Finally received my long-awaited Lee Classic Turret press yesterday. Previously had been using RCBS Rock Chucker and RS2 presses for rifle and single-stage pistol loading. Then acquired a used Lee Pro 1000 progressive press for loading .32 S&W Long loads for ISSF Centrefire pistol event. The Pro1000 didn't meet my personal requirements since I had two double-charges within the first 50 rounds I loaded with it. So it was back to single stage loading, slow as it is.
The Lee Classic Turret press seemed like the best compromise between single stage control/precision and progressive speed. When I removed the press from its box my first thought was "wow, that's a lot of metal!" Of course it didn't help that the postman had left it on the front step at -20degreesC, so it was a lot of very COLD metal! ;-)
The press was very quickly set up on the bench, but installing the Safety-Prime accessory wasn't so fast as no instructions specific to the Classic Turret press came with it. Yes, this is classic Lee style - poor documentation is the norm. For those who are going this route, the stackup of components that I used placed the Safety Prime plastic bracket under the bolt head/washer but above the 1/4" "thick washer" spacer. This seems to work just fine. Once installed it didn't take very long to fine-tune for 100% reliable priming.
Installing the dies was a no-brainer - took about 15 minutes to set up for the first calibre, and about 10 minutes to set up for the second calibre in a spare turret. Dies used are Lee Deluxe 4-die set. A riser was installed on the shaft of the Auto Disk Pro powder measure to ensure clearance between primer tray and powder measure. Once the dies are set up in the turrets calibre change can be done in less than a minute without tools - just change the turret and shell holder. (I've cheated by re-using the auto-disk that came with the Pro1000, in addition to the auto-disk pro that I had purchased separately, meaning I have two turrets set up complete with powder measure - this really makes calibre changes fast.)
Initial loading was done using .38SPL target loads with 148gr cast wadcutters. It took a few rounds through the press before I worked out a rhythm - one needs to develop a system of movement that works for you. Once established, loading moves ahead and a pretty fast clip. By the end of the evening I was getting pretty tired but still cranked out 50 .32 wadcutter rounds in 15 minutes. This was done without hurrying, just working at a consistent pace. I'm pretty uncoordinated so I have to always concentrate on what I'm doing, irrespective of the press I'm using. The Lee turret press doesn't require any more or less concentration to operate than is required by a single stage press.
I haven't been able to test any of these loads at the range yet, but by measuring them with vernier caliper, micrometer and runout gauge I haven't been able to measure any difference between the cartridges loaded on the Classic Turret press and those loaded on the Rockchucker. One thing's for certain, the operator of the turret press is able to feel every operation and quickly determine if a particular action is encountering difficulties. My gut feel is this will inevitably lead to more consistant and accurate ammo than one might expect from a progressive, with not a huge sacrifice in output speed.
As an initial evaluation, I'm highly impressed with the Lee Classic Turret press. A little more experience with the press and some time at the range will tell whether this observation holds true in the long run.
The Lee Classic Turret press seemed like the best compromise between single stage control/precision and progressive speed. When I removed the press from its box my first thought was "wow, that's a lot of metal!" Of course it didn't help that the postman had left it on the front step at -20degreesC, so it was a lot of very COLD metal! ;-)
The press was very quickly set up on the bench, but installing the Safety-Prime accessory wasn't so fast as no instructions specific to the Classic Turret press came with it. Yes, this is classic Lee style - poor documentation is the norm. For those who are going this route, the stackup of components that I used placed the Safety Prime plastic bracket under the bolt head/washer but above the 1/4" "thick washer" spacer. This seems to work just fine. Once installed it didn't take very long to fine-tune for 100% reliable priming.
Installing the dies was a no-brainer - took about 15 minutes to set up for the first calibre, and about 10 minutes to set up for the second calibre in a spare turret. Dies used are Lee Deluxe 4-die set. A riser was installed on the shaft of the Auto Disk Pro powder measure to ensure clearance between primer tray and powder measure. Once the dies are set up in the turrets calibre change can be done in less than a minute without tools - just change the turret and shell holder. (I've cheated by re-using the auto-disk that came with the Pro1000, in addition to the auto-disk pro that I had purchased separately, meaning I have two turrets set up complete with powder measure - this really makes calibre changes fast.)
Initial loading was done using .38SPL target loads with 148gr cast wadcutters. It took a few rounds through the press before I worked out a rhythm - one needs to develop a system of movement that works for you. Once established, loading moves ahead and a pretty fast clip. By the end of the evening I was getting pretty tired but still cranked out 50 .32 wadcutter rounds in 15 minutes. This was done without hurrying, just working at a consistent pace. I'm pretty uncoordinated so I have to always concentrate on what I'm doing, irrespective of the press I'm using. The Lee turret press doesn't require any more or less concentration to operate than is required by a single stage press.
I haven't been able to test any of these loads at the range yet, but by measuring them with vernier caliper, micrometer and runout gauge I haven't been able to measure any difference between the cartridges loaded on the Classic Turret press and those loaded on the Rockchucker. One thing's for certain, the operator of the turret press is able to feel every operation and quickly determine if a particular action is encountering difficulties. My gut feel is this will inevitably lead to more consistant and accurate ammo than one might expect from a progressive, with not a huge sacrifice in output speed.
As an initial evaluation, I'm highly impressed with the Lee Classic Turret press. A little more experience with the press and some time at the range will tell whether this observation holds true in the long run.
