Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret

[warf73]

Well I went ahead and ordered my xmas today I really hope its as good as everyone says it is.
I do have one question about it as I couldn't find the answer in the item description. Does it come with 1 turret? I couldn't tell if it did or didn't I ordered just 1 extra thinking it might have came with 1 not sure. If not I'll have the extra one I ordered to get me going.

Warf

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

It does come with one turret, but you're going to want to order one turret for each caliber you're reloading for, because they're quick and easy to change. If your order hasn't processed, order a few more if you can afford it. Best time to save on shipping is right now when you buy a lot of stuff.

Did you get the full safety prime kit, a couple risers and a couple Lee Pro Auto Disks with a double disk kit, a micro disk and a micrometer bar? If not, order those too. They don't cost much and when you want them, you'll have them.

Best Regards,

Dave

[flashhole]

Yes, it comes with one turret as Dave stated. If you don't like the press I will shoot my kid's dog ... and she loves that dog. That's how confident I am you will like it.

[gefiltephish]

I'm not a Lee lover by any means, though I do have a fair amount of Lee stuff. I usually bash the loadmaster (what a turd!), the CFCD for cast and I have nothing good to say about my experience with their molds. After the loadmaster experience I was quite reluctant to get the Lee turret, especially since it only has 4 holes. That said, I'm glad I did because it's a pretty darned nice little unit, especially for the price.

Yeah, you can't have too many extra turrets. Another really nice addition is Lathesmith's roller handle.

You're gonna like it. Enjoy!

[edsmith]

Flashhole, don't let your dog hear that, lately dogs have been shooting humans.:bigsmyl2:

[leadman]

I recently bought a Classic turret press to upgrade from my old aluminum 3 holer. Nice unit for doing rifle cartridges.
Just bought some more 4 hole turrets from Midway, they were on sale for $8.99 IIRC.

The old 3 holer is faster for doing handgun cartridges since the stroke is much shorter and one less stroke pwer round.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I've been using an old 3 holer for a long time now. Got it in a gunshow for $20 and it was in good shape. I never upgraded it to 4 holes simply because I got a couple of dozen of the ratchets with it; I have yet to wear one of them out. It also came with 5 turrets. It was a hekkofa deal. The press is kind of a weird contraption, but it is very versatile. Easily switchable to left hand use (I'm a southpaw) and fully adjustable for handle position of start-stop travel it just keeps going like the battery bunny. I didn't/don't like the spent primer disposal system as the base cavity fills up, although drilling a hole in the bench and a few other innovations can solve that problem, but I have done the resizing & decapping on a Lee Classic; that has taken up the slack for the fourth station/hole so I can use the taper crimp die when I load pistol. Keeping the auto index tuned/adjusted is no problem. It can also be easily removed if you prefer a single stage operation. These operations take very little time to do. The press is strong enough to resize the long rifle cases without a lot of pressure and pistol loading is a breeze. Priming is also not complicated. Lee used to sell it as a kit that came with a maple box that you could set the press up on and clamp the box to any table or bench anywhere so the whole affair was a totally portable system. As such you can take it anywhere (including your truck tailgate) if you need to "escape" family/inlaw invasions etc. I rigged up the unused turret head hole to accept a length of threaded rod and with some aluminum plate was able to mount an RCBS powder measure so that when the thru the expander die came around, the pm would drop the charge right into the case below it. I've had a lot of fun working with this press and it has always done a good job. I'ld be the first to admit that it looks a little strange, but that's hardly something to complain about. Four holer version uses of course different turrets, and different nylon ratchets, but the basic design and the engineering are pretty much the same. Changing calibers is so quick and simple that it doesn't even pay to have two of these presses. Even if purchased brand new and not a gunshow score, it is reasonably priced and a good value for the $$. Keep it greased/oiled and adjusted and you have a good press that will always do a good job for a long time. LLS

[warf73]

The press came in today but sadly the boss said it stays in the box till Sunday, man she is tough on me.
The extra turret I ordered looks nice tho and the box with the press is heavy lol

Now I'm a little kid waiting on Christmas morning lol

[warf73]

Yes, it comes with one turret as Dave stated. If you don't like the press I will shoot my kid's dog ... and she loves that dog. That's how confident I am you will like it.

The dog is safe for now lol

[warf73]

It does come with one turret, but you're going to want to order one turret for each caliber you're reloading for, because they're quick and easy to change. If your order hasn't processed, order a few more if you can afford it. Best time to save on shipping is right now when you buy a lot of stuff.

Did you get the full safety prime kit, a couple risers and a couple Lee Pro Auto Disks with a double disk kit, a micro disk and a micrometer bar? If not, order those too. They don't cost much and when you want them, you'll have them.

Best Regards,

Dave

The idea behind the press is to save time from screwing dies in and out all the time, I'll still hand prime and charge each case. If I need to pound out a lot of rounds it will be done on the 550.

[warf73]

A very well put together press and easy to bolt to get there. Works great and is very smooth, I like the primer catcher.

I give Lee props on a well built reloading machine. This press is well worth the money.

[Pigslayer]

I have a question. How strong is the LEE turret press? What can it handle? I use a Lyman Crusher especially for my 7MM Remington Magnum. Those big old cases take to torque. How would the LEE turret handle this big boy??

[txbirdman]

warf,

I use the same loading method as you. One of the many things I like about this press is that you can manually reverse the sequence of the turrets using it to seat bullets and taper crimp without rotating through all 4 stations. I deprime and bell then use the Lee hand priming tool for primer seating. When I'm ready to seat bullets and crimp I've got a stash of primed brass ready to go.

[flashhole]

I have used the Lee Classic Turret to load 7mm Remington Magnum. That includes FL sizing the brass. I use Imperial Die Sizing Wax and the press has no problem sizing the case. I remove the indexing rod and use it as a single stage for sizing. That being said, I have the luxury of a single stage press too and use it most of the time for FL sizing brass cases. Just a matter of preference, not equipment capabilities. I've used the Classoic Turret to FL size 221 Fireball, 223 Rem, 25-06, 7mm RM and 45-70 - no problem on any of them, plenty of press.

[txbirdman]

The guy on www.realguns.com did a good write up on the Lee turret press if you're interested in reading it.

[Pigslayer]

I have used the Lee Classic Turret to load 7mm Remington Magnum. That includes FL sizing the brass. I use Imperial Die Sizing Wax and the press has no problem sizing the case. I remove the indexing rod and use it as a single stage for sizing. That being said, I have the luxury of a single stage press too and use it most of the time for FL sizing brass cases. Just a matter of preference, not equipment capabilities. I've used the Classoic Turret to FL size 221 Fireball, 223 Rem, 25-06, 7mm RM and 45-70 - no problem on any of them, plenty of press.

I'm gonna keep my eye out for one. I like the way they look. I'll never give up my Lyman Crusher as it has plenty of power. I have a LEE Challenger that I use mostly for the three push through sizers that I have. I really like the idea of the interchangable turrets on the LEE. Appreciate the info!:coffee:

[jimkim]

7mm Rem Mag brass wasn't hard to size at all. Forming 308win and 8x57mm from 30-06 brass wasn't any big deal either. I needed something to join two different sizes of tubing, so I ran a 30-30 case into a 357 mag die. It looked weird, but worked fine.

[warf73]

I just sized up some 460wby brass with no issues what so ever. There is probably more pressure used sizing the 480 ruger brass than for rifle. This press is a rock and makes reloading a bit easier for sure. No more screwing dies in and out on a single stage press. I already see one big down fall to this press.............. I need more turrets :)

[skeet1]

warf73,
The next thing you will find with the Lee Classic Turret is you will be using it more and your Dillon less. Not to say there is anything wrong with the Dillon but for just about any loading the Lee is so easy.

Ken