific single for sizing, so that means I can put expander, seat and crimp for 2 calibers in one head. The guy that recommended it figured it would be great for 2 riffle dies and 4 pistol. So far I've only loaded 750 rounds of 9mm, but last night set up other side for 357, I bought a second head, will do that one with 45 and 223.
 
In addition to all of the other accurate advice, one thing I've found is that decisive movements of the handle up and down seem to make it index better.
If I limp wrist mine on the down stroke, sometimes the indexing is off. But with quick clean movements, it works fine. Even on .223 and .308 rifle cartridges.
 
Bobbyg00 said:
My biggest frustration is that the turret will not stay lined up. I am constantly adjusting it while holding the down rod (as suggested by LEE if the turret isn't lining up). One, maybe two rounds and it's out of line again. Crushing brass on the edges of my powder thru and resizing dies. Huge disappointment. Sounds like there are some good experiences out there. I load 9 and 45 on it. Sucks on both calibres.
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Sounds like your guide rod bushing is worn out. I had the same problem and it was solved by replacing it with a new one. Got the part from Higginson Powder for about $7 plus shipping. Bought 3 just in case. Also try cleaning your dies with a good gun cleaner and let them dry thoroughly. Should help with the case crushing.
 
snooze98k said:
You get what you pay for in the end. There is a reason dillions cost a bunch. Simply that they work all day, everyday.

My dillon has paid for itself.
Over the lifetime of the press, what is the difference between 300$ and 900$ when you've loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds for 50x the cost of that press and the frustration (or lack of) fixing it, or resetting it up.

Same as a gun. Own it for 20years, 500$ in ammo a year and your 250einfield vs your 1700bench rifle means nothing next to ammo costs.
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True, to some people $600 isn't a big deal, to others it is. But the costs for other extras can increase the cost difference quite a bit more. For instance, since I load for about 30 different calibers, I bought an additional turret for each caliber, so as to not have to remove dies etc. A Lee turret is about $18, whereas a dillon tool head is $65, for a difference of $47 for each caliber. $47 x 30 calibers is another $1410 difference, plus you would need a variety of extra dillon shell holder plates at $90 each.
Dillon case collator is $500 ish, Lee is $18. Lee bullet feeder is $45, Dillon significantly more. Etc, Etc.
Time to change calibers on a turret press is under a minute, significantly more on a dillon. Time to refill primers on a Lee, 60 seconds, significantly more on a dillon
Point being is every system has its strengths and weaknesses. And a lot of which system will provide the best value, often depends on what type of loading you do.
So it's really just a matter of finding the press best for your situation. But no need to be critical of others choices. And sometimes the snobbery can have the effect of keeping a prospective new reloader from giving reloading a try if they don't have deep pockets.
 
Gents I have only owned a Dillon 650 as a progressive press, can I rave about it hell yeah. But I will also rant about it, every press has its good and bad. I got mine second hand for a sweet price and could not pass it up. Wth the amount I reloaded in the last year the press paid for itself twice. So ya I can rave that it will d 900rds of 9mm an hr when working flawlessly, but I will also rant when I takes me 3hrs to get 900 x 9mm done because of a sticky spring, a stuck detent ball, or a lil by of powder clogging up the casing guide rail. No snobbery here, I just lucked out with a good price.

Any press that works properly is a good press.
 
I got a Dillon 550 brand new about 10 years ago $500$ at the time and I have had onlu minor problems and loaded about 30k rnds rifle and pistol I love it spend the extra $ you will have it for life
 
contact148 said:
I got a Dillon 550 brand new about 10 years ago $500$ at the time and I have had onlu minor problems and loaded about 30k rnds rifle and pistol I love it spend the extra $ you will have it for life
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I bought two new Loadmasters for $140 ea. 20 years ago. Still have them both, still crank out good ammo nearly every week. I haven't spent $75 on parts in all that time. Hard to argue with that.
 
This...

I have a Lee Classic cast turret as well.

You need to have a full up and down Stoke on a lee turret press.

If you push up the handle half way, and decide to pull down the lever, it can screw up the indexing.

I load .357mag, .45acp, 223, 308, and 30-06 on it and works great. I recently got the large rifle powder through die and it is an excellent addition as I will soon couple it with the Lee autodrum.

dirtybarry said:
In addition to all of the other accurate advice, one thing I've found is that decisive movements of the handle up and down seem to make it index better.
If I limp wrist mine on the down stroke, sometimes the indexing is off. But with quick clean movements, it works fine. Even on .223 and .308 rifle cartridges.
Click to expand...
 
ted_dent said:
I bought two new Loadmasters for $140 ea. 20 years ago. Still have them both, still crank out good ammo nearly every week. I haven't spent $75 on parts in all that time. Hard to argue with that.
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Yes, I always wonder when I hear people say that Lee presses will just wear out, or always need parts. I've owned my Lee Turret for about 10 years, and a Pro 1000 progressive for about 8 years that does most my 9mm, 38, 45acp, and 45 colt. During that time I've spent a total of $4 in parts between the two presses.
 
Fargone4sure said:
Yes, I always wonder when I hear people say that Lee presses will just wear out, or always need parts. I've owned my Lee Turret for about 10 years, and a Pro 1000 progressive for about 8 years that does most my 9mm, 38, 45acp, and 45 colt. During that time I've spent a total of $4 in parts between the two presses.
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And if you email lee they will likely send you the parts free!
 
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