Lee turret or progressive press

[pete2]

I went from a Lyman turret to the Dillon 550B for pistol. Still use the turret for rifle but I don't shoot much .223. I'm not sorry. I dry tumble then load. A loaded round each stroke after the initial 4. I load 9mm, 45 and .38 on it. I have a powder measure on each tool head so not much wasted time on caliber changes. You could speed stuff up with a 650 and bullet and case feeders. As for rifle, I like to clean the primer pockets and trim them after sizing so it would be a lot slower for rifle than for pistol.
I have not had the best of luck with Lee stuff. I tried a turret years ago and could not get it to index, Lee .45 die did not size small enough to grip the bullet. No lock rings, just jam nuts or friction, hand primer broke at the slot that holds the shell holder, lead pot dripped, had to return it. The scoops are great tho and I've also started using a Lee taper crimp die that also sizes the case if there is a bulge. Apparently Lee has improved over the years. I'd recommend you consider using a taper crimp in a separate operation on ammo for autos. I do still use the Lee hand primer for loading some test loads. (I now have 2 of them as well as an RCBS hand primer).
My 2 cents for what it's worth.

[KEYBEAR]

I use a Dillion 550-B and XL-650 I load a lot of of Unique The Dillion does throw it well .

[Bmp4510]

Originally Posted by Wendyj

Looking to speed up process on 223-9mm and 45 colt. Which is best and what other accessories besides shell plates do I need to buy. Been loadin all these on single stage classic cast. Saw a lot of videos on the Dillon and it looked confusing and cost triple the price. If either press is no good please advise. The turret looks simple enough but still 4 strokes per round. I only want to spend once. Appears either one needs an upgraded powder dispenser if I read correctly.

You have several options to consider. I was lucky a couple years ago and purchased the Lee Loadmaster for my handgun calibers. Walmart had them for $239 each, so I picked one up in .357, one in 9mm and one in 45 acp, as my paychecks allowed. Changing calibers can be done, but I’d say it would realistically take 20-30 minutes to do so, so I just bought 3 presses and leave them set up. I see if you buy from Lee today they are up to $392 each. I’d check Amazon, Walmart.com and Jet.com as each can offer substantial savings if they have the caliber you want. The presses do a respectable job, and I can produce ammo that will do less than an 1” in my 45 at 25 yards. Loading at a medium to slow pace, these presses turn out 100 rounds in about 20 minutes. They come with dies, shell plates, etc and are completely ready to go, except you have to buy the bullet loading funnel.

I also own a Lee 4 Hole Classic Turret Press. It is the press I recommend to all new reloaders. It will do all pistol calibers and most rifle ones as well. I load my 380 acp to 45-70 rounds on it. I also load my 50 Beowulf on it. You can remove the auto-index rod and make it a single station press if you want or need to. When I’m trying to make very precise ammo, I remove the Lee powder measure, and drop and measure every round with a RCBS scale. Again I’d look to purchase at the online stores listed above. With the auto index installed, I do about 100 rounds an hour.

Lastly you might look at the new Lee AUTO BREECH LOCK PRO For $150, plus dies. I don’t have any experience with it, but the videos on Lee’s web site look interesting. Good luck.



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[Metal god]

If you have the cash , obviously the Dillon is the way to go . How ever like you I load for multiple calibers and by the time I have everything I need/want to run a 650 I'm in the $1,200 range . This is why I went to the Lee classic turret press . Again like you I was loading my 9mm and 45acp on a single stage and that got old fast .

I've not actually timed my self but would have to say I can't load much more then 100 an hour on the Lee classic turret press . Now that's giving an honest guess , Meaning nothing set up and ready before I start . I also hand prime my cases because I couldn't get the priming system to work but I did not try very hard to make it work . If I were depriming and priming all in the same 4 strokes I bet I could get closer to the 150rds per hour area .

Either way the lee classic turret press has at least doubled my output to time spent loading . Would I like to double that again , yes BUUUUUT do I want to speed up my loading even more for $1k+ more or do I want one more great gun or 2 more pretty good ones instead ? I've chose more guns as of late to include a new Ruger GP-100 .

I tend to use that logic on everything though . Any time something comes up I want not need that cost $500 or more . I think do I want that or a new gun ? Meaning hmm do I want new golf clubs or a new GP-100 , well we know the answer to that one don't we . I just put new grips on the golf clubs , at least they feel new lol

I would like ballpark around $500.00 if I can use most of my dies I have. 5 hand guns and the 223.

As for the dies , you should be able to use most of what you have . One exception would be the powder drop dies . I bought a nice RCBS die set and quickly realized it did not come with the expander/powder drop die . I ultimately returned the RCBS set and just went with the Lee 4 die sets for all my straight walled cartridges . They are made for the 4 hole turret press really and is all I've found I needed .

[mikejonestkd]

Another vote for the Lee Classic Turret press. its on heck of a nice press, especially for someone that wants to reload several calibers/ swap out quickly, and make enough ammo in one sitting for a normal range trip.
I regularly turn out 180 rounds an hour for straight walled pistol cartridges, and can get up to 200+ per hour if I really get ' heads down ' on it.
In 10 years I have had exactly one plastic ratchet break, and it was user error that caused it. i think a new ratchet was less than a dollar, and it was installed in less than 5 minutes. I have well over 100,000 rounds through the LCT and consider it one of the best values/ quality/ performance/ durability/ for the price presses you can buy.

[BWM]

Lee turret at Midway is 116.00 and extra plates is 13.00 you can not go wrong with it. Good Luck

[Wendyj]

From what I read the Turret is what I need. Which powder charger? Lee lists 3.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by LBussy

I've not used Unique so I can't say but it's said it is a more difficult powder to throw. Others will likely chime in. However, if you feel or discover that the Lee powder throw is not for you, others will fit. The Lee Pro Auto Disk is lighter than some of the others I've seen. That may be a consideration since it's spinning on the turret.

With the Lee Auto Drum and the scales I'm using to measure (Frankford Arsenal DS-750, Hornady LNL beam scale) I'll usually get +/- .1 grains for the majority of the charges, occasionally a +/- .2 throw for the few that come outside of that.

For .45 Colt, that's perfectly fine to me, it's a large case. For .32 caliber or 9mm, I'd be wary of doing max charges.

From what I read the Turret is what I need. Which powder charger? Lee lists 3.

Lee Auto Drum. Much easier to work with for new reloaders.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by Wendyj

From what I read the Turret is what I need. Which powder charger? Lee lists 3.

Autodrum, or Pro Autodisk. Either works.

[Wendyj]

I loaded about 2000 rounds of 9 mm over the winter on a single stage. Not much fun but kept idle days busy. The Lee perfect powder measure threw Titegroup no issues. The 45 is probably one I shoot the most in handgun and carbine. Load 357 also but have enough stockpiled for a few years. 223 is a pain on single stage. They go quick out of AR. Took me a lot of time this morning just prepping what I shot yesterday.

[Metal god]

I have both the Lee pro auto disc and auto drum . Although the Pro auto disc works well with the added charging bar . It only allows for charges of 20gr or lower . I recommend the Auto drum , It's a little easier to adjust and has a large enough insert cavity to charge larger cartridges that hold 20+gr of powder .

As for Unique powder in the Auto drum . I don't use that powder but my buddy just started reloading and uses it . He also uses the auto drum and it appears the auto drum throws it just fine . I helped him set up his press and checked it's consistency . It was throwing +/- .1gr pretty consistent and that was using check weights to be sure we were getting true results . Now that was limited to about 50 throws before I stopped and called it good . I've not worked his press or with Unique since . At the time it seemed GTG .

FWIW that was throwing 5.0gr for 115gr PLRN 9mm . I have no experience throwing any larger or smaller charges of unique in the auto drum .

[jetinteriorguy]

I've been loading on both a Loadmaster and a Lee Value Turret for around four years now and am selling them both and then buying the Lee Classic Cast Turret. I like the turret because it gives you better control over quality checking each round and is pretty much bullet proof in its operation. I'm also keeping my Lyman Crusher for a single stage for loading more precise ammo for long range shooting. But back to the turret, I feel it just is easier to monitor the process while providing a pretty decent amount of ammo output. For plinking I load .223 and 7.62x39 and do all brass prep off the press, and for pistol/revolver I deprime, clean, and prime off the press with the Turret press.

[Reloader2]

I loaded everything for years on a single stage. Made the mistake of buying a 9mm
so I purchased a Lee Classic Turret press. This press is fast enough to keep up with my ammo needs and once the dies are set up in the Turret, changeover is quick and easy.
A while back I purchased a Lee Pro 1000 progressive. A bit of a learning curve trying to get the bugs out but now it cranks out the 9mm quicker than the Turret press.
Change over to a different cartridge is more complicated so I plan on leaving it in 9mm mode.
If I were to keep one, it would be the Lee Classic Turret press due to its simple design that just works well.


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[GTOne]

The Lee classic turret is still the one to beat for a first press, and for most a second press over the single stage that they started on and then realize it is slower than molasses.

Those dillons look so awesome and the numbers sound so good, it is easy to daydream about spitting out ammo by the thousands. Until realism hits and you calculate a 650 set up to go as it really needs to be with a couple three caliber conversions and case feeder is around 1500 bucks, and a 550 is pushing close to 4 digits.
Make no mistake, those blue presses are as close to turn-key as it gets in reloading presses if you option them out, they are awesome, especially the 650. I have one with the full boat set up. But you won't sit there grinning while running it, too many things to watch, the LCT is fun though, I really enjoy running it, even with 4 pulls per round.

The new Lee breech lock pro looks interesting, it also looks like one should wait for the classic version of it because the first one comes off looking pretty flimsy in the linkage handle area, just like their first turrets. Maybe inline Dan will make some cool things for it that help in that area.

[lordmorgul]

Lee autodisk works great for me with Accurate No 2 (40 s&w & 9mm), Accurate no 5 (40s&w & 9mm, Accurate LT-32 (5.56 & 308 Win), and H4895 (308 Win & 30-30).

I recommend buying the double disk kit and buy the updated pro powder measure that is round not the old box shaped one (if you’re getting it used just know it breaks easily).

Also if you’re chasing the last 0.1 gr in your loads buy the micrometer disk kit. This is especially good for small dense powders because the disk kits do not have a very small step amount of CC for pistol powders, for instance there are only two disk options for me for 9mm Accurate no 5 because it’s either minimum load or maximum. For rifles with higher volume you get a lot of options with the double disk kit so you can use two different sizes to get what you want.


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Andrew - Lancaster, CA
NRA Life Member, SAF / CRPA / FPC member and supporter, USCCA Member

[jmorris]

If I can run 100 or so an hour it's a lot quicker than single stage.

A turret press is just a single stage with all the dies ready to go.

That said 100 on a progressive setup and ready to go would be more like 10 minutes or less depending on what one you have and how it’s set up.

[Wendyj]

Dillon out of my price range so I chose the classic turret press. I've ran 1000,s of rounds on my single stage classic cast so I think for what I need this should work. Had to order another mounting plate from Inline Fabrication so I can switch out presses. Ordered a riser, priming system, and precision powder thrower from Amazon. All was right at 210.00 and free shipping. I've got rcbs 9 mm and Lee 223 and no powder thru dies so I have more to buy. Will try it out on 45 colt first.

[TailGator]

You'll be fine with what you picked. It takes me right around 20 minutes to make a box of handgun ammo with the LCT, not counting setup time. Changing calibers takes less than five minutes, including changing the powder dispenser over. I use Unique a good bit, and the Pro disk usually gets me +/- 0.1 grain, with an occasional 0.2 grain variance.

[Grey_Lion]

I've passed the 10,000 rd mark on my LCT in the last 5 years - mostly .40, some 9mm for friends and family and I can get 50 rds in 20 to 25 minutes if I'm using primed brass. I don't use a thrower - but hand measure each load of titegroup. I religiously put a drop of oil on the main cylinder and at the edge of the turret on each use. 3 years in I got a rockchucker single stage to swage .40 custom hollow points, but I don't use it for reloading.

[kmw1954]

Wendyj, congratulations on your new press. Not much different than a single stage press other than once you adjust to using it and the powder measure you will get faster as you will not be removing and replacing the case after each step as when batch loading on a single stage.

The Lee powder measures are pretty consistent with every pistol powder I've tried. Enjoy!

[JeepHammer]

Wendy,
If your goal is 100/hr. You can do that on the WAY cheaper than $500...
Lee 'Classic Turret' press.
Doesn't matter if it's the 3 hole or 4 hole tool head version.

I avoid Loadmaster or 'Pro' machines like the plague.

This is my favorite Lee 'Slow' press, and for $70-$80 this is hard to beat.
This is the press I use most outside of my Dillon production presses.
The DIRT CHEAP quick change tool heads get a workout decapping rounds, universal decapper, tearing down questionable rounds (didn't pass QC), along with banging out the occasional small batch oddball caliber rounds I don't want to set up & tune the Dillon for (usually 100 rounds or less, or calibers I only knock 100 rounds out every couple years)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LEE-single-...EAAOSwdBZazjf8

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nice-Lee-Tu...gAAOSwXrBa3n7C

I don't like any of Lee AUTO indexing presses, inaccurate when they do run, break often.
Besides the tool heads (Cheap) there is nothing at all proprietary about this press, common dies work just fine, so do common shell holders, and once adjusted in the tool head, no more die adjustments unless something wears!
Tool head changes are 5 seconds for caliber changes.

A flick of the wrist allows die changes... From sizing to seating to factory crimp die (if you use one).
3 holes are enough for 99% of what home reloaders do anyway, so 4th & 5th holes are wasted anyway.
With seater/crimp die you can run a powder thrower in the tool head, but I like more control over primer seating than any of the Lee machines offer...
I deprime/resize, then install primer manually (hand prime tool) and while I have the case in my hand, just go ahead and charge (powder) the case, back into the loading block waiting it's turn at the press.

The deal with powder dropper on a progressive press, you need TWO holes, one for the powder dropper AND one for the powder checker! If you run progressive, you MUST have an open hole for powder inspection! Just too easy to get under/over charge!

------

Although I know you hate the price of Dillon, it's actually worth the money up front, before you tool up for more common machines!
While Dillon makes you cry once, it works from there on out, and is pretty easily adjusted for ANYTHING you are doing from that point forward.
Keep in mind the replacement parts are FREE, Dillon has a 100% NO B.S. guarantee, and trust me, I've called them on it!

Buy once, cry once.

While Dillon will support some common dies, Dillon dies work remarkably well,
Everything else on a Dillon is proprietary, but I believe everything but the case feeder is covered under warranty... They have replace my dies, and more than once...

What I might suggest for the 'In Between' is the Dillon SBD (Square Deal B) package.
Comes in around your price range and does about every pistol caliber round GREAT.
There are a couple aftermarket (haven't used them) kits that allow for .223 but I'd be hesitant to screw one of them onto an SBS since it works so well with pistol rounds, and it has a lot of parts that have to be swapped over...

About all my pistol rounds are cranked out on an SBD, it's just so fast & easy to use and just kicks the crap out of all the other progressive loaders! I don't load but a few thousand pistol a year, but this is the machine to have if you go through a bunch of 9mm or .45 ACP (hard to hold cases).
Works great on rimmed rounds also, easy to change tool heads, primer swap takes a little effort, but not nearly what a 550 or 650 does!

The Dillon Case feeder is $250 which leaves you butthurt, but it's darn handy!
I build case feeders out of 5 gal. Buckets & grill motors or $15 eBay gear motors and they work pretty good. Don't know how handy at 'Tinkering' you are, but it's a $40-$50 alternative you might consider.

[hounddawg]

grats Wendy on your choice. I still miss my Lee turret, it served me well for years. I would trade my Rockchucker for on one good shape in a heartbeat if I could find that trade locally

[JeepHammer]

I also applaud you on your 'Busy' work!
My wife & I are ALWAYS busy with something...
There is a reason so many of our 'Gadgets' are on roll around carts, if there is something we want to watch on TV, we can switch out the 'Busy' work to suit us.

She does knitting, needle point, does business books, arranges dried weeds that sell for mega cash to 'City-iots', etc.
I reload, work on small projects, etc.
It's amazing what you can get done when you aren't sitting slack jawed!

If you go with Lee powder thrower, there are 'Upgrades', one is a sheet of plain window glass & lapping compound. You are working with plastic, so stay fine grit.
Flattening out the powder disk, and in some cases the slider rails will help control powder & prevent hang-ups. A good RCBS or Redding powder thrower (micrometer adjustment & metal construction) saves a lot of irritation & work.

There are aftermarket primer arms for those presses that work MUCH better than the factory arms, that's assuming you don't use a hand primer already.
I've always had issues with getting Lee to seat primers uniformly since there isn't any provision for different depth primer holes (mixed brass loading).
Lee is single depth stop or nothing, no 'Cushion' provision, so it's crushed or not seated fully most of the time unless you develope a real feel for that long action arm on the press.
Just not quite as consistent as I like...

If you REALLY want to speed up single loading, scoop up on of those little Lee 'C' frame single presses off eBay and buy a 'Universal' decapping die!
Knock the primer caps out right away so the pocket gets cleaned.
Shell holder change is all it takes to decap almost any brass.
I shortened the handle on my 'Decapping Press' since it just doesn't take a lot of force to get caps out, even when they are crimped in. Shorter handle just made it easier/faster/less effort to knock the caps out.

You can leave in, or remove the decapping pin in the sizing die, doesn't matter since there aren't any caps to deal with.
With caps gone, no more bent sizing die pins that are such a pain to change!

Some people leave them in to clear the flash hole while processing... Not a bad idea if you are using walnut polish media or steel pins...
I grind mine down a little more tapered since I'm not battling a cap, just poking out carbon/media at most, the extra taper helps it find the flash hole in loose/ wobbly shell holders (while sizing).

Streamlining the PROCESS, no matter what press you use, is what speeds things up.
1. I decapping dirty, initial inspection for cracks etc., Throw directly into cleaning.

2. When they come out of cleaning, inspect clean as they are going into the hand prime tool.
This includes a quick peek inside the case to see if flash hole is plugged, it's a strange primer size (small primer .45 ACP in particular) or it's one of those 'Stepped' (reduced volume) cases that show up in 9mm a lot lately.

Better feel with a hand primer, and hand primers with feed bins are cheap.
OR,
You *Can* size, punch flash holes right out of cleaning, and install primer on the machine, but that's another pass in & out of the press, which I don't care to do.

3. Off to the press for sizing, powder, seater/crimping die.
Since the primer is gone & new primer in place, for me I remove the decapping pin from common decapping/sizer dies.
With a manual tool head, you can stop & 'Bump' something not quite right, but manual requires flicking the tool head manually one die station. (Which I don't mind too much when doing small batches).

Auto rotation means removing the brass and/or short stroking the press two times to come back around to the die you need for the 'Bump' to correct anything you find...
Tool head auto rotation is up to you, if the powder dropper is 'Automatic' you might just want to remove the brass and stroke the machine two more times to get the die you want to correct the issue you found.

If you manually powder your cases, then a powder thrower STAND with a deep enough throat to accommodate your loading blocks really speeds things up.
Stands are cheap and the right one speeds things up like crazy!

There is no way I'd use a Lee thrower with a powder like 'TiteGroup', simply not accurate enough.
TiteGroup is POWERFUL, a little makes a BIG difference, and it's easily possible to double or triple charge cases using it.
Since so little is used, it's also possible to squib a round even with visual inspection... I know experienced reloaders that have done it, so I weigh TiteGroup now...
Just a warning, don't know if you use TiteGroup or the like or not.

One thing no one considers when they get a new press is a bench for that press...
This goes a LOT faster/smoother when the bench fits you!
I start with the top, what height? Constantly reaching up or reaching down for the press handle swing is hard on your neck, shoulder, elbow and tires you out.
Shoulders in particular can be damaged with repetitive movement...

The second thing I do is inset the press in the top,
No Knee Or Hip Busters!
No presses cantilevered over the edge where they get leverage on the bench and wobble around, bang the bench off the wall, etc!
There are usually front & rear bolts securing the press to the bench,
Funny thing is, a 2"x4" or 2"x6" on edge will usually fit right in between those bolt hole sets, allowing you to stiffen up the bench top.
No more bowing or bouncing of the press/bench top.
NOT chasing the press helps a LOT and speeds things up & reduces fatigue.

I like my bench tops a little higher than you see most people have them.
First off, I use a chair my knees bend at 90* angle, and my feet are FLAT on the floor, and something with a back on it to support my back. (No 'Stools' for me!)
The bench top a little higher means I'm NOT reaching down for things, and I don't need a 'Riser' for the press.
A reasonable depth of bench means I'm not leaning forward all the time to chase primer tool, cases, etc on the bench top. Inset press means I'm not sitting way back from the top either, keeping things in easy reach while still at the press. Loading blocks, bullet boxes etc sit beside the press instead of behind the press hanging off the bench.
This is particularly true for Lee presses since they cantilever a good bit over the bench top sticking out in space... When they don't really have to...

Just some ideas since you are getting deeper into reloading with a new machine.

[DaleA]

WendyJ-Please come back and tell us how the Lee Classic Turret Press works out for you. Lots of folk like me lurk on threads like these and appreciate knowing how things workout.

Good luck!

P.S. If you think this tread is getting too long maybe start a new one with your experience with your new press.

[Wendyj]

So far all I've received is the pro disk powder measure and the priming system. Press will be here tomorrow and I order a plate from In Line fabrication to mount by changing presses. I did try the powder measure on my Lee classic cast single stage. I think the chart showed .095 or somewhere near for 8.7 grains of Unique. I had to go to 1.17 if I am remembering correct for a 8.9 grain charge which was consistent 9 times out of 10 and only off plus or minus a 1/10 grain after 50 charges. I can live with that but the chart is incorrect so far. I did expand the mouth on 50 30-30 cases and use the priming system arm that came for the single stage. I lost one primer in the floor probably my fault. Not much directions to it but easy enough to figure out. I am sure the dies in the turret set up will be no issue. Only drawback I see is it won't dispense enough for rifle. I was going to load 223 also but screws on this disk are only long enough for a single disk even though it came with four. I may need a different powder charger and if so someone Please feel free to chime in on which one I need for 223 and 30-30. I bought a riser for it for when the press gets here and have a short base charging die coming from Midway since my 223 was RCBS and was only a 2 die set even though I bought a Lee factory crimp die for it when first ordered. I will need a long base charging die also from what I read. I am anxious for it to get here and get up and running. Only drawback I have now is I may have ordered the wrong powder charging die. I still have an old anniversary press I started with mounted to the bench for depriming all my cases before ss tumbling. I think it will up my production on pistol to more than I shoot. std7mag, I hope you chime in here since I know this is what you use. Maybe a powder measure guide.