rifle now, handgun later = lee turret press??

[caljay30]

Ok, so I want to get a reloading kit for christmas and have been reading and reading and reading on which one to get. It would mostly be for a .308 now, but I do have my RPAL and may very well have a handgun by mid summer. In this instance, would a turret press be the best bet? The Lee one at that...

It seems for handguns, single stage is too slow, but I don't want to spend on a progressive right now either. Will a turret press get me started and capable of pumping out both rifle and handgun fairly efficiently for the first couple of years???

Any points I might be missing on this??

 

[Scott_N]

I have no experience with the Lee turret press and can't comment on it.

I do think that single stage is the way to go for rifle loads though. I also load for a revolver, and I can pump out rounds fairly efficiently with my single stage Rockchucker. I can do 100 rounds in less than an hour without too much trouble. I was also going to reload for 9mm, but I hate chasing the brass and find the cost of factory ammo (at least in recent history) not too bad so I don't bother reloading for that. At least yet. Mind you, I don't shoot it that often, and if I did, I would probably get a progressive press to go with the single stage.

 

[saskgunowner101]

I've got a Lee turret press, and it is fine for pistol. You can probably run 150 or better through in an hour. I don't see why you couldn't use it for 308, but I think for rifle cartridge, more accuracy could be obtained through a single stage press. I'm no pro, so YMMV.

 

[Tex Critter]

I've been using a Lee turret press for all my rifle and handgun loads for over 20 years. From a bench I put 7 .308 rounds thru one loonie sized hole.

 

[heavenIsAlie]

cant you stop the turret press from working like a turret press and make it so you have to manually index it?

im buying one for 9mm, but im not worried about accuracy as much as volume

 

[chappy]

it works fine auto indexing for pistol , remove the rod for rifle. its nice cause you can leave your dies setup in the turret plate and switch calibres in a second. you can load full lenth H&h cases like 375 and stw or short pisol rounds.. i have two lee turrets presses and about 20 turret plates for all my dies. the new ones are nicer as you can have 4 hole turrets. all mine are the older three hole. its not the best press but i have been using mine for over twenty years without failure.

 

[msg.drew]

Turret press is a pretty sweat do it all press, check out my link and navigate to lee presses and you can see it in action.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=280691

 

[the hammer]

Dillon 550. you can do rifle and pistol.

 

[t-star]

yea, you take out the spindle( auto index) with the old 3 hole type and you can do rifle rounds( it depends on the length of the case) - you may NOT have to for 223- get the newer 4 holder and you don't have to do it at all- lee classic turret- this is b/c the rods are long enough to accomodate almost all lengths- i've reloaded 338 win mag on my old 3 holer - the only thing is to use a powder measure of ADEQUATE capacity - i use a dillon- the lee doesn't throw enough or use a manual trip type powder measure= the dillon is a MAJOR investment as well as a MAJOR step up, maybe you don't want to go down that road just yet- i've been reloading 30 years, and now the last thing i would advise anyone to do would be get a single stage- the learning curve is so simplistic that you'll easily graduate to something else within a couple of years, and there's all that screw/unscrew stuff unless you get a second press - one for the decapper, powder measure, and one for the seater- i found that got awful old in a hurry

 

[msg.drew]

and there's all that screw/unscrew stuff unless you get a second press - one for the decapper, powder measure, and one for the seater- i found that got awful old in a hurry

If you get a lee press they have quick change bushings... no more screw unscrew all you have to do is set them up once and they are good to go forever.

 

[medicstimpy]

The Turret is a great starter press and you can keep it as a back-up when you upgrade. I still use mine for some of my rifle loads, all of my revolver loads and also for my .45 match loads. I find going slower gives me a little more control and feedback for my .45 match stuff. My Loadmaster for all others.

With any rifle case, they are too long to use the auto-indexing on the turret. Just remove the indexing rod and turn your turret by hand for each station. that way it is basically a "Single Stage Press" but you don't have to change dies, since they are already set up.

.223 is about as long a rifle case you can go on the Turret Press using the auto-index and the dies just barely clear when the turret turns as the ram moves up and down during the cycle.

If you decide on a Loadmaster, it is possible to progressively load .308 but the pull required to resize the brass caused powder to "jump" out of the neck and sometimes munch your primers between the feeder and the priming pin. I just do one round at a time for larger caliber rifles... less headaches and mess that way.

I do reload .223 progressively on the Loadmaster since you don't need as much force on the relatively smaller casings compared to .308, 8mm Mauser, 30-06 etc.