Skip the turret and buy a progressive.
Contrary to popular opinion, you do not have to run a progressive fired case to loaded round.
I break my reloading on a progressive into a couple steps.
First, I size, decap, then expand the case mouth. I then clean my cases. I usually do this shortly after shooting them so the batches are small and go quick. I store the cases for a future loading session.
I prefer to prime my cases off press. Discussion for this is a subject for another thread.
I then charge the case, seat the bullet, them crimp, if part of the operation.
Although I seemingly waste time breaking up the process, I can run each operation at a higher cyclic rate with fewer stoppages.
My overall loading rates are comparable with what most folks claim they run fired case to loaded round.
To me, turret presses are glorified single stage presses. Except for Lee’s turret prrss with the auto index of the die plate, turrets really do not have any measurable advantage over a single stage press.
If you want a turret, buy a single stage press and put the savings due to a cost lower than a turret into other reloading tools.
EXACTLY! When I started getting older, I was losing interest in reloading, fast......just too danged slow for my dwindling patience. I looked at turrets, but once I analyzed how they worked, I realized that the time savings was so minimal, for me it would not have saved my hobby. Having dies all ready to reload with, in a head is the only savings I saw. And the process just goes from batch mode (100 rounds at a time for each stage) to one round at a time.
So I bit the bullet and bought a progressive. Learning curve? Minimal and fun!......in fact exhilarating, giddy, exciting. Made the hobby so much more fun........you just have to make the choice between quick-change dies (Hornady, and Lee) or quick-change heads (Dillon and RCBS).....and that's another argument.
But just consider this, one stroke, two strokes, three strokes, four strokes, five.....first pistol round is finished, Just like a turret!....But then six strokes, another finished, seven another, eight another, and on and on ......100 rounds before you even break a sweat. So how did that effect me? Oh! I just ended up buying 2 more progressives in the next few years, and haven't regretted it one bit......the last one being the very reasonably priced Lee Six Pack, with 6 stations! And for those on a budget or those with limited space.....a near perfect choice.......and even rifle....while I still size/deprime and trim them on a single and a Trim Mate.....it's still way faster and funner to finish them on the progressives.
What's done on the progressive? Since the sizing/depriming step is not included, (done on a single BTW,
minus the expander plug: first station is now used to expand separately with an M die on the downstroke, so there is never any bullet tilting to deal with feeding and seating bullets, and prime on the upstroke. Then charging on 2! Powder check die on 3. Bullet feeder on 4. Seater on 5.......Crimper on Lee's 6 station on 6. What's not to like.
And I've even figured out a way to feed AND seat on four when using a 5 station progressive, so I can crimp separately too ..... making a 3D printed coupler.
But there's one problem with progressives........they make other bottlenecks more noticable and less tolerable. So then you're tempted to buy faster brass processors and trimmers.....and electric case and bullet feeders........so then you're tempted to go down the 3D printer road, and make your own, and save literally thousands.......
Rabbit Hole, big rabbit hole! But life is sure funner....even at my age.
