Kit or Seperately?

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kolkim

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First time reloader, decided on my press. I will be going with the Lee Classic Turret Press.
Will be reloading .270 and 12 guage, maybe slugs and shots.

Couple questions, first is should I get the turret press itself for roughly $180 shipped and buy other pieces seperately, or the kit at $300 shipped.
I heard that the powder measure isn't big enough for 30-06 rounds, is it big enough for .270 rounds?
Can this press reload shotgun shells? (Can most kits that load rifle cartridges load shotgun shells?)
 
do yourself a favour and buy a single stage press to start.....slow and steady until you get the swing of things. there can be alot goin on in a turret press for a new reloader.
NO you cannot load rifle and shot with a Lee press.
get ahold of Henry from Budget Shooter and he'll help steer you in the right direction, he always has time to "help" new reloaders and his prices are excellent. He's in Surrey and he's a CGN site sponsor.
cheers and make sure you READ a ton before you RELOAD.
 
tungngroove2000 said:
do yourself a favour and buy a single stage press to start.....slow and steady until you get the swing of things. there can be alot goin on in a turret press for a new reloader.
NO you cannot load rifle and shot with a Lee press.
get ahold of Henry from Budget Shooter and he'll help steer you in the right direction, he always has time to "help" new reloaders and his prices are excellent. He's in Surrey and he's a CGN site sponsor.
cheers and make sure you READ a ton before you RELOAD.
Click to expand...

Do you mean I cannot load Rifle And Shot with a single press or I cannot load rifle or shot?
I will check him out
 
I bought the kit, unfortunately, for reloading .308Win. The only thing I use now is the Press and the Case Prep Tools. The scale is a pain in the a$$ to use. I purchased a Frankfort Arsenal DS-750 Digital Scale instead; decreased my time. However, I'm reloading for consistency! The Disc Reloader that comes with the kit is fine if you're not interested in super consistent loads. Personally, I would buy the following:

1 - Classic Turrent Press

2 - A set of dies; Neck sizing if you're loading ammunition for ONE specific rifle. Full Case length with crimp if sizing for more than one rifle in a single calibre. And case lube.

3 - A quality digital scale; sensitive to 0.1grains.

4 - A digital vernier caliper is also a good idea.

Then the little things; dribbler, shell holder for powder filling, etc.

Note* Dismantle and clean your sizing dies to remove the factory grease. Re-oil your dies with a good quality gun oil. The dies will operate more smoothly this way. This does not negate the fact that you MUST lube cases for "Full Length Sizing". Neck sizing DOES NOT require case lube. I also recommend doing the same with the ram on the Press. My Press squawked like mad until I cleaned and oiled it.

Hope this helps!
Gandhi
 
I agree with the READING! First thing I was given was the Lee Reloading Handbook! You CANNOT reload rifle and shot on the same press. Shot press is a different rig altogether.
@tungngroove2000; I'm a firsty. I bought the Lee Turret press and found it to be a great choice. Mostly because I set my sizing die and bullet seater and I never have to touch them again. I just remove the turret and drop in another one if I'm reloading a different caliber. All I did was remove the index rod so I can size all my cases, then fill by hand, and seat the bullets all in groups rather than one at a time....if you know what I mean.

Gandhi
 
Thanks Gandhi, that actually does help. I think I might just get the press and parts seperately. I'm wondering if jewlery scales that goes in 0.01 grams will work instead of grain scales if you convert it.

I read that the primer that comes with the kit is really good. do you find that to be true?
 
kolkim said:
Thanks Gandhi, that actually does help. I think I might just get the press and parts seperately. I'm wondering if jewlery scales that goes in 0.01 grams will work instead of grain scales if you convert it.
Click to expand...
I would recommend against doing conversions for something as important as weighing powder. Mistakes could cause injury or death. I got my DS-750 for $45Can at International Shooting Supply. I would go that route.

Regards,
Gandhi
 
Actually, if I were to get the Turret Kit, what extra dies do I have to buy?
Would this one Die set which includes "an expander die, a sizer die with expander/decapping unit and a bullet-seater die with roll or taper crimp, and bullet-seater plugs for seating and crimping bullets." have everything I need for one cartridge?
 
kolkim said:
Actually, if I were to get the Turret Kit, what extra dies do I have to buy?
Would this one Die set which includes "an expander die, a sizer die with expander/decapping unit and a bullet-seater die with roll or taper crimp, and bullet-seater plugs for seating and crimping bullets." have everything I need for one cartridge?
Click to expand...

If you get the lee collet dies, three die set; comes with deprimer/resizing die, bullet seating die, and factory crimp die. Those three dies are all you need!

Gandhi
 
Gandhi said:
If you get the lee collet dies, three die set; comes with deprimer/resizing die, bullet seating die, and factory crimp die. Those three dies are all you need!

Gandhi
Click to expand...

Ok so I see a Neck resizing and a full-length sizing die. The full-length sizing die is sold out for .270 in almost every store so I can only get the 2 die set but I read that you only need one not both? If that's true. I'm not sure if any of the Lee sets I am looking at comes with a factory crimp die however.
 
My friend got the hornady single stage. I played with it for an hour then bought a progressive lnl

You can go nice and slow on a progressive, you don't need to set ip all the balls and whistles. Think if it this way. First gear is a good gear to learn to drive. But if you learn and need to drive fast it's nice to have 4 more speeds instead of having to buy a new car.

Yes a lot goes on in a progressive, ,but you can prime manually if you want first, measure powder manually onto a scale and dump into the case and use the press just to resize and press the bullet in until you get comfortable
 
I didn't like the Lee presses at all. I found they felt sloppy. I'm German, so I like everything tight and smooth. (Insert joke about girls here) I liked the Lyman turret press much better as it felt more precise. Sometimes, the kit is nice to have, but you wind up getting rid of a bunch of stuff in it like I did.
Digital scales are good. Make sure to check them periodically with the check weights. I find a balance beam scale to be a PITA, esp the cheaper ones. The groves in the balance weights don't seem to line up with the numbers very well, so you wind up having to count stuff off. That drives my German personality nuts. lol
I didn't like the Lymann case trimmer that came with my kit. It was making horribly inaccurate lengths of cases, so I sold it, and got lee trimmer pilots and a cutter that I chuck up in my lathe. Works like a dream really. I can do over 100 cases in an hour while feeling quite relaxed, and not having extra blisters on my hands. :)
All my current rifles are bolt actions. I can get a lot more times of firing a case if I use a lee collett neck sizing die till the case becomes hard feeding, then I full length resize. I do like lee dies. This however is not to be done in semi or full autos, pumps, levers, etc. And just from my experience, buy the separate crimp die. Do not use the roll crimp feature in the seating die. PITA to set.
Get a loading block. the thing that you set the cases in to fill them, etc. Always check to see if powder is in the case before seating the bullet. Get a bullet pullet. An inertia type one works well for me. A set of digital calipers is handy, and almost any type that will measure 6" will work. Make sure you have a set of case neck brushes. I use nitro solvent and a cheap set of steel brushes to do the outside of the case neck, and a case neck brush with a bit of nitro solvent to clean the inside of the neck. I let the nitro solvent on my hands be the case lubricant. Then I size the case, and after, I Use a q-tip with rubbing alcohol to clean out the inside of the case neck and a piece of scrap cloth with the same to clean the outside of the case. Also, a blade screwdriver that's slightly smaller than the primer pocket is used to clean out the crud after depriming.
Once you get used to the routine of doing the case prep, you can watch tv while doing it. ;) Never do your reloading while distracted though... Good way to make a mistake.
Also, most die sets don't come with a shellholder, but there are only 11 different shellholder sizes that I'm aware of. A set of all the different shellholder sizes can be bought cheaply enough.

Hope this helps.
 
amosfella said:
I didn't like the Lee presses at all. I found they felt sloppy. I'm German, so I like everything tight and smooth. (Insert joke about girls here) I liked the Lyman turret press much better as it felt more precise. Sometimes, the kit is nice to have, but you wind up getting rid of a bunch of stuff in it like I did.
Digital scales are good. Make sure to check them periodically with the check weights. I find a balance beam scale to be a PITA, esp the cheaper ones. The groves in the balance weights don't seem to line up with the numbers very well, so you wind up having to count stuff off. That drives my German personality nuts. lol
I didn't like the Lymann case trimmer that came with my kit. It was making horribly inaccurate lengths of cases, so I sold it, and got lee trimmer pilots and a cutter that I chuck up in my lathe. Works like a dream really. I can do over 100 cases in an hour while feeling quite relaxed, and not having extra blisters on my hands. :)
All my current rifles are bolt actions. I can get a lot more times of firing a case if I use a lee collett neck sizing die till the case becomes hard feeding, then I full length resize. I do like lee dies. This however is not to be done in semi or full autos, pumps, levers, etc. And just from my experience, buy the separate crimp die. Do not use the roll crimp feature in the seating die. PITA to set.
Get a loading block. the thing that you set the cases in to fill them, etc. Always check to see if powder is in the case before seating the bullet. Get a bullet pullet. An inertia type one works well for me. A set of digital calipers is handy, and almost any type that will measure 6" will work. Make sure you have a set of case neck brushes. I use nitro solvent and a cheap set of steel brushes to do the outside of the case neck, and a case neck brush with a bit of nitro solvent to clean the inside of the neck. I let the nitro solvent on my hands be the case lubricant. Then I size the case, and after, I Use a q-tip with rubbing alcohol to clean out the inside of the case neck and a piece of scrap cloth with the same to clean the outside of the case. Also, a blade screwdriver that's slightly smaller than the primer pocket is used to clean out the crud after depriming.
Once you get used to the routine of doing the case prep, you can watch tv while doing it. ;) Never do your reloading while distracted though... Good way to make a mistake.
Also, most die sets don't come with a shellholder, but there are only 11 different shellholder sizes that I'm aware of. A set of all the different shellholder sizes can be bought cheaply enough.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

ok so for maximum longevity I should get a crimp, and a full length resize dye.
 
re: kit or separately;

Whichever you like. You'll need all the bits eventually.

I did run a little while before a got a trimmer, but I did jump on a cheaper CT caliper when I saw one advertised.

I happened to find some good deals and have a couple of single stage presses set up, powder measure, 5-0-5 scale, Lee and RCBS trimmers bla bla bla for all under 350$. And get the loading blocks. Two of them.

I like the inherent solidity of a single stage. Sure takes time tho.
 
Coming from someone who went single stage to turret, I just bought another single stage to replace the turret. Did not like it, it's a good idea but a bad compromise overall. Single stage or progressive, a turret is the hummer truck/avalanche/ridgeline of the reloading world, sounds good until you need it to to something well. It's also a lot easier to make mistakes in powder with the turret.

Also not a huge fan of the powder drop, I had to settle on running it at half weight twice through to get what I needed. Not much of a time saver.
 
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