Turret press vs. single stage

B

bdbrown66

Handloader
May 16, 2016
1,021
771
For many years, I've done all my reloading on an RCBS Rock Chucker single stage press. I'm wondering if I should invest in a turret press to speed things up, especially for my pistol loads. I don't want to go to a progressive setup, for various reasons. Specifically, I'm looking at the RCBS turret.

What say you? Is it worth the $200+ investment, or should I just stick with what I've got?

TIA,
Brian
 
I use a Lee 4 hole, so I can't comment specifically on RCBS, but for bulk loading pistol and 223, its fantastic. I have a turret for each cartridge that I bulk load, and it saves a bunch of setup time, not to mention just cranking out the ammo is faster..IMHO turrets, regardless of manufacturer, are worth the investment for your bulk reloading...But I stick to the single stage for my bolt guns. But I think that's mostly out of habit more than anything else.
 
I have a turret, not for speed, but for ease of switching to another caliber.

If speed is the goal, you need to rethink the progressive.
 
I don't have a turret press, but I do have a Dillon 550. From my 550 experience, I would say it is worth the money to have a turret press or manual index progressive. I can't comment specifically on the RCBS Turret press...

I use the 550 the same as I would a turret press; one piece of brass on the ram at a time. This is to keep things simple enough for me to keep track of. Powder comes off a RCBS Chargemaster 1500 and I prime by hand; yet the removable toolhead, not having to mess with dies after changing calibers and a large working space under the dies means a lot to me. On the 550 I am about 50% faster on sizing 30-06 cases and bullet seating than I am on my Rock Chucker, due to the larger working area.
 
I've never had a turret press, but it is Handy and a bit quicker when I have two single stage presses mounted on the bench. One for sizing and one for seating. That may be another option if you are not wild about getting a turret press.
 
I have used a turret press. I see no use for them. I batch process my brass and hand prime. It takes about 30 seconds to change the die to do each group of 100-2000 pieces of brass. I do have a Dillon 650 for 45acp and 9mm Luger if doing large amounts. If only 10-100 then even the 45acp and 9mm get done on the single stage.

I have a RCBS RC and a RCBS Jr. The Jr is used for any straight walled pistol brass for all steps.
 
Y'all aren't helping me here. Some say yes, some say no. I thought this might be more straightforward. Lol.
 
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Bought this little Lyman turret press lightly used from Fotis a few years ago with the intent of loading a couple of handgun cartridges on it. I've been very surprised at how much faster my loading is going, even just using it as a single stage press. Something about it is much faster & easier than my Rockchucker.

Then I decided to try using it for my 30-06 loading. I wasn't sure it would be the right choice for that, but... the Rockchucker hasn't been back on the bench in quite a while now...

Not sure what is making the turret press so easy, I think it's the open design of the front. Lets me work very efficiently. Beats me. It's faster than my 30+ year old Rockchucker and makes good ammo for handgun or rifle, so I'm happy.

Regards, Guy
 
From Divernhunter: "personal choice and preferences never are" - yup, and yup again.
At the end of the day, you need to discern where your slowdowns are in the reloading process and figure out what will alleviate them. Me, well I'm clumsy, fat fingered and load for multiple rifles in the same caliber; so having a large working space and having dedicate tool plates / dies setup for specific rifle loads helps me a lot!

From Guy Miner: "Not sure what is making the turret press so easy, I think it's the open design of the front. Lets me work very efficiently. Beats me. It's faster than my 30+ year old Rockchucker and makes good ammo for handgun or rifle, so I'm happy." - same experience with my Dillon 550. A turret press would work just as good or maybe even better for me than my Dillon 550 - again it comes down to figuring out and amending your bottlenecks. One size, thankfully, doesn't fit all.

P.S. If I had to buy a new press I would personally be looking for a used Redding T-7, RCBS Turret press or the new Lyman Brass Smith turret press. One piece of brass at a time, set and leave the dies alone and a big un-obstructed work area means I'm happy as a clam at high tide!
 
I have the Forster COAX, Redding T7 and a Hornady LNL AP progressive. I use my turret press for small setups of handgun and rifle rounds. Pretty darned quick for me. I used to do it all via the Forster but it’s a bit quicker having all of the dies on the press. Resize, expand, dump powder, seat, crimp..

I’d say it’s worth the money if you want it. New tools are always fun.
 
I have a Lee Classic turret and a Lee Classic single stage press. For load development, I like a single stage press and for bulk reloading I use my turret press more often. The turret press makes the reloading process a bit quicker but, I like the single stage press because it is not a "crowded" and adjustments are easier to dial in. I had to pick just one, it would probably be the single stage press. While I load for 10 different calibers, I seldom load more than 60 rounds at a time so either press works for my needs.
 
I was looking at the Lee Classic 4-hole turret press. I didn't like the fact that it doesn't come with a priming system, forcing you to buy that separately. And if I buy the kit, then I end up with things I already have and don't need, like a scale, case trimmer, etc.

I'm wondering about this new Brass Smith press that Lyman is coming out with. A little cheaper than the RCBS, based on projected prices, and has an 8-station turret. Anyone have any thoughts?
 
I did everything in a single stage for many years. When I started loading 9mm I purchased a Lee Classic Turret Press. I still prime everything off of the press as it gives me a chance to inspect the cases, but this did speed things up a bit over a single stage.
Change over is quick and easy.

Recently I got a good deal on a Lee Pro 1000. I have used it only for 9mm. This press has some quirks it took a while to get used to but now that I have it figured out I can crank out 3 to 4 hundred rounds an hour without using the auto bullet feeder.

I still load all of my rifle rounds on a single stage but the Grandson recently purchased a semi-auto 223 so this may change.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I have used both, a couple of different single stages and a Lee 4 hole turret. Seems the biggest advantage of the turret press is being able to keep a 3 or 4 die set in place, adjusted and calibrated if you do primarily one load for a caliber. Does save some time on setup while doing a run of ammo, not having to switch dies, especially with straight wall cases and the extra expanding step and keeps your benchtop a little less cluttered. I have tried it in "semi-automatic" mode briefly. I did not like loading with this method, too easy to miss a step and my powder measure adapter was hard to dial in.

The one disadvantage I see is there is some slop between the turret and the locking lugs it rides on. Because of this, you need to ensure full crush fit for sizing cases for semi-autos and you need to get a very consistent full ram of the cartridge when seating bullets or your COLs will be all over the map.

Overall, I do like it for most of my loading vs. a single stage press. I primarily ram-prime rifle loads, so the large and small ram primers stay in the turret. I hand prime handgun so have a different turret set up for my HG dies. I do not have a separate one for all calibers, just nice to set one up for a run and go. I find the Lee to be a good machine, don't think I'd spend the extra money on another model. I use the turret for all handgun, and all things brass prep related. I still seat bullets on a single stage for most rifle loads. The best use I have found is when loading crimped primer military brass. I can chuck in a universal decapper followed by a sizing die and toggle them back and forth.
 
I think I'm just going to take a deep breath on this and wait for the Lyman turret to come out. According to their customer service, they expect to release them in mid-April. They say that a lot of R&D went into the redesign, so we'll see if they've created a winner. Some folks complain about the spent primer catcher on the RCBS turret, and about the spent primers falling all over the place. If the Lyman got the prime/de-prime system right, that would be an improvement. Plus, it's an 8-hole turret, rather than a 6 or 4. MSRP is $249, so I imagine they'll be selling for about $180 online.

I appreciate the input, folks.

Cheers,
Brian
 
bdbrown66":kghbb9vi said:
For many years, I've done all my reloading on an RCBS Rock Chucker single stage press. I'm wondering if I should invest in a turret press to speed things up, especially for my pistol loads. I don't want to go to a progressive setup, for various reasons. Specifically, I'm looking at the RCBS turret.

What say you? Is it worth the $200+ investment, or should I just stick with what I've got?

TIA,
Brian
Click to expand...

I would suggest the Dillon RL 550C as someone above recommended. It is a manually indexed press (think inverted turret, the shell plate moves instead of the die plate), that also has the added benefits over a turret in that it has a priming and charging systems, if you want those. It can also be operated as a single stage, and is backed with a valuable no receipt needed "forever" press warrantee for you or any subsequent owner (excluding their commercial 1050 model). The Dillon is a better investment imo....Dillons hold their value extremely well ....if you own it for 7-10 years, you will likely be able to sell if for more then you paid for it if you want to (you won't)... cant say that about any turret I am aware of

Your post said you were most interested in saving time on pistol. Running at an uber conservative safe speed on the Dillon RL 550C, I can do 350 to 400 an hour on pistol with no brass feeder (the press is capable of more) ....this press will save you considerable time on pistol over a turret and absolutely smoke a single, and all the press will actually cost you is the time value of money. (You will shoot more though because you will have buckets of pistol loads, so in the end...this press will cost you lol) The press makes good rifle loads too.

fwiw....Dillon also makes a Base model 550, which is basically the raw press (again, think inverted turret) for around $250 I think....which can be added to later if the user wants the other systems for it. If you don't want the priming system or charging system on your press (I do), I'd still be all over this before I bought a $200 plus turret, but that is just me and presses are a personal pref.

I gotta add... like you, for years I did all my reloading on a single stage and swore I would never own a progressive. When I got the Dillon 550, I swore at myself for not doing it much much sooner.

I do all my long range precision rifle stuff on my single, and everything else on the 550.

The Dillon powder measure, meters ball powder dead nuts on the money, and most small grain extruded powders from dead nuts on to .1 if you do your part.

There is a reason 86% of the 2017 USPSA Nationals shooters who reload (and countless other regular block heads like me) load on a Dillon https://www.ar15.com/media/mediafiles/3 ... 497019.JPG

When it comes to presses, my personal pref is to go with proven designs like the Dillon, and not be the beta tester on new designs...but again, that's just me.

hope this helps in your decision. I am only trying to suggest researching the 550 if you haven't already to see if it's a potential fit before dismissing it, the decision is yours and I hope you find what works best for you, whatever you choose.

Dillon 550 loading 9mm (not mine)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKJao4g-5uQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Oo6HJInwA8

Same press converted from 9mm to .45-70 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-OYW8dWJN0

Sincerely,

The Enabler
 
I wouldn't want a disc that held 6 or 8 dies or more. 4 is enough. That's just the right amount to load a single pistol caliber without confusion or double clutching the ram to find the next die.
A number of years ago I bought a Lee classic turret press to load pistol calibers. I use the Lee deluxe 4 die pistol dies. Each caliber is preset on it's own disc. Truthfully this turret press has really sped up my loading. When I sit down to load I usually do several hundred at a time.
I've never tried it for rifle rounds as my particular process works best on a single stage press, but if I was loading for .223 or something like that I'd definitely be loading them on the turret press.
 
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