Lee Pro 1000 vs Lee Classic Turret

[kimbrel425@yahoo.com]

I think I have narrowed it down to one or the other. What are your thoughts on one over the other. I like how the Pro 1000 is a "1 pull, 1 round" system. Has anyone had experience with both of these units?

[Fordtrucks]

LCT 10,000%. Just more versitile, and much less finicky! Unless u shoot a ton the LCT will produce enough ammo to sustain ur habbit no problem.

[shoebox56]

Buy both. (Seriously)

[bigbossman]

If you're going to load pistol rounds, buy the Pro 1000. You'll get piles of good ammo tout suite, and you'll spend more time shooting and less time reloading.

[kimbrel425@yahoo.com]

Mostly 9mm, .40 and .223

[rm1911]

Lee Pro 1000 vs Lee Classic Turret

Mostly 9mm, .40 and .223

For handgun buy the dillon square deal b. Nothing even comes close to it. I've had mine for 20+ years. It just works. Period. And it shoots out match quality ammo in the 1000's and 1000's and 1000's.

Sure, it has proprietary dies. And yes changing primer sizes takes a little longer than Mike advertises. But there's nothing like it for handgun rounds. Don't waste your time or money on other presses.

As for rifle, I've been loading on a single stage for 25 years. I really want to get a turret press for my garand.

[ricksOe]

LCT The best choice of the 2.

[Enfield47]

As for rifle, I've been loading on a single stage for 25 years. I really want to get a turret press for my garand.

I use the Lee Classic Cast Turret and it work great for all my pistol and rifle rounds. The only thing is that .30-06 cases are so tall that you have to use the turret in single stage mode. I have been able to load 7.5x55 Swiss in auto indexing mode but that is about the maximum size case you can do. I haven't tried .303 British in auto index mode yet but since I only neck size the cases they may be too fat to fit into the rifle charging die.

OP get the Lee Classic Cast Turret. It's a great little press and changing out different calibers with the turret heads takes just a few seconds. Unless you need large volumes of rounds produced at a time, the turret press will serve you well.

[5akman]

I had the Lee value turret and could do close to 300 rounds of 9mm an hour. I now use a Loadmaster and I'm around 400 rounds per hour. You can't go wrong with the Classic/Value turret press!

[kmullins]

The Lee Classic Turret press is awesome. Super simple to change cartridges and versatile for rifle and pistol. I can crank out 200 rounds an hour without trying too hard. Nowhere near a progressive press in terms of production but still effective. The Lee priming system works great as does the charging system. I can throw within .2 grain accuracy no problem.

I think the Lee Classic Turret Press Kit is the best value in reloading setups!

[kimbrel425@yahoo.com]

The load master looks pretty sweet as well

[ap1040]

Another one for the Lee Classic Turret. It's less expensive than the Pro 1000 and even if/when you get a progressive press, the LCT is still very useful for small batches, making new test rounds, or need a singe stage.

[Cowboy T]

I have both on my bench. Indeed, I have free videos on both of them (tips 'n' tricks) if you want to see them in action. Check my sig.

Here's my personal verdict on both of them. Sorry, I got a little long-winded here, so prepare thyself.

The LCTP is a great all-around press. If I were allowed to have only one press, this would be it. It will load anything from .25 ACP all the way to .460 Weatherby Magnum and not complain. It's dead-nuts reliable and very user-friendly. It is my cameralady's favorite press for this reason.

The LCTP will give you, real-world, about 140 rounds/hour, and that's measured over the full 60 minutes, not just 5-10 minutes and multiplied by 12 or 6 (that's cheating ). I can do this regularly with .45 ACP or any other round. This requires knowing a trick or two, among them knowing *how* and *when* to short-stroke the press. Just pulling the handle will get you 100-120 rounds/hour of terrific ammo. But there's no way the LCTP will *EVER* equal the output level of *any* progressive press. Ever. So, if volume output is a major consideration, the LCTP is OK, but progressives are better.

The Pro 1000 is an ammo-makin' machine. I can regularly churn out 375 rounds/hour of .38/357, or just over 300 rounds/hour of either .44 Spl/Mag or .45 Colt. Again, measured over the full 60 minutes, including refilling the powder hopper, primer tray, and case feeder tubes. For handgun rounds, it's one of the best values going. It'll even do shorter rifle cartridges like .223 Rem or 7.62x39 Soviet. You have to remove the auto-indexing rod to do it, but it will even do .308 Winchester.

The Pro 1000 also takes a little getting used to. You've got to learn the press's quirks, and there are some. This is true of *any* progressive press, though; they all have their quirks that you've got to learn. In the case of the Pro 1000, it's primarily two things:

1.) knowing when to pause before finishing the stroke, and
2.) paying attention to the primer system and keeping it clean.

Don't *EVER* start with a Pro 1000 as your first press. And I say that as someone who loves Pro 1000's and owns two of them. Rather, start single-stage, or alternately, with the LCTP. *Then* go with the Pro 1000 once you know what you're doing.

Also, if you're thinking of longer rifle rounds like .30-06 or longer, forget it. Not gonna happen on a Pro 1000. Same with 7.62x54R (no shellplate available). That's what the LCTP's for.

The beauty of both the LCTP and Pro 1000 is that they're both very affordable. You can have both on your bench, as I do. And I use both types, depending on the situation. Heck, my $30 cheapie single stage still sees a whole lot of use (cast boolit sizing, initial load development).

[bigbossman]

Don't *EVER* start with a Pro 1000 as your first press. And I say that as someone who loves Pro 1000's and owns two of them.

As a person who started on a Pro 1000 and has two of them, I respectfully disagree.

Reloading isn't rocket science, and the Pro 1000 isn't the space shuttle. It is easy enough to set up and figure out, and it is very easy to use as a single stage press while you're enjoying your learning curve.

If you're going to reload and shoot pistol rounds, you're gonna want a progressive press if you want to shoot any volume at all. Might as well start with one - it's not that big a deal to learn on Lee 1000.

[Eljay]

re: the Turret press and .30-06 - you can use the auto index if you OAL is under some number (3.3" I think? it's from memory). Mine just clears the next die.