Reloaders: Lee Deluxe Turret Press Reloading Kit

JettaRed said:

I think it's a great initial set-up. The quality is good and the two-year replacement warranty is pretty good too. Plus, Lee will replace anything after that for 1/2 the retail price. With all the replacement parts you can get yourself, you can keep it running for years. Also, Lee is much cheaper than the other popular brands.

You'll need the caliber-specific die set and a mounting platform. I got the Lee Reloading Stand. You'll also need some device to clean your brass--there's lots out there.

Helpful is the Safety Primer Feed; Auto Disk Riser; Case Trimmer; and a caliber-specific Case Length Gauge or Quick Trim Die.

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Do you know if that stand would work for other makes of presses?

rico903 said:

Do you know if that stand would work for other makes of presses?

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Yes. It comes with a block of wood that is cut to the shape of the mount and is intended specifically for other brands. The mounting bracket also has a bunch of unused holes that look like they could be used for other brands.

It comes with this but with only one block of wood.



You can see what I am talking about in the picture.

Two schools of thought...

1) Beginner kits are full of gear you'll upgrade and/or never use and are usually of inferior quality. Buy once, cry once.

2) Beginner kits are a great way for the beginner to get into reloading relatively cheaply and learn what they need / don't need over time. Upgraded equipment is then purchased as their skills develop and their understanding of their needs improves.

Which camp do you / should you fall in? People tend to have strong opinions either way, but I'd start by evaluating your shooting needs.

If you're not a competitive shooter and you're just looking for a new hobby and/or a way to shoot more cheaper, these beginner kits will do an adequate job and save you money you can put to use on components to make more ammo (primers, powder, bullets, etc)...which gets you shooting more, which improves your shooting skills faster.

If you're a competitive shooter and you're trying to squeeze every ounce of possible accuracy out of every shot and/or you're shooting high volumes of ammo a week, then you'll benefit from investing more in your gear than a beginner kit.

However, given that you're not already reloading...I'm guessing you're more of a casual shooter.

Most people just want to know if the beginner kits are complete crap or not.

FWIW, I still use my Lee Classic Cast 4 hole turret, both as a single stage and as a progressive. As a single stage, with careful and thorough brass prep and process I can produce ammo that meets and/or exceeds store bought match ammo in .223/.308/.30/06.

I get run out that is consistently around .02 to .04...so not perfect but well within acceptable ranges. You'll make greater gains in accuracy of ammo by taking the time to accurately and consistently measure the powder than spending a ton of money on presses and dies that takes out a fraction more concentricity.

People sometimes bash Lee products. I've found that there are products that can help to speed the process up and are "beefier" but don't really produce significantly better ammo. My experience with Lee products is that they last if you don't abuse them and take some basic steps to take care of them and they make better ammo than most people can shoot.

Again, there are some shooters where taking .5 or a .75 MOA ammo down to a .4 or .3 MOA ammo makes a difference and they'll spend hundreds to thousands more chasing that accuracy. Others shoot matches every weekend and don't want to spend a ton of time in reloading during the week, so spending the money on a Dillon progressive makes sense. To most, it matters not.

Lee is like Shimano was to bicycles. A lot of people (well, maybe not a lot, but some) would bash Shimano for making inexpensive components that rivaled the high end Italian stuff.

I always argued that the competitive and sport bicycle industry would have suffered more if there wasn't that middle ground between cheap Kmart bikes and the very expensive exotic bikes.

I would not have gotten into reloading if the entry fee was $500 to $700. Now I am well set up for under $300.


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My first car cost $3000 and served me pretty well.
I am past that point now, and can afford a bit more quality, and less drama. There are a lot of threads here about ways to work around Lee deficiencies. It can work I suppose, but my time is not free either.

Kits are a good way to get started without investing a lot of money. If you shoot volume, you'll eventually move to a progressive press, but a single stage is still the best way to learn.