Thinking of a Lee Turret Press

[TheTinMan]

I have an older Lyman turret press. My only question about the Lee turret press is whether or not the turret head can flex when you resize. My Lyman has an adjustment to reduce deflection as much as possible.

I use the turret press for pistol load development. Step 1: Resize/de-prime, then bell case mouth 2: prime 3: load powder 4: seat bullets and crimp. Turning the turret for more than 2 or 3 dies just didn’t work for me, but this is great.

 

[AJ]

I have an older Lyman turret press. My only question about the Lee turret press is whether or not the turret head can flex when you resize. My Lyman has an adjustment to reduce deflection as much as possible.

I use the turret press for pistol load development. Step 1: Resize/de-prime, then bell case mouth 2: prime 3: load powder 4: seat bullets and crimp. Turning the turret for more than 2 or 3 dies just didn’t work for me, but this is great.

Which Lyman? Spar-T or the T-Mag? Have had both.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Which Lyman? Spar-T or the T-Mag? Have had both.

The All American had an adjustable rod on the back to stop flex as did the Tru Line Jr. Don't think either the Spar-t or T-Mag did.

 

[AJ]

The All American had an adjustable rod on the back to stop flex as did the Tru Line Jr. Don't think either the Spar-t or T-Mag did.

No, the Spar-T and the T-Mag do not have an adjustable rod. Never had the All American. Do have a Tru-Line Jr. on the top shelf in one of my gun rooms as a display, never looked at it very closely. Was given it by a friend who knew I collected gun stuff.

 

[Model19man]

In case you missed it, the best $30 I spent on my Lee Classic Turret press was to add UFO LED lighting kit made by KMS squared. It will allow you to more easily visually check powder level in each case after the powder drop. Their customer service is outstanding. When the adhesive failed on my first LED strip, I called and they had a free replacement in the mail to me the same day.

I did this too - it lets my old eyes "see" the powder in each brass case before I put the bullet on there. Big improvement, worth the price.

 

[Model19man]

No plastic or aluminum in my presses. After I broke a Dillon Frame on a Square Deal B, I swore off aluminum.

Well 10 of each of them was less than $30. I have used exactly one of each part over the past 15 years. The Lee presses have so many advantages over Dillon it's crazy anyone would even consider.

 

[dogdoc]

Well 10 of each of them was less than $30. I have used exactly one of each part over the past 15 years. The Lee presses have so many advantages over Dillon it's crazy anyone would even consider.

Not if you load in volume

 

[jcelect]

Well 10 of each of them was less than $30. I have used exactly one of each part over the past 15 years. The Lee presses have so many advantages over Dillon it's crazy anyone would even consider.

Can you load 500-600rds in one hour? With 2 people shooting in competition and practice every week this reloading process is required once a week for the shooting season! Don't measure everyone by your ruler!
jcelect

 

[Model19man]

Can you load 500-600rds in one hour? With 2 people shooting in competition and practice every week this reloading process is required once a week for the shooting season! Don't measure everyone by your ruler!
jcelect

I guess you must have some sort of progressive Dillon? I have turret presses - they frankly do not make that quantity of ammunition.

 

[ShootMeStraight]

I use a Lee Classic Turret and got into reloading when I started shooting 357, which turned to 44 and then 500.

I removed the indexing road and manually rotate the turret. I place primers from a tray into the primer arm by hand. I can load 200 rounds in an hour this way.

I have 3 Auto-Drum Powder Measures that I leave connected to 3 turrets for 357, 44 and 500 which work great when I use VV N110, IMR 4227 or Aliant 2400. They leaked when using powders like H110 or HP-38.

 

[ShootMeStraight]

Can you load 500-600rds in one hour? With 2 people shooting in competition and practice every week this reloading process is required once a week for the shooting season! Don't measure everyone by your ruler!
jcelect

You must buy primers by the pallet. lol

 

[tlawler]

I did this too - it lets my old eyes "see" the powder in each brass case before I put the bullet on there. Big improvement, worth the price.

KMS’s UFO light is a great addition to any press. I put one on the Lee turret I started with and now have one on my Dillon 550. In addition, I bought a wireless borescope off Amazon for less than $50 and set it up to look down through the center hole in the tool head. It syncs to my phone and gives me a sharp bird’s eye view looking down into the case after the powder drop. It also allows for a quick final inspection of the case before I place a bullet for seating. I’ve found a few cases with small cracks that I would otherwise have missed without it.

 

[BC38]

KMS’s UFO light is a great addition to any press. I put one on the Lee turret I started with and now have one on my Dillon 550. In addition, I bought a wireless borescope off Amazon for less than $50 and set it up to look down through the center hole in the tool head. It syncs to my phone and gives me a sharp bird’s eye view looking down into the case after the powder drop. It also allows for a quick final inspection of the case before I place a bullet for seating. I’ve found a few cases with small cracks that I would otherwise have missed without it.

I like the view through the bore scope. That won't work with the Lee Turret though, will it - unless you remove the auto-advance rod?

 

[tlawler]

I like the view through the bore scope. That won't work with the Lee Turret though, will it - unless you remove the auto-advance rod?

You might be able to secure it to the leg closest to the bullet seating die with zip ties, or build some sort of mount outside the perimeter of the turret.

With the Dillon, I first had one of their skylights that fits in the center hole that came with it(I bought it used). The light output was ok, but I was spoiled by the KMS light I had on the Lee. When I ditched the skylight, it only seemed natural to use the hole for a camera. I went looking for ideas and found a you tube video where a doc who was a reloader had set up a camera on his press(I think he was a proctologist ). A quick amazon search turned up quite a few reasonably priced options. I like sitting on my comfy shop stool when I reload, and with the camera, I can look down into the casings from any angle. It really helps out on tall skinny casings like .327 Fed Mag.

 

[Jeff423]

Too late now but I would have suggested you consider the Forster Co-Ax. The dies snap in and out so you don't need different turrets for each caliber. If you're doing one step at a time it's as fast as a turret. The adjustable shell plate handles most calibers so you don't need shell holders or need to swap them. It includes a good - but slow, priming system and a very good spent primer catch.
It's probably built to tighter tolerances than the Lee equipment.

 

[Deltaman]

Loading Press

I have a Dillon 550 and square deal. both are fast and a small learning curve. Very Fast