Hi, I'm new to the forum and to reloading. I did reload a litle years ago but want to get back into it now. I just bought a Lyman turret kit with press, powder measurer, case trimmer, and other acc. the cost was 259.00. Now I,m second guessing and wondering if the Lee auto index kit with press, scale, powder measurer, and acc. for 80.00 would be better. I have heard bad things about the Lee scale and the Lee dose not have the case trimmer about a 60.00 adder. If I need to buy another scale then the 80.00 price goes to about 190.00 or so with new scale and trimmer. I will be loading pistol caliber, some 40 s&w and 45 colt and will later load for my 444 marlin. thanks in advance for any advice.

Well it is a bit late to be second guessing yourself. However I own a Lyman T Mag Turret press, I assume that is the press you purchased. It is a fine press. Mine is cast iron, the leverage is excellent, the off set handle a good idea. The one thing I don't like is that too many primers bounch out of the primer cup and on to the floor.

I use my Lyman T Mag for sizing rifle calibers. Because of the good leverage and stiff body, it does an excellent job. I suspect that if you get into a lot of pistol loading you will end up with a progressive. I have a Dillion and that is what I use for Pistol.

I don't have a Lee Auto Index kit. Lee makes good stuff for the money, I use their dies, their primer tool. Some other stuff. You really can't complain about their equipment being poor value for the money. Just that when you spend more, you can get more.

Go reload some ammo and be happy with your press.

Thanks for the reply. I guess I should have said I can take the Lyman back and order the Lee press if the thoughts are that it would be better for my situation. thanks again

I'll second the Lyman T-Mag. I've used mine for about 8 yrs. now and it does everything I need it to do.

If I had to think about another brand it would probably be the Redding turret. From the 2 I've seen the fit and finish are top notch and the guys that owned them are very happy with them. I don't know if I could justify the difference in $$ though.

In the end its up to you, but my 2 cents is that you didn't go wrong. That T-Mag will serve you well for many years to come! HTH

Brian

I also have a Lyman turret press and like it. I also have a Dillon 550 and a Rockchucker. I've had a Lee turret and sold it, but more because I could use the money and didn't have any extra room on the bench and no real need with the Dillon interchangeable heads.

I'd keep the Lyman, nothing wrong with the Lee but 10 years from now you'll still be glad you kept the Lyman.

As said before, it's late to be asking now. But as also said previously, you've made a good choice. Even the LEE would have been a good turret loader. I think each has a feature that may be unique to that manufacturer, and it's up to us to determine whether we want the Ford, Chevy or Dodge.

My brother took my RCBS a few years ago, so I spent time "shopping" for a replacement. (Actually I gave him my RCBS so that I COULD shop.) I bought the Redding, when I found one on sale so that it wasn't but a few dollars more than the Lyman. Is it "leaps and bounds" better than my RCBS, or a Lyman? No, but it is put together very well and has tremendous leverage. The one unique feature I really like is that the primers drop down the shaft of the ram and into an attached clear (hose) tube. They're not bouncing out and littering my floor. When the tube gets pretty full (maybe 300 primers), just pull the plug on the end and dump them in a sack or can.

Anyway, don't look back. You've got what you need to get started. You can easily augment the setup you have with other accessories later. I'm glad you didn't ask about dies, as I do feel strongly about the dies from certain manufacturers. But that's another thread.

Here's another vote for the Lyman.

My personal turret press is a Lyman All-American, now an obsolete design, which has worked flawlessly for me in intensive use for almost FORTY YEARS. It has loaded literally hundreds of thousands of rounds (about 150,000 .38 Specials alone) up to and including .416 Rigby and .50 Sharps'. It is still my most-used press, and still performs well.

(Mark, my bench also holds a Rockchucker and Dillon 550. Good taste we have, no???)

Quality is never a mistake, and in the Lyman press you have quality which will give you excellent returns for many years. To go to the Lee would be like trading your new Suburban for a hard-used Yugo, in my opinion.

Another vote for the Lyman All-American. I've got 30+ years into mine. Never a problem. They can still be found on ebay.

Why not skip the turret press stage in life and go directly to a Dillon 550? Will save you time and money, cause you will want a Dillon sooner or later, just never sell your RCBS Rockchucker.

LLS

Why not go directly to a progressive, and skip the turret press?

Mostly, because the progressive is oriented strictly toward production. I've had the Dillon 550B for well over 10 years, bolted down right beside the turret press, and I repeat: the turret press is STILL my most-used press.

In many cases, our level of use of some cartridges simply doesn't warrant the buying of even a shellplate and powder funnel for the progressive in a particular caliber. I'm loading over 25 different cartridges, and the Dillon is outfitted for only about half of them (or less).

On the progressive, I load a lot of big-batch handgun rounds where my "recipes" are standardized.... 9mm, .38/.357, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP etc. I also load a lot of .30-06 and 7.62 NATO on the Dillon, because my consumption is high in those calibers (and, they use the same shellplate as the .45 ACP, AND, they use the same .30-caliber powder funnel).

The vast majority of my other cartridges are loaded on the All-American (turret). I simply can't recall the last time I loaded complete rounds on the Rockchucker, but it was a LONG time ago....many years, for certain.

All these presses serve me well, but if forced to give up two of them, the turret press would be the one I'd keep.