Lee reloader, this is where I'm leaning

It is going to depend on who you talk to. Most feel that you should start on a single stage press to avoid mistakes. If you are meticulous and pay attention, I don't think there is any reason to do this unless it is purely an issue about $$. A turret press is not a bad middle ground option.

I started with a Lee Pro 1000 progressive and have never regretted it nor felt the need to upgrade to anything else. I did have a couple of squibs early on that made me change my attention patterns some but after the first few weeks, it was golden.

Lee products are what they are. They are manufactured in an inexpensive manor. It doesn't make them bad but you do get what you pay for. For me, I use almost exclusively lee reloading and casting equipment and love it. If you properly lube everything and take care of it, it will last a lifetime.

There are probably more detractors of lee presses here than proponents but that is my .02

I also Started with a Lee Pro 1000, and Now i have 3 of them... and yet to have any real issies at all

Lots of Good Manuf out there... red...Blue... Green


A Nice Turret press will work great for a Begginer as well as carry you farther when you get more comfortable....

Good luck... and be safe

Put me in the "dont go progressive to learn" camp. To much going on for me to have been able to handle it. YMMV

Turret? Sure.

I think you need to be able to focus on the reloading and not always tinkering with the press when you're learning. So I'd get a Lee Classic Turret. Ive never had to do anything to the press..You have to trick out some of these presses with to many mods-Stand on one leg blindfolded, spin around, hop up and down twice..yada yada.

The Lee Classic is a great first press (it was mine as well). I've been running mine for about 3-4 years now with about 20k rounds done on it. Only problem was with the little plastic square piece that turns the turret. But, this piece is supposed to wear out. Just recently (this week) upgraded to a Lock N Load, and only reason I did that was I got a great deal on it. Best thing about the Classic is the turrets are cheap so you can just keep your die sets in there. I was up to like 8 turrets or so.

If you do go that route and want to pick up some accessories for cheap PM me. I have several powder dispensers, turrets that I will not be needing. Not wanting to sell everything, but certainly do not need complete turrets any more.

You dont have to break the square plastic piece. Thanks to some fellas on THR, i learned about it before I even had my press, and mine hasnt broken. There's a reason you're breaking it if you're breaking it.

I never said that I broke it, just that it was the only part I had problems with. The problem I had was it starting to wear out and not want to rotate. And yes, that was more than likely from user malfunction (short stroking the press).

The Lee Classic Cast Turret Press ( cast iron model) package deal is a great place to start.
If you look around you can find it for about $200. including the powder & primer feeders, simple but accurate scale & more. Its a heavy, quality machine with a lot of advantages that should last you a lifetime.
It can also be used as a single stage press too if you like.

Yes, the Lee Classic is a good choice for beginner (or anyone). If you get a turret, get the classic cast version...

The Lee Classic Turret is a very good deal, fairly fast, and will allow you to learn without a lot of distractions and mishaps that come with the progressive presses. I have a LCT and it is currently my favorite. I particularly like the primer seating feel you get with the LCT; much better than earlier Lee presses.

I started reloading in 1979 on an RCBS RS single stage. Still have that press; it was my favorite until the LCT came along.

Went to progressives in the 1990s with a pair of Lee 1000s. I DID have issues and found myself pulling bullets much more often than I did with a single stage. Finally figured that on the 1000s I was making ammo I could no longer trust and I was spending too much time fiddling with the press. Got rid of them both.

To be honest, the Lee 1000s worked OK if you used them regularly, hand-primed the cases, kept them scrupulously clean, and didn't challenge them with cartridge cases that were nearly full of powder. But, with all that, I realized the didn't fit my reloading style, so they had to go.

I started with a lee hand press and went to a Rock Chucker kit from RCBS single stage and happy with the RCBS If I go progressive I hear the Dillion is the way to go .

Payne, I didn't catch whether you're reloading for handgun or rifle. LCT is great for moderate volume of handgun reloading.

Rifle loads are another story with the jury still out here. I have only reloaded a couple hundred on this press. But I can only imagine that with the greater pressure exerted on the press, it could wear it out prematurely.

I think the Lee Classic is a good choice. Check prices at Natchez. They're pretty competitive.

www.natchezss.com

A Lee 9mm carbide 4-die set will run about $40. They have bullets, brass, presses, everything.

Lee Classic Turret is what I started on and it has my vote.

Kernel said:

I think the Lee Classic is a good choice. Check prices at Natchez. They're pretty competitive.

www.natchezss.com

A Lee 9mm carbide 4-die set will run about $40. They have bullets, brass, presses, everything.

Click to expand...

Also check out Amazon...I've bought almost all my dies on there. Usually priced the same or cheaper then most shooting sites, plus with my Amazon prime I get free two day shipping.

check out Amazon

Click to expand...

Good tip. I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon, even a lot of gun stuff there, but never thought to use them for reloading supplies.

They did have some good deals, especially if you were buying small quantities. Natchez was still cheaper on most things, but, because of shipping costs, you wouldn't really see that savings until you had an order in the $75 dollar or larger range.

I started and still use a lee classic annaverssary kit I got on sale at midway. Works great. I reload 9mm and .223. Check the reloading sticky and don't forget a set of calipers and a reloading tray. Thes a sticky that lays out all the things you will need and the cost.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/42...reech-lock-single-stage-press-anniversary-kit

Here you go.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=238214

The best buy for a Lee Classic Turret press is from Kempf's Gun Shop online. They have a LCT press kit that comes with one set of dies and some other goodies.
https://kempfgunshop.com//index.php...facturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=41
It is very important to do the upgrade at the bottom of the page. The Pro Auto-Disk is a much better powder measure than the standard Auto-Disk. for only $14.95 it's money very well spent, believe me!

In addition you will need a scale, set of calipers and some means of cleaning the brass like a tumbler. The tumbler they sell is really a Berry's 400 which is an outstanding tumbler. It's also sold under the Cabela's name, Sinclair name, Graf's name and a bunch more with only the color changed. The kit they sell comes with the tumbler, media and sifter for under $60. (it's on sale right now) https://kempfgunshop.com//index.php...facturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=41

Add bullets, primers and powder and you're good to go. I hope you're saving all your brass already. That will save you a lot of money.

*EDIT*
As for the differences between the Deluxe and classic turret press, there is a big difference. The Classic has a cast base which is much more sturdy. The Classic handles the spent primers much better. They fall through the center of the ram into a tube that can easily be emptied. The ram is much heavier and so is the linkage on the Classic turret press. I have had both and I sold of the Deluxe after only a month in favor of the Classic turret press.

I'm going to rain on the parade. I had a couple of Lee's given to me.

The non progressive Classic is pretty good. But the 1000 Pro progressive turned out to need quite a few modifications before it was reliable.

If you're looking at going progressive at some point but want to start in a non progressive mode to learn I'd suggest the Dillon 550b. Because it's a manual indexing and the casings are retained in the platter by inserted buttons it is easy to use it in a non progressive manner either as a 3 or 4 pulls per load on a single cartridge or use it as a single stage press were you do the same operation on a batch of casings. And when you feel confident enough to move on the press is ready to go into full progressive loading.

The Lee presses don't have this same "all in one" flexibility. At least not without some modifications to the 1000Pro to remove the auto indexing feature.

The 1000Pro also does not have the height needed to load more than the shorter rifle cartridges. The Dillon 550b can load rifle cartridges right up to all but the very longest ones. Just check out the Dillon 550b web site for the list of cartridge adapter kits. It's an impressive list.

So a 550b might cost just about double up front. But you won't NEED to buy another press for anything else you might do other than the most extreme things such as .50BMG.

I learned on a Lee Pro 1000 as well. It is about the same cost as a turret, and for pistol reloading it is faster and less work than a turret.

If you are mechanically inclined and have an even temper when it comes to learning, I would recommend taking a look at it. I wouldn't even think of trying rifle calibers on it, there is no time savings there. In fact, I only load rifle on a single stage to this day.

If you do not enjoy troubleshooting or are not mechanically inclined, I would lean towards turret or even a single stage. But I can guarantee that once you get started you will be looking at a progressive (of any color) at some point.

You are wise for not starting on rifle reloading. It's not just the trimming that sucks, if you shoot .223 or .308 it is also crimp removal, primer pocket reaming, cleaning, chamfering, and deburring. There are so many steps that are off-press that the seating and crimping steps are the quick and easy parts.

More and more, I use the Lee hand press for rifle. Once the cases are prepped and primed, you can actually load at the range (away from the firing line) on a clear day. Makes building up loads a little less time consuming.

No matter what you use, pay attention. If you visually inspect each load for consistency, your safety is greatly improved. Squibs and double charges are instantly recognizable.

I started out on the Lee Deluxe Turret. It has served me well and I have had no problems what so ever. However, having said that, I wish that I had gotten the heavier Classic. Either way, the turret press is the perfect press for anyone starting out and will service you well no mater what you are reloading. If you buy the kit which includes a scale, primer dispenser, and powder dispenser, I would suggest the addon to the powder dispenser to upgrade it to the deluxe model.

Started with a Lee Classic Turret loading 9mm and .45acp.

Great to cut your teeth on. Moved on up to a Dillon 650xl, WOW! what a difference! you go from 1 bullet every 4 pulls to 1 bullet every pull!

I still have the Lee turret set up next to the Dillon, and I use it when I need to correct a bad primer, or other single stage operation. As I sit and think about it, I would still advise new loaders to get a single stage and learn how to that way. Then move up to a faster loader.

FWIW! ! ! ! Find a beam scale on ebay that measures GRAINS, NOT GRAMS.
Use it to check your powder throw about every 10 or so loads.

UNDER STAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRAINS AND GRAMS.

Use grams to check the scale accuracy then throw them in the back of the drawer. ALL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES FOR RELOADING ARE IN GRAINS. 115GRAIN 9MM BULLET, 124GRAIN 9MM BULLET, 185GRAIN .45ACP, 230GRAIN .45ACP.

be safe and welcome.