Lee Precision Classic Turret Press

[zapatito92]

i have been looking at a number of presses to start reloading on, and think i have made my decision. The Lee Precision Classic Turret Press seems like the right choice for all my needs. i have read the reviews and they are mostly positive. i plan on eventually reloading 9mm, 40sw, 45acp, 300 blk, 223, 762x39, and 308

keep in mind i am a beginner and will probably end up swapping out some parts or upgrading the scale but i just want something to learn on.

i was curious if any other calgunners had experience with this? would u buy again or try something else out ?

https://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision-Classic-Turret-Press/dp/B008M5TSCG/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1485446591&sr=1-5&keywords=reloading+kit

[drkphibr]

The LCT was my first and still my favorite all around press (and I have more than a few). Built like a tank, easy to use, EXTREMELY economical when considering not only the cost of the press itself, but the low cost of caliber changes, run in index or single stage mode and Lee stands behind their product with excellent (my own experience) customer service. Love the small footprint it takes on the bench for what it can do.

A couple of heads up.

1. Buy extra square ratchets (part number TF3567) as this part is meant to wear out and when it does, your indexing rod will no longer index the turret. It's a plastic component and can be found online for about $.25 cents or so. The trick to making this piece last for many thousands of rounds is to only remove the turret full of dies when the ram is up (handle all the way down) so there is no pressure on the part. Also, never force the turret to turn (forwards or backwards) by hand as that will force index rod wear against the softer plastic of the square ratchet.
2. The older (round style) Safety Primer trays would hit/tap the older style powder measures (Perfect Powder, Pro Auto disk) as the turret rotated if you didn't have the powder extenders to lift the chargers up high enough. Not sure if the newer kits now contain the newer Auto Drum Powder Measure (not as wide or bulky IMO), but I'd recommend that power drop. May not need the charging risers with that thinner power drop.

Enjoy the press and buy with confidence. There is no other press that can do what this does for the cost and the design is truly timeless IMO.

[slayer61]

The Lee classic turret was my first press and I've been very happy with it. I use it for straight walled pistol cartridges only, but for that it works very well. I load 9mm, 40, 45 and 10mm on my turret and do 357 Sig on my single stage because it is a new process for me being a shouldered round.



You might need a different powder dispensing system for the rifle rounds you mention. Lee offers a double disc kit for that situation.

Good luck and shoot well.

[zapatito92]

The LCT was my first and still my favorite all around press (and I have more than a few). Built like a tank, easy to use, EXTREMELY economical when considering not only the cost of the press itself, but the low cost of caliber changes, run in index or single stage mode and Lee stands behind their product with excellent (my own experience) customer service. Love the small footprint it takes on the bench for what it can do.

A couple of heads up.

1. Buy extra square ratchets (part number TF3567) as this part is meant to wear out and when it does, your indexing rod will no longer index the turret. It's a plastic component and can be found online for about $.25 cents or so. The trick to making this piece last for many thousands of rounds is to only remove the turret full of dies when the ram is up (handle all the way down) so there is no pressure on the part. Also, never force the turret to turn (forwards or backwards) by hand as that will force index rod wear against the softer plastic of the square ratchet.
2. The older (round style) Safety Primer trays would hit/tap the older style powder measures (Perfect Powder, Pro Auto disk) as the turret rotated if you didn't have the powder extenders to lift the chargers up high enough. Not sure if the newer kits now contain the newer Auto Drum Powder Measure (not as wide or bulky IMO), but I'd recommend that power drop. May not need the charging risers with that thinner power drop.

Enjoy the press and buy with confidence. There is no other press that can do what this does for the cost and the design is truly timeless IMO.

Thanks for the input bro, and i will be sure to order some extra square ratchets and look into the pwder drop.

[zapatito92]

The Lee classic turret was my first press and I've been very happy with it. I use it for straight walled pistol cartridges only, but for that it works very well. I load 9mm, 40, 45 and 10mm on my turret and do 357 Sig on my single stage because it is a new process for me being a shouldered round.



You might need a different powder dispensing system for the rifle rounds you mention. Lee offers a double disc kit for that situation.

Good luck and shoot well.

Yes the powder dispenser is first on my list. Im glad to hear that your press still serves you well, i will be ordering mine today and hopefully will be reloading next week.


thanks again

[dwalker]

Skip the Auto disk and go with the Auto Drum. Only way to fly...

[someoneeasy]

The kit you have linked has the auto drum, so you'll be good there.

[someoneeasy]

I have the same press, but I didn't go with the kit and pieced it together. The kit does seem like a good deal if you don't want to hassle.

As for spare parts, Lee will send you them for free, just pay for shipping. I need a few parts so I just waited and ordered them all at once to make shipping worth it.

I would order the lee universal decapping die along with extra turret heads. Also, the bench plate isn't included in that kit, in case you were wanting that.

http://leeprecision.com/parts/

If you know for sure you're not going to be using that scale or the case prep tools, you can order the press, powder measure, riser die, and primer feeder for about $180, depending on where you order from.

[Capybara]

My first press was the LCT. It is probably the best bang for the buck you can buy, excellent press with amazing value. If you get that kit, you'll want to discard that scale and buy a real scale but other than that, you will at least have the basic parts. Just beware that reloading takes lots of "things" to do conveniently and the kit you are ordering is truly just the largest parts of the puzzle.

[garyngwind]

i *just* put my lee turret into use. As Capybara said, a lot of "convenient" things adds up quickly . But still, the price is not too bad. I bought those 4-hole turret plates, one for each caliber ($12 each). Even contemplating extra auto drum per caliber but that's a bit too "nice" ($35 + riser). I even got the Harvery deprimer so I can deprime where ever i want ($55). and the Lee Bench plate is a nice thing to have to if you want to move you turret around or simply get it out of the way ($20). Got the Frankford Arsenal digital scale from amazon ($30) too. I also grabbed another reloading manual - Hornady 11th edition because the front cover is oh-so-sexy ($30 on sale at brownell); you probably will find the Lee 2nd edition manual to be lacking in load data for particular powder/bullet-style/bullet-weight, this will be especially true since you have such a broad range of caliber to reload.

A few things to remember: you should get Lee dies to work with the Lee Auto Drum, I foolishly thought all brand works and got Hornady instead.
Also, the white stuff you see inside the Auto-Drum, it's graphite lubricant, don't scrape it, like i foolish did.

have you look into cleaning solutions? (dry tumbler, wet tumbler, ultra sonic)

[stilly]

i have been looking at a number of presses to start reloading on, and think i have made my decision. The Lee Precision Classic Turret Press seems like the right choice for all my needs. i have read the reviews and they are mostly positive. i plan on eventually reloading 9mm, 40sw, 45acp, 300 blk, 223, 762x39, and 308

keep in mind i am a beginner and will probably end up swapping out some parts or upgrading the scale but i just want something to learn on.

i was curious if any other calgunners had experience with this? would u buy again or try something else out ?

https://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision...=reloading+kit

hehehe.

You will only find ONE negative thing about this press. It does NOT crank out 800+ rds per hour... Nowhere near it.

But no other turret is as fast as this one. I have one as well. My recco- SKIP the lee powder dropper though and go with a Hornady LNL dropper with case activated linkage OR get the RCBS QC Uniflow type- THAT might actually even be better. I have one now. As soon as I get case activated linkage for it I am swapping out the LNL for it.

Also, get some white lithium grease for the sides of this where the lugs are. It helps a lot with the smoothness. You are certainly on the right track just as long as you stick with THIS type and not the aluminum base Lee precision turret press. This one is flatter and nicer where the other one has an aluminum raised base and is not as good apparently. The primer hand-off function of this press is awesome, after about 30k rds through mine though I have discovered that sometimes there is a little stickiness between the primer ram and the shaft. Good to wipe them both down from time to time. Another thing too is you might want to look for a decent used single stage press. When you get into resizing rifle cases and swaging it is nice to have one of those just for the heck of it.

[zapatito92]

i *just* put my lee turret into use. As Capybara said, a lot of "convenient" things adds up quickly . But still, the price is not too bad. I bought those 4-hole turret plates, one for each caliber ($12 each). Even contemplating extra auto drum per caliber but that's a bit too "nice" ($35 + riser). I even got the Harvery deprimer so I can deprime where ever i want ($55). and the Lee Bench plate is a nice thing to have to if you want to move you turret around or simply get it out of the way ($20). Got the Frankford Arsenal digital scale from amazon ($30) too. I also grabbed another reloading manual - Hornady 11th edition because the front cover is oh-so-sexy ($30 on sale at brownell); you probably will find the Lee 2nd edition manual to be lacking in load data for particular powder/bullet-style/bullet-weight, this will be especially true since you have such a broad range of caliber to reload.

A few things to remember: you should get Lee dies to work with the Lee Auto Drum, I foolishly thought all brand works and got Hornady instead.
Also, the white stuff you see inside the Auto-Drum, it's graphite lubricant, don't scrape it, like i foolish did.

have you look into cleaning solutions? (dry tumbler, wet tumbler, ultra sonic)

thanks for the input, i was thinking of ordering a 4 hole turret everytime i get a new set of dies and i already have the lyman 50th edition. had to get it for the 300 blk round. The rest i will just buy as i go on.

as for cleaner i was thinking ultrasonic but im not sure yet. any recommendations on cleaning ?

[zapatito92]

hehehe.

You will only find ONE negative thing about this press. It does NOT crank out 800+ rds per hour... Nowhere near it.

But no other turret is as fast as this one. I have one as well. My recco- SKIP the lee powder dropper though and go with a Hornady LNL dropper with case activated linkage OR get the RCBS QC Uniflow type- THAT might actually even be better. I have one now. As soon as I get case activated linkage for it I am swapping out the LNL for it.

Also, get some white lithium grease for the sides of this where the lugs are. It helps a lot with the smoothness. You are certainly on the right track just as long as you stick with THIS type and not the aluminum base Lee precision turret press. This one is flatter and nicer where the other one has an aluminum raised base and is not as good apparently. The primer hand-off function of this press is awesome, after about 30k rds through mine though I have discovered that sometimes there is a little stickiness between the primer ram and the shaft. Good to wipe them both down from time to time. Another thing too is you might want to look for a decent used single stage press. When you get into resizing rifle cases and swaging it is nice to have one of those just for the heck of it.

haha hopefully in the future i can move on to proggresive, and i do plan on getting a nice used single stage press after i get the hang of this model.
i hadnt heard about the aluminum base model, but im glad that is not this one

thanks

[pennstater]

The Lee classic turret was my first press and I've been very happy with it. I use it for straight walled pistol cartridges only, but for that it works very well. I load 9mm, 40, 45 and 10mm on my turret and do 357 Sig on my single stage because it is a new process for me being a shouldered round.



You might need a different powder dispensing system for the rifle rounds you mention. Lee offers a double disc kit for that situation.

Good luck and shoot well.

Like your set-up '61. Simple, but, efficient. Very neat.

[Mayor]

This is a great press. Started on a SS Rockchucker which was fine. Can remove the indexing rod on the Lee and it's a Single Stage which is what I do when I deprime then clean the cases or do other case prep like trim, swage prime pockets etc on 223. The on press priming system is great but best of all is the spent primer removal as I feel like I'm in heaven when I sit down and deprime around 500 223 cases at a time. Also love the new auto disk powder measure works great. Have fun. The Mayor