Lee Classic Turret Press for accuracy loading?

[marchboom]

I have numerous sizing and seating dies that I would like to have mounted on a press and they would not be removed once adjusted. I like the Redding T-7 press but not their high price. Buying additional turrets would makes this even more expensive. From all the reviews I've read this looks like the most accurate turret press.

I was looking at the Lee Classic Turret Press (cast iron). I would not use the auto advance feature. It would only be used to hold the adjusted dies and the turret moved manually to the desired die. Being cast iron I "think" it might be rigid enough.

My question to those with experience with this press is, would it be rigid enough? Does the press flex very much when sizing? The biggest caliber I load for would be .308 but mostly .223 and .22-250.

Thanks

 

[Walkalong]

I don't see any reason that it wouldn't work well, although I would highly recommend not sizing while seating. I know that would mean two runs, one to size, one to dump powder and seat, but it will be a great deal smoother.

All presses flex a little, which is why I would size separately. That is what I do on my LNL.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

I have t been shooting and reloading long enough to say how accurate the press is but I will say that for 9mm and 223 I get results that are beyond my shooting.

You'll get Lee haters bashing it and Lee lovers praising it. I like Lees stuff when it works and it's the best value. So my gear is in a bunch of colors so I'm probably somewhere in the middle. So take this with a grain of salt.

The press seems fine for my loads. I don't know how 308 would be but think it would be ok if.....

Here's what I've seen

The press itself seems solid. What seems to matter is the quality of the machining of the turrets. I've never had any but have seen reviews of sloppy turrets.

So if you get good turrets it should be fine. If not then you'll get some slop.

As the cost of the press isn't much. I think you can find the press alone with one Turret for about $130, I'd say get one and see how the current batch are. If it works well for you great. If not, I'm sure you can find someone to buy it and not lose much. Or you can use it as a spare for whatever task you decide.

 

[LiveLife]

I would highly recommend not sizing while seating.

All presses flex a little, which is why I would size separately. That is what I do on my LNL.

When you say "flex" I think you mean shell plate tilt/deflection variance from progressive presses while sizing and seating at the same time.

I have the Lee Classic Turret and it does not use a shell plate rather standard shell holder and perform only one operation at a time. With the auto index disabled, LCT works like a single stage press. The turret that holds the dies is loose so it can rotate but the maximum travel is set by the frame when the ram is applying pressure on the case.

I load .308 and while I prefer to use C-H 205 single stage press, I won't hesitate to use the LCT.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I have a lee turret that I use for a few handgun rounds and 45-70.
It is a cheap but effective design. The turrets are supported on the outside edge rather than the center so they don't "teeter".

 

[Walkalong]

When you say "flex" I think you mean shell plate tilt/deflection variance from progressive presses while sizing and seating at the same time.

Yes, but posters are right, you have to think about any tilt with the turrets.

 

[LiveLife]

Since OP is looking to perform only one operation at a time but want convenience of not having to adjust dies each time, I wonder if the Breech Lock Classic Cast would be better? https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-classic-cast-breech-lock-press

This press offers quick die change option with strength of cast iron single stage press.

 

[Walkalong]

I agree that it would.

 

[flashhole]

The turret on the Lee Classic Turret is designed to move with ram travel when everything is making contact. It's not a flaw, it's not slop, it's a design feature and it works really well. The turret is always stopped by the housing in the same place ... every time. It makes very consistent ammo. I only use mine in auto index mode when loading 40 S&W. For all rifle cartridges I use it like a single stage press and manually rotate the turret.

 

[Englishmn]

I own 12 turret plates for my Lee love the system.

 

[Axis II]

I have 0 issues and load mine for 223rem target/varmint loads. I took a 2x6 of oak and laid it atop the bench which is 3/4 thick osb with 2x4 screwed to the bottom and the press is lag bolted to all of that and no issues producing accurate rounds.

 

[ray15]

I like my LCT but do see the slop in the turret as a limitation, however remote from my aspirations and shooting skill. I would imagine true precision rifle shooters would turn their nose up at it, and if you are trying to make really long-distance shots they might be right. For my 25-yard hack pistol shooting, it's a non-factor.

 

[splattergun]

The movement in the turret is designed in and is finite. That turret movement is accounted for in the die adjustments and, provided your process is consistent, the tolerances are very consistent.

 

[1KPerDay]

I load all my .30-06 and .308 on my Lee. I don't size on it, however; I use an old single stage with a cam-over ram/handle for that.

 

[Varminterror]

The Lee Classic Turret isn't without faults, and does have more slop in the turret head than the T7. Even though the T7 does "tilt" around the center pin, the Lee's outer groove isn't really tight enough to keep it from tilting.

I do most of my "moderate volume" reloading on LCT's. I have two of them set up, one for large primer, one small. I had a T7, it's boxed up.

That said - if you don't want to reset dies all of the time, simply use locking rings, or better still, a bushing press.

The Forster Co-ax is one of, if not THE most capable factory precision press on the market, and it has an instantaneous die change system. No threading, no resetting, just snap in and snap out. Any die with a locking ring works fine.

 

[goldpelican]

Just sized 500 pieces of 223 on the turret last night. Removed the indexing rod and it acts like a single stage.

Yes, it does flex a little - but the upwards force of the ram is aligned with the die - I wasn't worried that I was sizing "out of alignment" or anything. Only the base is cast iron.

Eventually I will add a single stage to the reloading room that will be dedicated for sizing and other non loading steps. That will leave my turrets to just be the dies that get used at actual loading time - charge, seat, crimp.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I have a regular Lee turret(older 3 station as opposed to the newer 4 station), a T-7 and an old Lyman Spartan. The Lee is just as good as the T-7, I just got a deal I couldn't refuse on it and I am always the experimenter. If I were to start all over again I would get a Lee Classic Turret and call it good.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have numerous sizing and seating dies that I would like to have mounted on a press and they would not be removed once adjusted. I like the Redding T-7 press but not their high price. Buying additional turrets would makes this even more expensive. From all the reviews I've read this looks like the most accurate turret press.

I was looking at the Lee Classic Turret Press (cast iron). I would not use the auto advance feature. It would only be used to hold the adjusted dies and the turret moved manually to the desired die. Being cast iron I "think" it might be rigid enough.

My question to those with experience with this press is, would it be rigid enough? Does the press flex very much when sizing? The biggest caliber I load for would be .308 but mostly .223 and .22-250.

Thanks

I have a Lee Classic Turret Press and I load very accurate .308, 30-06, .223 and 45-70 ammo in it. I also use a RCBS Rockchucker and can not tell the difference between ammo made on either press. Some of my best groups with the .223 and 30-06 were with ammo made on the LCTP.

 

[thomas15]

The Redding T-7 and the Forster co-ax costs about 3 times the amount of the Lee. There is a reason for this and there is a reason why both of these presses stay in production even at a much higher cost.

That said - if you don't want to reset dies all of the time, simply use locking rings, or better still, a bushing press.

^^^This is of course...true.

 

[kwg020]

I use a Lee Classic 4 hole to resize and neck .223 brass. I have 2 full length resizer dies across from each other and 2 neck dies across from each other. I hand turn the disc since my auto advance never really worked well. Since I load for several semi auto, using this die setup has made it easy for me to use the brass in any one of the semi autos without worrying about fitting a round to anyone of the chambers.

I cannot get my hand into the Lee press to put in the bullet on top of the brass because room is limited and I use a single stage press to load the bullet into the primed and powdered brass. I can get my hand in to load .45 auto into the case so I use it for .45 as well.

 

[Manny]

Realguns.com had a nice article comparing turret presses from RCBS, Lee & Redding several years back. He measure neck & bullet runout and came up with the following:

Redding

COL - Comparator2.1822.1802.1802.1812.180Neck Run Out <0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001Bullet Run Out<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001
RCBS

COL - Comparator2.1902.1902.1902.1902.189Neck Run Out <0.001<0.001<0.002<0.001<0.002Bullet Run Out<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001
Lee Precision

COL - Comparator2.1812.1822.1822.1822.183Neck Run Out <0.002<0.001<0.002<0.001<0.002Bullet Run Out<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001

The Redding held runout on both to less than .001 and had the best support all around. I've read an article by John Barsness where he described using a Redding T7 to craft very accurate varmint ammo in quantity with a few mods. If you can stand the extra, I'd go first class and get a Redding.

You may be better off instead with getting the Lee Classic Cast Single Stage and installing Hornady's lock & load bushing kit for quick & easy die changes.

 

[LiveLife]

You may be better off instead with getting the Lee Classic Cast Single Stage and installing Hornady's lock & load bushing kit for quick & easy die changes.

I agree and Lee Breech Lock Classic Cast uses bushings.

Lee uses different bushings than Hornady:



Lee bushing with lock ring



Hornady bushing

 

[Toprudder]

There are two Lee Classic Cast single stage presses. One with the Lee breechlock feature, and one without. The one that does NOT use the breechlock inserts is the one I would recommend. It has a threaded adapter that can be removed and replaced with the Hornady bushing insert kit. The non-breechlock press also handles the spent primers differently, in that the spent primers (and all the primer residue) drops down through the center of the ram and out of the bottom.

If I were to get a Classic Cast press, I would get the non-breechlock version and use the Hornady bushing kit.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/858110/hornady-lock-n-load-press-and-die-conversion-bushing-kit

 

[Toprudder]

As far as accuracy loading goes, I have started using the Wilson chamber style seating dies, and I get much better consistency than with regular press mounted seating dies. JMHO.

 

[Speedo66]

I have a regular Lee turret(older 3 station as opposed to the newer 4 station), a T-7 and an old Lyman Spartan. The Lee is just as good as the T-7, I just got a deal I couldn't refuse on it and I am always the experimenter. If I were to start all over again I would get a Lee Classic Turret and call it good.

I you want to add 4 station service on the Lee, they make a kit to update older presses to 4 station and progressive. I put that kit on a press that must be 40 years old and it works great.