[viking499]

Redding, RCBS, Lyman, ...............

Looking to add a second press. If I upgrade from a single stage to a turret(not buying a progressive, buddy already has one), what do you recommend and what do I look for?

[Friendly, Don't Fire!]

I have good luck with RCBS Single Stage.
With that, you can add the piggyback to it at around $450.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=499103

[Taurus 617 CCW]

I'm going to spring for the Redding T-7 press. I am going to be using it for handgun since it can hold two calibers on one turret head. I chose it because I want full control over the process (hand priming, manually throwing/weighing each powder charge, etc).

[Dave P]

Lee classic works very well, and is cheap.

[earlthegoat2]

Though I have a Redding T-7 I think the Lee, RCBS, Lyman, etc are fine choices. If you want very high quality then get the Redding. All the rest will do the job fine though.

[qajaq59]

It's too bad there aren't very many stores that stock things anymore. It'd be nice if you could see them side by side and compare.

[JimKirk]

I've had a turrent, a Lyman Tmag, I no longer own it. I never found any advantage really over a regular single press other than the ability to have several dies set up at the same time. If you think you'll turn the turrent for a full reload of one cartridge with out moving it out of the press, think again. What you'll do is batch process just like on a regular press, it's faster than turning the turrent or so I found, YMMV.

For a turrent press to rotate the head, there had to be some clearance built in or the head could not rotate. That clearance will allow the head to flex out of alignment when you apply the pressure of sizing a case.

Later after the Tmag, I got the Bonanza (Forster). It is as fast or faster die changing than the Tmag plus you can use as many dies as you have. It take longer to get the dies out of the cabinet than to change and you never have to "reset" a die because the lock ring is never moved. Just pop in a sizer die, do your sizing. Pop in seater, do the seating. If you happen to miss a case just pop the sizer back in 2 seconds later you're sizing again.

If I just had to have a turrent, it would be the Redding T7, it is just flat out made better than the other turrents out there.

But I rather have a Forster. http://www.forsterproducts.com/store.asp?pid=24822

Jimmy K

PS: I have no experience with any of the Lee Turrents, I know nothing about them, so nothing I said applies to them.

[The Bushmaster]

Have a real good look at Lee Turret (the cast iron one).

Dave P...How 'bout "inexpensive" instead of "cheap"...?

[rklessdriver]

I have a regular Lee Turret (alum) that I have been loading on since 1995. Great press. Mine is still set up with the old style 3 hole turrets and I have a number of them already set up with differnt caliber dies ready to load... Over the years with it I have loaded ammo for every rifle and pistol I have owned from 9mm to .300 Weatherby. Past 5-6yrs I have mostly turned out large amounts of 9mm, .38spl/357MAG, .45ACP and .223 rem with it (samller amounts of hunting rifle stuff). I've never broken anything on the press and never had any problems with the ammo. On average I load 300rnds a week with it.... occasionally when there's a big match or shooting outing comming up much, much more and it shows no signs of wearing out.

Last year I got my brother into reloading and for Christmas I bought him a new Lee deluxe turret press kit ($110.00 from Midway USA). His is the same press as mine but set up for the newer 4 hole turrets (useless to me) and his has auto index... I loaded a few hundred .40S&W on it to try it out and found it a bit faster than the way I "batch load" with my turret (no auto index).

I recently had the oportunity to examine a Lee Classic Turret (cast iron) and I have no doubts that this will be my next and last press. Everything works the same - it's just built stronger and out of better materials. The only thing that's holding me back is the fact that my current press is still 100%....

I would recommend either of the Lee Turrets.
Will

[esheato]

I've got a T7. Nothing bad to say about it.

[rfwobbly]

I've had a turret, a Lyman Tmag, I no longer own it. I never found any advantage really over a regular single press other than the ability to have several dies set up at the same time. If you think you'll turn the turret for a full reload of one cartridge with out moving it out of the press, think again. What you'll do is batch process just like on a regular press, it's faster than turning the turret or so I found, YMMV.

For a turret press to rotate the head, there had to be some clearance built in or the head could not rotate. That clearance will allow the head to flex out of alignment when you apply the pressure of sizing a case.

Later after the Tmag, I got the Bonanza (Forster). It is as fast or faster die changing than the Tmag plus you can use as many dies as you have. It take longer to get the dies out of the cabinet than to change and you never have to "reset" a die because the lock ring is never moved. Just pop in a sizer die, do your sizing. Pop in seater, do the seating. If you happen to miss a case just pop the sizer back in 2 seconds later you're sizing again.

If I just had to have a turret, it would be the Redding T7, it is just flat out made better than the other turrets out there.

What I think Jim is also saying is that a turret type press is better used as either a stand-alone press, or as an accessory to a progressive press. I agree, as an accessory to a single-stage press it offers no real advantage.

I use a 30yo Lyman turret (pre-Tmag) to great effect as an accessory to my Dillon 550. With it I can leave my Universal Decapper Die set up for ready use ALL the time. (No one wants to go to the cabinet to retrieve a UDD for a single use.) I then have plenty of space to accept the rifle dies which I use too rarely to buy the caliber change kit for the Dillon.

I believe Jim is right. The T7 is the best turret and one should arrive at my address within the next year. The clear advantage it holds over my present Lyman is the way it cleanly handles spent primers and primer smut.

The quick change die idea Jim mentions only works if you are using the Hornady or RCBS lock rings that stay set in place. If you had only Lee o-ring style rings then you'd need to purchase additional lock rings.

All the best.

[PO2Hammer]

I've had the T-7 for 4 or 5 years now. Great press, I thought I would buy separate priming system, but I'm still priming on the press, works well.

[redactor]

I have the Redding T7 that I love. As others have said, you still have to batch process like a single stage. It is still slow, however retooling between stages is faster than a single stage because you have all the dies you need loaded in the press already. If you're just looking to do things faster, you need to look into a progressive press.

[RustyFN]

For a turrent press to rotate the head, there had to be some clearance built in or the head could not rotate. That clearance will allow the head to flex out of alignment when you apply the pressure of sizing a case.

That's probably why Lee designed their turret to be supported around the outside instead of a bolt throught the middle. The turret on my Lee classic turret press doesn't flex. I don't load calibers that large but I know people that load 30-06 in the auto index mode. I don't have experience with the other turrets but would think they would also be a quality press. Not sure but I would think the Lee classic turret would be faster than the rest being as it is the only one with auto indexing.

[PO2Hammer]

For a turrent press to rotate the head, there had to be some clearance built in or the head could not rotate. That clearance will allow the head to flex out of alignment when you apply the pressure of sizing a case.
That's not true at all.
The top surfaces of the T-7 are precision ground cast iron as is the mating surface of the turret head. It's like any other machine tool, like a vertical mill or engine lathe, beefy, precision ground parts moving against each other don't flex just because they move.
As others have said, you still have to batch process like a single stage.
The nice thing about a turret is you can fully prep your brass in one step, resize/reprime then flip the turret and flair. Much faster than taking the brass out between each die and putting it back in.
You can also mount your powder measure after your expander die and charge them before putting them back in the loading block.
Many advantages other than just keeping the dies mounted.

[JoelSteinbach]

I always thougt for bench rest loads you need one at a time, until I purchased my Redding T7, It saves me a lot of time and is as precision as any single stage press that I have ever worked with

[EddieNFL]

I always thougt for bench rest loads you need one at a time, until I purchased my Redding T7, It saves me a lot of time and is as precision as any single stage press that I have ever worked with
Last I knew the 1,000 yard record was set using ammo loaded on a T7.

[HOWARD J]

I have a Lee 3 hole & a 4 hole turret.
I also have two Dillions that I don't use much anymore. ( since the kids are gone)
I use the Lee 4 hole for almost everything--gets the job done ( I'm in no rush these days)

[hydraulicman]

lee classic turret. if you want faster go dillon 550

[LotI]

Lee Classic Cast Turret. I've had mine since shortly after they came out and after 20,000+ rounds I haven't had a problem. I've timed myself with 45ACP and I can do 50 rounds in 10 minutes. That's 300 rounds/hour if I didn't need a break. I do all pistol rounds and .223 for the AR's on the press.

With the Lee powder measure and this press, I've never had a bad round...when I started with a single stage, I had several squib pistol rounds since it didn't have the "flow" of the turret. Plus I can inspect every case for powder as it turns round 'n' round.

I have the single stage for the batch stuff and rifle loads.

[viking499]

If there is no big advantage to the turret over the single stage, should I just get another single stage and add the hornady bushing to it?

[Kevin Rohrer]

Why not get a CH '444', 4-station, semi-progressive press. It's all steel and the shellholder rides on bronze bushings, so it's perfectly quiet and smooth as glass. It's also compact and sets on top of my bench so it's out of the way.

You can easily load rifle and pistol (up to 200-rounds an hour). Mine has their optional auto primer and a Lyman 55 powder measure attached to it. $265 is the base price and certainly worth it.

www.ch4d.com

http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0200.jpg

[kutter]

Viking I don't know that there is no advantage to it. I can reload far faster with my turret than I could on the single stages I have used. The advantage of a turret, in the Lee at least, is that it serves both functions.

If I am diligent to the task I can turn out about 200/rds an hour, that is if I am going through the whole cycle at one time. If I do some prep work and spread it out, then it gets even faster. I have gotten to the point where I have developed a routine I am happy with for the most part, with the exception of one thing. I cannot decide if I like priming in my press and I think I am going to try hand priming to see if it sits better with me and my system, that however is a small thing and strictly a personal preference.

[greyling22]

I'm far faster with a turret press and auto disk powder drop than a single stage. but I can't compete with the 200/hr guys. I've been very happy with the lee turrets I have. auto index has worked fine for me as long as I remeber to lube the turret and replace the wear parts. I load my precision stuff on a single stage, but I don't know that that's actually necessary. the lee classic cast is better than the standard turrets and gets my vote. add the safety prime system and autodisk and you're off to the races. (assuming you're loading handgun rounds for casual shooting)

[viking499]

So, if I was down to choosing between the RCBS turret and Redding turret, you would choose.........

[JoelSteinbach]

No choice, the Redding t-7

[LeonCarr]

The Redding T-7 is the king. I bought mine from MidwayUSA after reading 32 5-Star reviews on its performance.

My grandchildren will be loading on the T-7. It is a beast. Buy one.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[RustyFN]

If there is no big advantage to the turret over the single stage, should I just get another single stage and add the hornady bushing to it?

Don't know if it's a big advantage but the advantage is instead of loading 50 to 70 RPH on a single stage press you will be loading around 200 RPH on the Lee classic turret. Not sure what the production rate is on the other turrets. I would be interested to hear from JoelSteinbach and LeonCarr on the expected production rate of the T7 turret to compare auto indexing with manual indexing.

[JoelSteinbach]

My production on my T7 for 6PPC & 308 ronds is aprox 80-100 rounds per hour, and on 41 magnum about 150 rounds per hour, I use a pair of dillons for most of my hand gun,M16 and M14 where i am looking for quantity I find the T7 more convenient than a rock chucker, The T7 allows me to have all of my possible combinations of dies set up for the caliber being loaded. ie different seating dies depending on the bullett being used

[RustyFN]

Thanks for the reply Joel. The 150 RPH is a decent rate, I didn't think it would be that fast. Is that priming on the press or off?

[JoelSteinbach]

I deprime and clean my brass, I prime on the T7, for some calibers, 41 mag 375 win, 45-70. My serious targetcrounds are all hand primed.

[UltimateReloader]

Some thoughts:
1- The Hornady lock-n-load classic can move almost as fast as a turret if you perform each operation separately

2. The Lee classic cast turret is a great value

3. The Redding T-7 is at the top of the quality rating, and the optional slide bar priming system is best-in-class in my opinion. The only thing it doesn't have is auto-index, which you don't really need.

Here's a video of loading 44 mag with a case-activated powder measure on the Redding T-7:
http://ultimatereloader.com/?p=463

Hope that's helpful.

[SteelyNirvana]

Anyone else own a CH press, as seen in post #22?

They look like there very stout and well made, would like to hear some more user feedback if anyone else owns one.

[delta5]

I love my Lee classic cast turret press. It is an excellent auto-indexing turret press. You can also remove the indexing rod (takes 2 seconds) and it becomes a very handy 4 station single stage press that you can rotate by hand. For the price, you cant beat the usefulness of this press...

[snuffy]

So, if I was down to choosing between the RCBS turret and Redding turret, you would choose.........

Neither. The Lee classic turret is better.

I never saw a RCBS turret in operation. But thanks to ultimate reloader, we can see the Redding work. It would drive me nuts having to wrap my hand, wrist, and arm around that turret to index it. To say nothing about the stress that would induce, NOT ergonomic. Also, I can change primer size on the lee turret, in 10 seconds. And change the shell holder and primer arm in the same timeframe.

I realize the OP did NOT ask about the Lee turret. But I'm not the first to mention it. Actually it's not a turret in the classic sense. Not like the Lyman, Redding, RCBS, or others. But what else would you call it?

Anyone else own a CH press, as seen in post #22?

They look like there very stout and well made, would like to hear some more user feedback if anyone else owns one.

How the CH-444 ever got mentioned is a mystery. It's a dinosaur, an antique from days gone by. Yes, you COULD load up all 4 stations, then one pull of the handle would do 4 operations at once. Then you'd have to move 4 shells before you could do that again. Then there's the off-center loads on that platform that has the shell holders on it. If you DON'T have the sizer in back between the 2 posts, you'll quickly wear out those "bronze bushings" from the side stress of sizing. It also doe not have a compound leverage system, just a simple toggle lever. It must take a lot of pulling to load rifle shells. NOT a good choice!

[LeonCarr]

As far as production rate goes on the Redding T-7, 200 rounds per hour is easy to obtain. I enjoy loading on the T-7 more than I do on the Dillon 550. Easier to check every step in the process, less maintenance, easier to adjust powder measure and dies. The T-7 in my opinion is the best combination of speed and precision.

Buy one already :).

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[rfwobbly]

If there is no big advantage to the turret over the single stage, should I just get another single stage and add the Hornady bushing to it?

Oh, there is a big advantage. So much so that IMHO you'll be selling your other press within weeks, or it will be gathering dust... big time.

;)

[Jesse Heywood]

I bought the RCBS turret last fall and have regretted the decision ever since. It does work, but I had to do a lot of work to get it there.

One major design flaw is the single bolt through the head. To keep the head from rocking, I bought some .003 machine shims. I have three heads, one works good without shims.

A manufacturing flaw is the pivot bolt hole through the base. It is drilled completely through, aligned with the primer slots in the ram. This makes a nice trap for primers, where they can get smashed. Fortunately I have didn't detonate any. My fix involved machining aluminum plugs for the holes. If the holes were bored from each side and not through, there would not be a problem.

Other issues were due to the lack of quality in manufacture. Most parts had to be deburred to fit when assembled. Some parts had mismatched holes, which required light reaming to assemble. Most threaded holes had rough threads and needed cleanup.

The primer catcher is a piece of junk. Two halves of warped molded plastic with a spot of glue to hold together. A sheet metal replacement is my plan for that.

The priming device is another issue. I have mine working, but it takes a lot of work to keep it adjusted. The groove cut in the base for this makes an excellent powder trap, as do the holes for the primer catcher.

I bought the press because of their reputation. In years past, they made good equipment. Now they are relying on their service department. Not my idea of how to operate a company.

[kodiakshooter]

For fast switching of individually weighed rounds try the Forester. It is the only single stage I use. Switching dies is just slide one out and another in. Really nice alignment mechanism (floating) too.

[Kevin Rohrer]

How the CH-444 ever got mentioned is a mystery. It's a dinosaur, an antique from days gone by. Yes, you COULD load up all 4 stations, then one pull of the handle would do 4 operations at once. Then you'd have to move 4 shells before you could do that again. Then there's the off-center loads on that platform that has the shell holders on it. If you DON'T have the sizer in back between the 2 posts, you'll quickly wear out those "bronze bushings" from the side stress of sizing. It also doe not have a compound leverage system, just a simple toggle lever. It must take a lot of pulling to load rifle shells. NOT a good choice!

I mentioned it because it is an excellently made, useful, turret-type reloader. It's higher quality than any green or red & silver press, and far more useful due to having 4-stations instead of one.

And yes, if you are *stupid* and don't use the station between the pillars to FL resize, you may eventually have a problem. The press is nice because you can do pistol cartridges w/o the single-stage problem of changing dies between operations; once set in the 444, load. And the fact that there is no compound linkage is irrelevant if you aren't swaging. I have had no problems FL resizing .308 and 22/250 cases, and don't expect any with larger ones.

Just because something isn't mass produced doesn't make it a dinosaur.

[viking499]

The only thing it doesn't have is auto-index, which you don't really need

How are you able to get the dies lined up without screwing something up?

[PO2Hammer]

How are you able to get the dies lined up without screwing something up?
The T-7 has a ball detent system that sets the alignment. Just flip the head to the next station and you feel it 'clunk' into position.
Works slick.

[viking499]

Anyone know of any place that has a good price on the T-7?

[Joemyxplyx]

Ultimate Reloader wrote
Some thoughts:
1- The Hornady lock-n-load classic can move almost as fast as a turret if you perform each operation separately

2. The Lee classic cast turret is a great value

3. The Redding T-7 is at the top of the quality rating, and the optional slide bar priming system is best-in-class in my opinion. The only thing it doesn't have is auto-index, which you don't really need.

I watched the UR video of the Redding T-7. My thoughts were that the Redding T-7 combines the worst features of a single stage and a progressive.

1. Primer size change is as awkward as my Hornady AP LnL. The Lee Classic Cast Turret takes a matter of seconds to change primer sizes.

2. Using the Hornady LnL powder measure w/case activated powder is just like my Hornady AP LnL - expensive and slow to change. For the price of the LnL powder measure and CAPD, you could buy 3 Lee Pro AutoDisk powder measures and keep them set up on interchangeable turrets.

3. The Redding T-7 holds enough dies to run 2 different calibers without unscrewing dies and putting different ones in the turret. For $10/each, Lee turrets can be set up so one can be snapped out and another installed in seconds with the dies already setup with a dedicated powder measure installed.

My son does this all the time because he loads 45 long colt for rifle and 44 Mag for pistols for CASS. (don't ask -he got a deal on the .44 Rugers, he wanted .45's) If he has to load 110 rounds of .45 and 110 rounds of 44 Mag the night before a match, he can do it easily in a couple of hours with a Lee CC. If I had to do this regularly on the LnL, I'd pull out the Lee CC turret and quit using the LnL

I've got the Hornady LnL set up to run 5-600 rounds of .38 Special in an hour or two for my CASS shooting.

The Redding T-7 is as slow or slower to change calibers than the Hornady LnL and slower than the Lee Classic Cast Turret to produce ammo. An answer for which there isn't a question. Well made, slow and expensive. What's to like?

[ranger335v]

I wonder what you think getting a turret would provide that your single stage doesn't.

I started with a six station cast iron turret; I just KNEW would be "faster" to load on. It wasn't! I still have it but it's religated to occasional use for pistol ammo but mostly it just sits with an assortment of dedicated dies; a universal decapper, three Lyman M expanders and two Lee rifle collet crimpers.

Don't care who made what turret press, if the head can be spun by hand it has to have slack in the attachment and tightening a center pivot bolt just makes it harder to index precisely.

Only Lee has a free turning head mounting system that's held by the rim, not the center. Their design firmly limits head lifting so it won't vary under the normal varying pressures of resizing and seating. It's also the only one with automatic head advancing for a little real help in loading speed. The Lee turret heads are inexpensive enough to have them for every die set and they can be swapped/exchanged in seconds without tools.

[RustyFN]

I wonder what you think getting a turret would provide that your single stage doesn't.

200 rounds per hour. Very easy to do on the Lee classic turret. After watching the video of the T7 I'm not so sure about the other turrets.

[Rollis R. Karvellis]

Considering that I hate Lee, I still have to stand up for the little cheap C press that they make. You may not be able to do monster magnume rounds with it, it will do most commen calibers with out any problems. I use mine for a universal depriming die. I have also used it to make some 9mm just for the fun of it.

[GW Staar]

After watching the T7 video, I'm glad I bought a progressive instead. All that effort for one round. On a progressive, the same effort loads 5 rounds or more.

If I had a T7 (quality is not a question), I would use it in batches. Size a hundred, index, expand a hundred, index....etc. That way the advantage over my rockchucker is not having to change dies, with the added ability to use a powder measure on-press. Another advantage of using it batch-wise is the powder measure stays put for a hundred rounds, which would make it more likely to drop uniform loads.

I do like the Lee Classic Turret. Its turret design is better. But I wouldn't use the auto index. Again, I'd rather do it in batches. That said, Lee's auto-index beats the lever on the back of the T7 for ease of use.

Watching the video showed me that indexing each time not only appeared to be a lot of work, but it seems to me that errors could easily creep in. Why lose the one advantage of a one station press, which advantage is the ability to easily check each powder drop. Oh, and BTW, indexing each time will probably spill powder out of short cases...not a problem doing batches.

[viking499]

What does the auto index do on the lee? Is the Auto index a "manual" index?

[GW Staar]

What does the auto index do on the lee? Is the Auto index a "manual" index?
The autoindex means that every ram stroke automatically indexes the turret. Therefore you don't have to reach back and grab a lever (like on the t7 vid) and rotate it every time you want to index.

Keep in mind that the Lee has 4 stations to the T7's 7 stations. In the vid he had to rotate the turret back to the beginning because he had another caliber's dies on the rest of the stations. That's a pain IMO. With 4 stations, you'd rotate through to the beginning if you size, expand, charge, seat, crimp in separate operations. (Seems to me in the vid he seated and crimped in one, so he only used 3 stations out of 7.

I agree with another post, that having another turret already loaded with dies, and easily changed to, is preferable to having 7 stations loaded with two sets of dies...if you index on each ram stroke...auto or not.

P.S. I've always liked and used RCBS products for the most part. I've never been impressed with their Turret Press...the exception to the rule.

[viking499]

So, Lees turret press is actually a progressive press, right?

[GW Staar]

So, Lees turret press is actually a progressive press, right?

Not really, you still can only work on one round at a time. A real progressive has 4,5, or 6 rounds loading a one time. the 550 = 4, the 650, RCBS pro 2000, and LNL AP =5 , and the Dillon 1050 = 6 rounds at a time on a multible shell holder (plate). The Lee may auto-index its turret, but it still only has a single shell holder. Lee also has 4 station and a 5 station progressives. The Lee Pro 1000, and the Lee Load Master.

[viking499]

OK. Not a progressive, not a turret, but more of a by-product of a one night stand between a turret and progressive.........

[RustyFN]

So, Lees turret press is actually a progressive press, right?

No it is a turret press it's just auto indexing. Check out this video so you will be able to compare to the T7.

http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/videos/Turret%20Press/loading%20on%20turret-1.wmv

[pricedo]

So, Lees turret press is actually a progressive press, right?
With a true progressive press you get a loaded round every time you work the lever (without doing anything else with the other hand). The Lee turret press is a turret press & not a true progressive.
Some people downplay the Lee stuff and it's true that they have come up with the odd hare brained concept over the years (who hasn't) but I use the cheap little Lee "C" press as well as the Lee portable hand press (I own 3 of them.....they're cheaper than most reloading dies!) that I take on trips or to the range when I'm working up loads. They get the job done for a fraction of the money. I've sized & reloaded .416 Remington cases with the Lee hand press......what more do you need?

[Jimfern]

I had a Lyman Turret which worked fine, but I didn't notice a real speed increase from my Rockchucker.

I did pick up a Piggyback II progresive a few weeks ago and that really is a step up from either a turret or single stage. I have only loaded 38 SPL on it so far, but I am impressed with it.

[ranger335v]

"200 rounds per hour. Very easy to do on the Lee classic turret. After watching the video of the T7 I'm not so sure about the other turrets."

The original queston was "Turret Press choice........Redding, RCBS, Lyman,.."


Between those three, there are no significant differences to make a choice. Pick your color and pay your price.

Lee's Classic Turret is the better tool because of its combination of features; Auto-indexing (which does speed the process significantly), very low cost heads that can easily be swapped by hand in seconds, excellant spent primer handling, excellant fully adjustable lever design. It's a superior tool, at any price.

[RustyFN]

I see your point now Ranger335V. I forgot the Lee wasn't included in the original post.