Need a favor, please

[onegunred]

I am still considering a Lee Classic Cast Turret press. Would someone who owns one give me a review and opinion on using this press using only your right hand for all steps. I will use it for 44 mag. Do you bang knuckles at all ? Any draw backs to the Safety Prime, etc ? Thanks, Jerry

[RKJ]

I had one years ago (three hole turret) and if I remember I mainly used only the right hand as the rod turned the rounds for you. About the only thing I recall having a problem with was the plastic guide that the rod fit into, it would get mangled pretty easily (but I'm sure I was pretty ham handed with it) I loaded 45 acp and 44 mag on it for about 2 years and it worked ok, I sold it and got a 550B, but if I could find another one cheap enough I'd buy it for a 2nd press. I imagine someone that has one will be along shortly to give you a more up to date review. BTW, I'm sure the wording I used is not correct but I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about.

[bedbugbilly]

That's my main press for loading 38 Colt Short, Long, Special, 357 and 9mm. I love mine. I just my right hand to operate the handle - it indexes just fine - no hitting of knuckles at all. I have die plates set up with dies for all of the above and love the quick change over as well. I do insert the casing with my left hand but there's no reason you couldn't do it with your right only if needed. I use a Lee Perfect Powder Measure mounted in to the top of the powder through / expander Lee die. I de-prime all of my brass with a Lee universal de-primer die on a RCBS Jr3 single stage. On my Lee turret, the FLD has the de-priming stem removed and is used for sizing only. I utilize a separate seating die and a separate crimp die to do those in two separate operations. I do not prim on the press - I hand prime all of my brass with a Lee ergo hand primer.

I am very very happy with my Lee 4 hole classic turret and would not have any problem buying another one. It indexes with no problems and works slick for me. My bottleneck rifle I load on the RCBS Jr3. I purchased my Lee 4 hole from Titan Reloading who is a sponsor on here. Have also purchased many other Lee products from them - great prices and Dennis nd his crew give excellent service.

I can't speak as to how the priming on the press goes but others can I'm sure. Good luck to you!

[tazman]

I have the classic cast 4 hole press and use it for pistol rounds. I use both hands. I don't see any real problem using the machine with one hand.
There shouldn't be any difficulty using the priming system with one hand since the case and ram would be held in place by the sizing die while you operated the primer mechanism.
By situating yourself in a proper position, there should be no problem reaching into the press to feed in cases and boolits. You probably won't be able to sit directly in front of the press but that shouldn't present a problem.
All in all I think it would work for you that way. It would obviously be slightly slower than 2 handed operation but should work fine.

[iron mule]

i have one that i use regularly
on mine i took the turrent advance rod out and do this by hand
i also prime off the press by hand
one thing i did is i very lightly lube the turrent with case lube i turn the turrent by hand and this makes it easy
the reason i did this is i deprime all brass then clean prime by hand then load and i did not want the turrent turning while i was depriming
kinda like a single stage
this works well for me
also when you order get the classic not the the regular world of difference in them
mule

[claude]

IF, you only have use of one hand, filling the primer tray and reattaching it to the feed arm will most probably be quite frustrating.

I don't know that I would want to try to take the lid off the primer tray with only one hand. Once the safety prime is filled, and the tray reattached to the arm, mounting and operation with a single hand should run pretty smooth.

The lever prime can be a little fiddly requiring either a bump with the finger, or perhaps some JB weld to make a little bump on the press base so it times the lever to enter the ram just a split second sooner. (look at the picture under four hole turret, those two pieces are the large and small lever prime tools)

http://www.titanreloading.com/presses/lee-turret-press

I have been around people one handed from birth who I'm pretty sure could manage to load with that system with a couple of mods to the primer tray and the above mentioned timing of the lever prime.

I hope this is of some small help.

[bstone5]

I have the four hole press. Use it all the time for pistol rounds and 223.
The primer system works but takes a few times to make it work properly.
I still put the powder in with a powder measure. The disc powder system could results in no powder or a double powder load.
I like to look at each case and see if the powder level is equal in a fifty case loading block.
Putting the powder in as a separate event adds time but I think this a very good safety check.
RCBS dies with the big Hex locking nut will not work with the big nut.
Using the Lee O-Ring nuts solved the problem with the big RCBS locking nuts.
I keep a few of the Lee nuts for dies with the large Hex nuts.

[tazman]

Iron mule's suggestion for lubing the turret is excellent. I lube mine with synthetic gun oil since that is what I have nearby. I just spray a tiny bit on the sides of the turret before I put it in the press. Things work sooooo much easier when lubed.
Also, when lubing the press, do not oil the indexing rod. The parts inside the indexing ratchet are slick plastic and require a certain amount of friction to work correctly(ask me how I know). Since they are plastic, some oils will also deteriorate the plastic and they will stop working due to softening and distortion(ask me how I know that too).
Properly lubed, the press works easily and properly as far as the movements are concerned.

[onegunred]

Thank you for the responses. From what I am reading the primer tray may cause me more grief than what I want. I currently have 4 presses set up at differing heights and angles to suit the task at hand and a powder charging station with 2 Uniflows. I want to speed things up a bit and save wear on my arm without spending $400.00 or more but every idea I come up with fizzles when I put it into the common sense machine. I deprime and size on a Classic Cast and use RCBS 2s and 3s for all other functions. I guess I should be content with my setup and and spend the $$$ on boolits. Thank you all for the comments. Jerry