Ammunition & Hand Loading > Cartridge and Shotshell reloading
Lee Turret Press Question
DenmanShooter:
I made the jump and purchased the Lee Classic Turret Press.
Rather than buying the kit, which is a good deal, I bought the components separately since some of the pieces that come in the kit I already had.
I purchased the press, 2 additional turrets for a total of 3, 2 powder risers, a rifle powder die, the pro auto disk powder measure, the double disk expansion set, the Lee Safety Prime, the Lee quick change base, 2 Lee die storage boxes and since I had the credits, the Second Edition Lee Reloading manual.
I have reloaded 250 40 cal, 100 9mm and 10 .223 on the new system.
Overall, I am very satisfied.
Plusses:
Setup was easy, although the dies needed a little adjusting from the single stage press.
I had no trouble at all changing turrets easily.
It is easy to check for powder drop to assure each case was charged and not overcharged.
The auto disk measure works well and as expected but I was surprised the disks are calibrated differently than the dippers.
I usually use the .5 dipper of Bullseye for 9 mm and .5 of HS6 for 40 cal. I had to adjust that for the powder measure to achieve the desired grains. I did not have the double disk set yet when I loaded the 223 so I measured each load individually for that since it was only 10 cases to fill.
It measures consistently ( I tested several powder drops on the scale to calibrate and took a random test occasionally).
Minuses
The primer system is difficult to get used to after using the ram prime. I ended up on the first round with a primer way out of seat because I did not think to check to make sure it was seating properly. I just trusted the system. I found it VERY difficult to apply the proper amount of pressure to seat the primer. So much so I contacted Lee and they actually sent me a new primer arm. It seems to work better, although I do not know why as it looks exactly the same and laid side by side has the same profile and outline. Lee customer service said it could have been a bad spring or slightly out of shape cup or any of a number of things. I'll see how that goes with the next batch.
The auto disk measure is almost impossible to adjust properly to avoid hitting the safety prime even with the extension. Two extensions makes it more useable. They really should tell you that. I was hoping to just leave one extension mounted to each caliber. As it is I will either have to buy two more or just swap them between die sets. No big deal, just inconvenience. Luckily they are relatively inexpensive.
The Lee Reloading manual is a really good $20 paper weight. It does a good job of explaining some of the history of reloading and works as a catalog of sorts for the Lee products. As far as actual loading data, I was seriously disappointed. I expected much more considering a lot of people have recommended it. Most of the reloading data I could get from powder charts for free and from the instructions included with the Lee dies. I guess I was just expecting a lot more information on various loads. There are gaping holes in data for some popular powders and some powders and loads missing completely. I am thinking of returning it. Or maybe donating it. But that's kind of like donating dirty underwear to Goodwill.
On a scale of 1 to 5 I give the whole system a 4.5 with the caveats of the priming system and the need for the extra riser.
Your mileage may vary.
Thank you to everyone who gave your opinions and experience. Feel free to chime in on my review and add comments or corrections.
Happy New Year! (almost)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[*] Previous page
Go to full version