I did some quick research in this a while back. I now have the room and would like to start reloading. I'm very mechanically inclined and attention to detail is not an issue.

My current need is to load pistol rounds for 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 44 magnum and perhaps 44 special at some point. I'm figuring on about 400 rounds of 45 ACP per month. The 45 Colt and 44s are really for target and field use, so maybe 1,000 per year.

Does the Lee Turret or Classic Turret make sense, due to the ease of swapping out the calibers so quickly? Also, I've viewed Lee's vidoes on both - does it seem that the turret press requires less "work" in the stroke than the 1000?

Thanks

Your volumes are not real high, and if it was me, I'd stick with a cast iron (LEE or RCBS) single stage press. Once/if your volumes increase than move up to a full progressive. Work in stages IE: size all your 45ACP brass in one session, than flare all of it, prime it another night (say while watching TV) and finaly powder-seat-crimp in the last session.

JMHO The turret presses always seemed like a 1/2 way step that dosn't offer the advantages of eather but has the drawbacks of both. Sloppier than a SS and slower than a progressive

I agree your not looking at much of a chore with the volume your describing. I have a RCBS Rockchucker and use it a lot. Looked into a Dillon progressive but my volume doesn't justify it's cost or complexity. Nate

I like turrets and progressives. In a single stage press you have three (for straight wall cases) die changes every time you sit down to load ammunition. I like just turning the turret.

I don't care for the old Lyman turret (looks identical to the one Fjold has on the right in his picture) I started out using. I ended up locking down the head and using it as a single stage to reduce the sloppiness! YMMV.

I still load all my pistol ammo on a single stage Lee Classic Cast press. At $60 give or take it's a helluva deal. Changing dies takes less than 1 minute, and loading batches of 100 takes about an hour, from cleaned fired cases (power throw already set too) through loaded and ready. I use the hand priming tool from Hornady and love it also...the press mounted priming tools suck...and are waaaay slower than the hand primers.

Welcome to the insanity!

Get the Classic Turret. It's worth the few extra bucks for the convenience. I use my old Lee Turret as a single stage, but I have a stack of spare inserts set up for various calibers. I also keep a spare insert set up with the Lee AutoPrime II, the Universal Belling Tool, and the Universal Decapper. Being able to snap in whole die sets is a huge time saver loading small batches.

The AutoPrime II is sadly overlooked. It's the one press mounted primer that really works, it's all steel for the moving parts, it uses standard shellholders, and it keeps the job of priming away from my delicate parts.

At 5-6,000 rounds per year, it sounds like the Lee Classic Turret might be the way to go. It has a slightly longer arm, which to me looks more user friendly. Leftoverdj, I might go this route and get the AutoPrime II. I've seen the other Lee feeders on their demo videos and they don't look like much fun : ( For $13, the AutoPrim is worth a shot.

So if I want to load 45 ACP, 45 Colt and 44 Magnum/ 44special. It would make sense to get three 4 hole turrets - one for each caliber. And of course a carbide die set for each. Do I need a fourth turret to use the AutPrimeII, as opposed to swapping it out? Other than all the little goodies (powder measure, primer pocket cleaner, etc.) to play with, the only other serious goods are the powder, primers, bullets, and cases. Correct?

You might consider getting a Lee 3-die turrent press and an inexpensive Lee single stage press.

Mount the decapper/deprimer die on the single stage press. Decap/deprime before cleaning and case prep, then prime with the hand held Lee Auto Prime. You could also mount the Auto Prime II on the single stage press if you prefer that to the Auto Prime.

Now you got cleaned, prepped, and primed brass ready for the powder thru expander die, bullet seating die, and the factory crimp die mounted on the Lee 3-die turrent press. It will go fast with the auto indexing feature.


BTW, you can get a free press from LEE when you buy their instruction book. Check out the Lee Anniversary Pack

I'm of the opinion that every reloader should start out with a single stage press like a Rockchucker. Do your tasks in lots i.e. size a couple hundred, bell, prime, etc. etc..
Later on after you get a better feel of how you work best you might then move up to a turret press or even a progressive.
A good single stage will still do jobs that it's best for even if you add another press later so you're not wasting any money by starting with it and adding more equipment later.
I also find RCBS stuff far better made than Lee Equipment and recommend you spend a little more and get stuff that doesn't wear out. I have had a few Lee product wear out and become unusable, and haven't with RCBS...................DJ

i size and prime on a single station press; drop powder charges using a powder measure and case blocks, lee 4 hole turrets has 2 sets of seat and crimp dies permantly mounted, turn turret back and forth by hand to seat and crimp.

quote:

Originally posted by djpaintles:
I'm of the opinion that every reloader should start out with a single stage press like a Rockchucker. Do your tasks in lots i.e. size a couple hundred, bell, prime, etc. etc..
Later on after you get a better feel of how you work best you might then move up to a turret press or even a progressive.
A good single stage will still do jobs that it's best for even if you add another press later so you're not wasting any money by starting with it and adding more equipment later.
I also find RCBS stuff far better made than Lee Equipment and recommend you spend a little more and get stuff that doesn't wear out. I have had a few Lee product wear out and become unusable, and haven't with RCBS...................DJ

Amen!!!! If you do not own a RockChucker, you should buy one, and if you have not reloaded enough to have the discipline down perfect, stay with a single stage press until you do. If you are a low volume reloader, there's little reason to buy into a turret press until you move on to the 1000 rounds or more a month level.
(my two cents worth)
LLS

quote:

Originally posted by Josywales:
I did some quick research in this a while back. I now have the room and would like to start reloading. I'm very mechanically inclined and attention to detail is not an issue.

My current need is to load pistol rounds for 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 44 magnum and perhaps 44 special at some point. I'm figuring on about 400 rounds of 45 ACP per month. The 45 Colt and 44s are really for target and field use, so maybe 1,000 per year.

Does the Lee Turret or Classic Turret make sense, due to the ease of swapping out the calibers so quickly? Also, I've viewed Lee's vidoes on both - does it seem that the turret press requires less "work" in the stroke than the 1000?

Thanks

Josey,

While I see that you will primarily be loading
pistol cartridges, I have found the most
heavy duty press to be the Lyman "Orange Crush".

It's actually gray in color and the throat is
long enough for even the H&H cartridges to be loaded with ample room to manuever the brass and bullets!

Found this press quite accidentally. I inherited it virtually unused. I tried it once,
and I've never looked back. Prior to using this press, I'd have opted for the 'rockchucker" or
"boss".

It's very sturdy, so it weighs a ton!

quote:

Originally posted by Sixgun Symphony:
BTW, you can get a free press from LEE when you buy their instruction book. Check out the Lee Anniversary Pack

I over paid for the book to get the "free" press. The book is good. The only use I have for the press is as a stand for my powder measure. That press feels like junk compared to my Rockchucker.

quote:

Originally posted by bja105:

quote:

Originally posted by Sixgun Symphony:
BTW, you can get a free press from LEE when you buy their instruction book. Check out the Lee Anniversary Pack

I over paid for the book to get the "free" press. The book is good. The only use I have for the press is as a stand for my powder measure. That press feels like junk compared to my Rockchucker.

Your Rock Chuck Bullet Swager (RCBS) press was built for swaging bullets. The LEE press is fine for reloading and more than strong enough for resizing/decapping dirty brass before cleaning.

As far as price, the LEE catalog shows the book price the same as for the 40th Anniversary Pack.

I suggest a good RCBS Rockchucker or Lyman Orange Crusher Press. I have the Rockchucker for over 25 years and still works great!