Thoughts on a Redding turret press?

[sneakboxer]

I have been reloading 308, 40, and 357 with a Lee handheld press and love the hobby. However, it does take a lot of time to crank out rounds. The Redding T-7 turret press looks like a good up grade. I' like to still be able to make quality rifle rounds but be able to have a little more speed for the pistol rounds. I have also started to build an AR so 223 is in my future too.
Should I get the redding and be good to go or
Get a Lee indexing turret and a bench press?
I love the lee hand press and would recomened it to anyone wanting to start out on a small scale.
Thanks in advance,
Greg

Read More

 

[BK13]

I have one, and while I think it's a great press, I'm not too sure how much it will speed up your loading, unless you are doing small batches. Whoops, just saw you are using a Lee hand press. A regular press will speed you up quite a bit.

I wouldn't normally suggest a progressive press to a beginner, but it sounds like you have the basics figured out, so a progressive like a Dillon 550 might be the way for you to go. As far a Lee goes, I'm not a big fan of their stuff, but it is serviceable I guess. You will find that Redding (if you go that way) or Dillon have a lot better manufacturing standards.

 

[sneakboxer]

Thanks, I'd like to get a blue press but funds prohibit that for now. I did not like the feel of the lee turret but a different forum talked it up. The redding looks tough and should stand up to full length resizing I hope. I think that I should be able to work batches of 50 pretty quick and that should be good for now. I was just apprehensive about rifle loading on any turret. I'm not looking to win any matches but want to make quality rounds.
The lee hand press is great but quick it is not.
Thanks again,
Greg

 

[Hotwheelz]

I do not have a redding turret press but i do and have a lyman t-mag for a a few years good solid press. I like the ability to handle the case's alot less but I only use this press for rifle stuff I load all my pistol rounds on a dillon 550 or 650. I would consider just a standard single stage press to make your move from hand loader and if you shoot alot of 357, 40 save up for a progressive but any upgrade from the hand press your using will be a huge improvment in time..

 

[deadshot2]

A Redding T-7 will cost you $250 or so. A Dillon 550 about $200 more. The Turret press won't speed your production appreciably, just make it easier to keep track of dies. It also allows you to create one complete round at a time without having to swap dies. If you load batches of 50, de-priming/sizing, priming, adding powder, seating bullets, all as separate "batch" operations on a single stage yhe only added time is changing the dies. With lock collars adjustments can be maintained.

If you are anticipating loading for an AR, they have big appetites and loading in either a single stage or turret press will be very time consuming due to the volume.

If it were up to me, I'd save the extra $200 and buy a Dillon 550. Chances are even if you just get a Turret Press, you will eventually step up to the progressive so why not save a few $$ and have it sooner?

Lee progressives are very attractive to people in your situation. They cost just a few more dollars than a turret press so rather than buy a good stout turret press, or waiting and saving for a high quality progressive, people get the Lee Progressives. It takes a lot of learning and patience to get a Lee Progressive working and in the end, many of them end up replaced with a higher quality progressive that allows one to spend more time loading and less time adjusting/troubleshooting.

Save a few more bucks and buy a press you'll still be using 20 years from now and still smiling.

 

[jlittlewolf]

T7 is a great press! My ladies dad has one... That being said... I agree with the thought of investing in a progressive.. Have you looked at the Hornady LNL?

 

[scrappydoo]

I can't comment on the turret, but I picked up the Big Boss 2 days ago and it is really solid and heavy. Everything Redding I own is really heavy. That includes the powder trickler and 3br powder measure.
Take a look at the shipping weights for the most popular presses out there:
Hornady LnL 14lbs
Lee Turret 15.22 lbs
Lee Classic Cast 15.68 lbs
Forster Co-Ax 18.47lbs
Lyman Orange Crusher 20.69 lbs
Redding Big Boss 22.80 lbs
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme 23.20 lbs
Redding T-7 Turret 31.98

Here's my new set-up. I'm happy as can be with this press.

 

[motoman98]

I have the Redding Turret press: well made and a good press. Perfect for small batches of loads. Much more than 50, I use the Dillon.

 

[SynapticSilence]

It's a great press. A friend has one and I've sat down and punched out a few rounds so I know what folks are saying here is right. Still, you need to know that Lee makes two turret presses. The newest, the Classic Turret Press, is what I have and I think it's as good as any on the market. It's built like a tank, is silky smooth with a great sensitivity that lets me feel the slightest variation in pressure. That's really important when seating primers. With the Lee Pro Autodisk Powder Measure, which is really accurate and reliable in rifle caliber volumes, and the Lee Safety Prime, it's easy to get a rhythm that allows a high volume of rounds while maintaining safe and consistent loading. The Classic Turret Press also uses the 4-die turret heads. These actually ride inside the turret frame and snap easily in and out. The turret heads cost a whopping $12 or so, meaning you can set up multiple turret heads in different calibers and then merely snap one head out and another in (30 seconds max) when you want to switch to another caliber. Admittedly, I only reload for my pistols (.45, .40, and 9mm), but I have no doubt it would be just as smooth and reliable for full length resizing of rifle cases. Plenty of room in the press and the leverage is so great it should easily handle the task. I've probably reloaded 10,000 plus rounds on it and all I've done is clean and lube it. And I forgot to mention the auto-indexing on it is totally sharp and accurate. Again, you won't go wrong with the Redding, but this particular Lee product is one they got dead solid perfect. And, even though i know this sounds like an ad, I'm a mental health professional who has zero affiliation with Lee or any other gear. I just like great deals and things that work right.