Turret Presses
If I'm going to reload for my pistol I want some kind of turret press.Any ideas on what brand? Keep in mind I'm a cheap skate.I see that Lee has one for sixty bucks.[:)][:)][:)]
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It attaches to the bottom of the ram--there is a nipple it fits on--and catches the spent primers as they are pushed out during the resizing operation. You can leave them in the tube or run the tube into a can or wastebasket and let them fall in there. It is a really slick system. 0 -
I lucked out on my dove hunt today,almost brought home a limit.Lost two birds, to many snakes out there to take my dog.I did get my turret press mounted.Its going to take me some time to get it to index.You all have a great long weekend.[:)][:)][:)] 0 -
Read the directions and go to the online videos--the videos make this a very easy job--
This is for the old 4 die press, but the directions are the same for the Classic turret--
http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/videos/Four hole turret index adjustment-1.wmv
This link has every direction you need to set up your press, priming system, powder measure, etc.--It is outstanding--
http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews2006/leeturretpress/index.asp
It has dozens of photos and takes you through the whole process, from bolting it to the bench to a finished cartridge. Go look and enjoy! [:D]0 -
I tried indexing the press according to the instructions.I finally got it done, with no help from the instructions.I have one more question.With my single stage press I used to deprime and resize all my brass then clean it all up, includeing the primer pocket.Then reload.With this new setup I will have to remove the primer pin, and resize the brass, all over again?Or do you all clean your brass first then deprime , resize and not clean out the primer pocket?Now for my last question,now that I have my turret press set up, should I have stsrted a new thread for my last two questions? 0 -
I tumble the brass, separate the media and then use Lee Lube diluted 1 to 10 with alcohol, spray the cases in a plastic bag and shake them up to lube them. Pour them out onto an old dish towel to dry the alcohol and then load. Lee Lube doesn't cause any problems with shooting. When you resize most all of it is taken off by the die.
You do not have to resize and deprime first. Do not take the deprime pin out of that die. No need to at all. Won't have to clean primer pockets cause the depriming is going to push the old primer out and any media stuck in the flash hole.0 -
I will not reload ANY case without cleaning out the primer pocket. That said, for pistol amunition, I tumble the cases, shake them out good, and resize using hornady one shot lube as directed on a single stage Rockchucker.
I clean out the primer pockets on an RCBS power bench machine, and INSPECT the cases carefully under a good light.
Then prime the cases on an RCBS bench mounted loading tool. I load using a LEE 3 station auto indexing turret press, using the stations for (1) Powder drop and flaring,(2) bullet seating, (3) crimp and final size.(Lee Dies)
I usually have cases prepared for the final steps so they may be used at any time. I have been reloading for 35 years and have not had a single misfire or squib load. Even before all this power and turret stuff became available I followed the same common sense procedures but it took a lot longer on a single stage press. Some would ask "What do you want to do, shoot or waste all your time reloading"? I want to shoot and not have my day ruined by a junk load.
Have fun, save money and be safe!0 -
I reloaded a hundred rounds today on the Lee Classic.I'm impressed.I can see where a primer feeder would make it even faster.I have two thousand rounds of brass.Once I fire one thousand rounds , I'll use the single stage to deprime and resize,then clean them up.If I ever have to depend on my pistal I sure don't want a dud in the chamber.[:D][:D][:D] 0 -
Good job! I would definitely invest in the Safety Prime System. It is a tremendous asset and it will speed up your loading greatly. I don't remember what calibers you are loading but at Kempf's Gun Shop Small and Large primers together are only $23.95.
I just loaded another 50 45 ACPs with some new FN plated bullets I want to try. Tomorrow I will switch over to 9mm--that process will take about 2 minutes. I intend to load about 500 rounds tomorrow and with the Safety Prime and Auto Disk Pro powder measure I expect to be done in two hours. It will take us 4 weeks to shoot all of them.0 -
benedict1
If I ever get close to loading 150 rounds an hour I'll be happy.I weigh each charge of powder,since I load close to a max load.0 -
That is a good idea. But if you were to try the Pro Auto Disk you might find that it will do a super job. For example, I load 3.1 gr Win 231 in .38 Special with a DEWC bullet. I have measured dozens of charges from the Auto Disk--they weight 3.1 gr every time.
Even Unique which has a bad reputation for consistency, at amounts larger than 4.0 gr, will weigh very well. I use 5.8 gr in 4 ACP and that's what I get when I weigh a charge.
I understand your well-deserved caution near the max., but you might be pleasantly surprised if you tried the Auto Disk Pro.
Speed is not everything--I only mention what I can do because there are those who would have you believe that the only way to go is with an expensive progressive press. For myself, 200-250 per hour is just super--my loads are pretty standardized now so I can really go at them in production mode.
Good luck. It sounds like you are off to a very satifying career as a reloader!0 -
I've been reloading since the early 60's and my choice of turrets is Lee's 4 hole Turret. The best thing about the Lee is you can change calibers of ammo that you're reloading in less than 15 seconds and not have to use a single tool to do it. Extra turrets can be bought for $8.95 at midwayusa.com and you can keep all your other dies mounted and adjusted on the extra turrets so you don't have to keep adjusting them every time you use them. I also found several Lee Auto Powder Measures listed on E-bay that I bought in one lot and I keep them mounted on the dies on the extra turret plates so I don't even have to adjust powder drops from the last time I used a set of dies.
I agree with people that say Dillon is the best but in my opinion that only holds true if you're reloading a ton of ammo. In my case I don't shoot a lot of ammo but I do shoot a lot of different calibers and the Lee 4 Hole Turret can't be beat for speed of changing from one caliber to another.
One other thing I don't use the disk in the Lee Auto Powder Measures I use the Lee Adjustable Charge Bar so I don't have to keep removing the hopper and make adjustments to the powder drops. With the adjustable charge bar you only have to turn the large brass thumb screw to make the adjustments. For larger calibers that use more powder than the charge bar will adjust to I split the amount and double charge by pulling the lever on my press twice.
Here's some video's on Lee's web site if anyone is interested in watching these presses in action. http://leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/video.html
Anyway that's my story and it works for me.
Smitty0 -
I don't know who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks.You all have taught me a bunch in a short time.Thank you all.[:D][:D][:D] 0 -
Woof. 0 -
The Lee 1000 3-stage is guaranteed to provide you with entertainment for years to come. Myself and a couple of friends (one is a Mechanical Engineer) occasionally will run the Lee 1000 and see if we can load 10 rounds without a squib. So far, no one has made it. That is with .38 dies. One good thing that came out of the Lee 1000 is that two of us have quit smoking. That thing throws so much powder around that it was dangerous to have a cigarette lit in the same room. The Mechanical Engineer spent two months trying to get the primer feeder to work ; no way Jose! By using it as a single stage press, it does OK. Using my Lee 1000 as a progressive press is just flat dangerous! Just one man's experiences. BTW - considering the wasted primers, wasted powder, and the occasional crushed brass, I now have .45 ACP reloads down to about 20-cents each in progressive mode. 0 -
srchng55
I think most of us are talking about the Lee classic reloader.Are you on the same page as we are?[:)][:)][:)]0 -
Srchng55's comments have nothing to do with the Classic Turret press. Not relevant at all. Soldier on victorlb!
You have the most reliable, best engineered turret press available.0 -
Thanks for all the input on this thread. Did some reloading years ago and now I want to get back into it and was considering the Lee 4 hole turret press. Looks like a go for me! 0
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