hornady lock rings on LCT?

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Axis II

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anyone use hornady die lock rings on the lee classic turret? just making sure they fit before I order them.
 
I don't know what Lee turret has to do with lock rings threading on dies. But, I use them on RCBS, Dillon, Forster, and Hornady dies. Very convenient.
 
They fit. You'll play he11 getting them tightened and locking them in place sometimes, but they do fit. I have to Lee 4 hole turrets set up for my moderate volume cartridges and I use Hornady rings on almost all of my dies, as I prefer the clamp on locking rings to the RCBS set screw type which smash into the threads, and I like them better than the hand-tighten Lyman or Whidden locking rings without wrench flats.

Here's what I do, and I never have any issue with getting them tightened down or accessing the locking screw:

  • Put the first die into the turret head, adjust to position, and lock the ring. Make a witness/index mark on the turret head and on the lock ring AND on the die body to ensure the locking ring doesn't creep (I always use dead away from center of the turret, in case my mark gets inadvertently wiped away).

  • Put the appropriate die into the press in the opposite position directly across the turret - skipping a hole, adjust, lock, and witness mark. If I'm only using a 2 die rifle set and I'm not charging in the press, I'm done here. If I'm using a powder drop, a charging die, or loading handgun rounds where I'll have an expander and potentially a finishing crimp die, I proceed to the next step below.

  • Remove both dies from the head, and install the other 1-2 dies in the same manner as the first, putting putting them in their opposing holes.

  • Leave those in place, then thread the first two dies back into the turret, bringing the locking ring indexing mark back to bear on the turret mark. Done.

If I DON'T do the above, wrenching the locking rings down tight, and locking the rings onto the dies, is a pain in the butt, if not impossible. They only have 2 wrench flats, so you can't really get a wrench on them, and the locking screw is only accessible from one side, so if that's against another die, or in the middle of 4 dies, you're screwed. Once the rings are locked on, you can take them in and out of the turret head without any drift.

Even when using a 2 die rifle set, I skip a hole in my turret, as it lets me either use a powder drop, or charge on the press with a powder through funnel die. I don't always do it that way, but skipping a hole gives me the option to do so. I have to index all the way around the horn whether I have the 2 dies in consecutive holes or in every other hole, so it really doesn't change anything to skip a hole for a 2 die set anyway.
 
25-5 said:
I don't know what Lee turret has to do with lock rings threading on dies.
Click to expand...

He didn't ask about fitting on the die threads, he asked about fitting on the turret head. Some locking rings are too big to fit within the diameter of the turret head, and there's really not enough room to get a wrench on them, and certainly not room to access the locking screw with all 4 dies in place most of the time.

The way it actually works out for me, I usually don't even get lucky enough to get 2 dies side by side into a Lee turret head and be able to access the locking screws. Just one of those things - the locking screw ends up landing between the dies where you can't get a wrench on it.
 
Thanks. I thought it a silly question, but I hadn't thought of the die centers. Used the same Dillon for 40 years = Tunnel vision.
 
I use them on my LCT. I had to "stagger" them to get them to fit. Mine won't fit with 2 right next to each other so I put the Lee nut under the Hornady lock ring to raise it high enough to clear the Hornady. You might think this defeats the purpose of the Hornady ring but it really doesn't because it still allows the die to be set at the same height every time, HOWEVER you should still check if you ever remove the die out of the turret.
 
I tried it and it was too tight for me. I use the Dillon nuts on mine. But you can't lock the nut in place on the die
 
Hmm. My favorite thing about Lee dies are the jam nuts. My main reason for replacing my old dies with Lee was to get away from oversizing but when I tried the rings I was in love. I do have to admit when I first seen them I thought they would be junk but all changed when I started using them. You don't need any tools with them. With a turret press your spouse to change your turret anyways.

I usually reset my dies every time I set my press up. I know guys that won't move their vice on their mill ether but they really only take seconds to adjust & if it's taking longer you need the practice anyway. However I have kids & the piece of mind knowing everything is set correctly is priceless.
 
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I have not had good luck using Hirnadt locks on my Lee turret press. If you really work at it you might get a few to fit but not all 4. I only use them on the dies I use on my single stage press.
 
Same here. I have trouble fitting the Hornady lock rings around on my LCT. @Garage Dog has a decent solution to use the Lee rings underneath the Hornady rings on every other die, although I would need to verify that this solution works reliably.

I was thinking of switching to the Forster lock rings since I am considering getting a Co-Ax sometime next year.
 
If you really want the jam nuts to stay put why not put a drop of green lok-tite on them.
 
But that hard with a little heat. Green is penetrating so you can put it on after it's locked in place.
 
Why do you want them over the Lee lock rings??. If your dies are set on the turrets and you do not unscrew them they are not gonna move at all. Hand tighten and then a tad more and they are locked in place by the o rings.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
If you really work at it you might get a few to fit but not all 4.
Click to expand...

See my process above. The majority of my dies, in over a dozen Lee Turret heads, have Hornady lock rings. Put in the opposing pair, lock 'em, take 'em out, put in the other opposing pair, lock 'em, put the other two back in. All 4 dies with Hornady lock rings, done.
 
Put in the opposing pair, lock 'em, take 'em out, put in the other opposing pair, lock 'em, put the other two back in. All 4 dies with Hornady lock rings, done.

Thats what I do and use a Lee nut every other one.
I do it because I can't stand the Lee nuts with that o ring. This give the ability to remove the dies for cleaning or whatever and still have them in adjustment.
 
It's been a long time since I've used it but I think it was just a little stronger than fingernail paint as long as you don't get more then a thin drip. To much & it'll take heat to remove it as well.

I just don't get what there is to hate about the o-rings. I just found out about them about 5 years ago. I used RCBS for the first 20 years of my reloading.

I know RCBS has to be locked down with a wrench & they work lose sometimes because of the hard threads. I read Hornady has this same issue. This doesn't happen with the Lee jam nuts. The nut is soft enough to form to the harder threads on the die & the rubber ring take the flex & vibration out that would cause the die to creep.
 
slwroln said:
I tried it and it was too tight for me. I use the Dillon nuts on mine. But you can't lock the nut in place on the die
Click to expand...
Just use 2 Dillon nuts on each die, and lock them together.
Get a Dillon wrench (or 2) too
thank me later,
:D
 
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