[SteelyNirvana]

I've got my bench built and will be posting pics as soon as I decide what press to buy. Thats where you all come in. I am leaning toward the Lee four hole classic press, as I already have two Lee die sets (and their hand press). I think Lee stuff is built fairly well. On the other hand I know the Redding T-7 is the king of all presses but do I really need one? As it is right now, I don't see myself ever loading more than 500-600 rounds per month. However I would like to own Ruger No.1 chambered in 375 H&H sometime in my life and would be reloading for it. Can the Lee handle the 375 ? And if I were to ever come into a large sum of money I'd like to move way out into the country so I could have a place to shoot in my backyard, which means my ammo production would probably shoot sky high. Is the Lee built to last? My granddad put it in my mind when I was younger that if I'm going to spend money on a tool, buy one that will last.

Thanks

[highlander 5]

Redding has a lifetime warranty Lee has a 2. Spend the money for the good equipment and you can't go wrong. I've Redding dies and a case trimmer and have had no problem with them.
I have an RCBS single stage for the jobs that my 2 Dillon presses can't do.

[SteelyNirvana]

If I do go with Redding, I assume that the Lee dies will work in the Redding with no problem? The only thing I should have to buy to make them work would be a set of universal shell holders, right?

[The Bushmaster]

If you have the money...get the T-7...Otherwise the Lee Classic CAST Turret will serve you just as well...

[BigJakeJ1s]

The Lee dies will work in any press that accepts 7/8-14 dies, which the Redding T7 and almost all others will. The shell holders are the same as most presses too.

On the other hand I know the Redding T-7 is the king of all presses but do I really need one?

I must have missed the memo. My "king of all presses" is my single stage Forster Co-ax, or a good quality progressive if I needed more volume than your current needs. To me, a turret press is a half step in between with most of the disadvantages of both. But I load in batch mode, which would negate the advantages of a turret. For a turret or progressive press to radically speed up your reloading, you need to have as many consecutive steps as possible performed on the press. That includes not only all the die steps, but also things like case preparation, priming, dumping or measuring powder, etc. Every time you have to take a case off a turret or progressive press, you lose the time advantage over a single stage press, and would be better off batch processing. A good single stage press with a quick change die system, including the Forster Co-Ax, will batch process just as fast. Another option is to use the LNL bushing system on a Redding Big Boss II or Ultramag, or the Lee Classic Cast (iron) press.

Andy

[Oldcoyote]

I have had my Lee Classic Cast Turret only a few months but I like it very much. I also think the Redding T-7 is a fine press. Here are some things I like about the Lee:

- the cost of the Lee is less initially and extra turrets are only $9.00 vs $36.00 for the Redding
- I load the .375 Weatherby in batch mode on the Lee (because of its length) and it does fine, as would the Redding
- I load the .30/06 in auto index mode and it is much faster than batch mode. This is a big deal to me. Advantage over the Redding if you like this way of loading.

[lgbloader]

I have the T7 and LOVE it.

LGB

[threefeathers]

The Lyman T Mag II. I've loaded thousands of rounds through one. Lyman is one great company

[ants]

So, what should I buy, a Hundai Solara or a BMW X6 50i?

Those two machines are so different that you don't make the decision by comparison. You select the X6 50i because it has specific characteristics you require and you have the money. You select the Hundai as an entry level money-saver and gas saver.

Those are two different questions, not just two different decisions.
And thus is your question about the Lee turret and the T-7. The Redding is a 7 station press for those of us who need as many as seven separate operations per round of ammunition. It's not the same as plugging your Lee dies into a hole and making some ammo.

If you don't have the money for the Redding, get the Lee. Lee equipment were the tools that taught me how to make excellent ammunition. 35 years later I became interested in mechanizing additional operations, and had the knowledge and skill necessary to consider Redding and Forster equipment.

One corollary to Grandpa's advice: Never spend too much money on a tool that does things you'll never need.




P.S. BigJakeJ1 is correct about the CoAx.

[SSN Vet]

the biggest difference IMHO is AUTO-INDEXING.

you want it, the Redding doesn't look like it has it.

The Redding is build like a tank, because they're stuck in the mud with the old fashioned turrent design that has cantilevered forceses on the turret hub.

Lee's design doesn't have a hub, but rather the light weight aluminum turret revolves in machined steel ring. The forces are distributed over a much larger area and with less and lighter materials, they produced a rock solid press by making a better desing.

I cringe to think what spare turrets cost for the Redding.

Lee's design makes for $9 turrets. Cheap enough that you can have one for every caliber. Heck, I even set up a spare for auzillary dies and use press like a single stage for cast bullet sizing, case belling, and stand alone de-capping.

Auto-Indexing makes the Lee press a "semi-progressive" press. You can run the redding that way, but will have the additional step of hand rotating the turret in between each operation.

The auto-index on my classic cast is spot on and after two years has never needed to be adjusted. Most of the "my timing is off" issues you see posted are, I believe, related to the older aluminum frame turret presses.

I'm not a brand loyalty guy. I own products from several different manufactures. But I'm an engineer by trade, and when I see an innovative design that works well.... I like it.

[lgbloader]

To each their own....

[The Freeholder]

You know, I've noticed a funny thing about the different brands of reloading gear--they all produce finished ammo. Some are heavier, some are prettier colors, some are fully finished while others are only finished where it counts, some are expensive and some aren't. But in the end, they all produce finished ammo.

My suggestion is buy what you're comfortable with. If you want the Lee, buy it. If you find you've made a mistake, well, it wasn't an expensive mistake, and you can always sell it. If you want the Redding, buy it. It's built like a tank and your grandchildren will be using it to reload.

Either way, you'll still be getting finished ammo.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

No brainer, the Lee Classic is far superior to the Redding T7 for efficient reloading operations and obsoletes the Redding in design.

Dave

[Walkalong]

The Lee set up.

[jjohnson]

I'd take the Dillon over the others. Well built, sturdy, well engineered, they remind me of Ruger inventions. I've loaded maybe 50,000 loads ranging from .380 through 30-06, and on the very few times I had problems, their hotline walked me through readjusting (most failures had to do with my not doing this properly) the rig.

On two occasions I wore out parts - and their help desk immediately mailed them to me free of charge.

Dillon is worth a look. If you were to set up the poll over and put the 550B in there, I think it would give you an entirely different result.

[ny32182]

I took the Redding over the Lee because it has 7 stations rather than 4. I can have sizer, seater, crimper for two calibers, plus a bullet puller, all mounted at once. I haven't been dissapointed so far.

[SSN Vet]

the key to your answer may be... How are YOU going to reload?

Batch loading rifle cartridges? Then it's likely a coin toss.

Loading pistol cartridges requiring no case prep after depriming, in volumes of 100 and up? Then you'll really appreciate the auto-indexing on the Lee.

Do you think you'll load for a cartridge that requires more than four dies? Then give the nod to the Redding.

I like the idea of having a bullet puller available on the press at all times. I'm kind of tired of "whacking it"

Just may be the excuse I needed to get a single stage press after all :)

[The Bushmaster]

What?? SSN Vet? You don't have one? How do you make corrections or special jobs when your Turret is dedicated at the time...??

[wankerjake]

I love my lee turret press, gone thru about 3000 9mm and about 700 .38 specials. Accuracy is great!

[SSN Vet]

How do you make corrections or special jobs when your Turret is dedicated at the time...??

Trick question?

that's the beauty of innexpensive turrets....

pop out dedicated XYZ caliber turret and set on bench, pop in my "auxillary" turret with all the miscelaneouos dies (unniversal decapper, unniversal deprimer).

a single stage press for $9 ;)

but having a bullet puller handy, that would be the cat's meow :)

[SteelyNirvana]

the key to your answer may be... How are YOU going to reload?


The way I like to reload is to (1) de-prime and size. (2) Clean primer pockets and do any case trimming if necessary. (3) Seat primers, I know its slow as crap but using my hand press, but I like the ram prime. I can feel the primer when it seats. I will plan on using the ram prime on my turret press,whichever I buy. (4) Measure every powder charge by hand using a beam scale, powder dipper to get it close, then a trickler to get the charge just right. I like to have all my charged cases set up on a loading block and visually inspect each one, even though I've carefully weighed each one to make sure everything looks okay (i.e. The powder levels look all the same) before I begin to seat the bullets. I know I could use a powder measure and maybe its me still being a novice, but I don't trust them and not sure if I ever will. I've heard too many stories of metering problems and powder hangups with mechanical poweder measures. I think the way I measure my weighing method should never fail. I do have a bit more faith electronic dispensers as you can see the dispensed charge, but if I decide to buy one its going to be awhile. (5) Seat bullets and crimp.

So, with what I just explained, what would be better? I think they T-7 might serve me better as I'm very meticulous about the way I reload, but if alot of you think I still will be fine with the Lee, thats the way I'll go.

Thanks!

[Frankl03]

I have a Lee Classic Cast Turret press which I like alot. I use a single stage press for extra stuff like swaging and de-capping. I'm currently just reloading for 223 rem but in the future I would like to add 7.62X39 and I like the idea of just getting the dies and an extra turret.

This is the only press I've used so I wouldn't know about others. The reason I bought the Lee Classic Cast Turret was because of all the recommendations I saw for it. The Lee is also plenty fast for me.

[Bad Hammer]

If you were to set up the poll over and put the 550B in there, I think it would give you an entirely different result.

I kinda thought that was what the "Get something else (Please explain in post)" was for....sorta like your post above...:confused:

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

The method you described is basically single stage reloading. You can use either press to single stage reload, but you'll produce at best about 50 cartridges an hour with the Redding, while with the Lee, you can produce 50 or less if you wish, but you can also go into "production" mode and actually load up 200 round in an hour easily, plus you can swap multiple caliber setups in easily and quickly and inexpensively.

You need to realize that with pistol cartridges, there's no need to do the things you're doing, so if you want to reload pistol and do it in quantity, you'll find the Redding sorely lacking. But with the Lee, you can still do things slowly if you wish for rifle.

I own the Lee Classic Turret. I've owned a Lyman T-mag, a similar turret to the Redding. I owned a Dillon 550. I now own a Hornady LnL. I've also owned an RCBS Rock Chucker and now own a Lee Classic Cast single stage.

Having owned all those, if I was to own only a single stage and one other press, it would be the Lee Classic Turret and Lee Classic Cast single stage. With those two, most reloaders can handle all the reloading they can afford to buy powder and bullets for.

Think about that for a second - you can reload slowly if you wish, or you can speed it up if you wish, assuming you bought the appropriate powder measure and safety prime parts, etc., none of which are inexpensive. One of the best values in reloading equipment out there.

Regards,

Dave

[SteelyNirvana]

You need to realize that with pistol cartridges, there's no need to do the things you're doing, so if you want to reload pistol and do it in quantity, you'll find the Redding sorely lacking. But with the Lee, you can still do things slowly if you wish for rifle.


Dave, Thanks for a great response. But could you tell me what I wouldn't be doing that I described in pistol reloading? (I am still a bit of a newbie to the hobby, so I'm still learning.) Only thing I think you could be referring to is primer pocket cleaning and case trimming, as I've heard these steps really aren't necessary in reloading handgun cartridges. I will probably doing more pistol reloading than I would rifle as I have a few center-fire handguns and only one center-fire rifle.

Thanks,
Brian

[SSN Vet]

what I wouldn't be doing that I described in pistol reloading?

I don't think you'll find that your straight wall pistol brass will need to be trimmed. I guess the choice to not use a powder drop is a personal choice, but most of them can hold +/- .2 grains. So if you're not pushing a max load, you can be pretty confident that your safe. The quest for accuracy may leed you to weigh each individual charge, but many may say that it's not necessary.

If you decide that you want to load faster, you can use an auto-indexing turret press as follows....
1. mount empty case on the press
2. first pull deprimes the case, then while the ram is up, push the safety prime trigger to but a primer in the cup
3. lower the ram, which turns the turret to the next die, and push the handle forward to seat the primer
4. the second pull will expand the case mouth and charge the case. lower the ram and you'll index to station #3.
5. place the bullet ontop of the case and pull the lever to seat the bullet. lower the ram and index to station #4.
6. the fourth pull can be used to crimp.
7. dismount and inspect, then load the next case and go at it again.

So you get one complete one cartridge from start to finish with four pulls and only mount and dismount the case once.

Like single stage loading, you are only doing one operation at a time.

Not the best way, not the fastest way, but a good way.

You can always use the press as a single stage and batch load if you want to.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

For straight walled pistol cases, unless you are competing at the olympic level, all you have to do is this:

1. Tumble dirty brass
2. Install case in press shell holder with 4 die let set installed
3. Resize/deprime on station one, then raise handle, press safety prime "button" to load primer into case and seat primer using lever prime (basically classic primer seater as in most single stages, but safety prime loads the primer into the primer seater for you and is much faster than using your fingers)
4. Expand mouth/load powder on station two with expander die/Pro Auto Disk powder measure (you don't need to weigh powder, Mike Dillon proved years ago that volume measurement via a powder measure is sufficient and will get you within +/- a tenth of a grain) - also, you don't need to have a very specific weight with pistol powders, as you're only generally shooting up to 50 yards max - I generally use a disk setup that's convenient, though I do test various loads/disk combinations to get a load I'm happy with.
5. Place bullet in case and seat in station 3 using seating die
6. Crimp cartridge in station 4 using Lee Factory crimp die (btw, this application is where the Lee FCD really shines)
7. Toss loaded round into plastic bin and repeat - within an hour, if you don't hurry a bit, you'll have 200 rounds easily. Work at it and you can get up to 300 rounds, though that's a good bit of work and you gotta have fast hands - so 200-250 is more reasonable and comfortable

Notes:

1. Each time you pull the handle on the Lee, the turret head with the dies automatically rotates to the next die, so you don't have to turn it manually
2. You do not have to remove the case from the press until it's a completed cartridge.
3. The Lee safety prime is a very quick method for getting the primer into the primer seater and is quick/easy to use, even better than their Lee Auto prime, which is an excellent tool I used when loading rifle single stage years ago.
4. the lee Pro auto disk measure works especially well with pistol powders - for rifle, I use a Hornady case activated powder drop combined with an RCBS Uniflow I picked up used. I mount CAPD bases in my various rifle turrets and swap the Uniflow around, as it's easy to adjust with a micrometer stem in it
5. Turret heads are cheap (10 bucks or so) vs. a hundred bucks or so for a T-7 turret head, so you can have bunches of them for various purposes
6. I still keep a single stage with a Hornady LnL conversion kit for specialty tasks I don't like doing on progressive or turret operations
7. I'm a good shot and I can't tell any difference from my progressive or turret loaded rounds from my single stage loaded ones and I like shooting long range 600-1000 when I can.
8. If you buy a Lee Classic Turret, buy all the goodies and an extra powder measure or two when you initially order. I did and ended up saving money and time, as they were there and available when I got ready to use them and I did use them.

Hope this helps.

regards,

Dave

[RustyFN]

I would also recommend the Lee classic turret. I have been loading on one for two years. I was loading 200 rounds per hour at a comfortable pace after a couple of weeks. I load 9mm, 38/357, 45 auto and 223. I have loaded on a friends Dillon 550 and while it was a very nice press I don't see any need for me to upgrade.
Rusty

[SteelyNirvana]

Just wanted to say thanks one more time for those who voted on the poll and gave their input. Looks like I'll be getting the Lee. Think I'm going to order it from Kempfs also. That way I can get one with a set of 45 Colt dies so I can start reloading for the old model Vaquero I have in layaway:D

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Brian,

Good choice and getting it from Kempf's with all the goodies is a great idea. Be sure and get the large and small safety prime setup.

Regards,

Dave