Turret press vs. solid press

C

cbh560

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Martensville, SK
I am looking at buying some reloading equipment fairly soon and I thought I knew just what I wanted, but now I'm not so sure. I don't mind spending money on quality equipment, but I'm not sure which direction to go. I was leaning towards a turret press, thinking that the turrets would be nice for loading multiple calibers and not continuously having to reset dies. Then just buying more spare turrets as necessary, But I have read a few comments that since there are moving parts, turrets tend to lead to variation in OAL. I want to learn to really fine tune loads, and want to try to avoid all variations. Has anyone had problems with turret presses and changing OAL? Should I go with a solid unit?

Thanks for any insight
 
Hi. Well I have been loading for 30 years on a RCBS rockchucker single stage press and then I decided I wanted to get a turret press for the very reasons you mentioned. So I bought a used RCBS turret press here on CGN and I have used it to load 270 shells and I think it is just as good as the single stage.

The warranty is 100% no BS no fine print warranty - if something breaks or doesnt work RCBS will fix (send you parts) or replace it (the press) free. Right now I load 3 calibres - .270, .308, .257 wby. If I start loading more another turret is the perfect solution

MY 2 cents
 
I have a Redding turret press. It is great, the design leaves open access to the shell holder. Also allows me to always have a de-priming die in for, plus I can seat one caliber and size another caliber for speed.

I like the design with the back arm to prevent flexing as well.
 
If you want precision and quality then just bite the perverbial bullet and get a coax press.. All turret presses have some wobble or jiggle in the head or the carousel... If your really picky "any" movement is too much.

For a single stage there is nothing wrong with the RCBS chuckers and the Lee classic cast is quite the bargain for the price... My next single stage will be either the Lee or Forster.
 
i am using a lyman super C single stage press that was my father-in-laws.it has probably had 50-60 thousand rounds run thru it of different calibers.it does what i want/need.if i were to get into handgun shooting i might get a turret press,but until that happens i will stick with the single stage.our local gun smith/guru has two presses.a single stage rock chucker for his rifle stuff and a dillon turret for his handgun ammo.
 
On a single stage press you should only have to adjust the dies once or if you want to change the set up--the dies have lock rings and jamb nuts or set screws to lock the settings. just sayin!
 
Hotwheels81 said:
If you want precision and quality then just bite the perverbial bullet and get a coax press.. All turret presses have some wobble or jiggle in the head or the carousel... If your really picky "any" movement is too much.

For a single stage there is nothing wrong with the RCBS chuckers and the Lee classic cast is quite the bargain for the price... My next single stage will be either the Lee or Forster.
Click to expand...

:agree:

Had a Lee Turret-there was wobble, did it affect OAL-not really, but I didn't have an OAL tool to measure to bullet o-give at that time. My brother received it for Xmas.

Honestly, if you're like me, you just want to eliminate variables that can alter round-to-round variances. I now use an old Rockchucker and Forster seating dies-still get variance in OAL (ogive) but that may be either the accuracy of the calipers (+/- .001 = .002" possible range) or the bullets themselves. Go figure!
 
Between the rockchucker and the Lee Classic cast I'd go for the LEE.
It'll catch all your spent primer's be they pistol,rifle or 50 BMG.
 
I bought a Lyman T-Mag II and really like it. I set the rear stop so there is no apparent flex but I'm sure it would still be too much for some people and they would argue a there is a concentric variation with turret presses. I think the OAL variation has more to do with the individual bullets. I'm still a relative newbie compared to some here though.
 
When I was deliberating on buying and researching the Lee Classic Turret, I found references to the play and wobble effects. But one thing that someone pointed out is even if there is some play, the play should be consistent. IOW, if the turret is going to lift at all during seating, it will always lift and it will take out the play, and should seat consistently. Some guys did mention excessive wobble on some of the turrets themselves and that Lee replaced them and the new turrets were much better.

There were also many comments on the quality difference between the Lee Classic Turret and the other Lee Turret. The Classic is the better one. Richard Lee, in his 2nd Edition book,even discusses having to re-invent the design after his son messed up on the original turret design.

I went ahead and bought the LCT and I love it. I don't find it has any wobble or play at all. Using the OAL gauge shows extremely consistent seating. I'm not seeing any difference in quality of cartridges compared to loading on my Challenger Breech Lock single stage press. I don't have any way to measure concentricity as KDX mentioned above, but they sure look straight to me. And what was shooting sub MOA before on the single stage is still shooting sub MOA with the LCT-made rounds. That's good enough for me. The only difference I've noticed is a much faster production rate over the ss press.
 
Well with the opening of the new Cabela's here in Saskatoon I went ahead and bought a kit. I ended up buying an RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme kit. I must admit, this press is built VERY solid. Now I just need to build some reloading benches equally solid to support it. I guess I can take the time to set dies, as overal consistency is what I'm really after. Looking forward to starting the reloading. I'm sure there will be more than one evening in which I have to deal with a fiance that claims she's recently become neglected.....
 
I use a Lee Turret Press. I have a turret for each caliber, so once the dies are set, they're set for good.
As was said above, any 'lift' in the turret is consistent, so it doesn't affect your OAL.
 
Love my Lee Classic Turret. Have reloaded 357MAG, 44MAG, 500S&W and 45-70Gov't so far. Got 338LM waiting in the wings too.

Nice to set the dies up once and just pull the plates for a caliber change.

I also like the fact it's tougher to get a double charge in a case with the auto-rotate/index feature.
 
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