Is it bad I don't think I'd like a progressive press?

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

After mounting my first single stage to a bench, then a couple months later mounting my Lyman 8-turrent (Yes it took me this long before finally having a bench for it) I really believe the turrent to be my final stage in reloading.
I've considered a Dillion RL-450 because that looks like a good sturdy press, but I don't think i'd actually set one up. After years of hand press, the 8-turrent is a massive improvement and it alone makes reloading alot faster. One thing I learned with my first round with the 8-turrent is how much more variables of error it gives you. There were times the primer wasn't fully seated, I needed to pay close attention and felt like I didn't have nearly as much control over the quality of my rounds as I did with the hand press and later single stage.
So I don't see me having much of a use for a progressive press. Only that people say you might as well get a progressive and not bother with a turrent press but honestly I really like the turrent press. Why is the turrent press shunned and not as preferred?
That said I may still look for a Dillion RL-450 (yes the 450 not the 550) if I can find one brand new in the box

 

[Targa]

I like my turret press but it would be nice to have a progressive press for the high volume semi auto stuff. Trying to put out a quantity of 9mm on a turret press is like walking through quick sand….well, at least for me it is.

 

[AK Hunter]

I load with an old three hole Lee turret press that is so wore out that it won't advance. So I turn it by hand & it loads just as fast as what I want.
I have a buddy the has a progressive press & he is always having problems with it.

 

[JohnMc]

Progressive presses are great if you want one and want to pay attention to several things at once. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a turret press. Go with what you want.
So no, it isn't bad not to want one.

 

[nettlle]

I went from a single stage RCBS Jr to a Redding T7 turret to a Dillon 550C. I still load 100% of my rifle on the T7 turret. Powder throwing off of the T7 is a separate operation. All of my pistol is reloaded on the 550 and the 550 is great at that. The turret is nice to have in addition to the 550. In addition to having it set up 100% for one rifle caliber (additional turret heads available) I have additional stations for some secondary operations without disturbing my setup(s) on my 550. A lot of folks say a turret is a waste of money vs a progressive or a single stage. I will say having a Dillon 550 with quick change tool heads and a Redding T7 with interchangeable turrets is sweet for me.

 

[BreechFace]

My setup for primary reloading is a Redding T-7 and a Dillon XL750. I’ve arrived at this as my long term and probably final arrangement.

The T7 is awesome for specialized hunting cartridge reloading and load workups. The XL750 is hard to beat for volume be it in the popular handgun rounds or high volume rifle.

It affords a person to buy ammo when it’s cheap for brass and training and when ammo is tight the stockpile of components can carry one through lean times. Or it affords a person to have a higher degree of quality in the ammo one uses even if that is a volume cartridge that would be tedious on a single stage be it fixed die or turret.

But if the Lyman 8-Turret does what you need then who are we to say otherwise. Me personally, I would skip the fixed single die presses and jump straight to a turret. And the next step in the disease is a progressive.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Only that people say you might as well get a progressive and not bother with a turrent press

I have never cared about, “…what people say.”
I guess I’m either not easily influenced or just plain stubborn - your call as to which - but I learned a long time ago that what works for me won’t work for everyone else and vice versa. It’s just how life is.

I’ve been talked into doing some pretty stupid things because it sounded reasonable at the time but even then it wasn’t something I did because everybody was doing it or some self anointed band of demigods decided I ought to.

You be the best person you know how and be happy being yourself. That’s my advice. Worth every penny paid for it, too.

 

[nettlle]

If, for a few dollars more, you can get a Dillon 550 you won't be disappointed. Rifle or pistol.

 

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

The thing about reloading is if what you have works, as long as you are getting consistent quality and safety, doesn't matter what you do. I feel like I could load all my .45 Long Colt on that vintage Ideal mold and loading tool I have and no one would complain; I wouldn't if someone else did all their loading that way. I started as a teen doing black powder stuff so technically all of this is a step up.

So yeah I appreciate the feedback.

If, for a few dollars more, you can get a Dillon 550 you won't be disappointed

I want the 450, going 90s style.

I guess I’m either not easily influenced or just plain stubborn - your call as to which

Us reloaders are a different breed though. Often times I'll want to get a gun because of the caliber it shoots, not because I particularly care what the gun is. (maybe that's just me). If I want to shoot black powder loads through my military rifles, who's going to stop me and I know nobody here would care.

The T7 is awesome for specialized hunting cartridge reloading and load workups.

So was the T7 the original sturdy turrent press that started this style of loading?

Trying to put out a quantity of 9mm on a turret press is like walking through quick sand….well, at least for me it is.

For me what helps in loading auto calibers is "by magazine" and not necessarily focusing on 50, 100 box count at a time. Doing 18 rounds of 9mm to fill a mag is alot easier to focus on than doing a batch of 50. Basically just view the mags as your finish boxes.

 

[IALoder]

I initially thought the same thing about a progressive. I broke down this summer and bought one (Lee Six Pack Pro) for loading 9mm. The wife and I shoot a pretty fair amount of 9mm, and it sure has saved me a ton of time. I'm slowly gathering the parts to do .223 and .300 blackout on the progressive as well. Once set up it's pretty darn consistent, and you get the "feel" for it and can make a lot of ammo in a hurry!

 

[westernrover]

I have a progressive, but I don't use it to load cartridges anymore. I only use it to resize streight-wall handgun brass because it has case feeder. I do use three dies to size some handgun brass, but it's the case feeder that makes the most difference. If I didn't already have the progressive, I have a Lee APP Deluxe with a case feeder and that's pretty good too for bulk operations.

Resizing rifle cases on a progressive does not work that well. Maybe it can be done if you use the same station and shell-holder position like a single-stage, otherwise it's a formula for inconsistency. Then what's to be done with lubed cases that have dirty primer holes? They should come off the press and be cleaned. So the main benefit of a progressive for brass processing is just the case feeder.

I haven't had good experience priming on a progressive. Maybe a different one works better. I like to hand prime or use a Lee APP Deluxe.

Dropping powder on a progressive does not work well either. The case activated powder drops smash case mouths and drop powder inconsistently, especially extruded powders. I really only want to drop powder with my Harrell's (for handgun) or trickle it (for rifle). If I trickled a lot, I would get an auto trickler.

Seating bullets on a progressive doesn't go consistently either. Again, maybe it can be done using a single station/shellholder but otherwise it's not good for precision. I use a single stage.

I had a Lee turret press. I didn't like it. It was a sloppy aluminum deal. I'm sure the Redding is nicer, but I like a single stage. I had a Lee Breech-Lock Classic Cast iron press -- that was a good press, but I use an RCBS now that's also great.

The last thing I pine for is another or better progressive. I covet more sweet dies, but mostly more quality brass and more primers.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I love all presses! they all got roles!

Rock Chucker for effortlessly sizing belted magnums!

Lyman 8 turrets for small test runs

Lee App for speed stuff, you got one job

Dillion SDB for bomb fast .45 and 38’s

Lee Pro 4000 for finishing 9mm Super Fast

 

[BreechFace]

Progressives can make forming wildcat brass very fast as well. I can use a XL750 and perform several steps with one pull of the handle. Or one can get setup with a motorized case trimmer and manufacture say 300BLK out of 223 in one pull of the handle.

Or one can decap, swage, size rifle cartridges with one pull to be used on a single or turret press, if so desired.

They are very handy for time savings even outside of producing a completed cartridge.

 

[Nature Boy]

I only have one press, a Dillon 650, and I load everything on it. From high volume pistol rounds loaded progressively to accurate high quality rifle rounds made one at a time. If I felt I needed a single stage press I would have had one a while ago.

 

[LiveLife]

I only have one press, a Dillon 650, and I load everything on it. From high volume pistol rounds loaded progressively to accurate high quality rifle rounds made one at a time. If I felt I needed a single stage press I would have had one a while ago.

Yes, I agree.

Progressive presses have improved and current models are capable of high level of precision/consistency, enough for match shooting.

Why is the [turret] press shunned and not as preferred? ... people say ... get a progressive and not bother with a [turret] press

Due to progressive press production rate being much higher than turret press.

During past 30 years, I went through around 20 reloading presses to include several single stage, two C-H "H" type, Lee Classic Cast/Herters turret, several progressives including Lee ABLP and latest Lee APP/breech lock hand press.

While I prefer to load rifle cartridges on single stage for greater precision (Actually, I like the slow pace), my latest reloading setup for retirement does not include any single stage/turret press (Other than single stage hand press for range/field loading) due to consistency I am able to achieve with Dillon 550, Lee Six Pack Pro/Pro 6000 and Lee 2023 Pro 1000 down to .001" OAL variance - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-unlimited-budget.912629/page-3#post-12760055

I've considered a Dillion RL-450 because that looks like a good sturdy press ... (yes the 450 not the 550) if I can find one brand new in the box

You are not likely to find a Dillon 450 brand new in box as it has been discontinued for a while.

I did like my 450 as unlike my current 550 with removable tool head, dies screwed directly into top of press frame for single stage like precision/consistency without the shellplate tilt/deflection as both 450/550 utilize shellplate design that allows case rim contact with solid carrier top (Instead of capturing case rim inside shellplate that could be affected by shellplate tilt/deflection like 650/750).

But use of toolhead allows for faster caliber changes and on 550, IMO not a significant contributing factor to affect finished OAL due to open shellplate design where shellplate just pushes case rim on top of the carrier surface. In a sense, Lee Six Pack Pro and 2023 Pro 1000 are akin to Dillon 450 as breech lock bushing design locks dies to top of press frame and floating shellplate design allows shellplate to drop down flat on top of carrier surface.

Here's my 450 and notice manual push/pull powder measure and primer feed that 550 improved with case activated powder measure and automated primer feed. Since I load multiple calibers, 550 with multiple tool heads was a better choice and 450 got replaced with 550 and 650 with case feeder.

 

[johnjohn]

I started reloading with a Lyman T-Mag. Later caught a "sale" and bought a Lyman "Crusher" (ss) that I use mostly for rifle ammo. Been happy with both. I never wanted a progressive (too much going on at once). You pay your money and take your choice. Get what's best for you.

 

[Walkalong]

Like many, I started on a single stage press, and like many, after loading a bunch of pistol ammo, immediately wanted something faster.

 

[higgite]

I started reloading with a 4 stage Lee turret press, but I disabled the auto advance and used it like a single stage until I was comfortable that I was ready to speed things up. Then I used it as the auto advance turret that it was intended to be. I eventually “moved up” to a 5 station progressive press. I'll give you my progressive press when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
(Apologies to Charlton Heston - RIP)

 

[King Medallion]

I use my Lee 4 hole turret kinda like a single stage on wheels. The day I mounted it to the bench the auto rod was removed. My method, right or wrong, is to do my shooting, tumble the brass in corncob media for an hour or so, resize/de-cap, wet SS tumble till nice and new looking, prime while watching tv, and reload when time allows. All the straight wall cases are done a coffee can full at a time, rifle and bottle neck round are done usually 300 at a time depending on caliber. I'm in no hurry so using my turret stage by stage works best for me.

 

[Mostly Lead]

After mounting my first single stage to a bench, then a couple months later mounting my Lyman 8-turrent (Yes it took me this long before finally having a bench for it) I really believe the turrent to be my final stage in reloading.
I've considered a Dillion RL-450 because that looks like a good sturdy press, but I don't think i'd actually set one up. After years of hand press, the 8-turrent is a massive improvement and it alone makes reloading alot faster. One thing I learned with my first round with the 8-turrent is how much more variables of error it gives you. There were times the primer wasn't fully seated, I needed to pay close attention and felt like I didn't have nearly as much control over the quality of my rounds as I did with the hand press and later single stage.
So I don't see me having much of a use for a progressive press. Only that people say you might as well get a progressive and not bother with a turrent press but honestly I really like the turrent press. Why is the turrent press shunned and not as preferred?
That said I may still look for a Dillion RL-450 (yes the 450 not the 550) if I can find one brand new in the box

Why do you reload? Some load for volume, some for accuracy, some for hobby, etc... There are a hundred different reasons and not all of them require a turret or progressive.

I've been loading for a few decades and enjoy my single stage Lee Challenger press. Only load for my enjoyment, no one elses. Dollar per hour, I get more bench time reloading on a single stage than if I had a progressive. Besides - I'd be out of money and components in just one session!

Know your own goals, choose your own path...

 

[film495]

I use an old single stage, and on my bench is a turret press I never set up. If I switch cartrdiges I'd have to set the dies again anyways, so I just never saw the point. I don't do enough volume, and my speed improvements are currently making charging the cases faster, so - nothing to do with the press really.

 

[BreechFace]

I use an old single stage, and on my bench is a turret press I never set up. If I switch cartrdiges I'd have to set the dies again anyways, so I just never saw the point. I don't do enough volume, and my speed improvements are currently making charging the cases faster, so - nothing to do with the press really.

With my Redding T7 it has replaceable turrets heads. So I have a turret head for each of my major rifle cartridges I load on there. Switching between calibers is a 2-3 minute affair, and the dies all keep their setting.

 

[Remington1911]

Going on 25 years with a turret, and I use it like a single stage. De prime in one stage, resize in one stage....as in all the brass for that run. Prime all the brass. One step at a time, just manually turn the turret to the next die.

I don't see myself changing.

I know people with different progressive. What do you need to do to change from large to small primers.....well that seems like a pain, change from 3006 to 38 special......well that seems like a pain, and you need what.....that does not come with....how much is that.....

Nope. But they sure do love them.

How often do you change calibers. Every loading session is a different caliber then the last that is how often.....oh.

 

[JEBruns]

The thing about reloading is if what you have works, as long as you are getting consistent quality and safety, doesn't matter what you do.

No doubt. Whatever works and all. I've been reloading many years, and have never owned a single stage. My 550 is as close as I get, since it's semi-progressive. I shoot a lot, 200+ rounds a week. No way I'd be able to do that week in and week out with a single. But I'm glad you are happy with your setup. I enjoy reloading and am glad others do as well.

And BTW, it's not a turrent, it's a turret.

 

[kcofohio]

I have a Lee 4000 that I use for 380s and 9s. It's okay, but I'm not a high volume shooter, maybe 4-5000 rounds per year. And still prefer the LCT for other pistol cartridges and a single stage for most rifle loading. I think I would be more likely to get a 6 or 7 hole turret before I'd move up on progressives.