Lee classic turet a hidden gem?

[SamT1]

Hey guys. I’m a long time loader, taught by my dad to do shotguns as a child. The single stage thread got me looking at presses and stuff. I really hadn’t shopped much for a basic press. The only two I bought new are a Lee single and loadmaster. The rest of my fleet came from auctions where I bought a lot or estates where I bought all the loading equipment.

I have 9 presses total 5 aren’t even bolted to anything.

So I stumbeled across the Lee classic Turret. I’ve not held it in my hands, but it sure seems like a $100 press that a man can add turets for $12.59 is a no brainer.

It’s really making me want to part ways with some off my other presses and try one out. Seems like an efficient bugger for sure.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Let me be the first to say you should be ashamed for even considering such a lowly piece of garbage. I think a sincere letter of apology to Dillon is in order.

Off the record, The LCT works great for me. I load 357 mag, 44 mag, 41 mag, and 45-70 with it. The dies are all set in their own turrets so it takes only seconds switch rounds.
I got mine on ebay and it's actually the cheaper Lee Turret but it's fine for what I use it for.

 

[Sistema1927]

My Lee Classic Turret Press has given me many years of service, and I anticipate that it will continue to do so.

 

[Axis II]

Love my lee classic turret. Don't buy the cheap one though get the solid one.

 

[ATLDave]

I got through the first ~8 years of my reloading career - and tens of thousands of rounds - on my LCT. I recently got a Dillon 650 for loading my highest-volume cartridge, but I still use my LCT for the other ~10 calibers I load. They're great. You can crank along a heck of a lot faster than a single-stage, and they are FAR simpler to set up and change over than a progressive.

Your speed will mostly be limited by how fast you can do things with your left hand while your right hand is running the lever. I'm pretty adept at that, so I never tried to get the primer feed system working... I would just grab a primer off the bench with my left as I was resizing/depriming the case with my right.

Biggest weakness is that it is so compact that it's a little tough to get good light and visibility down into cases, particularly if you are charging a long case (like a .38 special) with a small charge of fast powder. You may end up rigging a dental mirror or the like if you're really, really determined to see every charge.

Great press. Have no intention of ever parting with mine - especially since my elementary-aged daughter has already declared that she intends to inherit it at some point in the (distant, I hope) future!

 

[kcofohio]

The LCT is a solid press. I don't have a turret for every cartidge, but enough for the main ones and a couple extra to switch lower volume cartridges around.
Since the LCT does well in single stage, I've delayed getting the classic cast ss.

 

[ATLDave]

One other observation: The cheap spare turrets are nice, but I have found that the o-ring lock nuts on my Lee dies are good enough at staying in place, even when the dies are off the press, that I just screw the dies in and out when I change calibers. They don't lose their setting in between installations, so I save space by keeping them flat in their boxes... the loaded-up turret mounts do take up quite a bit of space. I would imagine that lock rings with set-screws, like Hornadys, would be even more secure and not worth the (modest) expense and (less modest) space of keeping them in turret mounts. Lock rings without any sort of mechanism to hold them in place other than being tightened against the die-holder itself (looking at you, Dillon) would benefit from the spare turret mount approach.

 

[thomas15]

So I stumbeled across the Lee classic Turret. I’ve not held it in my hands, but it sure seems like a $100 press that a man can add turets for $12.59 is a no brainer.

You answered your own question.

 

[RealGun]

Guess I should join this circle hug. I do most of my loading of 13 cartridges on my LCT. I have all the extras from Inline Fabrications and special lighting, so it is a pretty slick setup. On the other hand, I just did a full box of 45 ACP bullets on my Hornady LnL AP using a case feeder and bullet feeder. I use enough 38 Special and 357 Magnum in mild cowboy action loads to do those by full boxes on the Hornady also. That's a lot of brass, but it is efficient to take advantage of the setup and being in a mental groove at the time.

 

[ray15]

Nothing really hidden about it. The LCT is very popular, and for good reasons.

 

[mdi]

The Lee Class Cast Turret press is one of the lowly, much bashed Lee products and is a great press. I got one of the old style (aluminum base) and have reloaded many thousands of rounds on it, from 9mm to 30-06, 7.62x54r and 303 British, 13 cartridges total, with dies living in their own turret. I disabled the auto index three days after I got it and hand indexed for over 13 years. I have also Lee dies for bullet sizing on 2 turrets and a ram prime on one. My Lee turret has produced 308 ammo that gave me sub 1" groups and a few repeated 3/4" groups. I have 4 other presses under my bench and since I got my new toy the Lee turret makes that count 5, but is is not completely dead. The only press I like better is my new Co-Ax...

 

[WrongHanded]

The LCT is the only press I've ever used. I bought it some months ago when I first started reloading, on the recommendation of many THR members. I'm only loading .357 and .44 mag but switch back and forth between the two quickly and easily. I must have loaded at least 600 rounds (probably more) over the holiday week alone. And other than a 350 round session which made my brain numb, I've had a great experience with it.

 

[DRAINSMITH]

In my reloading room, I have two benches and one maintenance stand. On one bench I have a Hornady single stage and four Ammo-plants. All accessories on that bench are Hornady. On the other bench, I have two Lee turret presses. And all the accessories on that bench are Lee. Now on the maintenance stand, I have a Hornady single stage press. It's not mine but it's my six-year-old grandsons. All though I don't load on the turrets I do teach on them. I like to have two presses of the same kind so when I am at one I have the person that I am training on the other. When I pull the handle I point out everything that is happening. And they pull the handle they can feel what is happening.
Now if the person I am training likes the single stage I send them over to a buddy that loads on a Rockchunker. If they like my Ammo-plant I send them over to another buddy that loads on a 650.

I was surprised at how many decided to go with the turret.

 

[Jimster]

LCT all the way. From .380acp to 45-70 and many in between.

 

[Varminterror]

I bought my first LCT many moons ago. I remain to be dissatisfied with the amount of spring in the frame, and the slack in the turret head - HOWEVER - I tried to "upgrade" a handful of years ago to a better respected Redding T7, on the recommendation of some precision shooters. Unfortunately, the run out is no better, and the slop in the turret head was no better in the T7 than it is in the LCT. A guy can shim (kinda) the T7 to reduce this, but I didn't produce any more dimensionally consistent ammunition on the T7 than I had on the LCT's, and personally, I enjoy the auto-index feature. When I run my T7 (not on the bench at current), I operate it like a "pre-set" single stage, which is no faster than my Forster C0-Ax presses, or really any faster than a bushing single stage. I DO use my T7 for multi-step forming, as in forming XC brass - so my T7 is effectively a brass forming tool which can also load. My LCT's are ammo plants - they're not my go-to press for my highest precision rounds, and they're not where I load my highest volume stuff, but when I need 300-500rnds of precision ammo, I load it on the LCT.

 

[Toprudder]

I started out with a Dillon 550, and do all my semi-auto pistol rounds on it (380, 9, 40, 45). On the other end of the bench I have a LCT, and I do all my rifle and revolver ammo on it. Since I wet tumble all my brass, I use the LCT with a universal decapper. I use the LCT for that due to the superior way the LCT handles spent primers. The primers drop down through the center of the ram, with almost no primer residue getting on the outside of the ram. Since I don't do any decapping on the Dillon 550, it stays much cleaner now.

I've got 4 tool heads for the Dillon, and about 15 turrets with dies for the LCT, if that tells you anything.

Yes, I love the LCT. If I only had room for one press, the LCT would stay mounted to the bench.

 

[ATLDave]

The amount of "slop" (vertical lift/tilt) in the turret head is a little disconcerting at first, but it's completely consistent!

 

[thomas15]

It’s really making me want to part ways with some off my other presses and try one out. Seems like an efficient bugger for sure.

Sell your bed, buy an LCT!!!

 

[Varminterror]

The amount of "slop" (vertical lift/tilt) in the turret head is a little disconcerting at first, but it's completely consistent!

Yup - it's manageable. As long as you're running the ram to the stop on every case, as you should, it isn't a problem. I'm not 100% sure I can say the same for the T7's tilt, as it did exhibit more flex than I like. The Lee's exterior retention design is impossible to shim to eliminate the slop, but it does produce a consistent "dead stop" at the top of the slop. The T7's center pivot design gives far more leverage to induce flex in the press. The rear "support" stops tilt, but doesn't prevent flex in the center pivot pin.

 

[Walkalong]

I am not sure how "hidden" it is, but many do consider it a gem, and it is certainly a handy little press.

 

[santacruzdave]

Another fan of the LCT. I have turrets setup for 9mm, .357, .45 ACP, and .44 magnum. I started reloading after I retired so I have more time than money. The things that work well for me are the simplicity of setting up and adjusting the dies when loading a new load; the number of rounds per hour vs a single stage press (no way you are going to reach progressive volumes), the auto indexing and ease of checking each powder charge, and that it's really easy to pause and know exactly where you are (if I have to stop, I just finish loading the current round, and don't load a case - that way I can be interrupted in a easy to know state).
I also have a Forster Co-Ax for rifle rounds. Great press, but a little overkill for pistol rounds.

 

[someguy2800]

I love mine. I have 10 turrets for it and continue to add them.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

After decades of loading on a single-stage press, I converted to the LCT last spring.

Should have done it 10 years ago.

 

[flashhole]

I have two LCT presses. One mounted to my primary bench and a second I use with a portable setup I haul to the range. Very easy to swap turrets between the two presses going from development to production (so to speak). What presses were you considering letting go?

 

[SamT1]

What presses were you considering letting go?

C&H 4x4, Lyman all American, Lyman tru-line jr, Lee single stage, pacific single stage.