Lee 3 Hole Turret Press..upgrade to 4 Hole? and what else? Please help...

[dangerclose]

I have a Lee Turret Press Kit With Auto Index 44 Mag that I am about to setup here soon. It has been in storage for the past 13 years and I am about to get it out and set it up. I have done tons of researching and my head is about to explode. I am new to pistol reloading and need some help with a couple things.

What is the added advantage of the 4 Hole vs the 3 hole? I have read several things and I am confused.

If I stick to the 3 hole or upgrade to a 4 hole, what else do I need?

All in all, I basically need help setting this Turret Press up correctly and what I need to produce ammunition.

Thanks, any help is much appreciated.

Casey

[Lost Sheep]

Originally Posted by dangerclose

I have a Lee Turret Press Kit With Auto Index 44 Mag that I am about to setup here soon. It has been in storage for the past 13 years and I am about to get it out and set it up. I have done tons of researching and my head is about to explode. I am new to pistol reloading and need some help with a couple things.

What is the added advantage of the 4 Hole vs the 3 hole? I have read several things and I am confused.

If I stick to the 3 hole or upgrade to a 4 hole, what else do I need?

All in all, I basically need help setting this Turret Press up correctly and what I need to produce ammunition.

Thanks, any help is much appreciated.

Casey

Thanks for asking our advice.

Basically, the 3 v 4 question is self-answering. That is virtually the only difference. One has 3 die stations and the other has 4. Comcomitant with that, the indexing rod has a one-third twist instead of a one-fourth twist. The indexing arm might be different, too, I don't know.

The best people to talk to about the conversion "kit" is the techs at Customer Support at Lee Precision. The horse's mouth, so to speak.

Lee Precision makes a 4-die set that takes the function of the bullet seating/crimping die and separates it into two separate dies. Seat the bullet with the third die and crimp with the fourth.

If you already have your 44 Magnum dies in a 3-die set (are are buying the 3-die set) you don't need to give it another thought.

You said you are new to pistol reloading. How new are you to reloading in general?

If you hanker for the 4-die process, I would spring for a new press, not converting your old press. Because, you wind up with two presses instead of one press and a bunch of now-useless used parts. If you don't want the second press, you can donate it to a newby or sell it.

Good luck. Be safe, always, all ways. Wear eye protection especially when working with primers and don't pinch your fingers in your press.

Lost Sheep

[dangerclose]

Thanks for the information. I have reloaded shotguns in the past, just been a long time.

I will keep the 3 Hole because it's bought and paid for already So, what's the point of separating the bullet seating/crimping die into two separate dies? Is it one process better than the other? This was what was confusing me.

[g.willikers]

The four die sets, that separate the bullet seating and case crimping functions, are more useful for autoloaders.
The additional control over the operation might be necessary to deal with feeding concerns in the semiauto.
For revolvers it's much less of a necessity.
Your three die set, properly adjusted, should be just fine.

[CrustyFN]

What is the added advantage of the 4 Hole vs the 3 hole?

You can seat and crimp in separate steps. Back the seating die out enough so it doesn't crimp and add the crimp die in the forth station.

[dangerclose]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the information!

I bought an Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder measure because I read it works well and that it can work on the Lee turret press. I am starting to wonder if I should have bought the Lee Auto Disk and not the Pro?

Any suggestions or thought? Also any suggestions on powder scales?

[Nunya53]

I use the 3 hole Lee Turret for reloading .45 ACP that I shoot through a number of 1911s and a Taurus 24/7. Like was said, properly adjusted, it will be just fine. Just take the time to read the instructions, set it up properly and Enjoy!

Nunya

[CrustyFN]

I bought an Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder measure because I read it works well and that it can work on the Lee turret press. I am starting to wonder if I should have bought the Lee Auto Disk and not the Pro?

The Lee pro auto disk is a much better powder measure than the regular auto disk measure. You bought the right one.

[mikejonestkd]

I agree, the Pro is a much better powder dispenser. Buy a few risers for the powder die - to get the powder measure above the dies.

[Lost Sheep]

Originally Posted by g.willikers

The four die sets, that separate the bullet seating and case crimping functions, are more useful for autoloaders.
The additional control over the operation might be necessary to deal with feeding concerns in the semiauto.
For revolvers it's much less of a necessity.
Your three die set, properly adjusted, should be just fine.

You three die set should be just fine is correct.

I hold the opinion that the separate die crimping is equally important for both autoloaders (headspace on the case mouth) and for revolvers (at least those having heavy recoil).

My reasoning; the last round fired out of a revolver has been subjected to several "pulls" of the recoiling gun, trying to pull the bullet out of the case. If the bullet does pull out of the case, it may protrude from the front of the cylinder and prevent the cylinder from rotating that chamber into firing position. I know of two instances where this has happened while the shooter was shooting at a grizzly bear. One was Craig Medred (outdoors writer for the Anchorage Daily News) and the other was Greg Brush 13 August, 2009 near Soldotna Alaska. (I must admit, I do not have first hand testimony that the Soldotna jamming was caused by poor crimp, feel pretty confident).

Lost Sheep

[dangerclose]

Glad to know I bought the right Powder measure. Any recommendations on primers for the .44 Magnum or it seems which ever is on sale..?

I plan on experimenting with some 300-310 grain or more possibly more in the future. I will keep and eye out and see how it goes.

By the way, anyone know how Buffalo Bore shoots a 340 grain at 1400+fps and 1650 ft lbs from a .44 Magnum?

Casey

[LarryFlew]

Yes Lee makes a 3 to 4 conversion for turrets but not for thier 1000

[Lost Sheep]

Casey, thanks for asking the questions.

Originally Posted by dangerclose

Glad to know I bought the right Powder measure. Any recommendations on primers for the .44 Magnum or it seems which ever is on sale..?

Whatever is on sale is what I use (for practice and for fun), but I use easy-igniting fast powders for my mid-range loads. For full-power loads, I read carefully several different loading manuals and observe what primers the ballistics laboratories used (as well as what type of firearm was used) and base my decisions on that data. Saving fifty cents or a dollar when an expensive gun or my hand, eyes or life or the welfare of a bystander is in the balance is a false economy.

For full-power loads, I also "waste" most of my primers testing loads at less than full power. If I select a (near maximum) load using 29 grains of a powder. I will start out at 27.5 and the selected primer, bullet and strength of crimp. Load a few rounds and fire them, inspecting each case for signs of excess pressure immediately after firing and analyzing the velocity obtained. Then I will bump the powder charge and go through the exercise again.

This doesn't involve multiple trips to the loading bench. I load 5 at 27.5, five more at 27.7 and so forth, putting a slip of paper with the load data into each baggie with the appropriate cartridges. If I get high pressure signs with any of the test rounds, all the rest get their bullets pulled and are re-loaded with appropriate powder levels, so as not to waste the primers.

This ain't rocket science, but there are powerful forces at work, so caution is advised.

I only shoot a limited number of full-power loads per year, so the cost is inconsequential.

Originally Posted by dangerclose

By the way, anyone know how Buffalo Bore shoots a 340 grain at 1400+fps and 1650 ft lbs from a .44 Magnum

I don't KNOW, but I can guess.

There are two considerations I will pontificate on: One has to do with barrel length, the other with pressure. There are other considerations as well. I am told that freebore increases velocity. Smoothness of the bore affects velocity.

Barrel length:

I don't know what type of firearm Buffalo Bore uses to get their advertised velocities. If you use a sealed-breech pressure test barrel 16" long, you will get higher velocities than with a 4" revolver and its attendant cylinder/barrel gap. That's no guess. That's just physics.

Pressure:

Rather than guess, here is what happened to my friend, in my presence, this fall (2010)

We were shooting at our local range and we discovered that his 4" S&W 500 revolver was jammed up in a very odd way immediately after firing a Buffalo Bore round. The trigger would cycle. The cylinder would cycle with the trigger. The hammer remained down. The cylinder would not open. The cylinder release button would not move. At last, we shook the gun, fiddled with everything we could reach, wiggled stuff enough that we were able to get the hammer back. Then it would not release. Wiggle and fiddle some more and got it down. Eventually got the cylinder open and unloaded the spent (and remaining live) rounds and observed a perforated primer on one of the Buffalo Bore cartridge cases. The gun still would not function properly.

We took the gun home and removed the side plate. We observed a piece of metal laying loose inside the works. We put the side plate back on and sent an email to S&W. They advised to send the gun to a repair station.

We took it to a S&W authorized gunsmith repair station and he opined that hot gasses had "cooked" the firing pin and its spring, which now needed replacing and that the hammer was, indeed, broken and that the end play indicated that the frame had stretched a little. He advised to send it back the the factory.

S&W returned the gun in functional condition. No charge.

I could render an opinion. I will let you form your own.

Lost Sheep

[dangerclose]

Thanks for the info Lost Sheep, I appreciate it. Which primer have you been using for your "near maximum" loads?

Thanks for sharing your experience with BB ammo. The question was merely a question of curiosity as it seems extreme.

[Lost Sheep]

Originally Posted by dangerclose

Thanks for the info Lost Sheep, I appreciate it. Which primer have you been using for your "near maximum" loads?

Thanks for sharing your experience with BB ammo. The question was merely a question of curiosity as it seems extreme.

Brand names are not at all important to me. The important thing is that the burn characteristics of the primer have been tested by a ballistics lab and been found to ignite the powder reliably and not give overpressures.

CCI are reputed to be made of tougher metal than others, so, given the option, I often use them. Federals are often what I use for my plinking and range fun loads. But don't take my choices as testimonials. My choices are limited up here. I have to take what I can get.

Lost Sheep

[dangerclose]

Thanks again, I will look into it. Be thankful for your limited choices, sometimes having to many sucks just as much as having to little. Given everything else, I would love to live in Alaska....