Who uses a Lee Turret Press?

[Dave R]

Thinking about making my first step up from single stage. Have questions about this system.

1. The powder measure--looks like its a series of disks with holes of various sizes. Can it be adjusted to the actual weight I want to throw, or am I locked into the nearest "cup size?" My .223 load is 25 gr. of H335 for 55gr. bullets and 27gr for 40gr. bullets. Can I get those exact powder weights?

2. For rifle rounds, how does the powder charging work? I've watched the video of loading pistol rounds, with the "powder through expander" die. How does that work with a 2-die rifle set? Can't get powder through a FLresizer or bullet seater. Is there a "powder through die" in their rifle set? Does that mean I can't use my old RCBS dies?

3. How much time does it really save you? Looks like it would be a pretty significant improvement over single stage.

Anything else I should know, particularly for reloading rifle rounds? The Lee video makes pistol reloading pretty clear.

[jmortimer]

I use a 'Non-Classic" Turret Press but as single stage. I wish Lee had offered the Classic Turret when I got mine but the "pre-classic" still works real good. I only reload .45 Colt and .38 Special/.357 Mag. I don't think anyone would regret getting the Classic Turret Press. I think the best aspect is having turrets set up for each caliber you reload and swaping them out.

[Hook686]

I suggest you email your questions to Lee Products.

[jimkim]

Dave, you should find answers to your questions here. http://www.realguns.com/archives/122.htm It has three parts. The Lee Auto-Disk powder measure is addressed in part two.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...questid=164223

[Ed_]

My experience is with the LEE DELUXE TURRET PRESS KIT but I think I can answer your questions.

1. No , but if you get the Adjustable charge bar # 90792 you will be able to dial in exact charges or get the double disk kit # 90195 which lee says you can get withen .2 grs of almost any load

2. For rifles you will have to get the lee rifle charging die # 90194 which is similar to the pistol die exept it does not flare the case mouth like the pistol dies does.

3. I use the deluxe turrent die which auto indexes. I also prime on the press for pistol calibers. It does save alot of time . For Rifles, I use a single stage and trickel charge every load for accuracy.

Note : if you plan to prime on the press you will also want the Auto disk riser # 90041


I hope everthing I wrote is accurate. I have been prone to making mistakes every since I took my first breath. Except during my teen age years when I was of course perfect.


http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data...uct/AD2302.pdf





Ed

[gearheadpyro]

The powder measure that comes in the Classic kit is the Auto-Disc. You adjust it down to the nearest cup size (most powders get an increment of .2 grains or so). You can also get a double disk kit that allows larger charges and finer adjustments.

Lee offers a rifle charging die, it is another die between the sizing and seating dies. Your RCBS dies will work fine.

I'm not sure how much time savings it will be as I don't load rifle on mine. For pistol though I can put out 200 rounds or so an hour.

[NCMountain]

I have the Classic Turrett Press and the disk are not actual measured weight charges for the reference in the manual. They are just under for safety reasons.

Usually I go up to the next largest disk to get an in between or middle of the road charge if I am able.

No experience with rifle so I can't answer.

Time savings???? Yes, quite a bit if your cranking rounds!

[Qtiphky]

I use the auto-disk for all of my pistol work. The holes that they recommend for different powders are starting points. You need to weigh the charges to get to the hole that corresponds with the weight you want. For example, I just loaded 150 rounds for an M1 carbine and the recommended hole in the auto disk was .66 for a 14 grain charge of H110. I really had to use the .95 hole to get a 14.1 grain charge. However, every charge that I weighed was exactly 14.1 grains.

I purchased the universal charging die for rifle to try and use the double disk for .223 rounds in conjunctin with my lee powder measure. I couldn't figure out how to use the universal charger and went back to charging the rounds in a separate step with the perfect powder measure. I'm sure someone can figure it, but there were a bunch of "sleeves" in the charging die and I couldn't figure out which combination I was supposed to leave in to get to my charge weight for a .223 round. I tried several times and dumped powder all over my bench so I walked away and haven't had time to play with it again. I didn't contact Lee yet for further clarification as it was not that important at that time. But, now that you ask the question, I think so shall I.

In reviewing the link above for the pdf file, it looks different than information that came with set up for the disks to use for powder. I will have to download it and compare. According to the pdf the .66 hole was not even close for what I wanted and the .95 is a little over. Hmmmmmmm.

[Rusty W]

I use the Lee Classic Cast Turret. I reload .223, .243, .270, 30/30, .308, .30-06, and 45/70 rifle rounds. I've found I didn't like the double disk kit and started using a RCBS Uniflow or Hornady powder measure with the case activated assembly. I use the RCBS X-dies on the .223 and .308 because that is what I shoot the most, and I hate trimming brass. I don't know how much time it saves vs a single stage. I can load 100 rounds of rifle in less than an hour when everything is going smooth. Pistol rounds are a little faster and I use the auto disk and adjustable charge bar for them. I can get 150-200 rounds per hour working in a steady pace.

I also have a Hornady LNLAP and it's set up for 38/357 and 9mm. It's a great press and will really crank out the ammo. I find I use the Lee more because I don't shoot as much now with the cost of componets being so high and hard to get.

[grumpa72]

I use the Lee Classic Cast Turret to reload 9mm, .45 acp, and .223. The powder measure does allow only incremental increases unless you get the double disk system. Fwiw, I adjust my charge up or down to accommodate the disk. That usually still puts me safely below the maximum charge.

I can reload 3 pistol rounds per minute, going slowly enough to visually check each case for over/under charge and weighing powder charges once or twice per box of 50.

The .223 rifle reloading oth, takes a bit more because I trim the cases, chamfer, swage, and then prime, once the primer pocket is resized. Once all of my rifle brass is at this stage, I then set up the turret and I can go fairly rapidly. In the rifle, I weigh 3-4 charges per 20 round box because of the extra pressure that they have.

[cali92rs]

1. No , but if you get the Adjustable charge bar # 90792 you will be able to dial in exact charges or get the double disk kit # 90195 which lee says you can get withen .2 grs of almost any load

You know I got that adjustable charge bar and just HATE it. Could not get a consistant charge to save my life.

The double disk kit will get you close enough to where you want to go unless you are reloading for sub-MOA, real high accuracy target shooting.
But for your typical, handgun short range or hunting purposes, its more than adequate.

[Dave R]

This is great info. Thanks, all.

Sounds like the double disk will do it for me. I can still hand weight my "sub moa, real high accuracy" loads. For plinking ammo, within .2 grains will do fine.

More comments welcome!

[CrustyFN]

After case prep I can load around 250, 223 rounds per hour. Pistol I load around 200. For 223 I use H335 and W748 and both powder throw very consistant with the double disk kit. This will give you an idea of what it's like to load 223 on the classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOpN9iYOyE8

[TriumphGuy]

You know I got that adjustable charge bar and just HATE it. Could not get a consistant charge to save my life.

+10 to that. I use the disks for pistol loads, and manually measure out the charges for rifle, dumping them through a funnel on top of the rifle charging die. Lee equipment is great for the price, but you have to be willing to fuss with it a little more. It's not as "plug and play" as the rest.

[Jim243]

I must be getting old. The charge bar thing is called a "micro-disk" and is extreemly accurate and stays set without ANY problems round after round after round. Anyone who has ever used one will tell you, you can not use it for loading rifle cases because it doesn't hold enough powder for a rifle charge. A charging bar is used for loading shotgun cases with lead shot, even I know that and I don't even load shotgun shells.

I use my Classic Turret Press all the time but mainly for pistol rounds, prep and processing for rifle cases is different than pistol and is best done on a single stage press. The Lee Classic Turret press can be used that way but shines at loading pistol cartrages.

You would need to use the double-disk kit to get suffecient powder for a rifle load. Each disk can be mixed and matched from a table provided with the kit to get ALMOST the exact powder load. If you want to get it to 0.10 grains you will need to use a different setup, I would recommend a RCBS 1500.

Here is my setup:



Jim

[Dave R]

Crusty, thanks for that video. Perfect.

Followup question--the guy in the video FLResizes separately, before doing the other steps. Is that required? I don't chamfer, trim etc. at every loading--only about every 3 loadings. So I was thinking I could tumble, lube, and then do FLResize AND all the other steps on the turret. Then remove lube. Is that right?

Jim, I'm planning to use the double disks so I have enough capacity for rifle rounds. At least .223.

Anyone know if the double disk setup will hold enough powder for 45-47gr loads for .308?

[TriumphGuy]

I must be getting old. The charge bar thing is called a "micro-disk" and is extreemly accurate and stays set without ANY problems round after round after round.

I think you might be confusing the two. The "micro-disk" is just a disk like the others, with smaller charge volume and I think some kind of adapter to make it work. I have good luck with mine.

The "charge bar" is that silly adjustable thing. See here. http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/powhan1.html