Lee Classic Turret press

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GBExpat

GBExpat

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Rural, far beyond the beltway, Northern Virginia,
I have been using an RCBS JR3 single stage press for reloading since the mid-'70s. This has been adequate for my needs, especially since I have always found reloading to be relaxing.

Last month I decided to buy something a little more efficient and, after researching the possibilities, the obvious choice (for/to me) was the 4-position Lee Classic Turret press.

This past weekend I picked up a virus and, while recovering from it, decided to put together all of the components required for running some 2.23/5.56 cartridges.

Yesterday I ran my first 100 and, earlier today, ran 100 more. Nice.

After the first group the Auto Disk (that I have had for several years) had settled down and was consistently throwing 21.5gr ± 0.1gr (I measure each prior to seating the bullet).

It is nice to be able to crank out 100 rounds in a little over an hour for an additional outlay of ~$150. :)

I think that the ±0.1gr variance (best case) of the Auto Disk is OK for large volume rifle cartridges but for small QTY handgun cases, not so much. I will have to develop a little different approach for those.
 
You will find the Auto-Disk more consistent when using most handgun powders. It is extremely accurate when throwing Ball powders and not bad at all with other powders. Even if you get a .1gr variation with some powders I don't see a problem as long as you aren't at the max charge. For handgun loading you might want to buy a adjustable charge bar, it's a good addition to the setup. (IMO of course)
 
+1 on handgun reloading on the turret- I use Win 231/HP-38 and the disks have worked perfectly for the 5 calibers I reload. VERY consistent throws on the press, 150/175 rounds per hour of pistol ammo at my very relaxed pace.
 
FWIW, I've had no problems throwing small charges of AA#2 for .38 wadcutters with the Lee Classic Turret and Auto-Disk combination. If I were trying to load for .25 ACP, I'd probably have to tare weigh each cartridge then throw until it hit the number.
 
I found the disks very accurate on my Lee Turret with the exception of large flake powders.

The adjustable charge bar isn't the most accurate, so I have drilled and tapped holes in the sides of the disks, and can adjust a screw in or out to fine tune the charge. This works better than the adjustable charge bar.
 
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I think that the ±0.1gr variance (best case) of the Auto Disk is OK for large volume rifle cartridges but for small QTY handgun cases, not so much
Click to expand...

Okay that was confusing. My electronic scale won't measure any closer than 0.1 grains and I always thought 0.1 was acceptable. It's not?
 
If you think single to turret was an improvement, wait till you go progressive. I have 2 dillons and then got a classic turret thinking that it would be ok for .38spl since I do not shoot the caliber much. The ammo is good, but 100 per hour kills me. Also, "I can't drive, 55!"
 
1911Teacher said:
If you think single to turret was an improvement, wait till you go progressive.
Click to expand...
:) I have seen a couple of videos ... the speed/production of those things are imPRESSive.

If I could have gotten setup with a Dillon Progressive for ~$150 (rather than 4x-5x that) I would have gone that route.

I first started thinking about the Dillons in the early '80s (IIRC), but when it came time to make a move, considering my needs, the Lee Turret does what I require for the right price.
 
berettaprofessor said:
Okay that was confusing. My electronic scale won't measure any closer than 0.1 grains and I always thought 0.1 was acceptable. It's not?
Click to expand...
I doubt many are actually measuring to better than 0.1gr accuracy. Even with a good beam scale it's hard to do better just because of how sensitive a scale must be to read any better.

Most people aren't working in an environment with no static or zero air movement while they are weighing charges so I'm skeptical of anyone that claims to be getting better than +/- 0.1gr error.

My scale is only precise to 0.2gr but it's dead, dead, dead consistent and that's all I care about. I workup any load I try, every time.

Oh, and by the way. Factory ammo is loaded by volume and sometimes it's pretty hot, wouldn't you agree? Hanging on a tenth of a grain isn't my bag.
 
Years ago I bought my Auto Disk with the hope that it would provide me with consistent throws. After working with it for awhile, I decided that it wasn't as consistent as my OHaus so I went back to using that.

I am now trying again.

On that first 100 batch, the throw varied from 20.2 to 21.6 in the first ten ... and then settled down to produce 21.1 to 21.6. The second and then third batch tightened up a bit more (perhaps due to accumulating graphite coating) to the ± 0.1gr variance, with 21.5 as its Happy Spot and slowly adding sprinklings of 21.6 and a couple 21.7.

When I am dealing with QTYs like 20 or more grains of propellant, I do not consider even ± 0.3gr variance to be a real issue.

For handgun reloading where I may be asking the device to consistently throw ~5-7gr charges, sometimes close to a Max, that kind of variance is unacceptable to me.

But I do have a touch of OCD ... ;)
 
If you paint the LEE turret Smurf Blue you will really think you have something special!!:D
 
Wait until you start loading handgun calibers... it is AWESOME. 250/hr is easy. And you can refill primers in 10 seconds, switch calibers and primer sizes in a minute, easy.
 
My Lee Pro disk is just happier with some powders. Mine hates Unique, but I can get it to throw 3.7gr or 4gr charges of Promo + or - .1 all day:confused:
(Figured I would have problems with those big flakes)
Universal Clays, Bullseye, HP38, BLC(2), H335, TAC and others are + or - .1 as well for me. Vary rarely off by more thean that.
I have no problems getting accurate charges of quite a few different pistol powders 3.5 and up.
If I use the double disk kit I can get awfull close to what I want for .223/5.56 with BLC(2), H335 and TAC.


Since I am not loading any of my handgun ammo right on the edge (and all loads are art least 3.5gr of something for the rounds I load + or - .1 is not an issue for me.

Note the Pro Auto disk has a wiper thing the Auto disk does not. I have both and the Pro Auto disk was and is worth the money IMO and just works better.
 
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GB, I like you find great comfort in the LCT. I will second the experience on the Pro Auto Disk. There are a few tweaks you can do to the LCT and Pro auto disk to keep it less .1 grain variance for the vast majority of pistol powder, which is very acceptable IMO. I find extruded rifle powder to be the largest range and even .5 grain doesn't bother me there.

Happy loading with the red gear and wishing you a healthy new year!
 
Most of my handgun loading is for target and plinking loads so plus or minus 0.1 grains is no big deal. And as others have already stated 0.1 grains is about the best accuracy you will get even with a beam scale.
 
I just completed a timed run of 100 2.23/5.56 rounds.

Without rushing and also weighing 4-5 throws I completed the group in 45 minutes. Nice.

Next I need to test if I can eliminate the 4-taps-with-a-steel-rod that I always do to the Auto Disk frame prior to each throw.

That procedure is something that I developed during my initial Auto Disk testing several years ago ... it provided the most consistent throws.

If I can eliminate the tapping (or, if I decide that it is still needed, come up with some kind of tiny vibrator) I can noticeably speed up that production rate.

Looks like my trusty ol'JR3 is gonna be lonely. ;)
 
ATLDave said:
FWIW, I've had no problems throwing small charges of AA#2 for .38 wadcutters with the Lee Classic Turret and Auto-Disk combination. If I were trying to load for .25 ACP, I'd probably have to tare weigh each cartridge then throw until it hit the number.
Click to expand...
Not surprised. I find Acc. #2 to be the best metering powder ever.

Russellc
 
GBExpat said:
I just completed a timed run of 100 2.23/5.56 rounds.

Without rushing and also weighing 4-5 throws I completed the group in 45 minutes. Nice.

Next I need to test if I can eliminate the 4-taps-with-a-steel-rod that I always do to the Auto Disk frame prior to each throw.

That procedure is something that I developed during my initial Auto Disk testing several years ago ... it provided the most consistent throws.

If I can eliminate the tapping (or, if I decide that it is still needed, come up with some kind of tiny vibrator) I can noticeably speed up that production rate.

Looks like my trusty ol'JR3 is gonna be lonely. ;)
Click to expand...
I've been told by some here to use an aquarium pump to provide the needed vibration.
 
Aquarium pump ... interesting idea, although I have zero experience with them. My mind was moving in the direction of finding an old pager and using the little motor & off-center weight that produced the "vibrate" effect. Hmmmm ...

Time for me to look thru my box loads of electronic treasures (a.k.a., Junk) in the basement. :)
 
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