Thinking of getting a turret press. What do you recommend?

[sarge1967]

Hey everyone, I am thinking about picking up a turret press.
I am looking at RCBS and Lyman. Which do you recommend?

I will be loading .308 and 9mm on it. Maybe .223 in the future but no other pistol cartridges.

Thanks!

[Ben]

Hands down ! ! Best turret press for the money is the Lee Classic Turret press. Loads everything from 25 ACP to 375 H& H Mag.

[sarge1967]

I looked at Lee but decided against it because it only has 4 holes.
I am wanting to mount my 9mm and .308 dies along with a powder measure on the press. A 6 hole setup will allow me to do that.
I only reload 9mm and .308 so this will save me time once I get it set up.

[tazman]

Just buy an extra turret. They are cheap and changing them only takes seconds. I can swap calibers by changing turrets in less than a minute.
Since the turret is self indexing you can load considerably more ammo than using it single stage. I can load between 150 and 200 cartridges per hour without hurrying.
I have loaded several thousand 9mm on my Lee classic cast turret with complete satisfaction. It is a great press.

[jmort]

You are missing the point, you have turrets that you can swap out in seconds. If there is any wise voice here, it's Ben's. The Lee Precision Classic a Turret is the best buy. Get what you want, obviously.

[Markbo]

I am extremely pleased with my Lyman turret press. 5 holes gives me tbe ability to have 2 calibers on almost every head. Unlike the Lee there is no aluminum parts on it. It is very sturdy and repeatable. The Lyman 55 powder measure works really well with all types of powder too.

I have several single stage and a Dillon progressive and have been using the Lyman about 9 or 10 years. Knowing what I know now after 10 years, Id get the Lyman again.

[Cmm_3940]

My Redding T7 works very well for me.

[sarge1967]

I am extremely pleased with my Lyman turret press. 5 holes gives me tbe ability to have 2 calibers on almost every head. Unlike the Lee there is no aluminum parts on it. It is very sturdy and repeatable. The Lyman 55 powder measure works really well with all types of powder too.

I have several single stage and a Dillon progressive and have been using the Lyman about 9 or 10 years. Knowing what I know now after 10 years, Id get the Lyman again.

The Lyman I was looking at has 6 holes. They must have improved it since you got yours.

I do have a Dillon SDB. I reload my 9mm on it. I have been using a Lee hand press for the .308 and want something bench mounted.

I have actually considered selling the SDB and just using a Turret press.

[sarge1967]

My Redding T7 works very well for me.

I like the looks of the Redding T7. Price is a bit high though. It does look like a solid machine though.

[Ben]

sarge1967

The turrets are $10 - $13 dollars each ( depends on who you buy them from).

Maybe I'm missing something here, but if $10 will allow you to install dies for one caliber , why is it important to be able to have a turret head that has 6 holes so you can use dies for two calibers in the same turret head ? ? ( By the way, you'll most likely end up paying more than 2 X for the Lyman and 3 X for the Redding Turret Press vs. the Lee Classic Turret )

Your money , you spend it as you will.

Ben

[sarge1967]

sarge1967

The turrets are $10 - $13 dollars each ( depends on who you buy them from).

Maybe I'm missing something here, but if $10 will allow you to install dies for one caliber , why is it important to be able to have a turret head that has 6 holes so you can use dies for two calibers in the same turret head ? ? ( By the way, you'll most likely end up paying more than 2 X for this one vs. the Lee Classic Turret )

Your money , you spend it as you will.

Ben

I will check out some videos of that press. I had not realized it was that easy to switch out the heads and that cheap.
Thanks!

[pkie44]

RCBS turret is hard to beat, priming system even works well!

[jmort]

The Redding is around $300 4.9 out of 5 stars on Midway USA
The Lyman is around $200 4.4 stars
The RCBS is around $200. 4.4 stars
The Lee Classic Turret is around $110 4.7 stars
Check out Titan at top of page. They are a sponsor and good people.

[Ben]

I will check out some videos of that press. I had not realized it was that easy to switch out the heads and that cheap.
Thanks!

Using my Lee Classic Turret Press, I can swap from 30-06 to 38 Special in less than 5 seconds.

Ben

[RogerDat]

I looked at Lee but decided against it because it only has 4 holes.
I am wanting to mount my 9mm and .308 dies along with a powder measure on the press. A 6 hole setup will allow me to do that.
I only reload 9mm and .308 so this will save me time once I get it set up.

Lee has a 5 hole turret disk available from Titan Reloading (link at top of page, site sponsor) for $12.98 so that gives you 5 stations. I think if you could clarify why the 6 holes are required and what you are going to be mounting on the 6 holes it might help people provide better answers.

Lee sells a powder measure (perfect powder measure - get the pro model it's worth it) that will mount on the press and for pistol one can get Lee dies that allow the powder to feed through the expander die. Standard in most Lee pistol die sets other than the extreme budget sets, but can be purchased individually, the one for 9mm is $12. They make a die for rifle powder feed on their turret press also about $12. With a 4 hole turret one can do the whole operation in most cases, the 5 hole should handle some other situations but I don't understand what one does with 6 holes.

I don't have any broad range of reloading experience, and I'm not one of those folks that have a reloading bench with more machines lined up than a laundry mat. So my question is both to help get you better answers and increase my own knowledge.

[sarge1967]

RCBS turret is hard to beat, priming system even works well!

The priming system looks the best of all I have looked at.

[sarge1967]

Lee has a 5 hole turret disk available from Titan Reloading (link at top of page, site sponsor) for $12.98 so that gives you 5 stations. I think if you could clarify why the 6 holes are required and what you are going to be mounting on the 6 holes it might help people provide better answers.

Lee sells a powder measure (perfect powder measure - get the pro model it's worth it) that will mount on the press and for pistol one can get Lee dies that allow the powder to feed through the expander die. Standard in most Lee pistol die sets other than the extreme budget sets, but can be purchased individually, the one for 9mm is $12. They make a die for rifle powder feed on their turret press also about $12. With a 4 hole turret one can do the whole operation in most cases, the 5 hole should handle some other situations but I don't understand what one does with 6 holes.

I don't have any broad range of reloading experience, and I'm not one of those folks that have a reloading bench with more machines lined up than a laundry mat. So my question is both to help get you better answers and increase my own knowledge.

My thinking is this.
3 holes for 9mm dies, one for powder measure and 2 for .308.
Both calibers I reload. Just need to switch shell holders and set powder charge and I am off and loading. Oh I will need to change primer cup as well.

[Bzcraig]

I use the Lee exclusively and it's true, caliber change is about 30 seconds on the outside and 1 minute if you have to leave the room for some reason. Check out Titan Reloading, banner sponsor at top of page, can't beat their prices or service. I load 32acp, 9mm, 38, 357 (same dies but I got two sets and turrets so I don't have to readjust) 223, and 308 on my press and they are all on there own turrets.

[Cmm_3940]

The Redding does have an available priming system which has worked well for me. It was an extra $99 when I got it several years ago. I don't think Redding makes anything I'd call inexpensive, but everything I've bought from them has been rock solid and them some. The T7 press is a big-*** heavy hunk of cast metal with no give in it. The workmanship is smooth and tight, and it isn't gonna blink at any abuse I could ever throw at it.

[jmort]

The five hole turrets are for the Load Master, not the Classic a Turret, which uses a four hole turret.