Lee Classic Turret: impressive first impressions :)

1059 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by JeeperCreeper, Sep 4, 2018

JeeperCreeper

Discussion Starter · Sep 2, 2018

Two days ago the kids and I took a ride out to the local Cabelas. I finally pulled the trigger on the Classic turret press and was wandering the reloading section for a while until my 2 year old daughter informed me I was done shopping and pushed me back out of the aisle

She wanted to see the fish and they were both getting impatient with my "kid-in-candy-store" shenanigans :rofl:

I didn't get to play with the new press that night. We had too much fun, stayed out too late, and daddy was played out. Last night I got it mounted up to my little portable reloading box that I've long outgrown (really need to do something about that) and got to work on setting up the dies and everything. Stupid me, I set it up backwards the first time around :sillydummies: After I got myself together I loaded up my first 50 rounds without a hitch.

Call me a Lee fanboy but I just love the simplicity of their methods. To me, when you compare what they have to the competition, they just have a feel of doing things the old, tried and true way. Nothing fancy, just get it done and get it done right. Having said that, I'm using Lee dies but also using a RCBS Uniflow powder measure on top of a Hornady case activated powder drop. I have no real reason for it. My old Lee powder measure was always good to me and wouldn't necessarily hesitate to use one of their own case activated powder measures.

So, first impressions were great. This is my first time using a turret press and I really liked the simplicity over the LoadMaster progressive press. These first 50 rounds I loaded were .223 so I'll still have to see how I like loading handgun rounds but it very well could replace the progressive. It's just less to keep track of.

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olfarhors

· #2 · Sep 2, 2018

MY Lee turret press has served me well for many years and I am sure 10's of thousands of rounds.
Its actually about time to get a new one as its beginning to get a tad loose.
I understand that Lee has a trade/ refurbish policy??
I will have to check that out.
anyway looks good my only real suggestion is that IF you mount it truly vertical I think you will find that the powder measure will drop better and the primers will fall out the bottom much better than it being on its side.
enjoy they are a great company to deal with.

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glenwolde

· #3 · Sep 2, 2018

olfarhors said:
MY Lee turret press has served me well for many years and I am sure 10's of thousands of rounds.
Its actually about time to get a new one as its beginning to get a tad loose.
I understand that Lee has a trade/ refurbish policy??
I will have to check that out.
anyway looks good my only real suggestion is that IF you mount it truly vertical I think you will find that the powder measure will drop better and the primers will fall out the bottom much better than it being on its side.
enjoy they are a great company to deal with.

Sheesh.....

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JeeperCreeper

Discussion Starter · #4 · Sep 2, 2018

glenwolde said:
Sheesh.....

View attachment 424159

Thanks

I don't know why my pictures upload sideways sometimes. It's a 50/50 crapshoot.

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JeeperCreeper

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 2, 2018

olfarhors said:
MY Lee turret press has served me well for many years and I am sure 10's of thousands of rounds.
Its actually about time to get a new one as its beginning to get a tad loose.
I understand that Lee has a trade/ refurbish policy??
I will have to check that out.
anyway looks good my only real suggestion is that IF you mount it truly vertical I think you will find that the powder measure will drop better and the primers will fall out the bottom much better than it being on its side.
enjoy they are a great company to deal with.

I saw they have a trade/refurbish/upgrade kit for the Safety Prime feeder for on press priming. Maybe they have it for other stuff :dunno:

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kmw1954

· #6 · Sep 2, 2018

Congrats on that new press. They do just work and work hard. I started up again using a used Pro1000 and have been more than pleased with it. It has to be one of the simplest progressive presses on the market. Aside from the dies there truly is only one adjustment point on it, and it too can be used with the indexing rod removed.

As I know you responded to my post on the new Breech Lock Pro I went a different way. I debated a long time between this progressive and the updated smaller Turret press before I made my purchase. I think we will both find what we were looking for with these presses. BTW I also use both of the Lee Auto powder measures, the drum and the disk and I like them both.

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maddogg

· #7 · Sep 2, 2018

Here is a mod I added to my press.

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glenwolde

· #8 · Sep 3, 2018

JeeperCreeper said:
Thanks I don't know why my pictures upload sideways sometimes. It's a 50/50 crapshoot.

I've found the way to fix that is to open them in Windows Paint, rotate 90° to the right, then 90° to the left (back to where you were) and somehow that works.

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Olyolson

· #9 · Sep 3, 2018

Congrats on the new press.I have loaded for years on mine and still like it.My buddies have told me for a couple years now that I need a Dillon.I always tell them my lee works fine and my ammo proves it.Enjoy your new press.

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JeeperCreeper

Discussion Starter · #10 · Sep 3, 2018

Olyolson said:
Congrats on the new press.I have loaded for years on mine and still like it.My buddies have told me for a couple years now that I need a Dillon.I always tell them my lee works fine and my ammo proves it.Enjoy your new press.

Thanks. I feel like some people turn their nose up at Lee just because they're lower priced. Their stuff makes just as good of ammo as anybody else and their way of finding the simplest way to do the job is genius. The only reason I could see going to another brand is if you wanted one of the super expensive ammo plants that practically run themselves.

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MoKen

· #11 · Sep 3, 2018

That's the press I want. It would look good on the bench near my Lee Classic cast single stage.

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JeeperCreeper

Discussion Starter · #12 · Sep 4, 2018

MoKen said:
That's the press I want. It would look good on the bench near my Lee Classic cast single stage.

I highly recommend it. I just got done loading another 250 rounds of .223 on it and it's just a pleasure to load on. Little to no care to keep it running (the progressive can be a tad finicky) and it just keeps on truckin'.

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Lee Classic Turret: impressive first impressions :)

JeeperCreeper

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glenwolde

JeeperCreeper

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kmw1954

maddogg

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