Turret presses

Out of the turret presses I'm aware of that are currently produced (Redding, Lyman, RCBS, and Lee) the only one that interested me was the Lee Classic Turret press.

The Redding looks like a giant piece of robustness, but that's my problem with it: it's a giant piece of iron. The price of a spare head to change to another that you can have set to reload another cartridge is extreme. $80 plus shipping and maybe tax for a spare head is crazy compared to what else is available. I have no question about the quality of the press or the ammunition it can produce, but for the price of it, I would rather save a little more and get a Dillon progressive.

The Lyman I dislike the most. From reviews I've seen and read, there's a support rod in the back of the press that's supposed to keep the turret relatively square with the plunger. Apparently there's supposed to be a very small gap between the rod and the turret and I just don't like the design, not for the $200 it costs. Spare heads cost $50 or so. Not as much as Redding, but not low cost either.

The RCBS is probably my second favorite; I like the priming system of the press and it also doesn't look like it has a case of Gigantism. Heads cost about as much as the Lyman, but they look like better quality to me. The Lyman heads look like a piece of cast aluminum while the Lyman looks like cast iron.

Then the Lee comes in and not only is it the least expensive, not only does it have the lowest price for spare turrets (about $12), but it is the only one that can auto index.

Yeah, the design leaves little space inside the press to work with due to the pillars and to prime on the press and throw a powder charge you have to buy accessories. If you want to do those things, it makes the cost of the press about the same as the Lyman, but the thing is the LCT gives you the option of choosing whether you want to do those things or not.

If you like priming off the press, don't buy the finicky safety prime kit. If you would rather use a $200 automatic powder measure, don't bother with the top notch Auto Drum measure that Lee came out with a few years ago. If you don't want to use the auto index feature, you don't have to.

There are plenty of single stage presses that cost more than the LCT, but for the options and quality that the LCT gives you, it's almost a sin not to buy one and try one.
 
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.
Click to expand...

You won't regret it. I love mine.

I banged out 100 rounds of 357 SIG, changed to the 40 dies, and pumped out 500 rounds in a few hours. And I don't hurry, you could go faster if need be.
 
Last time I was at Sierra, I got tour of the shooting tunnel and they were loading and using Redding turret press. I've never used one.
 
It I could only keep only one of my presses, it would be the Lee turret. It's simple, rugged, and easy to use. Simply put, for my needs it can do it all and do it just as good as anything else. I load for 5.56x45, 7.62x39, 9mm, .38sp, .357mag, and .41mag. I also have beside the turret, a Lyman Crusher, Lee Loadmaster, the cheap Lee C-press as a powder stand, and the cheap RCBS O-frame press. I use the Crusher for load workups and sizing rifle and .41mag brass, which could easily be handled by the turret. The Lee C-press is laying on a shelf somewhere, the Loadmaster is for high volume 9mm and works great if tuned and set up for one cartridge, while switching cartridges isn't difficult or time consuming it always seems to take a couple dozen rounds or so to get everything set just right so a bit of a PITA. whereas changing calibers on the turret is simple and quick with no PITA at all.
 
I think you answered your question already. All of these presses have flex to some degree. The 550 flexes at the tool head and the shell plate. It's designed to flex in those spots. But there's no flex inside the die. And that's where it matters.
 
But the flex in the shell plate can lead to inconsistent OALs, especially the first few and last few when the plate is unbalanced
 
I don't have a 550 but do have the 650. I get consistent OAL. With any press, there's many factors that can affect OAL:
Shell plate is tight.
Dies are tight.
Seater die clean.
Type of bullet used.
Type of brass used.
Whether you pull the handle the same every time.
Whether the shell plate is aligned to the tool head.
Calipers rounding up or down.
Setting up the dies with cases in all point on the shell plate.

That last one is really important when setting up the press and to reduce OAL variance. If I pull the 2nd and 2nd to last completed round off my 650 I get differences of one to two thousand. Not sure that matters with all the other factors that come into play. With the Redding T7, 550 or 650 (and many other presses), I don't think the flex built in is going to matter. All are capable of producing accurate ammo thats better than what you can buy.
 
Hmm. I use a Forster Ultimate micrometer seating die for my F-CLASS open .300wm rounds. 1-2 thousandths OAL change matters, especially if it is 0.002.

I get heartburn when my base to shoulder datum measurements are not within a 1/2 thousandth after sizing. On my good ol rock chucker supreme presses (plural) I'm averaging about 1/1000 run-out, and seating is exact as I anneal every case after every firing. With all that it is a consistent 1/8-1/4 moa rifle with my load.


Thats probably asking too much from a turret press. Like i said I don't own one. I have a progressive but I crank out .223, 7.62, 40 s&w etc on that one but am happy with moa and an occasional flyer with the rifle rounds. If a turret is no better than that, then I'll just get a couple more single stage presses to speed up production.

Might try a big boss 2 or co-ax from Forster

Thanks
 
I get slightly less COAL variation from my Dillon XL650 than I do with my LCT. Both are acceptable, especially for pistol. For precision work, I would recommend the Co-Ax as well.
 
The Dillon is a very nice press and I believe it is capable of very consistent output. I only load volume on it though.

For precision work, I would suggest a quality single stage as it can reduce flex to virtually zero, and will give maximum consistency when that is paramount.

I have the Redding Big Boss II, and I love it. I have an inline fabrication auto eject system on it and I can produce ammo quite fast if I have need, or slow it way down and take maximum care for precision. ( For me that is Hunting Grade, not competition grade. )

I keep trying to convince myself I should "upgrade" to a T7 or the Co-Ax but for the life of me I cannot do it.

Which, if you knew me better, you'd know is saying something since I can rationalize UN-needed purchases with the best of 'em.

:)
 
I think the OP needs one of these, so he will never worry about turret flex. To illustrate the size of this Hollywood Super Turret, those cartridges are a 45-70, 50-70, and a .308:

IMG_2111.jpg
 
Good grief! What is that monstrosity!

Yes I'm guessing there is no flex, or vibration, and the work bench needs to be able to handle 3 short tons just to support it.
 
I have read a lot about Hollywood presses. Never owned one. You can still get them off ebay. But what I heard was that the shop burnt down, and even before that, the customer service was terrible. They used to be a premium shop, but now you will have a hard time getting parts, especially for the old ones.

besides, when it gets to this point link
we have removed all potential wobble or deflection, but I just don't think thats practical.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top