Lee Classic Turret Press

[Totosdad]

Thinking of A Lee Classic Turret Press, would appreciate any pro's and con's.

Thanks

 

[std7mag]

The 4 hole is still my go to press.
Gotta love 10 second turret swap to change cartridges.
Load everything from 380Auto through 7mm Rem Mag.

 

[milboltnut]

IDK man, Lee doesn't take care of thier customers. Once the 2 year warranty is up GOOOOD luck.

 

[Islanderflyer]

I like mine. It gets used a bunch for smaller runs. Sitting between my 550c and Rockchucker, it has a place on my bench.

 

[Patriot007]

I know the Lee 4 hole turret press very well. The one my FIL started me out on over 20 yrs ago loading 45acp. It is still producing over 500 rounds a month in 45acp and 9mm. He hasn't killed it off yet and no problems to talk about, unless we made the error. I load all of my pistol (45acp/9mm) on a Lee LoadMaster and couldn't be happier, unless someone gave me a Dillon 1050 with all the trimmings.

 

[milboltnut]

do they still use the index washer made of plastic?

 

[Downeast]

I've used one for over 40 years. I gave my old one to a neighbor getting started in reloading and bought a brand new one for I think under $200. I use mine manually and work all of my brass in steps...sizing and decapping, then bullet seating. I've loaded thousands of rounds from 22-250 to 338.

I've looked at the Lyman and Redding turret presses but for the cost of getting started with those I could buy two more Lee's and just put them away for future use. I'm figuring at this rate I would wear them out in about 150 years.

 

[SSL]

Thinking of A Lee Classic Turret Press, would appreciate any pro's and con's.

Thanks

I still have one of the early ones stashed under my bench. Only real problem I ever had with it is getting the auto-index feature to work after awhile. Got replacement washers and still no go. Finally just indexed it by hand. Worked great for me for years until I went back to a Classic for rifle loads and Pro 1000s for handguns simply because of the amount I loaded and shot. I still use two of the Pro 1000s set up permanently for 9mm and .38 Special and now a LoadMaster for .45 ACP, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt. Only two shell plates to worry about, same primer sizes and three tool heads for easy changes. Hard to beat.

 

[Patriot007]

I've used one for over 40 years. I gave my old one away to a neighbor getting started in reloading and bought a brand new one for I think under $200. I use mine manually and work all of my brass in steps...sizing and decapping, then bullet seating. I've loaded thousands of rounds from 22-250 to 338.

I've looked at the Lyman and Redding turret presses but for the cost of getting started with those I could buy two more Lee's and just put them away for future use. I'm figuring at this rate I would wear them out in about 150 years.

I know, right. The one my FIL is still using, is older than a lot of Reloaders on this forum.

 

[Cemetery21]

Never had an issue with the auto-index on mine. Got extra plastic squares, but have never needed one (yet). I don't shoot enough pistol for a progressive, but I do load many calibers. So, the 10 second caliber change is the best pro for me. I rarely load more than 100-150 of one caliber at a time, but I might load 3 calibers at a sitting. Economical to set up each caliber with its own powder measure. I added a roller handle and a sewing machine light. Fortunately, the primer feed on mine works great. I hear some don't. I did have to carefully align it and take care it didn't move when tightening the bolt.

 

[JimSC]

I like mine because I can have a turret set up for every cartridge I load. I use mine just like a single stage, I prime and throw my powders off press.. The 10 second cartridge changeouts and turrets are less than $15 are the big draws for me. My Rockchucker just gathers dust under the bench

 

[baddog]

I used a Lee 3 hole turret press for many years , converted it to a 4 hole to use now as a back up when I picked up Lee's 4 hole classic which is now my main press . Like the classic the best but have not had any problems with either one . Mainly use them manually . Love the ability to change over fast and easy . I don't hesitate on buying Lee products but I also use all the main brands . Sometime it just comes down to what's available when you need something .

 

[milboltnut]

I was off Lee for a quite awhile, until I got interested in the bench primer. I had to modify the primer tray and shell holder. I took off the flow/lock tab (filled with JB) to allow primers to flow with a light tap occasionally, and drilled and tapped on either side of shell holder with set screws to prevent shell holder for spinning. Unfortunately it didn't help from not perfectly swaging military primer pockets. My RCBS bench primer over comes that little extra push. Lee is cheap, and you get what you pay for. Lee primer is 40 bucks. Lee doesn't take feedback very well.

 

[AWS]

I have two of them on my bench after nearly 60 yrs of reloading it works best for me and a Lyman Crusher for heavy case forming. A little Lee C press for bullet pulling, and a old Lyman Jr. turret converted to 7/8x14 head set up with Lee quick trim bodies, keeps the shavings off the working presses.

 

[tominboise]

I like mine because I can have a turret set up for every cartridge I load. I use mine just like a single stage, I prime and throw my powders off press.. The 10 second cartridge changeouts and turrets are less than $15 are the big draws for me. My Rockchucker just gathers dust under the bench

Matches my experience. Not screwing dies in and out is a true luxury....My turret rack:

 

[JimSC]

Matches my experience. Not screwing dies in and out is a true luxury....My turret rack:

nice, been meaning to make one of those

 

[Scrumbag]

I don't use mine in any "auto" way, just use it to quickly change between turrets.

I load mainly bottle neck rounds on it but also 44 mag. Even thenI tend to charge, seat and crimp in batched rather than several stages per round

 

[tominboise]

I don't use mine in any "auto" way, just use it to quickly change between turrets.

I load mainly bottle neck rounds on it but also 44 mag. Even thenI tend to charge, seat and crimp in batched rather than several stages per round

Same here - use it as a batch type single stage. Although when I load handgun rounds (not often, as I have a Dillon for that), I will resize, index one die by hand and then bell the case. Then index back one hole and do the next case, etc. All manually. Same with seating and crimping. Seat the bullet, index one hole and crimp, then back and repeat. I removed the auto index feature and put it in a drawer when I bought it.

 

[Cemetery21]

The index rod is one of the plus features for me. I batch loaded on a single stage for over 30 years and was okay with that. I still do for most rifle. But for pistol, handle the brass one time and crank four times - bingo!
Yes, progressive would be one for each crank, but I'm satisfied for now.

 

[Stud Duck]

How many of you guys are using the Lee Turret to FL size big, long action cartridges like the 7mm Mag or 300 Win Mag? Is this press capable of the task?