Turret presses

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Stats Shooter

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I'm thinking about purchasing my first Turret press. I have a couple Rock chucker presses for precision work and a prochucker 7 for handgun rounds and bulk 556/762. But I was wondering if I should just get another single stage press or opt for a turret to save space.

I'm concerned about deflection of the Turret ring when seating/sizing. I have never used one before but that concern had given me pause. I actually like the design of the Lee 4 hole classic as the ring is supported on the outside and the ram is very close to the center.

The Redding T7 looks nice and 7 holes is convenient but it has that umbrella design that concerns me. I'm sure it is well made and virtually indestructible, but I just can't see how it turns freely without some slop, albeit small.

Are any of the qualified for minimal run-out/ precision sizing work? Or am I just better off with an army of single stage presses?

Thanks
 
Precision?
Co-Ax or Arbor press. Precision is more the alignment of the die to the shell holder and that is done with a case in the die.
I never understood turrets, as they seem to be more die storage devices and I don't trust C presses--and they are often so darn heavy to make up for being open.
If you are shooting bottleneck cartridges, I would just stick to single-stage presses as I pull every case after sizing to check case length and trim as needed.
If I wanted a turret, it would be an O type press like the Lee with the auto-indexing option.
Personally, I would buy a progressive before that, if higher production rates are needed.
However, we all have our preferences about presses.
 
The T-7 is a tight machine and the head is a very stiff chunk of cast iron. You're not going to bend that head working your brass.
Besides, your cases self align with the dies because of their loose fit in the shell holder. They're not held in a vice when they're pushed into the dies. Lots of precision long range rifle shooters use the T-7.

The Lee would be the faster press though with the auto indexing and only 4 holes.

I like the T-7, very precise and a little faster than a single stage. I keep up to 4 dies for the caliber I'm loading, the powder drop, ram prime and universal decapper on the head.

The Co-ax looks pretty slick too. Been wanting a second press in my TV room for resizing and flaring, maybe a good excuse for the Co-ax or the RCBS Summit. The Summit looks like a space saver, but maybe not the best choice for big rifle. I'm thinking of the Summit for prepping 357 brass while watching TV.

I bought a Lee Reloader single stage for that purpose, but it the ram binds so bad it's just not usable.

If you want zero deflection in your press, how about the Hornady Iron single stage? That looks like a real beast.
 
I have the Lee 4 hole turret press.
When setting your dies it is done with the ram up, touching shell holder to die, then tighten/loosen "x" amount. Like any die set, this helps with taking any slack out of the turret.

It's nice for pistol, AR,AK rounds as all the dies are there, and simply turn to next operation.
Slower than a progressive press for sure, but i feel i have more control over things, like making sure the case has powder, etc..

For my bottle neck rifle cartridges i take the post out of the center, that spins the turret, and use as a single stage press.
I deprime/size, place in tray, trim, check size/prime, i then turn turret to seating die, measure powder, seat bullet for each round. That way it is completed, and i don't wonder if i missed powder in a round.

While i wouldn't recommend it, i have formed casings with the turret press.
 
I notice with my Lee Classic Turret press (LCT) that when seating the bullet, the turret does indeed raise up a bit. As @std7mag mentions, you can set the die depth with the ram raised to compensate for that flex, but to me, it is still very hard to get a consistent seating depth as compared to a solid single-stage or with my new Dillon XL650.

I expected my Dillon to have a similar flexing issue, but since I have started using with the same seating die (Redding Competition Seating die) I notice a much higher level of consistency and accuracy in the COAL as compared with the LCT.

That being said, the LCT is a sweet little press, and I love it. For the price, it is the best deal in the industry. Fast, accurate and reliable with a safe and consistent priming system. The variation in COAL is my only issue, and it is honestly not *that* bad, but compared to the Dillon, I definitely notice a difference.
 
Thanks for all the information so far. You guys appearto be confirming my suspension, that there is no such thing as no flex, but Redding has maybe engineered around it.

I guess since I just kind of wanted it for convenience, that maybe I'll get the T7. I want to put stuff like my decapping dies, belted mag collet sizer in it, or do some of my straight cased big handgun rounds like my .44m and .41m.
 
I have two RCBS presses, two Dillon progressive presses, and one Redding T-7. After I quit shooting major competitions I started loading everything on the Redding. It's fast enough for my needs, allows me to adjust easily, I can see every case at all times, and accuracy isn't a problem at all. Just my two cents....
 
Hollywood engineering presses are tanks and have added a bar to the turret to address or overcome any flex. Where you see any flex on one is when you full length size a case and that's the best time to use the bar.

Other then that, the presses are so heavy that you don't need the bar while doing smaller calibers. It's when you get up to the bigger stuff that it's recommended. When doing .50 on their senior press you can barely see the turret flex and that's only when you FL size a case. If you're neck sizing, seating primers or projos there's none.
 
One thing to consider; if a Lee turret moves under pressure, it will move the same amount every time so the variation should be zero. I have an old style Lee turret with 19 years of use with multiple calibers reloaded (I don't count reloads, but I guess at somewhere around 15,000 rounds on this press). I have 10 different turrets with dies set up and while I do get some deflection, I can hold -.001" in OAL in those I tested (30-06, 308, 45 ACP).
 
as far as the flex or play in the lee turret press, I think i remember a post about it being the same and repeatable. I'll see if I can find it.

As far as easily swappable turrets, that's one of the things that appealed to me.
The time saved in handling brass is another appeal.
 
as far as the flex or play in the lee turret press, I think i remember a post about it being the same and repeatable. I'll see if I can find it.
Click to expand...

Thanks,

I think i like the Lee? Saving a hundred or couple hundred bucks isn't the biggest concern here so if the redding is better, I'll go that route, or even a Dillon if I have to. It is just that he Lee has such positive feedback and I am sure a bunch of folks have one given the price that it is well reviewed and used often.
 
Here the post is.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580493&highlight=play+in+lee+turret

I like mine, while the square deal gets the pistol rounds, the classic cast lee turret gets the rifle, it is mainly for the saving of arm movement.

And I still have turrets set up for everything I load in the lee turret.
Pistol, I use the index rod, rifle I don't. I rotate the turret by hand.

For rifle it is nice to deprime,size,trim,chamfer,deburr,brush neck,remove primer crimp or brush primer pocket out, handle the brass twice and do it in 20 seconds or less.


It is a well designed press. Extra turrets are $12 +/-
Works right over the ram.

Of the 7 presses I have it would be the last to go.
 
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It probably depends on what you are loading, and what you are loading for. I only load for handguns, primarily .45 ACP, with a smattering of 9mm, .380 ACP, .38 Special, and some .45 Colt. I use a Lee turret press (the original, not the all-cast "Classic" turret press). I've never noticed any flex in the turret, but I suppose the nature of the beast mandates that there must be some. I spot check my overall lengths, and the variation has never exceeded .002" or maybe .003". For my purposes that's acceptable -- factory ammo varies by at least that much.
 
I went with the Dillon 550 over the square deal just so I could have the option of loading rifle down the road, oh and the square deal uses non standard dies and are not compatible with other presses as well.

I'm glad I did too because I now load 5.56mm and 300 BO on the 550 and it saves so much time over the single stage and better than that, the rounds are super consistent.

I have a Redding Big Boss II for other stuff.
 
With the dillon basic 550 though, I need different shell plates right? I mean for each caliber....you can get the turrets but you also need a shell plate for each caliber you load right?
 
Mississippi said:
With the dillon basic 550 though, I need different shell plates right? I mean for each caliber....you can get the turrets but you also need a shell plate for each caliber you load right?
Click to expand...
I think that's true for any progressive press. I know it's true for both Lee progressives, the Pro 1000 and the Loadmaster. And on Lee's turret presses, just like on a single stage, you need a shell holder for each caliber.
 
I look at it from where I want to end up, then I go backwards to get there.

Look at your workflow, how many times handling brass, whether you trim every time or not, whether you feed the press prepped brass or not, what the economy of movement will be, not just necessarily the finished production rate,

The reason I went with the square deal was I got it in a trade setup in all the pistol calibers I load in. I have noticed while it is a little faster than the lee classic cast turret with the index rod in, it is not night and day faster. What it does for me is lessen the amount of pulls on the lever, so it is an economy of motion. I still have to feed it a case and a bullet like the lee.

But if I did not get it in a trade like I did, I would have got a 550 instead.
Mainly because I already had standard dies.

But it is what it is, and I knew the limitations going in, and it works well.

Since I already loaded 11 calibers on the lee turret before I got it,
And I trim rifle brass each time and separate out case prep and sizing anyway,
The lee turret works good for me for that.

A usual load session for me is 200 or so rifle rounds either prepping brass or loading, and about 400-500 pistol rounds.

Everyone does it a bit diffrent, with diffrent processes, diffrent equipment, and diffrent workflows and production needs, the trick is finding what works best for you

I can load on a pair of phelps presses set up in 38 and 45, a pair of lyman all american turrets, the lee classic cast turret and the dillon square deal, but only use the lee and dillon as they make my workflow smoother . A lot of times it is experimentation with changes in the workflow that makes the diffrence more than the equipment used.

While I can use a universal decapper, then size, then trim chamfer deburr brush case neck, remove primer crimp or brush primer pocket, prime,charge and seat all in one setting, handling brass 4 times, I find it easier to split up the priming charging and seating steps.
But we all approach things diffrently, and do what works best for us.

Caliber swaps are easier on the lee turret as it is just a shell holder and turret that require no tools to change, but I would not let that be a large consideration in the decision process.
 
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With the dillon basic 550 though, I need different shell plates right? I mean for each caliber....you can get the turrets but you also need a shell plate for each caliber you load right?
Click to expand...

Yeah pretty much.

It's pretty much the same as shellplates on a single stage though and many of them overlap by case head size.

So the 10mm shell plate also does 357 SIG, 40 S&W, etc

The Belted Magnum shell plate is good for all of the belted mags, etc...
 
Well then I think I will go with the Dillon and treat it like a turret single stage press. I can get the basic 550 new for $280, and she'll plates are $30. It comes with 1 tool holder but I'll get a few more.

Like I said I don't need another progressive press, but the Dillon looks like a good piece of equipment. And the Turrets are only $20.
 
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