Reloading 223 on a Lee Turret

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cowboy77

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In handgun this press is great. Works good for 223 with exception of brass prep. Have yet to figure out how anyone does it. Brass has to be resized with lube. AR bullet. Primer pockets cleaned and trimmed and de burred and chamfered. Leaves only a powder drop seat and crimp. Was close to being just as fast on a single stage. Also notice new Lee #11 shell holder doesn't seem to hold tight enough to seat primers centered. Crimp has been removed and primer pocket has been uniformed. I use a Lyman case prep center or probably wouldn't bother. Lube stays in mouth so case mouth has to be brushed again on the prep center. Any ideas of how to speed up process.
 
As you said, handgun is where it shines. Let the press self-index and you can really fly. 223 or any other bottleneck rifle cartridge for that matter is another story. Remove the indexing rod and use it like a single stage press, the advantage being that you don’t have to be changing dies in and out of the press. Index it by hand for each operation as needed.
 
I have a Lee Classic Cast Turret Press (since 2014) and have used it to reload <1000 .223/5.56 rounds so far.

I have used Hornady One Shot for the lube.

I resize as a separate step so that when I start the actual reloading routine, the cases are already resized and clean.
 
Your doing it wrong. Well not really, just not in the way that makes a turret efficient. I dry tumble and trim my brass with the primers still in them. Lube the brass with hornady one shot, size, prime, charge, and seat in one go. Wipe the one shot off if you like,doesn't make any difference if you leave it on. I do all my rifle stuff this way all the way up to 30-06 and 45-70 except for most stuff I replace the powder drop with a funnel and dump in powder from an electronic dispensor. I only crimp on straightwall cartridges and the rest I leave the last station open.

The secret to hornady one shot is to spray them in a bucket, not in loading blocks.

This is also of course starting with brass that has the crimps removed.
 
223 needs #4 shell holder. I resize on SS and on the turret I have the powder drop / powder cop / bullet seat / crimp. Yes I crimp everything, but that's another story.
 
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I have an old 3 hole Lee turret.
I resize/deprime do the brass prep, trim (WFT so I just trim all of them if they need it they trim if not they don't, faster than measuring) then prime off press.
Then I go powder drop, seat, crimp.
I need to get my LNL set up for .223 and do some on it but even then I would still start with ready to load primed brass.

I use my hand primer and just prime while watching the tube so it's not really time wasted other than the time spent watching the tube.:)
 
I meant a 4 she'll holder. iPads too small some time. Maybe the Lyman spray is clogging powder in the cases. I haven't tried the one shot since I got the turret. Been using imperial on my mags 6.5 and 7-08 but on a single stage. Powder drops Chanel with humidity so using Hornady electric powder thrower and funnel if damp. Seems if air is dry enough it will throw perfect most times. I may have to do away with the Lyman case slick.
 
Here is my process,
Deprime on LCT with Lee deprimer
Clean brass
Size on Rockchucker
Clean brass, get lube off
Trim with WFT
Deburr and clean primer pockets with lyman prep station
Prime with rcbs bench primer
Powder, seat and crimp in LCT
Check with Wilson case gauge

Faster than the Rockchucker, yes. But not a whole lot.
 
I go through the same process for .223 no matter the press. I just wash mine, though. I like the pump spray lanolin lube, using the towel method. Once it is clean and lubed I size and deprime on my LCT. Lyman Universal trimmer(very fast), then I use my Hornady case prep trio to chamfer deburr and clean pockets(I typically blow off the pockets, not worth the time).
Prime on the press or hand prime, seems to be about the same time/effort.

The charge seat and then the FCD on the press is still as efficient as ever, cutting that actual time by one third over single stage loading. I can cycle through about 150 in an hour once I get to that part.
 
Your doing it wrong. Well not really, just not in the way that makes a turret efficient. I dry tumble and trim my brass with the primers still in them. Lube the brass with hornady one shot, size, prime, charge, and seat in one go. Wipe the one shot off if you like,doesn't make any difference if you leave it on. I do all my rifle stuff this way all the way up to 30-06 and 45-70 except for most stuff I replace the powder drop with a funnel and dump in powder from an electronic dispensor. I only crimp on straightwall cartridges and the rest I leave the last station open.

The secret to hornady one shot is to spray them in a bucket, not in loading blocks.

This is also of course starting with brass that has the crimps removed.

Are you trimming your brass before sizing?
 
No. I trim after sizing. I just primed about 100 with the Lee hand primer. No more of that. Forgot how bad arthritis was. Done another 100 on the press. Just going to have to do the extra steps in single mode. Finish now on the turret.
 
Are you trimming your brass before sizing?

Yes. I trim them all .010” under the trim to size in the manual the first time I load them. I don’t find that they grow very much if you properly shim the shell holder to set the shoulder back a few thousands. I get a lot of fireings without trimming.
 
Easy method for fast process on the turret, albeit a bit crowded:

Tumble primers in
Hornady one shot in a bucket
First station size and decap
Half station seat primer
Second station trim die
Third charge
Fourth seat

4 pulls for complete process, never come out of the press.

Silliness to crimp for 223 unless your AR doesn’t feed worth a damn. You could also believe in the “no trim” X die and save a spot on the turret head. I don’t.
 
I have used a Lee turret press for loading .223 ammo but you aren't going to run through them from raw fired brass to completed round like you can with handgun ammo.

I start by prepping the brass prior to loading. When I want to load .223 ammo on the turret I use the already prepped brass and on the turret I prime, drop the powder on press and seat the bullet on press. You can also crimp at the next station if you wish. Using the currencies speed up the loading if you already have brass ready to load.

Since I'm using a ball powder (H335) it meters very well with the Pro Auto-Disk I have mounted on my turret press using a double disk kit.
 
I have used a Lee turret press for loading .223 ammo but you aren't going to run through them from raw fired brass to completed round like you can with handgun ammo.

I start by prepping the brass prior to loading. When I want to load .223 ammo on the turret I use the already prepped brass and on the turret I prime, drop the powder on press and seat the bullet on press. You can also crimp at the next station if you wish. Using the currencies speed up the loading if you already have brass ready to load.

Since I'm using a ball powder (H335) it meters very well with the Pro Auto-Disk I have mounted on my turret press using a double disk kit.

You CAN use a Lee classic turret to load .223 IF you have these 4 things accomplished first.
1. The brass does not have crimped primer pockets OR the crimps have been dealt with.
2. The cases doe NOT need to be trimmed. (A simple process of learning how much any of the cases will grow ,(get longer), when/after sizing.
3. Applying lube en mass like spraying in a container with a lanolin type lube.
4. You're using an auto powder measure, AND an auto primer both made by Lee. (The auto drum and safety prime.

Simply pick up a lubed case, raise ram, size, while the ram is up cycle the safety prime, prime on down stroke. The next up stroke activates the Auto drum, so it's now charged. The down stroke rotates to the seater, seat the bullet. I don't crimp .223 so the 4th station is empty, a half stroke presents the sizer to start the next shell.

As for the lube, I run 100 cases in bare walnut tumbler media for 10 minutes in my FA vibratory tumbler,,--presto lube gone!
 
I'm using the pro disk measure and bought a double disk kit and a charge bar. Lube was my issue. It was getting in the case necks and clogging up. I was out of one shot and spayed with Lyman case slick in a loading block. I had trimmed and prepped on the Lyman case prep center and ran brush through neck also but I guess they were over lubed. I cleaned the case necks again this morning and loaded a 150 or so a few hours ago. I just skipped the sizing die and bypassed it. I've got the Lee crimp die so I go ahead and put a light crimp on. Handguns are easy due to the carbide dies and no growth in case. I had trimmed mine since it was range brass once fired. Had to spend more time getting crimp pockets clean than anything else. Ran out of the H4895 powder I like so just switched over to 9mm to load next few days.
 
The classic turret is ideal 223 loading. The O frame single stage is 1950 tech and I would advise anyone to not go near one for any reason. I can pace myself through a pmag in a couple minutes of accurate shooting at the range and to load those 30 in a single stage would take a half hour easily. Yuck.
.223 is not far off from pistol, and the classic turret is ideal for an economical fast solution. (It really is the standard these days for a first press or only press recommendation).

For most of us all we need is a single stage press for bottle neck rifle cartridge reloading.
 
The classic turret is ideal 223 loading. The O frame single stage is 1950 tech and I would advise anyone to not go near one for any reason.

Is it true or just a rumor that the Apollo astronauts used an LCT to reload drink packets with Tang?
 
The time honored procedures call for first resizing and then measuring rifle brass for possible trimming. This cannot easily be done on the press under consideration. If the handloader, knowledgeable and nice as he might be, decides to skip the step of verifying the correct case length that is of course his prerogative. It is after all a free country. Consider though that even the oh so well respected ABC book that everyone here gushes over, calls for checking case length after resizing. Not that I personally care what anyone else does with their stuff as long as I'm not standing next to you when your shooting your ammos.

For that matter if the turret press owner, who normally lectures the masses considering a progressive press on the virtues of having complete control over the process, then wants to put their faith and trust in a $35.00 plastic powder measure alone to charge their high power rifle loads then don't let me stand in the way.
 
I am not trimming on the press but after cleaning with ss pins, I trim with a bench mounted trimmer. . I have the pro disk powder measure for handgun but for the 223 I am using a Hornady loc n load electronic powder measure and dropping charge through funnel with a short charge bar. While it is dispensing a load I seat primer, seat bullet crimp and ready for next one. The pro disk wasn't consistent enough with the h4895 powder. Off 3-4-tenths of a grain every throw. Hornady powder charger not that much slower. I use it for my 44 magnum carbine also since I use it a lot to hunt with. I still do my long range bench rifles off of my single stage press. Easy to change presses out with the Inline Fabrication quick mount system.
 
The time honored procedures call for first resizing and then measuring rifle brass for possible trimming. This cannot easily be done on the press under consideration. If the handloader, knowledgeable and nice as he might be, decides to skip the step of verifying the correct case length that is of course his prerogative. It is after all a free country. Consider though that even the oh so well respected ABC book that everyone here gushes over, calls for checking case length after resizing. Not that I personally care what anyone else does with their stuff as long as I'm not standing next to you when your shooting your ammos.

For that matter if the turret press owner, who normally lectures the masses considering a progressive press on the virtues of having complete control over the process, then wants to put their faith and trust in a $35.00 plastic powder measure alone to charge their high power rifle loads then don't let me stand in the way.
You must be one of those old guys that owns a reloading shop for a hobby.
 
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