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New Turret Press

Posted: 12 Apr 2019 07:17
by RSODW
My new 4 hole classic turret press arrived yesterday. My initial impressions are that this is a very solid press. I anchored it to bench last night and looking forward to getting it setup and operating. I really like the deprimer setup with the "drain" tube. I never really found a good way to capture removed primers from my Hornady single stage classic. Now that I see what it is, I have a few other items to get and will be up and running soon.

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 12 Apr 2019 16:40
by Ranch Dog
Ahhh... the excitement of a new press!

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 13 Apr 2019 14:21
by mikld
I really liked my Lee Turret, but when setting it up the first time I disabled the auto index because the press was indexing when I was trying to adjust my dies. I wound up using the press that way for 20 years or so. I didn't need a "semi-progressive" press and felt more "in control" hand indexing. I reloaded for 9mm through 30-06 on mine, mostly batch loading, quite well for many thousands of rounds on my old style turret press...

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 14 Apr 2019 10:19
by Macd
Have a four hole also but find I generally only use only three. I size and deprime on a single stage even if I am not cleaning the cases before reloading. I use the auto indexing but might try manual after reading Mikld reply.

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 14 Apr 2019 14:55
by RSODW
I have several hundred cases already deprimed, sized, primed and expanded from when I was using single stage where I batched by process. I used 3 of the four holes on my new turret and am impressed. I have an RCBS chargemaster and by the time the powder is measured, I am ready to dump it into the funnel and then the seating and finally the factory light setting crimp. There is a very slight amount of vertical play in the turret but not enough to cause issues with seat depth. I loaded a 100 rounds. It took me 2 hours but that included setup of the dies and more checking than usual since it the first go around. I don't know if it was necessary but I disassembled each die and cleaned them with Hornady spray cleaner/lube. I started a year ago with single stage Hornady and am glad I took that approach to learn. I will only be loading 9mm.

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 15 Apr 2019 04:39
by GasGuzzler
RSODW wrote:There is a very slight amount of vertical play in the turret but not enough to cause issues with seat depth.
They're all like that. It's needed so the turrets can rotate and be removed easily. The play is the same each time around so seating depth is not affected.

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 15 Apr 2019 07:09
by RSODW
Guzzler, that's what I thought. There is a slight variance in the OAL but probably more from bullet than press. Again, not enough to cause any issues. I was surprised at how solid the press is especially after reading some other forums where people were critical of Lee presses.

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 15 Apr 2019 15:37
by larryw
RSODW wrote:Guzzler, that's what I thought. There is a slight variance in the OAL but probably more from bullet than press. Again, not enough to cause any issues. I was surprised at how solid the press is especially after reading some other forums where people were critical of Lee presses.
Yup I wholeheartedly agree with everything, everyone has said, along with, it's a VERY Nice,
Very Strong, Very Accurate, Very smooth little press. (I can see Lee Haters heads exploding now)
I am also one that does not de-prime on any of my "loading" presses, Single stage, Turret or Progressive, keep all the crud somewhere else. De-prime, tumble, wet, or buz bucket, put up.
Yes there is a very vocal contingent of Lee Haters in the Handloading community.
The crux of what I have observed in a bit over 50 years of this stuff is that,
1-) Folks bashing Lee have never used, or spent VERY little time using Lee.
2-) Are price &/or status driven. "A $20.00 Powder measure? NO WAY!!! " or
" OMG ?? Your using LEE ? snicker, snicker, snicker "
Well, to each his own but,,, That, little $20 PPM might look & feel like a toy BUT, is actually
been found to be extremely accurate, & repeatable. Can't remember where the article is but,
the little $20.00 PPM was preferred by the testers over the big, major, big $$$ brands.
heck, us long time Lee users could have told them that.

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 15 Apr 2019 15:51
by Macd
Just a suggestion but measure a dozen bullets and then set your seating depth with the longest bullet. It won't improve your variation in OAL but will ensure a long bullet won't cause a misfeed, failure to go into battery or pressure increases due to deeper seating depth. The 9mm doesn't react well to even slight variations in internal volume.

Re: New Turret Press

Posted: 16 Apr 2019 17:19
by Ben Nelson
RSODW wrote:My new 4 hole classic turret press arrived yesterday. My initial impressions are that this is a very solid press. I anchored it to bench last night and looking forward to getting it setup and operating. I really like the deprimer setup with the "drain" tube. I never really found a good way to capture removed primers from my Hornady single stage classic. Now that I see what it is, I have a few other items to get and will be up and running soon.
Congrats on the new LCT press . . . It's a good press. I've had one for about 5-6 years and make range ammo, mostly 9 mm.