Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Lee Classic Turret For 223???

Is the LCT press up to task of FL resizing of 223 from various AR guns? The brass I bring home is from my LMT mixed with other Brass of unknown origin. Like to try a turret press.

Redding T7

Yes it will work

I will warn you that the Lee CT has a square plastic bushing that is prone to failure

I run two dedicated progressives for my family's AR 15 shooting

Both are set up for Hornady 55 grn fmjbt and 25 grns WC844

Our Lee Loadmaster runs great and has made thousands of rounds

Like all progressives there is some tweaking but once set up its a great .223 machine

My new progressive is a Hornady L&L ammo plant

So far it seems to be as good as it gets and more.....lots more $$$ also

The big step up to a progressive vs a turret is handle puls per round

100 rounds with a classic turret = 300 pulls

300 pulls on either of my machines produces 295 rounds

Appreciate the info. I understand that the LCT only handles 1 case at a time. Have several MEC progressives thru 9000 hydros and understand advantages. Was not really looking for true progressive, just the advantage of preloaded & preset dies. I will be low volume loader of metallics. Just wondering about FL sizing 223 in LCT. Ddon't think I would ever realize benefit of investing in T7 or one of the blue beasts.

The Lee Turret press or the Classic Turret Press will work. I have both. Both work. With the Auto-Indexing feature, they will load rounds significantly faster than a single-stage press. A Progressive will churn out rounds significantly faster than the Turret Press though.

I use Lee's 4 hole turret press for all my reloading. Originally had a single stage for everything but can do everything I want on the turret press. And can do it a LOT FASTER! Make sure you get the one with the cast iron base and not the cheaper version with the aluminum. It will hold up to wear and tear better. It's a great press and I've loaded thousands of rounds. I've heard the plastic bushing can be a problem, but mine never has been. Good luck with whatever you do.

Think I will give the Lee Classic Turret a try. One last question for those who use the system; which powder measure do you recommend? Thanks

You will end up using the Lee Auto Disk powder measure. You will be wedded to using Lee dies because they allow the charge to be dropped through. If I was recommending a stand-alone powder measure, it would be the Lyman. Stay away from the Lee Perfect powder measure, as it is junk. Be careful with the Auto Disk. There is a learning curve involved here.

The plastic bushings can be ordered from Lee and were cheap the last I knew. I'd get several in case you have problems with them.

Production from the Lee turrets will somewhat negate finely tuned powder charges, because to get the speed up, you are going to have to use Lee's system which includes the Auto Disk and it is not conducive to finely tuned charges. I'm assuming you're wanting self-defense or other types of rounds and not wringing every last once of accuracy out of the 223/556. If the latter is the case you'll end up not going much faster than a single stage. This is especially true if you don't use the auto disk. You'll see what I mean when you get into it.

Brownells also recommended the Lyman. Speed is not my main goal. Thinking process will be deprime (Lee decap die), tumble or chemical clean, size (RCBS die), RCBS hand prime, drop powder(Lyman on loader direct to case ?) & add bullet & crimp (RCBS die). Sound OK? Think I will end up buying Lee decap die for each caliber die holder and maybe end up with stand alone Powder measure? Appreciate the help thinking this thru. I am an older clay target shooter getting back into metallics to shoot with a friend who can't shotgun any longer.

Personally, I wouldn't get a Turret Press if this is your methodology. I'd stay with a single stage. You're going to have to deactivate the auto-index feature, which isn't difficult at all. The auto-index is what gives you your speed though. You said that speed isn't your main goal, but that's what the Lee turret presses are about. The auto-index makes them the fastest non-progressive presses made.

A range pard went with a Lee progressive (or maybe it was the turret you're looking at) for .223, and a few other cartridges.

That didn't last long. He sold it off and got a Dillon 550B.

Actually took delivery of RCBS Summit from Midway, but just returned it. The press weighed a ton. 24#; about the same as a bag of shot. Decided I didn't need a such a heavy duty press as I plan to mount on Harbor Frieght grinder stand hoping to be able to move around in shop that is already filled with 6 MEC presses (2 hydros), etc. I like the idea of dies all set in turret and ready to go in LCT and quick change from 38 to 41 to 223 etc. Seems like more versatility for 1/2 the $ even the way I would use it. ApprecIate the ideas. Thanks again

You can use the Lee Auto disk setup for powder and buy the double disk kit for better adjustment. That's my setup. I just keep track of which disks I use for which powders in my notebook and then I can just change them out when I start loading. If you are using RCBS dies you can buy a Lee Powder through die, see below. (my dies are lee for 223, 9mm and 45 acp) My auto disk is accurate +/- .02 with most powders. I can live with that for my AR and reloading for my pistols. For my bolt guns I take out the auto index and use the press like a single stage. Here I measure out each charge of powder by hand. I also bought the Lee mounting kit so I can slide the press on and off my bench when I want more space. Overall I really like the setup, but I haven't owned anything else but a single stage Lee to compare it to. I just know I can crank out pistol and 223 ammo much faster with it.

For turret or progressive, get the new Lee Auto Drum powder measure. Its infinitly adjustable up to 80 grains. No disks or fixed charges. For the .223, also pick up the Lee Rifle Charging die. Much less expensive than other auto operation measures.