The Goose
NES Member
About 2 weeks ago I was doing a little bit of housekeeping in my shop. Tucked in the back of a cabinet I found a dusty and long forgotten Lee turret press. Not the Classic model, but the cheap aluminum one. This was my first press way back when and I loaded a boatload of ammo with it. As I accumulated more and better stuff it was relegated to that cabinet and forgotten. I decided to clean it up and put it back in operation as an already set up designated press for .45 Colt. In the process it occurred to me that a review with fresh eyes could be useful to others, especially to someone new looking to get into reloading as economically as possible. So here goes…..
The press itself is light and feels cheap. I think the classic model is sturdier, but having said that the frame, handle and ram work as well as they did when it was new. I am not sure how massively sturdy a press needs to be for regular reloading. The turret is self indexing which is kind of cool. However, the indexing is created by a small square ratchet washer which is made of plastic and fits inside a plastic auto index clamp which is also plastic. My old press would not index properly any more, however for the princely sum of $6.50 I replaced both parts. The press now indexes perfectly and I bought 4 extra square ratchets for $2.00 total, just in case. If all else fails the indexing feature can be easily removed and it can be manually indexed (just like my far more costly Lyman turret).
Priming system: The hand fed priming arms might be the best of any press I have ever used. It just fits into the ram on a notch and swings out on the upstroke, a primer is placed in the cup and the primer arm swings in automatically on the downstroke for seating. Switching from large to small literally takes 1 second. This priming system is superior to either my Lyman turret or Rockchucker single stage. The addition of a Safety Primer speeds up the priming process significantly and despite feeling like cheap plastic mine has stood up to a lot of use. The large and small safety primer can be replaced for $30.00.
Powder Feed: The Lee auto disc powder dispenser fits into the top of the Lee powder through die (note: an extension is needed to function with the safety prime). This means that flaring the case neck and powder drop happen in the same step. The downside of the Lee auto disc is that it is difficult if not impossible to get every .1 grain increment and the chart for matching up the hole size with a particular powder weight is approximate at best. On the .45 Colt for example I wanted a 5 gr. charge of Trailboss and the closest I could get was 5.2 grs. However as an experiment I threw 50 straight charges in a row to test accuracy and every single one was dead on at 5.2 grs. So this powder dispenser may not be a perfect choice for precision powder charging, but actually which dispenser is? Also the auto disc is best suited for handgun calibers as double discs are required for most rifle charges.
The bottom line is that I believe this much maligned press could be a decent choice for some individuals. The sturdier Lee Classic Turret Press Kit sells for about $200. It includes the press, auto disc powder measure, safety prime, a scale and some case prep tools. Add a set of Lee dies and the components and one is ready to start making ammo. Best suited for loading handgun, it is faster than a single stage, but slower than a progressive. It is probably not the best choice for someone who either shoots a real lot or a lot of multiple calibers. Still for the moderate plinker who wants to try reloading it could be a viable set up. Just be prepared to replace some parts at some point.
The press itself is light and feels cheap. I think the classic model is sturdier, but having said that the frame, handle and ram work as well as they did when it was new. I am not sure how massively sturdy a press needs to be for regular reloading. The turret is self indexing which is kind of cool. However, the indexing is created by a small square ratchet washer which is made of plastic and fits inside a plastic auto index clamp which is also plastic. My old press would not index properly any more, however for the princely sum of $6.50 I replaced both parts. The press now indexes perfectly and I bought 4 extra square ratchets for $2.00 total, just in case. If all else fails the indexing feature can be easily removed and it can be manually indexed (just like my far more costly Lyman turret).
Priming system: The hand fed priming arms might be the best of any press I have ever used. It just fits into the ram on a notch and swings out on the upstroke, a primer is placed in the cup and the primer arm swings in automatically on the downstroke for seating. Switching from large to small literally takes 1 second. This priming system is superior to either my Lyman turret or Rockchucker single stage. The addition of a Safety Primer speeds up the priming process significantly and despite feeling like cheap plastic mine has stood up to a lot of use. The large and small safety primer can be replaced for $30.00.
Powder Feed: The Lee auto disc powder dispenser fits into the top of the Lee powder through die (note: an extension is needed to function with the safety prime). This means that flaring the case neck and powder drop happen in the same step. The downside of the Lee auto disc is that it is difficult if not impossible to get every .1 grain increment and the chart for matching up the hole size with a particular powder weight is approximate at best. On the .45 Colt for example I wanted a 5 gr. charge of Trailboss and the closest I could get was 5.2 grs. However as an experiment I threw 50 straight charges in a row to test accuracy and every single one was dead on at 5.2 grs. So this powder dispenser may not be a perfect choice for precision powder charging, but actually which dispenser is? Also the auto disc is best suited for handgun calibers as double discs are required for most rifle charges.
The bottom line is that I believe this much maligned press could be a decent choice for some individuals. The sturdier Lee Classic Turret Press Kit sells for about $200. It includes the press, auto disc powder measure, safety prime, a scale and some case prep tools. Add a set of Lee dies and the components and one is ready to start making ammo. Best suited for loading handgun, it is faster than a single stage, but slower than a progressive. It is probably not the best choice for someone who either shoots a real lot or a lot of multiple calibers. Still for the moderate plinker who wants to try reloading it could be a viable set up. Just be prepared to replace some parts at some point.