Turret or progressive?

Lee classic cast turret press, easy to use and far less chance of getting messed up. That combined with a single stage press is the ideal combination for everything.
 
ted_dent said:
My first press was a Rockchucker (whose wasn't?) but I then picked up two Lee Loadmasters really cheap and they have been my go-to progressive presses for 20 years or more. I have learned all their little intricacies and unlike some people seem to I have never had an issue with the primer feed because I 1) keep the primer feed immaculately clean and 2) I make sure there are always lots of primers in the primer tray. I recently also bought a Lee Six Pack progressive press and it looks like it's going to be a real winner although it's cost is getting up there compared to other Lee presses.

All that being said, from what you have described as your requirements I think the Lee Classic Turret is exactly what you are looking for. It can easily do 150+ rounds per hour, is very reasonably priced, extremely sturdy (get it, not the original Lee Turret press) and uses 4 die tool heads which aren't expensive and allow for quick calibre changes. The Safety Prime system, while not automatic, is also quite effective and reasonably quick. hunter5425 also mentioned reversing the turret rotation (Inline Fabrication sells the kit) and it really speeds up the loading process by automatically ejecting the loaded rounds so you don't have to touch them.

I bought one to load calibres where I don't need thousands of rounds per year and I can honestly say it is perfect for that task.

I am not slagging any of the other suggestions but I think when your requirements are considered it is probably the best combination of economy, quality of build, simplicity and speed that you are going to find. Lee has been making variations of this press for at least as long as I have been reloading (40+ years) so a lot of people must think the same about it as I do.
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Thanks for the input on the Lee turret, I spent awhile today watching some videos on it (comparisons, setup and use) and it seems to fit the bill. Lots of people seem to have good things to say about them, pros seem to overweigh the cons. I think currently my needs would be well met with an indexing turret vs a progressive, the Hornady AP seems like the easiest to swap out dies and powder measure. So if my ammo needs increase a progressive might show up on my bench.

I Dont Care About You said:
If ease of shell plate / holder change is of paramount importance to you then an indexing turret is the way to go. Changing out the shell plate on a progressive is a PIA and takes 10x longer.

I have both an old Lee 3-station indexing turret and a Dillon 550. My Lee has many hundreds of thousands of rounds on it and still works like a charm. The notion that the Lee is of "lesser quality" is false.

Like any press, the Lee turret has its idiosyncrasies and needs maintenance in certain areas over time. My Dillon 550 has not required less maintenance / care than my Lee turret.


Well that depends. If he wants to change between shell plate sizes then it is not the 550 because shell plate changes on the 550 are a PIA.

An auto indexing turret like the Lee is WAY faster for shell plate, or in that case, shell holder changes.

I can swap out calibers, say from 9mm to 45ACP on my Lee turret in about 5 seconds. The same change on a Dillon requires removing the die plate, removing and replacing the shell holder and swapping out the primer feed mechanism. That is at least a 30-40 minute set of tasks.
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I think turret makes more sense the more I think about it, once I need a progressive I’ll go down that road. I can see the benefits of have all three, progressive for volume of one pistol caliber like 9mm, a turret for quicker swapping between smaller batches of pistol ammo and some rifle plinking like .223 & .308 and a single stage for more precision rifle target/hunting or small batch load development.

There’s a reason I built a big enough loading bench, I should have no problem setting up 3-4 presses with room to move. Currently have two bolted down with a powder measure stand and a case trimmer on a board that I can clamp down when needed.

Thanks to everyone that replied, lots of good advice to think over.
 
Butcherbill said:
I think turret makes more sense the more I think about it, once I need a progressive I’ll go down that road. I can see the benefits of have all three, progressive for volume of one pistol caliber like 9mm, a turret for quicker swapping between smaller batches of pistol ammo and some rifle plinking like .223 & .308 and a single stage for more precision rifle target/hunting or small batch load development.

There’s a reason I built a big enough loading bench, I should have no problem setting up 3-4 presses with room to move. Currently have two bolted down with a powder measure stand and a case trimmer on a board that I can clamp down when needed. .
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I used my Lee turret press for 30 years before I ever got a Dillon. The Dillon is great but there is just nothing wrong with the Lee turret.

Rather than bolting all the presses down at the same time, look into the Inline Precision QD mounting plates. That and a couple of wall storage docks will make your reloading space 10x less cluttered and easy to use. At one time I tried to have 6 presses mounted at the same time. It was ridiculous. I should have done the Inline Precision thing years ago.
 
Gatehouse said:
For the Lee indexing turret press users, how well does the priming system work? I've only seen videos of it and it doesn't look ideal- but never seen one in person.
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I prime on the Lee Classic Turret but I don't use that plastic feeding contraption they have. I just have my primers laid in a Lyman tray next to the press and pick them up by hand. While my right hand is pulling the lever to resize/decap, my left hand is picking up a primer and then putting it in the priming arm so that I can prime the case as the ram comes down. Then as I'm priming my left hand rotates the turret so on the downstroke I'm expanding the case mouth and filling with powder. I can actually load faster manually indexing because I do not use the full up/down strokes required to auto index. Once you get comfortable with the movements and get in a groove it's very fast. I like the turret and manual index because I control every movement. I've used progressive presses but I'm not a fan because you have to trust the equipment.
 
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I currently load 11 different calibers annually on either an old RCBS RS3 single stage or a Lyman T Mag (w 6 different turrets). In the past I have owned a Dillon Square Deal B and a Dillon 550. I have found that I load more dependable ammunition for matches for my wife and myself on my T Mag. Between the 2 of us, we probably shoot, conservatively, anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 rounds a year in matches and winter practice. We can generally travel anywhere from an hour and a half to 27 hours to a match, I can't afford unreliable ammo with the distances we travel. Therefore I want the most reliable ammunition I can produce. I like to say "8 months of shooting season, is followed by 4 months of reloading season". It takes longer to reload with a turret press, but I'm retired and so far in 37 years, I have never had a problem during a match with one of my reloads.
 
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I’m running 2 Redding T7’s. Each has a spare turret head so switches between calibers is not much of an issue.
That being said I’m not really going for speed high production and honestly I could lose the spare turret heads and not miss them.
I don’t use the priming system on either press because I hand prime using an RCBS universal.
For me 20 rounds of perfect trumps 200 rounds of fast.
 
I reload rifle cartridges, so I don't have any experience with turrets except refurbishing that old Lyman T-Mag. With it I found a glaring design fault . But in reading for amusement, the Lee Classic Cast turret gets very high compliments. Higginson has a fairly complete Lee reloading stuff and very good prices.
 
downwindtracker2 said:
Higginson has a fairly complete Lee reloading stuff and very good prices.
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They do, good pricing as well. Have ordered from them in the past and they were great to deal with, was looking for stock in Canada and found everything I need elsewhere at near the same price with free shipping but I’ll have to see if they have stock as well.
 
Quick update to this thread, finally got around to ordering the Lee classic cast turret kit and extra turret plates and powder measures to set up separate plates for each pistol caliber I load for currently. Seems like it will fit the bill, just have to mount the press. Initial inspection is good, solid construction and the price good for what all I received.
 
Butcherbill said:
Quick update to this thread, finally got around to ordering the Lee classic cast turret kit and extra turret plates and powder measures to set up separate plates for each pistol caliber I load for currently. Seems like it will fit the bill, just have to mount the press. Initial inspection is good, solid construction and the price good for what all I received.
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Glad it is working for you. Enjoy. - dan
 
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