Bullet Feeder for Lee Turret 4 Hole Press

jjensen229 · February 3, 2011, 11:00 AM

Good Morning everyone! I am a newbie to reloading and have just finished my first set of reloads on both the 9mm and .40S&W. My press is a Lee 4 hole Turret press which is working great for the rounds I am loading. I am wanting to eventually incorporate a bullet feeder to increase my output once I get my test rounds set. My question is, is there a bullet feeder that I can attach to my 4 hole turret press

? On the Lee website, I only see it being applied to the Lee1000, and not the 4hole turret. Does anyone have any suggestions or do you use something different for this? Thanks for the help.

TheBigO · February 3, 2011, 11:28 AM

If I am understanding you- You are using a Lee Turret Press and thus there is no bullet or case feeder for this set up. Like you mention there is one for the Lee Pro 1000 and the Lee Load Master. You can see how those work by checking out You Tube- Sorry to burst your bubble.

I will say that my first press was the Lee Turret- I still love the thing

BigJakeJ1s · February 4, 2011, 11:59 AM

There are two types of bullet feeders out there.

There is the Lee system that uses only their bullet feed-n-seat dies. I know of very few people that have been able to make it work consistently well (e.g. longer than it takes to make a video of it). Most people play around with it, and then give up on it.

The other type is like the RCBS and Hornady bullet feeders. They require their own die station, separate from the seating station, on a progressive press. They also will not work with a rotating turret head.

If you want improved throughput, get a progressive. A bullet feeder on a turret press only helps in one out of four pulls of the handle, so it does not increase throughput that much, and is probably not worth the hassle of getting the Lee bullet feeder to work.

Andy

Brian Pfleuger · February 4, 2011, 12:20 PM

If you need to go faster than manual placement of bullets on a turret, you need to go progressive. Even with manual placement, I can produce 200+ rounds an hour. For me, I would not upgrade to a progressive unless I shot at least 1000 rounds a month.

For faster production, set out your bullets ahead of time where they are in easy reach and positioned correctly. This only takes a minute or two for couple hundred bullets. Done properly, there is very little delay in your press strokes. I'm not really sure a feeder would be much faster, even if you could find one.

Lost Sheep · February 5, 2011, 01:37 AM

If you can devote one of the limited number of die stations to a"bullet drop" die, this is as close to a bullet feeder as I have been able to come.

It is 'WAY short of a real bullet feeder, but has a slight advantage over the way I do it now.

Pull the innards out of the case-mouth belling die (or get a hollow tube with an inside diameter equal to the diameter of your cartridge's outer diameter (plus the case mouth bell).

Screw this "die" into the station after the powder station.

When the cartridge is run up into the die, drop a bullet into the top of this "die".

(Optional) Then stick a push-rod into the top of the die to drive the bullet into the case. The push-rod will, of course, have a shoulder on it to prevent driving the bullet too deep in the cartridge case. Those of you who have used the Lee Load-All (the loading kit used with a mallet) will recognize the push-rod)

I have not built one (yet) because I have not figured out how to automate anything. But if anyone can improve on it, I hereby declare the idea public domain, insofar as I can.

I still do my bullets exactly as Peetzakilla described. I have choreographed my hand movements to minimize wasted motion and am doing all right for now.

Lost Sheep

Smokymtnsmoke · October 12, 2011, 02:11 PM

I too have the Lee Classic Turret 4 hole press. I want to add a bullet feeder for my pistol reloading 38/257/9mm/40SW

Look at the mods this guy has made to his press with a bullet feeder...

http://youtu.be/BdLAZRW0QeY

I think I'm going to order a RCBS bullet feeding die and ass a clear tube to it and see if that will work.
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.co...sku=0004482351

February 3, 2011, 11:00 AM	#1
jjensen229 Junior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Posts: 1	Bullet Feeder for Lee Turret 4 Hole Press Good Morning everyone! I am a newbie to reloading and have just finished my first set of reloads on both the 9mm and .40S&W. My press is a Lee 4 hole Turret press which is working great for the rounds I am loading. I am wanting to eventually incorporate a bullet feeder to increase my output once I get my test rounds set. My question is, is there a bullet feeder that I can attach to my 4 hole turret press? On the Lee website, I only see it being applied to the Lee1000, and not the 4hole turret. Does anyone have any suggestions or do you use something different for this? Thanks for the help.

February 4, 2011, 12:20 PM	#4
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	If you need to go faster than manual placement of bullets on a turret, you need to go progressive. Even with manual placement, I can produce 200+ rounds an hour. For me, I would not upgrade to a progressive unless I shot at least 1000 rounds a month. For faster production, set out your bullets ahead of time where they are in easy reach and positioned correctly. This only takes a minute or two for couple hundred bullets. Done properly, there is very little delay in your press strokes. I'm not really sure a feeder would be much faster, even if you could find one. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley Last edited by Brian Pfleuger; February 5, 2011 at 09:39 AM. Reason: spelling

February 5, 2011, 01:37 AM	#5
Lost Sheep Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2009 Location: Anchorage Alaska Posts: 3,341	I have thought of that, but not much more If you can devote one of the limited number of die stations to a"bullet drop" die, this is as close to a bullet feeder as I have been able to come. It is 'WAY short of a real bullet feeder, but has a slight advantage over the way I do it now. Pull the innards out of the case-mouth belling die (or get a hollow tube with an inside diameter equal to the diameter of your cartridge's outer diameter (plus the case mouth bell). Screw this "die" into the station after the powder station. When the cartridge is run up into the die, drop a bullet into the top of this "die". (Optional) Then stick a push-rod into the top of the die to drive the bullet into the case. The push-rod will, of course, have a shoulder on it to prevent driving the bullet too deep in the cartridge case. Those of you who have used the Lee Load-All (the loading kit used with a mallet) will recognize the push-rod) I have not built one (yet) because I have not figured out how to automate anything. But if anyone can improve on it, I hereby declare the idea public domain, insofar as I can. I still do my bullets exactly as Peetzakilla described. I have choreographed my hand movements to minimize wasted motion and am doing all right for now. Lost Sheep

February 3, 2011, 11:28 AM	#2
TheBigO Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2010 Location: Bellingham Posts: 122	If I am understanding you- You are using a Lee Turret Press and thus there is no bullet or case feeder for this set up. Like you mention there is one for the Lee Pro 1000 and the Lee Load Master. You can see how those work by checking out You Tube- Sorry to burst your bubble. I will say that my first press was the Lee Turret- I still love the thing

February 4, 2011, 11:59 AM	#3
BigJakeJ1s Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2005 Location: Arlington TX Posts: 663	There are two types of bullet feeders out there. There is the Lee system that uses only their bullet feed-n-seat dies. I know of very few people that have been able to make it work consistently well (e.g. longer than it takes to make a video of it). Most people play around with it, and then give up on it. The other type is like the RCBS and Hornady bullet feeders. They require their own die station, separate from the seating station, on a progressive press. They also will not work with a rotating turret head. If you want improved throughput, get a progressive. A bullet feeder on a turret press only helps in one out of four pulls of the handle, so it does not increase throughput that much, and is probably not worth the hassle of getting the Lee bullet feeder to work. Andy

October 12, 2011, 02:11 PM	#6
Smokymtnsmoke Junior Member Join Date: January 19, 2010 Posts: 5	I too have the Lee Classic Turret 4 hole press. I want to add a bullet feeder for my pistol reloading 38/257/9mm/40SW Look at the mods this guy has made to his press with a bullet feeder... http://youtu.be/BdLAZRW0QeY I think I'm going to order a RCBS bullet feeding die and ass a clear tube to it and see if that will work. http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.co...sku=0004482351