Best Turret Reloading Press?

[Sixgun]

OSOK,

I used a Rockchucker for many years and last year decided to get a turret press.  I got the new Lee 4 holer from Midway.  I know that lots of guys don't like Lee and won't use them but I have never got anything from them that didn't work as advertised.  The Lee Turret press is no exception.  

I load my 44 mag and 22 Hornet, both for compitition shooting with the new Lee press.  The extra turrets are less than ten bucks and interchange easily.  Since I got the press I have loaded probably 3000 rounds through it and still feels new.

Downsides are, I didn't like the primer seating tool that came with the press, but I use a Lee Auto Prime anyway so I probable wouldn't use the tool anyway.  The other thing is probably going to be a problem with all turret presses.  I use a powder through expanding die and have missed putting powder in a few rounds.  It is real inconvient when shooting a timed event to get a bullet stuck in the barrel and have to get a rod and knock it out and still try to get done in time.  I need to get a better method to insure I get powder in each case.

Sixgun

[Dand]

After years with an RCBS Jr. I bought a Lyman Turrett. I like it and use a Lee autodisk and through expander powder die to load 357, 38, 41, 9mm. Also load 30-30, 223, 30-06 300win mag, 348 but use a scale or  RCBS powder measure. Its kinda handy as a semi progressive if you will, and for me a fair trade -off from the expense of going to the full progressives.  But there are a few things I don't like about the Lyman: 1) the ram is really close to the centerpost  & sometimes I wish there was a little more clearance. 2 ) I wish the ram was fully drilled and primers were expelled down into a jar like some other presses - the Lyman primer catcher doesn't catch all spent primers. 3) the vertical support for the turret and opposite the ram side could be improved by a heavier bolt and possibly a roller bearing on the top - I suspect there is a tiny bit of wobble there -only enough to worry a bench rester. 4) the Lyman primer dispenser won't work for me the way I use the press so I use a Lee Auto prime - or a Cabelas hand primer though I can't recommend the Cabelas AT ALL.  The Redding turret looks sturdier and a 7 hole turret may be nice if you crimp separately- I have 4 Lyman turrets all filled with dies - changing turrets is almost as much work as changing dies if you are frequently switching among a lot of calibers - but Lyman turrets are a little cheaper than Redding or RCBS - I lucked out and found some great deals on GB's classified forum earlier this year.  I have to admit I still feel tempted by the Lee, the RCBS, and Reddings. The RCBS looks like it has a much better priming system. Redding has a reputation for building great equipment.  The Dillion is probably ok too but I felt like I'd get tempted to make it into a full progressive and end up spending a lot more $ than if I just bought the 550B to start with.  I wasn't confident the Lee would wear well but they might be worth a try.  Confused yet? Good luck - when I need a lot of 38s or 357's I'm real glad I have the turret.

[CrusteeRusty]

I have a Rockchucker and a Dillon 550 progressive press.  If I were to buy a press today it would be the Redding.

I am obsessive about quality control with my reloads and the problem with some progressives is that they are a bit too "automatic" for me.  I personally inspect each step in the process and either a single stage or this type of press is easiest.  Unfortunately the single stages are a bit time consuming and changing dies is a pain..but a turret press like the Redding combines the best of worlds.

Additionally a nice feature of the Redding is that it has enough stations that you could use 2 different sets of dies and they are built to last.

I believe RCBS has come out with a Turret press(not progressive) that has as many stations as the Redding but costs much more.

Good luck...Crustee

[bobg]

I would have to agree with Sixgun. There is nothing wrong with the Lee turret press. I have had one for years. Over the years i have probably loaded for 20 different calibers. At one time i was loading large amounts of 38,357, and 222 on it. All without one single problem.
 
               Bob

[Duke45]

osok  You can't go wrong with the redding t-7 press i have one and it is top quilty. i live near there factory and have been to visit and was impressed with the quilty of all redding stuff. Duke45

[Mawgie]

I just went through the search you are going through.  I reload .44 Remington Magnum, .270 winchester, and (with wife permission) soon 40 S&W.  this would be my first press, and I had no desire for a manual (die changes); and no desire, at least early on, for the expense of a full progressive.  So, like you, the turret seemed like a great compromise.  I considered the Lee as a very good value; but had budgeted more for the press so I looked at the RCBS, Redding and Dillon.  I really liked the beefy design of the Redding, and the factory is only an hour from where I live.  However, I did see quite few thiungs posted on the Web sauggesting that their customer service is not all that great, whioch really put me off.  Also, some have posted that a seoncd turret head is quite expensive and a hard part to source.

The RCBS looked very good, and I made a perfunctory call to RCBS with some questions.  They were friendly and responsive, and I almost bought it.

Last, I checked Dillon.  As you probably know, they have a pretty rabid following.  I ordered their catalogue, and did a lot of research online.  I found out that their customer service and warranty are the best in the industry, though RCBS may come close to equal.  Also, I buy and sell a lot on ebay a nd so carefully evaluated the resale of all of the  presses.
The Dillon presses are extraordinary.  Some ten year old presses are still selling for 80% of what they cost new today!

I ended up ordering a Dillon AT 500, which is their four station turret press.  It can be upgraded to a fully progressive RL550 B with the addition of auto priming, auto powder and auto extraction.  (I got mine as a kit from Cabela's at a great price, $269, with that awesome Cabela's no nonsense return.)  

Mine arrived shipped from Dillon, extremely well packed and in perfect working order.  I had downloaded the Instruction manual from their company's website before the press came, and was all ready.  It assembled in short order with no missing or poorly fitting parts, and I have been turning out ammuntion that I am quite pleased with.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the Dillon AT500.  I have the press bolted to a 3" thick hard maple workbench that weighs over 300 pounds.  It is rock solid, and I would buy it again without reservation.  I think the RCBS or the Redding would also perform well, but Dillon's reputation, customer service and high resale won me over.

Good luck in your search .

- Mawgie

[jgalar]

I have the LEE. It may not be the "best", but it works darn well. Once I have the dies set the way I want them I use blue locktite so they don't move. Extra turrets are around $8 and it takes all of 10 seconds to change calibers/turrets. I also don't care much for the primer system, but once you get used to it it is OK. If you will be loading rifle rounds with it I wouldn't get the autoindexing, because it needs to be removed for long cases.

[JPMorgan]

I use the Lee too
Rifles to pistols. It does the job well.
I took off the turret advance pieces.
I still hand prime all my brass.

regards,
Perry

[longwinters]

I went with the RCBS Turret.  Really like it.  Have seen no problems at all.  Although I did take the perfectly functioning primer mech off, and bought a Lee hand primer, to open up the front of the press.  If it works then brand name doesnt mean much to me.

long

[SingleShotShorty]

That's simple Buy a Dillon, there is no better.

[Blackhawk44]

If you don't load huge batches and load for more than two calibers, re-read the posts about the Lee turret.  I have nine presses, including a C press, a hand press, a Lyman Spar-T turret, P-W P200, C-H progessive, Dillon 550, Rockchucker, Midway aluminum improved Rockchucker and still my Lee turret is the most used.  Right now, I only have 10 turrets set up, but have four more in the drawer just in case.

[Sixgun]

The Lee Turret press turrets are very easy to change.  If your Redding turrets were as easy to change as the Lees, you would probably have a turret for each caliber you load.  They are less than ten bucks to buy and they store in the Lee die box also.  

If you use Lee dies, you lock the dies down one time and when you need to change calibers you just lift out the turret, with the dies, put it in the die box, get the new die box, put it in the press, change shell holder, and start loading.  I can do it about as fast as I can read this paragraph.  You can use the Lee die boxes with other brand dies if you have extra die boxes around or if you can get boxes without the dies.

I like my Lee Turret press.  I shoot 500 to 600 rounds a month of 357mag and 22 hornet.  The Lee turret press keeps up with this just fine.

Sixgun

[Blackhawk44]

Thirties, let me try to explain a little better.  With the Lee, by just lifting out and dropping in the entire turret, caliber changes are on the order of 20-30 seconds and all of your die sets stay together whether you keep them in a box or not.   Very convenient for people like me who may sit down to a session and load 40 or 50 of two or three calibers in a sitting rather than 200 of this and 300 of that.  I have the Dillion, C-H and P-W200 set up for the long runs.  Loading for 33 calibers, time spent spinning dies in and out of presses begins to add up.  Why not the Hornady Lock N Load system?  The Lee came out first, took fewer, less expensive additions, and with the number of dies I have, the cost of the Hornady could get out of hand very quickly.

[swifty]

I have used a RCBS rockchucker for years. I ordered a Lee 4 station turret press. After a week I was so frustrated with the rattel and slop in the press and the powder shaking all over the bench, I sent the darn thing back.
Other than being able to leave your dies set, why is a Turret press better than a single stage?
I can size a tray of 50 or 100, prime with a Lee Auto prime, expand the tray of 100. I powder charge the cases while they remain in the tray.
Sure, I have to place each bullet in the case. I seat and crimp as seperate steps.
How much time and effort does the Turret Press really save?
Most of my dies are set with Hornady lock rings.So changing doesn't take that long.
I am still open to spending the cash for a quality Turret press, I just want to be sure its worth the cost. :roll:

[swifty]

I have used a RCBS rockchucker for years. I ordered a Lee 4 station turret press. After a week I was so frustrated with the rattel and slop in the press and the powder shaking all over the bench, I sent the darn thing back.
Other than being able to leave your dies set, why is a Turret press better than a single stage?
I can size a tray of 50 or 100, prime with a Lee Auto prime, expand the tray of 100. I powder charge the cases while they remain in the tray.
Sure, I have to place each bullet in the case. I seat and crimp as seperate steps.
How much time and effort does the Turret Press really save?
Most of my dies are set with Hornady lock rings.So changing doesn't take that long.
I am still open to spending the cash for a quality Turret press, I just want to be sure its worth the cost. :roll:

[Badnews Bob]

My LEE turrent works great for my style of shooting, I have a turrent head for every cal I use. It isn't any better to have the turrents but it is very conveniant I never take a die out of the turrent always in the same place and easy to store and I have less in it with the extras than any other turrent type made. Its not as much of a precision machine as the others but it works.

And by the way the Lee auto prime II that you put on top of a press works better than the hand held one, I have both and much prefer the press model. I just put it on one of the really cheap Lee C presses not much cash outlay for a fine tool.

[williamlayton]

I am in a quandry bout this stuff myownself. Since I have not , as yet, made a decision I keep going back to post to re-read tha thangs you boys have said, gone to tha bone piles here and a couple of other sites.
I am torn between  the T-7 Redding and the Hornady L-N-L single stage. Whatever I do it will be single stage and both systems have their strong points.
I sure like the idea of not having to reset dies at every change so the turret T-7 would fit that bill, but so would the L-N-L. Both presses are, or at least impressive and have recieved very good reviews from tha boys.
The T-7 turret is expensive, I think $70 , so if I was too want more dies that could add up too some cash pretty quick.
The L-N-L bushings are not inexpensive but ya can buy a bundle of them fore ya spent $70, and have nuff fer a good many die sets. The draw back of course is keepin up with em all an makin sure ya got tha right one fer tha next stage or caliber to be worked on. I'm thinkin this is not an unmanagable thing, but something to consider.
My OLD mindset is something I have to deal with. I have spent a lifetime, IE LONG TIME, buyin stuff and tryin to do tha best on  a budget, like most folks I know. I have found, fer me, that if I can, IF I POSSIBLE CAN, I buy what I think will give the least amount of problems, the best service and perform the work to the best I can do it. This aint always real good but I can't blame the equipment, jest me. This means puttin off what I want to do sum to save up. It is a process that has worked fer me over tha years.
Blessings

[williamlayton]

This is obviously a response from someone who has never experienced reloading, yet, ME.

The post I have read, here and other places, Indicate a concern that changing dies can lead to changes in die set up, ie unintentionally, due to locking failure,ect.
This was what I was referring too. I agree with you that they should remain as you set them, however, there does seem some concern over this and the manufacturers seem to being trying to overcome some of these annoyances.
Now, before I start a flame, which i can't defend cause I have no experience, let me once again say this concern of mine is based solely on what I have read from here and other places and from what I have read that the makers are trying to address.
Plus it seems quicker, as in the LNL and turret heads to jus change them.
Blessings