Turret Press??

[HEAD0001]

I have a Lyman Orage Crush single stage and a Hornady Progressive. I am going to buy a turret style press to start loading 30-06 cartridges in. For some hopefully high volume shooting(not real high volume).

I bought an RCBS 180 grain GC'd mold. Now I want to buy a turret style, or a Dillon BL-550 to load with.

I was also looking at the RCBS and Harrel turret press, as well as the Redding. But the Redding is a bit too expensive for me. I was just looking for some opinions on these type presses to speed up my reloading process on the 30-06, wthout going straight to my Hornady progressive. I want the ability to take the brass out and do prep and such. So I was just looking for some good sound advice. Thanks, Tom.

[mooman76]

I've heard lots of good things about the Lee classic cast turret press.

[1hole]

My first press, long ago, was a turret (Lyman) because it just 'had to be faster', right? Wrong. Unless you get the Lee Classic Turret (all iron/steel) with it's auto-index feature a turret just ends up being a funny-looking single stage with die storage.

[skeet1]

Get the Lee Classic Turret, You wont be sorry.

Ken

[JesterGrin_1]

I have to agree Lee Classic Cast Turret Press.

[wallenba]

I have the Redding T-7. It is supposed to be the one that has the least amount of flex and it is very good at resisting flexing. Yet I can detect just the smallest bit of lifting in the turret. For a long rifle cartridge like the 30-06 I'd stick with an 'O' type iron press. One that can use the Hornady lock-n-load bushing adapter. That will allow quick changes of dies. But if you are set on it, the Lee Classic cast iron turret is the one you want that's priced right.

[jmsj]

I have a Lyman turret and an old Lee 3 hole turret press. I leave the Lyman set up for 44 Mag and 45 colt and use the Lee for everything else. With the Lee you can leave your dies set in the die holder. This makes changing cartridges a 5 second chore. I would really like to upgrade to the Lee Classic Turret because the die holder has 4 holes instead of 3. I like to seat and crimp in seperate steps and the fourth hole would let me keep all the dies together.
Good luck, jmsj

[firebrick43]

I had a Lyman tmag2 and have used the rcbs, redding, and lee classic cast. While the Lyman and rcbs are useable, there is multiple issues with flex, outdated priming systems, and cost of turrets. In my mind forget them. Get the lee classic cast turret or a t7. You do NOT get more for the extra money you spend for the Lyman or rcbs turret. Have you considered a lee single stage classic cast with the hornady LNL bushing? It has a better primer catcher(opposed to the lee breech lock) and I found that I still processed lot of 50 before indexing to the next die on my Lyman. The lee turret with it's auto indexing is the fastest however.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Head0001: If I understand what you want, take a look at Ponsness-Warren's rifle press:

http://www.reloaders.com/index.php?m...products_id=56

And take a look at CH4D's '444', which I own. It is an all-steel, 4-station, semi-progressive:

www.ch4d.com

[buck1]

I have the RCBS and the Lee classic cast.
For a rifle, I would go with the RCBS Its better built and has less play but is not overly fast. The Lee is good enugh and faster but the turrets do move a lot and there is the need to buy their dies,powder measure,riser,and priming tools.
I would say RCBS for more precision / warranty and the Lee for speed.
MY $0.02....Buck

[WILCO]

Get the Lee Classic Turret, You wont be sorry.

Ken

Yep. Great way to go.

[HEAD0001]

I have spent the last couple of hours watching videos on U-Tube on the Lee Classic Turret Press. I think you guys are really on to something here. Thank you very much.

I never even considered a Lee press until I read the above responses. And for the precision I am looking for in these loads I believe it will work perfectly. So thanks again.

Only complaint I heard several times was the O-Ring on the auto-indexing arm. A couple guys said they did not like that. But everything else received accolades.

Now what am I going to buy with the money I am going to save??

What would be a good seater die for 180 grain FP(RCBS mold) bullets for the 30-06?? I was also going to pick up the Lee 30-06 crimp die. But now I have to decide between the Lee Belling Die and the Lyman M-Die. I use the M-Die on all my straight walled cartridges. But I like the idea of one universal die like the Lee if it works OK?? However it looks to me like your brass would have to be trimmed perfectly for the Lee Universal Belling Die??

No doubt the PW's are nice. But they are out of my price range. But they are of unbelievable quality-no doubt about that. Below is a picture of my 375-C that is easily 40 years old. No telling how many 10's of thousands of shells it has loaded!! But unfortunately I will not be around for 40 more years. So no need to buy a press that will last that long. Tom.

[RobS]

Now what am I going to buy with the money I am going to save??

More powder, primers, lead of course of course.

The Lee Classic Turret is a nice solid press and one I often refer to people starting out or others who want an increase to production over a single stage. A beginner can take out the auto indexing rod and use it as a single stage for a while as they learn or go right after it from the get go. Definitely purchase the auto disk riser to set the powder measure up and out of the way and the safety prime system as well as the pro-auto disk powder measure are nice additions especially if you want to maximize on the speed/efficiency of the press.

[Three44s]

I spent my first 34 years with an RCBS Jr. ...........

Then I graduated to the Lee Classic Turret!

I whole heartedly reccomend it!!


Three 44s

[mdi]

As an aside, and forgive me if anyone takes offence, but why is everybody in such a hurry? Why must one load their monthly allotment of ammo in one evening? A whole lot of posts are about how to reload, or do some part of reloading, faster. If there isn't enough time to reload, change your schedual 'cause hurried reloading is potentally hazardous to your health. Set your alarm 1 hour earlier and start your day with some relaxing reloading. If case prep takes "too long", buy new, pre-primed brass. Try "batch loading"; use your daily 1 hour devoted to reloading for one step at a time, clean 500 cases, next day inspect 500, next day trim/prep 500, next day prime 500, etc. (I keep several zip-loc bags of pre- sized and primed brass on hand for calibers I reload).

If a person just wants another press, why the need to justify a multi-function press? Just do it.

And, IMHO, if you don't have enough time to squeeze in a leasurly hour now and then or if your only reason for reloading is more trigger time, reconsider your hobby (or buy factory ammo)...

Hey, jes my $.02.

[geargnasher]

Lee Classic Cast Turret. Anyone mention that?

I've used a T-mag and the RCBS turret, which are in my opinion better used for anchoring your bass boat than for reloading. The Lee turret keeps the toolhead square because it supports the edges, not the center like the others so it doesn't rock under pressure. The Lee Classic Cast Turret has the best primer catcher of any press I've ever seen, and it is designed so it doesn't constantly coat the ram with abrasive primer residue. It's the only press I have that has a clean ram.

And for around a hundred bucks you can't beat it.

Get extra die plates for it and you can change calibers in about 10 seconds including swapping the powder measure.

Get the primer feed option for small and large primers, sold separately, it looks goofy but it works very well.

Also get the powder measure riser, you will need it. I don't know why it doesn't come with the press, you can't really use the autodisk measure without it.

Get an autodisk, too, if you don't already have one. One of the best measures I've used at any price.

For most of the rifle calibers, you will have to index it manually because the auto-index will try to turn the turret before the case is fully out of the die, causing a jam. I made it work with .30-30 by trimming about 1/4" off the bottom of the seater die, which was the biggest problem because the addition of the boolits at that stage exceeded the working length of the auto-index.

Gear

[geargnasher]

As an aside, and forgive me if anyone takes offence, but why is everybody in such a hurry? Why must one load their monthly allotment of ammo in one evening? A whole lot of posts are about how to reload, or do some part of reloading, faster. If there isn't enough time to reload, change your schedual 'cause hurried reloading is potentally hazardous to your health. Set your alarm 1 hour earlier and start your day with some relaxing reloading. If case prep takes "too long", buy new, pre-primed brass. Try "batch loading"; use your daily 1 hour devoted to reloading for one step at a time, clean 500 cases, next day inspect 500, next day trim/prep 500, next day prime 500, etc. (I keep several zip-loc bags of pre- sized and primed brass on hand for calibers I reload).

If a person just wants another press, why the need to justify a multi-function press? Just do it.

And, IMHO, if you don't have enough time to squeeze in a leasurly hour now and then or if your only reason for reloading is more trigger time, reconsider your hobby (or buy factory ammo)...

Hey, jes my $.02.

You have a good point, but it isn't valid for everyone. Safety should always be paramount, but there isn't any inherent compromise with the turret, or it's added production capability.

I spend 45-50 hours a week wrenching on diesel trucks and equipment. I come home and work on my house. My hands hurt all the time, especially when handling small items repeatedly, like moving cases back and forth five or six times between the loading block and the shellholder for one batch. So I use progressives and turrets almost exclusively to reduce handling fatigue. I'm not lightning fast at either, nor do I want to be, but it sure makes life easier. If your hands don't feel like someone is trying to force a rusty icepick through your wristbones when you reach to pull a case off of the shellholder, then you don't know what I'm talking about.

This is the same reason I use the "hammock method" to clean/degrease finished cartridges in bulk, the repetitive motion of wiping individual cases with a solvent-dampened rag does murder to my hands.

Just adding some perspective.

Gear

[Bullshop]

I have seen several folks here refer to the Lyman t-mag press as being junk. It has been said that the turret is supported only in the center so it will tip under pressure.
I do not understand this. I have and use every day what I think is a Lyman t-mag (black crinkle paint) and I think it is a very good press.
On the press I have there are actually three contact points for the turret.
There is the large nut at the center of the turret, the ram, and to the rear exactly opposite the ram position an adjustable frame mounted bolt.
When I use my press before turning the turret I give the adjustable bolt one turn in, or down. This will free the turret to turn. Once the turret is in the desired position I then turn the adjustable bolt out or up until it is in tight contact with the turret head.
Now it is ready to use and set this way the turret can not tip. As the ram builds up pressure the reverse side of the turret is resting on the adjustable bolt head exactly opposite the ram position on the turret.
Maybe the one I have is not a t-mag, I dont know. What I do know is the press I use has a means of compensating for turret head movement and I use it and it works.
I have maybe 6 other presses set up in my shop including a Bonanza Coax press but this Lyman is the one I use most. The ammo I produce with it is not inferior to ammo produced on the other presses. I know this because I have tested it. I have tested it because I have read the same complaints about the Lyman more than once and I wanted to know.
Over the winter while loading hornet ammo for the 22 cal postal match I checked run out with both the Lyman and the Bonanza Coax and they were for my purposes the same.
So now I am confused again seeing the belittling of the Lyman press. I got my press used so maybe have an updated version or something. For certain I will not abandon this press for what I have read but continue using it for what it has done.

[HEAD0001]

As an aside, and forgive me if anyone takes offence, but why is everybody in such a hurry? Why must one load their monthly allotment of ammo in one evening? A whole lot of posts are about how to reload, or do some part of reloading, faster. If there isn't enough time to reload, change your schedual 'cause hurried reloading is potentally hazardous to your health. Set your alarm 1 hour earlier and start your day with some relaxing reloading. If case prep takes "too long", buy new, pre-primed brass. Try "batch loading"; use your daily 1 hour devoted to reloading for one step at a time, clean 500 cases, next day inspect 500, next day trim/prep 500, next day prime 500, etc. (I keep several zip-loc bags of pre- sized and primed brass on hand for calibers I reload).

Believe it or not but I fully agree with you. If you notice the beginning of this post you read where I have single stage presses plus a Hornady full progressive.

I have actually been fully happy with the full progressive press, but only want to use it for a particular cartridge.

However since I want to start loading bottleneck cartrdiges with cast bullets a single stage is extremely slower than a turret style because of all the handling which is because of the extra steps needed to load cast bullets.

I have no intention of using the powder measure or auto-primer on this new Lee press. I plan on doing all my case prepartation the single stage way. Then the final seating with the Lee turret. So I can greatly increase my attention to detail.

I actually do enjoy my time at the reloading bench. It is an enjoyable thing for me to do. Along with the time I spend casting the bullets to use.

I am at a point in my life where I have a little extra money in my life. And there are some things I have always wanted. And now I can afford them. So I can take the money to the grave, or spend it on some fun toys. Call me wasteful but I am buying some things I want.

Iplan on using this press mainly for my 30-06 "porch loads". And that will mean 200 or slightly more shots per week off the porch. So I will still be spending alot of time at the bench with this new press.

And I will admit that I am pretty happy(I hope) with the price I will have to pay to set up this new press. Especially if it works as well as others have said. And I have absolutely no doubt they are correct. Tom.

[firebrick43]

Bullshop, I never said a t mag was junk, after owning one for 10 years it made good ammo. There is just a better mousetrap out there that is cheaper to boot.

The lee safety prime system is fast and you don't have to touch them and the lever priming arm has more strength yet imop has excellent feel for those tight primer pockets. I did find the Lyman primer feed to be junk imop so it was set them in one at a time.

Yes you can tighten the support rod in the back to remove flex but this removes the time advantage and you can break it off if you forget to loosen it before rotating. Lees looseness at idle is not detrimental to accuracy due to the method of the turrent coming to a stop at the ring as shells enter the die.

Turrets change faster and are much cheaper on the lee(lymans are 35$).
Add in auto indexing and a cheaper price and why not?

Like saying " I need a mold lubricant" Are you going to go with the best and affordable bullplate? Or use some lube that has worked for year and is just OK ?

I picked the bullplate and am glad I did. If the lee classic cast turret was available when I purchased my tmag I would have bought the lee.