Lee Classic Turret Press Grief

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Lee's instructions leave a lot to be desired.
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Hooo Boy!

UNDER_FRICKIN_STATEMENT!!!!!

:fire:

Lee's "instructions" are without question some of the most inadequate, confusing, obscure, worthless pieces of crap I've ever encountered. How they can put that garbage in with the equipment they send out is astounding.

I have assembled things that had instructions that were very poorly translated from Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Lower Slobbovian that were easier to decipher.

And the worthless, tiny freaking pictures they put on their tiny-print instructions... give me a break! How is anybody supposed to glean anything from those substandard little 1"x1" jokes?

Disgraceful! Richard Lee should have to include a personally hand written note of apology in everything they send out with those sorry excuses for "instructions"! Something along the lines of:

Dear Customer,

Please accept my deepest sympathy for the fact that you have to try to assemble our product using this misbegotten crap. I know that for the price you've paid for your purchase you deserve better, but frankly, we just don't want to bother to take the time to provide it to you. So you'll just have to figure it out the best you can on your own. So sorry, but thanks for your money anyway.

Your truly,

Dick
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Ahhhhh...........

I feel so much better now.

:)
 
RustyFN said:
The FCD will do a heavy crimp in pistol rounds but it's not recommended for plated bullets being as the plating is so thin. I have loaded a lot of plated bullets in 9mm and only used enough crimp to get rid of the bell the powder/expander die put in. I never had any problems but read on some forums ( take that for what it's worth ) that if you crimp hard into a plated bullet you can have the back half of the plating come off and get stuck in the barrel.
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So I bought 1000 .44 Magnum plated bullets that I cannot use in a .44 Magnum revolver? They need to be crimped, but without a cannular I'm not supposed to crimp them. Why do they sell them then?
 
i use the lee FCD in all my match ammo. i just load a bullet into a case, crimp it, then disassemble to see what mark it leaves on the jacket. i look for a minimal faint line. seems to work OK for me @ 40 yards.
 
So I bought 1000 .44 Magnum plated bullets that I cannot use in a .44 Magnum revolver? They need to be crimped, but without a cannular I'm not supposed to crimp them. Why do they sell them then?
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Yes they can be crimped. My understanding is they can't have a heavy crimp. If you crimp enough to cut through the plating I would think you would have problems. Make a dummy round with no powder or primer with a little crimp, if you push the bullet against your bench with reasonable force ( not as hard as you can ) and the bullet doesn't push in then you will be fine. I don't load 44 mag so I don't know how much crimp is required for that round.
Rusty
 
REF Pact scale - "No, sorry, it’ll go back to Cabela’s first and I won’t buy another Pact scale ever again."

Welll, that may not be quite the fix you think if you plan to buy another "brand" of digital. I understand that Pact makes most of them.

Don't expect everything to be cut and dried in reloading, die instructions or bullet crimp grooves, etc. We just do what's neccessary to make things right. That indeed takes a bit of learning/thinking on our own. I mean, no maker can possibly solve every situation we may encounter and then give us reloaders detailed printed directions for everything we do, so we learn to live with the variables.
 
Mainsail, just give Berry's a call about crimping the plated bullets. Don't take our guesses as fact. Berry's may tell you just what you want to hear.

1 (800) 269-7373
 
Definately call Berry's about the plated bullets if you plan to load them to .44 Mag pressures. It's my understanding that these are usually loaded with lead bullet data or their own special data from the manuals. I don't use them so I have not paid attention to this particular issue myself. From what I recall these bullets are NOT to be used as substitutes for true jacketed bullets and loaded with jacketed bullet data from the manuals.

On the matter of scales, get a beam scale. Yes they are a pain in the butt to use but you'll be glad you have one when that electronic scale you spent so much on flakes out on you. Lee sells their for about $20 an it works just as well as any of the big name makes scales do IME. I also like to check my charges with both types of scales just to make sure anyway, if there is a big discrepancy between the mechanical and electronic scales then something is wrong and needs to be recified before putting the charge in the case.
 
‘scuse me? I followed the directions exactly as written, the directions were insufficient. Further, I wouldn’t have bought Lee products unless I believed in them. I still believe they make exceptional reloading equipment, and I have no complaints whatsoever with my press or the dies. My problem is that they dropped the ball when they wrote the product instructions that came with my dies.
 
I think its sort of funny that so many people rail on Lee products, when the problem described here resided completely with the user, not the equipment.
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And the way I see it is he came to ask for help so good on him.
Rusty
 
Yeah, I have a LCTP also, and although they make great products, their instructions really DO suck! They tend to leave out a LOT of vital little bits of info. Like, how to adjust the dies for .44mag vs. .44special. Or how to properly mount the primer feed thing (which I feel is a p.o.s. anyway).
 
‘scuse me? I followed the directions exactly as written, the directions were insufficient. Further, I wouldn’t have bought Lee products unless I believed in them. I still believe they make exceptional reloading equipment, and I have no complaints whatsoever with my press or the dies. My problem is that they dropped the ball when they wrote the product instructions that came with my dies.
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Maybe it just never occurred to them that someone would set the dies up for 44 special, and be surprised when they crushed 44 magnum cases.
 
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Mainsail wrote:
No, I figure I'll crimp them and not worry about it.
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Well, I had to satisfy my curiosity. I didn't know it 'til now, but Berry's has a FAQ about crimping their plated bullets that do not have a cannelure. Basically, this:

"If you feel the need, you can use a snug roll crimp to keep bullets in place. Just ensure you don't get the roll too tight such that it severs the plating and destroys the bullet. "

(Pretty much what Rusty said).
 
lee stuff is great, just takes a while to set up and get going... especially since their instructions read like they were written in the early 1900s by field farmers.
 
I looked at my instructions for my Lee 44 magnum dies, and there is the statement, in bold print no less, that you should back out your expander and bullet seating dies 1 3/4 turns if you are loading 44 magnum.

Do your instructions not have that statement???
 
Well all you Lee guys. I would suggest he pack up the piece of junk( like I did a few years ago) and send it back to whoever he bought it from ( usually a month grace period) Get his money back and get a Redding Turret . Hey ive only been reloading for 30 years ok!! If he is stuck with it sell it on ebay or someplace else. I wouldnt wast my time of day with most Lee products. Go with Dillon, RCBS Or Redding and you wont be disappointed period. GOOD Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :
 
Give it a rest, Cowboy Bob. He's not having trouble with the Lee equipment, he's having trouble with Lee's instruction sheet, and you're still no help what-so-ever.
You Lee bashers are all alike. You can find problem threads for all makes of reloading equipment, but you get all jolly about it when you think you see an opportunity to make yourself feel good about the stuff you own. Try to get over it.
 
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