Lee classic turret should I get it?

[TennJed]

I am perfectly happy with my LCT, but just to kill any thought I might have of wanting to upgrade. What would a Dillon 650 set up run, including everything for 6 handgun calibers. I already have the lee dies for them (can they be used)

I have a feeling after I see the figure, I will have no desire to upgrade from my LCT

 

[Katitmail]

Getting off topic here, but since Katit pulled the thread out of the library I don't think he will mind. Do you eliminate a pull if you prime off press? It appears not, since he primes on the resize in the video, unless their is another way?

No, indexing rod operate turret with 4 holes, each stroke makes it turn. You can short-stroke. Loading 9x18MAK was faster for me because I have 3-die set and do seat and crimp on one operation. 4th station was a skip. You have to crank it but you can do short-crank and quick.

 

[Katitmail]

I am perfectly happy with my LCT, but just to kill any thought I might have of wanting to upgrade. What would a Dillon 650 set up run, including everything for 6 handgun calibers. I already have the lee dies for them (can they be used)

I have a feeling after I see the figure, I will have no desire to upgrade from my LCT

I would say <$1500 with case feeder and basic conversion kits

 

[kutter]

I would love to have a 650, and one day I might, but in the meantime, my LCT serves me pretty well. Time is a luxury not everyone has so I understand the OP's reasoning. If it were me I would not sell it, I would just get a stand from LEE to put it on and stick it in the corner for those times when I need/want to use it for small batch stuff.

Mine is on a stand in the house and I just sit and watch tv and deprime/resize/prime in batch mode then turn the TV off when I want to actually put powder in and seat since I am not crazy enough to have on Duck Dynasty while I do that.

 

[Katitmail]

Mine is on a stand in the house and I just sit and watch tv and deprime/resize/prime in batch mode then turn the TV

I don't watch TV lately, new business, unlimited hours, etc. I'm mechanical and l like to tinker better than do repetative motion. Setting up 650 for new caliber is activity I like better than repetative motion.

Selling it to recoup money I spent for conversions

 

[Potatohead]

I would love to have a 650, and one day I might, but in the meantime, my LCT serves me pretty well. Time is a luxury not everyone has so I understand the OP's reasoning. If it were me I would not sell it, I would just get a stand from LEE to put it on and stick it in the corner for those times when I need/want to use it for small batch stuff.

Mine is on a stand in the house and I just sit and watch tv and deprime/resize/prime in batch mode then turn the TV off when I want to actually put powder in and seat since I am not crazy enough to have on Duck Dynasty while I do that.

How do you like that stand? I was looking at it today at Nachez

 

[kutter]

I like the stand a lot. It goes without saying that once assembled and with the concrete blocks in it, it gets very heavy. I only move mine about 5 feet when I want to use it. If I needed to move one further than that it I would have to think about how to go about it. But it is stable and the footprint is not real big.

The biggest issue is no bench space, so everything sits on my coffee table when I reload. But this is actually not such a bad thing since it means that I only have out the powder, primers, and bullets that I am using at that moment so no chance of mixing things up.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Well, how's that for a surprise ending?! I read the whole thread, hearing about how great the LCT is and then BOOM....it sucks, I'm selling it! Kidding but that was an interesting read. So Katit, Sounds like the 650 is awesome...?

I can't get my press until the end of Aug, so that gives me plenty of time to waffle back and forth Everytime I get up on the fence for one press, another one comes by and knocks me off!

So how long does it take to load 600 rds on the LCT, anyone? Not that it matters if it takes awhile I guess- I think I will be one to enjoy the time spent reloading.

From what I learned and seen - LCT is GREAT for the money. Only you can tell what you need. Like I said - I don't have free time, I need to load ammo and go, no time to crank handle with small kids, etc.

To load 600 rounds you will spend 3-4 hours and your hand will be sore. Or maybe not - if you have iron elbow

650 is awesome, nobody says otherwise. It cost a lot more too. Right now I ordered "budget" conversions for 2 more calibers and it cost me $200, just as much as LCT was.

If you need to load 50 each in many calibers - LCT is the way to go. If you want to load 300+ and don't really care about sitting and cranking for hours - LCT is out.

Ok, consider this. I had match last week. Just got into garage, quickly (about 15-20 minutes) cranked 200 rounds and was good to go. With LCT it will be good part of the evening story.

Katitmail is very likely correct at 3-4 hours. I can do 600 rounds in 5 hours.

10 minutes to set up (from the boxes in which my gear is stored)
45 minutes to do 100 rounds, box and label the finished product, refill primers, refill powder, recheck powder drop, stage another bowl of bullets and brass and stretch my legs.
45 minutes, another 100
45 minutes, another 100
15 minutes to wash hands, grab a snack, etc.
45 minutes, another 100
45 minutes, another 100
45 minutes, another 100
5 minutes to tear down, clean up and put gear away

Total, 300 minutes.

And I am slow. The 45 minutes estimate is based on my first time out with my Classic Turret. 47 minutes from start to finish, 100 rounds, including refilling powder and primers, boxing the finished product and setting up for another 100. My first time out after practicing with a half-dozen cartridges to get my rhythm down.

I am undoubtedly faster now, but do not tend to push it.

I would count on the 650 (with case feeder, bullet feeder and other bells and whistles) to be 4 to 6 times as fast in production. But caliber swaps will take longer. If you don't swap calibers that often, though, swap time is unimportant. If you leave your press set up, ready for action, setup time becomes unimportant, too.

Lost Sheep

 

[Fire_Moose]

I size /prime seperately.

One of these days I'll get another powder thru die, PAD, and a seater/crimper and make a bullet every other pull of the handle.

Sent from my CZ85 Combat

 

[Katitmail]

I size /prime seperately.

One of these days I'll get another powder thru die, PAD, and a seater/crimper and make a bullet every other pull of the handle.

Sent from my CZ85 Combat

How are you going to fit 2 powder heads?

 

[Potatohead]

I like the stand a lot. It goes without saying that once assembled and with the concrete blocks in it, it gets very heavy. I only move mine about 5 feet when I want to use it. If I needed to move one further than that it I would have to think about how to go about it. But it is stable and the footprint is not real big.

The biggest issue is no bench space, so everything sits on my coffee table when I reload. But this is actually not such a bad thing since it means that I only have out the powder, primers, and bullets that I am using at that moment so no chance of mixing things up.

Thanks for answering. I was wondering because I'm in a bit of a crunch for space here at the moment. 5 of us in an 1100 sq ft house.

 

[Potatohead]

Thanks Lost sheep for your time frame scenario. I will not need to change calibers very often (at the moment). It sounds like 100-200 rds per hr is quite attainable with the LCT. I think that would be plenty good for me. The only thing I wonder about now is if I'm going to be plunking the money down for an LCT, and then wanting to move up soon after. Oh well. Thanks very much for all the info. PH

 

[Nordeste]

Let's be honest here, the Dillon 650 is faster and more convenient if you need to crank out quality ammo quickly. Provided that you can afford it, it's the way to go. In the case of the OP, this is pretty evident.

Reloading, however, involves a few more factors. Most of us reload because we save money through it. Then we find out we can also tailor our ammo to our particular needs. Win-win. One of the factors involved is how much ammo we need on, say, a weekly basis. In my case, 150-200 rounds do. And I can afford to spend a couple of hours per week doing so. With that in mind, the LCT was my choice and I think I made the right decision. I considered the 550, but, again, with my ammo needs in mind, I disregarded it. I could buy my LCT kit, plus dies, plus ammo, bullets, primers and powder for the price of the 550 and still have some money left in my pocket. Quite a bit, if we consider that the LCT Kit includes a scale and powder measure accessories. Besides, I'm a newbie, and the LCT is great for me. I can go slowly and make sure I'm doing things right. In a progressive, too many things are going on at the same time, it's easier to screw up. And we all know what are the consequences.

This said, and for those who are thinking in getting a LCT, I strongly suggest the Lee Adjustable Charge Bar. It's an optional piece of equipment well worth its price. It allows to tailor your powder charges to a tenth of grain easily. Even less, from what I've learned, and no fiddling with the disks.

At my very relaxed pace, I could make a 100 rounds in an hour, no sweat. I can see myself at 150 rounds per hour soon.

Question for you experienced reloaders out there. I plan on purchasing a rifle (still have to decide which one, though) in the future, and I'll obviously reload for it. Do you think the LCT is strong enough to fully resize rifle brass?. I know it is for neck resizing, but I wonder whether it would be able to handle the stress of full resizing or if I'll need to buy a Lee Classic Cast for that task.

 

[1KPerDay]

I have resized military .30-06 and 7.62 brass on the LCT. However I have switched that task to a single stage because it just seemed like a better choice. My brass and dies need to have the press "cam over" to get the shoulder sufficiently bumped, and the LCT doesn't cam over. Plus I love my LCT and don't want to ruin it.

 

[Potatohead]

Thanks Noredeste (you could pick up lots of chicks down here in Alabammer, tellin them you were from Spain)....

1K, Nordeste, anyone..Does 100-200 rds give you tennis elbow on the LCT? Katit mentioned that above.. (600 rds though)..

Also, Regarding Dillon 550/560 actions we were talking about above: How friggin long could it take to change dies to move to another caliber? It seems I hear a lot about that. I'll try and check it out on Youtube but what could be happening besides, take this off, put this on...?

 

[Katitmail]

One of the factors involved is how much ammo we need on, say, a weekly basis. In my case, 150-200 rounds do

So, 600-800 rounds a month. That saves you about $100 (rought number I take for 9mm pistol). And you spend 8 hours every month.

In less than a year Dillon will pay for itself. LCT pays for itself in 2 month. But with Dillon you save more time, 7 hours every month. This 7 hour can be spent casting for example which will save you even more

I do understand reloading as a hobby. To me it is a hobby too. But I like aspects like saving money, ability to dial in load, experiment, have exact ammo I want. Cranking handle is not part of this hobby. There is nothing interesting in it

 

[Katitmail]

Also, Regarding Dillon 550/560 actions we were talking about above: How friggin long could it take to change dies to move to another caliber? It seems I hear a lot about that. I'll try and check it out on Youtube but what could be happening besides, take this off, put this on...?

Assume that you have separate turret setup for each caliber in LCT.

Check videos. On LCT you do not have to deal with bolts. Just pop turret and replace with different one. If you change primer size (large-small) - replace priming arm and safety prime. Thats all. If you use same powder measure between heads - move it from one head to another and change hole/powder/etc. 5 minutes top.

With 650 it's same concept. If you have different head ready to go - just swap it. But then you have to replace shellholder on a bottom (unscrew), replace feeding parts for case feeding. If you change primer size need to disassembe little further. More work. People make it sound like a big deal, I put 30 minutes in my number above so nobody argues but they say it's something like 12 minutes

If I need to change from 9mm luger to 9x18 mak - shellplate is the same, caliber change is very quick on Dillon

 

[Potatohead]

Gotcha

 

[Nordeste]

Potatohead, your comment about Alabama chicks got a laugh . Made me remind of the times in which I used to work abroad and my "funny" accent opened some doors, but I can tell you it's a global thing. Same "doors" opened here when I had friends visiting me over here and the same phenomena happened the other way around. Girls usually find interesting and exotic whatever comes from outside their own borders . But, back to topic, I have set my reloading bench slightly over average height. It doesn't bother me at all, and in any case, reloading 9 mm does not require that much force as to develop tennis elbow, or so I think.

Katitmail, your estimations are pretty much correct. The Dillon, even considering the cheaper 550, would save time, but as said, I can afford a couple of hours per week and I actually have no place in which to cast bullets since I live in an apartment (ventilation issues). I still consider the LCT the most sensible choice. If I ever need higher volume I'd put put her on sale, and most likely keep the Lee dies as I think they would be compatible with the 550 and I like the Factory Crimp die thing. But for the time being, the LCT is producing quality ammo at a reasonable pace in exchange of a very reasonable amount of money. As for load development, that can be done on a single stage very well. Usually, when we develop a load we do so by making a few cartridges (5, 10, whatever...) and then run them through a chrony. It doesn't take much to do so even in a single stage.

Summing up, I think you did the right thing. But I also think I did so .

 

[Katitmail]

keep the Lee dies as I think they would be compatible with the 550 and I like the Factory Crimp die thing

Absolutely. I keep my Lee dies. The only thing is not compatible - expander die. Dillon has their own insert ($15-25)

Yesterday I checked out RCB 2000 videos, was curious. They use primer strips but what more important - they have separate powder throw and expansion die. Seems like Lee powder through and expansion is throw away on non-Lee presses but all other dies is legit.

 

[RealGun]

Just another thread, wherein if you mention some loyalty or attraction to or defense of Lee, you quickly are wading through endless posts extolling the virtues of Dillon 650s, ignoring that arguably the 650 doesn't really work without a case feeder, and that the OP is probably not remotely ready to spend something on the order of $1500 on a press setup, right out of the gate. It's not that the recommendation is wrong but rather that the justification for that kind of expenditure in lieu of alternatives doesn't easily compute for a newcomer.

The reason I like the turret is because it is a permanent asset, useful even if I had the most elaborate Dillon setup imaginable.

The 550, for me, is not in the running without indexing. No doubt, I could do well with it too, but some other alternatives fill the cracks in features between models in the Dillon model line up.

Back to the topic...

Lee classic turret should I get it?

I'm shooting 9mm mostly. I need other calibers but maybe 200-300 rounds per month. I have dillon 650 on order which I plan to use for 9mm.

Conversion kits for dillon is kind of cost prohibitive. I'm thinking lee turret will be great for load testing and developing. Also for small batches. Should I get it as addition to my future dillon? Is it a good ideA?

You won't regret having the turret, but you will have to weigh the cost of it and the die sets against the Dillon caliber conversion kits. If you don't yet have a single stage press, then the turret is the most versatile way to have that capability, and the cast version is the strongest for loading rifle ammo, should that ever be an issue.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Let's be honest here, the Dillon 650 is faster and more convenient if you need to crank out quality ammo quickly. Provided that you can afford it, it's the way to go. In the case of the OP, this is pretty evident.

Reloading, however, involves a few more factors. Most of us reload because we save money through it. Then we find out we can also tailor our ammo to our particular needs. Win-win. One of the factors involved is how much ammo we need on, say, a weekly basis. In my case, 150-200 rounds do. And I can afford to spend a couple of hours per week doing so. With that in mind, the LCT was my choice and I think I made the right decision. I considered the 550, but, again, with my ammo needs in mind, I disregarded it. I could buy my LCT kit, plus dies, plus ammo, bullets, primers and powder for the price of the 550 and still have some money left in my pocket. Quite a bit, if we consider that the LCT Kit includes a scale and powder measure accessories. Besides, I'm a newbie, and the LCT is great for me. I can go slowly and make sure I'm doing things right. In a progressive, too many things are going on at the same time, it's easier to screw up. And we all know what are the consequences.

This said, and for those who are thinking in getting a LCT, I strongly suggest the Lee Adjustable Charge Bar. It's an optional piece of equipment well worth its price. It allows to tailor your powder charges to a tenth of grain easily. Even less, from what I've learned, and no fiddling with the disks.

At my very relaxed pace, I could make a 100 rounds in an hour, no sweat. I can see myself at 150 rounds per hour soon.

Question for you experienced reloaders out there. I plan on purchasing a rifle (still have to decide which one, though) in the future, and I'll obviously reload for it. Do you think the LCT is strong enough to fully resize rifle brass?. I know it is for neck resizing, but I wonder whether it would be able to handle the stress of full resizing or if I'll need to buy a Lee Classic Cast for that task.

Absolutely is strong enough and with enough leverage.

I believe the bottom end has the same linkage as the Lee Classic Cast single stage press.

Lost Sheep