RCBS Turret Press

[ncbearman]

I am interested in the ins and outs, positives and negatives of this press. I am going from my Rockchucker to this press soon. I can't help but feel this is another "step" for me. I have been reloading since 1974. It was 1990 or so before I went from the RCBS Jr. to the Rockchucker. Anyway, any first hand experience or for that matter here-say that you have heard from others. Let me have it. Thanks.

Russ

[Randy C]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3R7PkPklUM

This guy is good at explaining reloading presses this is a Redding but same concept I bought my RCBS PRO 2000 after watching his videos a 100 times. I have always had RCBS so I decided to stay with them

[gcollins]

Hi Russ,
I have to ask you what do you load the most? If you load more pistol than you do anything else, the Turret will be a big step up!! A lot more:Fire:
Before I say anything else, please keep you Rock Chucker, if you have to get rid of your Rock Chucker, yours is a lot better than any you can buy. The Rock Chucker Supreme has several faults, I will stop there, for I am not trying to start any kind of problem.
I wished you the best.
G

[ncbearman]

RandyC, gcollins, thanks. That Redding looks like a nice press. I have my old Lyman powder measure. Have to see if I can get it to work on the Turret. I do load mostly pistol. I am going to keep the R.Chucker as some day I want a set of BT Sniper swage dies to make .45's from .40's. My Jr. is my de-capper. I clean my brass w/ssm after de-capping and sizing. Thanks for your responses so far. Please keep the comments coming. Thanks.

[novalty]

I use my Redding turret for pistol, and my Rockchucker for rifle. The only complaint I remember seeing on the RCBS turret is the price of turret heads is high say compared to the Lee Classic Turret.

Here is an article on it from Real Guns (http://www.realguns.com/archives/047.htm).

[Randy C]

My RCBS powder measure works similar to the Hornady It is case activated, I also added a pistol expander bushing and it bells the mouth of the case while I through the powder that frees up a station so you can have 2 set of die’s set up on one head and your powder thrower at the same time.

[novalty]

I did the same thing as Randy C. on my turret.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m11/novalty1970/Reloading/IMG_6550_zps8b2f7416.jpg

[gcollins]

Be carefull when you bell your case, never flare your brass any more than you have to. You will get longer case life. Randy, i didn't mean any disrepect to you. You never know how many hours of realoading a person has.I can't believe that I havn't heard on the news about someone getting hurt my there reload's.I read a lot, and I see a ton of newbie's hand loading and a big percent of them, don't know how to change the oil in there car!! I don't care how high someone IQ is, that doesn't mean anything in the real world!
If I have hurt anyone's feeling, I didn't plan to! I just don't want to see someone hurting them self or someone else, over the years I have helped several guys get started into reloading, just enough so they wouldn't blow them self's or anyone else up.
I wished my reloading bench look that neat and clean! It was once, the day I built it !!!!

[ncbearman]

So is it a universal expander bushing? I guess I don't understand. What is the benefit of a expander bushing when you have 2 different dies set up for 2 different calibers. Also, wouldn't the powder charge be different for the 2 caliber sizes? I guess my ignorance is showing as I'm stil in single stage mode.

[novalty]

RCBS makes caliber specific expander bushings. So calibers make take charges similiar to each other, found 4.0grs. of W231 works well in 225gr cast 45's, and 158gr JSP's for 38 Special.

[ncbearman]

RCBS makes caliber specific expander bushings. So calibers make take charges similiar to each other, found 4.0grs. of W231 works well in 225gr cast 45's, and 158gr JSP's for 38 Special.

Ah, got it. Well I de-prime and size prior to SSM cleaning (I like clean primer pockets), so when I get to the loader I need to prime, expand, charge, seat, crimp. What do you think of the Lee pour through expanding dies. I see they are shaped different than RCBS. Too much of a flare?

[gcollins]

NC, You will get the hang of it just take your time and think every threw.
Take what I am getting ready to say with a grain of salt, only read this and make your own mind. I started reloading in 1972 and for the life of me never could understand why the Chief Of Police in Oswego took a likeing to me :roll: I never ever got in trouble with stealing or fighting, but I sure gave him and all his staff pure HEAL with my Old Cars. I started off a real Hot Rod junky, born and raised on a farm, so I got to do alot of things that town
kids didn't get to!I was on a tractor plowing,discing just about everything that needs to be done at 11 years old. Back to Chief of Police, his name was Bob, and bob loved to hunt and fish, so every time he was going to do anything like that I would try to go along! He would take me out shooting, he had a 3lb coffee can of 230gr lead 45acp bullets, I sure loved that Old Colt 1911, when we would get to our shooting place, and he would tell me, shoot all of them you want,but I better find every case!! 45acp brass was hard to get where we were. During the time that we didn't go some where I would cast and size and lube, it took a lot of time casting useing a single cavity mould!! and then we would load up the brass, for 10 years at least, I didn't know that you could load the 45acp with anything other than 4gr of Red Dot!!! I bought my first Dillon 450 in late 1979 I think (I am old) I spent most of my life living in the county side! When I bought that Dillon I was in Hog Heaven! I had a super nice Range 300 feet from the back door At that time I was shooting around 100rd per night when the weather would let me! Here she Blows,not 1 time did I clean a primer pocket or case trimmed a Pistol cartidge! I am NOT TELLING YOU to do this, I was just tell you what I did. If I had to do it all over again, I would of got one of those Lyman Uni. case lenght (the casted one) so I would checked lenght.
My rifle reloading was Totaly Different. I know you won't believe this, in all my times of loading, only a couple months back did I ever had a bad primer!!!
Be carefull, buy you a loading book that has more than just what to use.With the internet, read,read,read!! Take your time setting up your turret press, I set my expander die just down enough that you feel the expander die, and then it is down a little bit every time untill the mouth of the case is opened enough that you can start putting the bullet in, and then down just a little more, and never deep enough that the bullet goes in all the way! I have never used a crimp die!
I apologize to everyone that has never did anything that the book tells you not to do.
I in NO way meant for anyone to do any thing I have said!!
I wrote this as a educational manor and do not want anything posted to be Took as anything else other than my life doing's!
G

[Randy C]

yep a lot of good advice on here

[ncbearman]

Dad had it nickeled in the 50's after he got back from the war.

[gray wolf]

I have an RCBS turret press for 13 years now and have no problems with it.
I load different pistol Cal. 32 through 44 mag. 223, 7.62X39, 270 Win.
I don't load 500 rounds an hour, if I did I would have a progressive.
I have my dies set up with the lock rings so I don't care about taking them off to change Cal.
My goodness, whats it take to change 3 or 4 dies ? 2/3 min. at most.
It's a nice sturdy press and has given me no problems, if it did RCBS is right there to replace anything. I think the redding may be just a tad stouter, and more $$$ I like the rcbs.

Hint:
if you set the lock rings and switch calibers, put the dies back in the same hole you take them out of. I found with dies like the crimp die if I put them back into a different hole they setting may shift just a tad--no big thing, just passing it on.

[Randy C]

Graywolf I never thought about the different hole thing I always set and rotated my dies on single stage and marked everything with pencil I would tighten them down and align the pencil marks, then they were always the same as last time, I would put a mark on the press the die and the nut they would make a straight line when tighten down but I did not jump around on my brass I would shoot the same brass till I was done with it and I still double check every time I reloaded, someone told me to put a piece a shot under my brass screw and it would lock in place and my screws would last longer and it works for me.

[Randy C]

Thats a fine looking gun you are a luckey man.

[gcollins]

Me,Like alot!!!!!!!And because of it being a Personal War Weapon the nickle doesn't hurt it at all> If you have brothers I hope that none of them are Big Gun Nuts!!!!!
Back in the real world,That Colt has so many memories, if it could ever talk WOW.
Grey Wolf, I can't talk about how I ended up with the 450. NOT STOLEN! You might say I stole my RL550 but I have proof of purchases and also my second RL550.
I apologize for my real bad spelling!
G

[ncbearman]

No brothers, just me. I'm like you. I know he knocked the value in half when he nickeled it, but I like the way it looks. It's my favorite and I carry it all the time. With 5gr of 231 and these hollow points I think that would knock em down if I had to.

63681


Me,Like alot!!!!!!!And because of it being a Personal War Weapon the nickle doesn't hurt it at all> If you have brothers I hope that none of them are Big Gun Nuts!!!!!
Back in the real world,That Colt has so many memories, if it could ever talk WOW.
Grey Wolf, I can't talk about how I ended up with the 450. NOT STOLEN! You might say I stole my RL550 but I have proof of purchases and also my second RL550.
I apologize for my real bad spelling!
G

[gcollins]

NC, Like I said, it looks great, you will never sell it, I don't know if you have kids, but if you do, hopefully they will pass it down,down,down. Someday I will email you and tell you about my WW2 Colt 1911.
G

[LUBEDUDE]

Those are some nice lookin' hollow points Bear.