Turret Press - Set Up

film495 said:

My thinking was this might save me time, as I think I'm only going to load .38 Special and .357 for a while. I don't load much, maybe a few boxes a year, but - I might do more if it was less time consuming. I'll probably still visually check charges and weigh each one, maybe priming off the press can save some time.

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The only time a turret press saves is changing the dies. You still have one stroke for each step vs a progressive, once full, performs EVERY step with each stroke of the handle. That’s why they are so much faster, something like 100 rounds for 104 strokes of the handle vs 400 strokes with a single stage or turret AND having to prime all 100 in another step.

If your going to weigh every charge, your not that interested in saving time. Get any measure or even a dipper would be better than weighing every charge.

I also do the turret press. I got it years ago when I got into handloading and it does me just fine. Once the dies are set, you’re good to go. I load quite a bit but I’m not pressed for time or anything. It’s relaxing and I enjoy it. If you’re not loading that much, you’ll have to decide if the extra cost is worth it to you.

Turrets are MUCH better as far as speed and getting consistent. As said they are all set up and ready to go. Much more relaxing too.

deadeye dick said:

Turrets are MUCH better as far as speed and getting consistent. As said they are all set up and ready to go. Much more relaxing too.

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Help me out here - I too have thought about getting a turret.
On a single stage - If my die lock rings are good and they snug down the same every time, what time do I save (save the unscrewing a die and screwing in a die) with a turret?

I do want to buy a Redding T-7

Jdague12 said:

View attachment 1080870 View attachment 1080869 I also do the turret press. I got it years ago when I got into handloading and it does me just fine. Once the dies are set, you’re good to go. I load quite a bit but I’m not pressed for time or anything. It’s relaxing and I enjoy it. If you’re not loading that much, you’ll have to decide if the extra cost is worth it to you.

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So CLEAN!

All I'm saying is if time is that precious just buy ammunition. I find that people are far less productive than they claim and saved time is used to watch an entire series on Netflix but do you.

I started on a humble Lee Single stage. It was a complete kit for around $119 or something like that. I'm glad I did because it slowed things down and forced me to concentrate on each step repetitively until it was ingrained.

Once I started reloading my volume of shooting increased exponentially...prob a lot of the folks on this site will say the same thing. I started to talk myself into believing I needed a progressive to start cranking out the volume to keep up with the increased shooting. I don't shoot a lot of 9mm/.40 or.45 ACP or .223/.308. The volume shooting that I do is with .327FM/.357Mag/ HEAVY .44 mag and .45 Colt. and that's all in lever action rifles and single/double action revolvers. It's a more relaxed pace than 15-30+ round magazine semi-guns were ammo dumps are somewhat frequent (well....for sure before the ongoing craziness).

Anyway...while considering the usual suspects of progressives...Hornady/RCBS and Dillon I ran across a smoking deal on T7 at Cabelas...$220 and some change...At the time I was also curious about the Lee Classic Cast Turret (I think that was why I actually walked into Cabelas to look at in person).

So...I came home with the T7. I've always liked the priming system on the Lee. Safety Disc or something is what its called...Yes its cheap...made of plastic etc. but the thing just plain works...its simple and FAST. So. I deprime/size and reprime all on the Lee (never removing that die except to change calibers and do everything else on the T7.

I've been loading on the T7 now for several years and have become very proficient. 170-200 per hour with a couple of breaks if I feel like it. 220 MAX an hour but hardly ever keep that pace. I'm not in a race when I reload. It's a hobby and I enjoy the process. I like going in the reloading room, turning on the Technics receiver, putting on some Johnny Cash and settling back for a relaxing session of making some low-cost ammo. I found out for my type of volume shooting I didn't need the one completed round per crank full-up progressive.

Some things I like about this Turret.

1. American made. Built like a tank. You'll hand it down to your kid or grandkid.
2. Feels very smooth. I just enjoy loading on it because it just exudes old school craftsmanship.
3. I drop powder on it. I upgraded some of my Little Dandy's to the Pyrex which substantially increased powder volume.
4. SAFETY: As I drop the powder I can see the level drop in the powder stack and know it was a successful drop.
4.1 SAFETY: With the movement of the turret the powder stack gets jostled enough to fill any voids in the powder stack should they occur. I have very consistent drops across a number of powder types to include Trail Boss/ Unique/ AA#2/5/7/9/ 2400/ Win 296 and some others.
5. 7 die stations...shown in the pic is the flare/bell /powder measure/seating and then crimping die (I like to use separate dies for seating and crimping). I have enough room on here to run another caliber depending on what I'm doing and what the primary set up is.
6. Simplicity.
7. Low Maint.

2-3 months AFTER I bought the T7 I was back in Cabelas for something else and walked past the press display and they had another T7 at around $200 again (think it was an open box special) so I picked it up as well having been duly impressed by the first one. That one is dedicated to .357 only.



The T7 dedicated to .357 Mag. I solidly clamp presses to the bench as the bench top is very sturdy and that helps with moving presses off the main bench and around for specific calibers and reloading tasks.

Jdague12 said:

I got it years ago when I got into handloading and it does me just fine

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That's a nice clean lookin' setup....!
Are the individual toolheads set up with (2) 3-die sets each...?

I like my turrets as well. They make reloading more conveient. Have the turret heads set up ready to go. I have 2 Lymans and a Lee clasic cast. The single stage ones i use for utility work.

Like the look of those Lyman Americans. When they first came out they were a high bang for the Buck value. Prices have substantial climbed since then.

“this is my question too - what am I really gaining?”

Time and Convenience:

On a single stage it’s not just screwing out the dies and replacing them. You have to separately pick up the case. Place it on the press. Complete whatever step you’re doing and then put the case back in your tray and pick up ANOTHER case and repeat for 50-100-200-300+ cases for whatever production run you have planned. THEN you replace the die and repeat until you’re finally done. In Industry under Process Improvement this would be called touch time.

Now move this process to a turret press. You only place the case on the press ONE time and complete 3-4 Steps before removing it with a completed round. You have just eliminated taking a case out of a tray and replacing it 4-5 times in a tray depending on what your process is . That DOES safe time by reducing ‘touch time’. It also makes reloading less monotonous.

The Lee Classic Turret is a lot faster than a single stage. As previously pointed out, you set your dies up once, and just snap the whole set in and out together. But the biggest advantage is that you only handle the case once. If everything is working right, I can do 100 rounds in 40 minutes, vs. about an hour on a single stage.

When im running my Lee turrret. I have a pile of brass and bullets on the bench. And primers if i didn't pre-prime on my RCBS bench prime. When i get in a grove i can crank them out fast. I don't use the auto index. I can go faster without. I advance buy hand as im grabbing what ever i need next in the process. And don't have to worry about the rachet getting out of time.

One caliber + One load = Dillon Square Deal Press or Lee Pro 4000

LeftyRed said:

One caliber + One load = Dillon Square Deal Press or Lee Pro 4000

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my SD press can do .45 and .38 from dirty brass to finish ammo with confidence. The Pro 4000, I have to prime separately, so for me, 4000 is a 2 part process press.

The vast majority of “process time” during reloading is spent moving the case in and out of the press. When we use a turret, we eliminate that time. Yes, we still pull the ram handle once for every action, but we do NOT spend the process time removing and placing cartridges in and out of the press.

A reloader COULD leave a case in a single stage press and swap dies, but it ends up slower since the swap is more cumbersome than simply turning a turret. Running an auto indexing turret with a case kicker is even faster still, as it eliminates about 1/3 of the hand cycle time in trading cases in the press.

It’s exceptionally simple to demonstrate - anyone who has owned and operated a turret press knows firsthand how much faster a turret press will process brass and load ammo than a single stage. No, it’s not as fast as a progressive press, especially not as fast as an automated progressive with case, bullet, primer, and powder feeders. But they’re faster than single stage presses, by far.

Varminterror said:

The vast majority of “process time” during reloading is spent moving the case in and out of the press. When we use a turret, we eliminate that time. Yes, we still pull the ram handle once for every action, but we do NOT spend the process time removing and placing cartridges in and out of the press.

A reloader COULD leave a case in a single stage press and swap dies, but it ends up slower since the swap is more cumbersome than simply turning a turret. Running an auto indexing turret with a case kicker is even faster still, as it eliminates about 1/3 of the hand cycle time in trading cases in the press.

It’s exceptionally simple to demonstrate - anyone who has owned and operated a turret press knows firsthand how much faster a turret press will process brass and load ammo than a single stage. No, it’s not as fast as a progressive press, especially not as fast as an automated progressive with case, bullet, primer, and powder feeders. But they’re faster than single stage presses, by far.

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I can verify this. On the Lee 4 hole, I run about 160-180/hour. I load about 120/hour on a single stage. I single stage on a turret with the index feature removed, so no die changes. So thats about 30% of time handling cases. I average about 3-400/hour on a loadmaster.

film495 said:

Back and forth on if I should take the time to set up another press. I could just mount it to a 2 by 6 and then clamp it to the bench. Then if I wanted to put it away or have more bench space I could just undo the clamp and stick it on a shelf.

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I’m not a turret press person, so I won’t try to offer advice there, but I recently purchased the inline fabrication quick change plates. One plate bolts to the bench and doesn’t move, then you purchase a plate per press and you can swap a press in a few minutes. Good luck.

Mark_Mark said:

my SD press can do .45 and .38 from dirty brass to finish ammo with confidence. The Pro 4000, I have to prime separately, so for me, 4000 is a 2 part process press.

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I actually deprime off the “press” with a LEE APP and then I clean the brass, so all of mine reloading is a two step process. I think it keeps the press cleaner and running smoothly, especially a Progressive. I should agree that.

But I totally agree with you on the Pro 4000, I never liked priming on any of LEE’s presses.

After rereading the OP’s question, I would say just get a LEE Classic Turret Press and be done with it. Remove the middle rotation rod and it’s a manual turret press or single stage. It’s got one of the best depriming setups, easy and cheap to swap out turret heads, and it’s replaces two presses with one.

lordpaxman said:

I’m not a turret press person, so I won’t try to offer advice there, but I recently purchased the inline fabrication quick change plates. One plate bolts to the bench and doesn’t move, then you purchase a plate per press and you can swap a press in a few minutes. Good luck.

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I have two such mounts and QC plates for my presses, case trimmer, super swage, etc. Works great!

As for me, I use a T7 as a super convenient single stage.

deadeye dick said:

Turrets are MUCH better as far as speed…

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Varminterror said:

But they’re faster than single stage presses, by far.

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In rounds per hour, what is the difference between SS and turret for you?

I know that a regular progressive puts me at just under 10 minutes per 100 and adding collated case and bullet feed gets me to 4 min / 100. Thats substantial to me but I never noticed much difference turret. The Size/deprime, remove to prime, puts me as more of a “batch” guy at using a turret though.

I like to do the sizing operation on the single & keep the other dies on the turret.