RCBS turret press

Red_Eagle · March 4, 2010, 02:44 PM

I'm considering the purchase of an RCBS turret press. Can anyone relate thier experiances with this press?

totaldla · March 4, 2010, 04:15 PM

Buy the Lee Classic Turret instead

88KEYS · March 4, 2010, 04:31 PM

I have a Rock Chucker on my bench and use it for my single stuff like my High Power loads. I started with that press 25 years ago, and like RCBS stuff. I know nothing about the press you mentioned, but just wanted to share some information.

I load many calibers have a Dillon 550B, it is easy to change caliber’s (no shotgun) and is a great press, have had mine over 10 years. They cost about $500.00 to get it started, and will use your current dies. The real thing I like about Dillon is customer support, if you lose a small part call and they send it for free. Then 5 years ago it broke cracked at the base of the ram the cast iron. I called and long story short it was fixed, updated new primer feed system, new powder measure. The invoice had $200.00 listed of new parts no charge, it looked new.

So my 2 cents consider the Dillon good product.

sk330lc · March 4, 2010, 08:52 PM

Buy the Redding!!!
I just Bought the RCBS turret Have loaded about 150 45acp on it . The Priming divice is useless. I ended up hand priming 145 out of the 150. If you use a uniflow Powder disp. When you turn the turret around it hits the Primer Tube. The head has a Lot of deflection. Seems ok for Pistol But not sure for Rifle with the Expander Ball on the down stroke. Seems it would Pull the neck off center.
Wish I would have gotten the Redding.. Better Yet a Dillon! I had a Lee Classic I hauled it to the scrap yard with a load I had Last fall. enough said.

reloader28 · March 4, 2010, 09:13 PM

I agree with sk330lc
I aint done it yet ,but when I do, I'm going to get the Redding. Way heavier duty than all the others.

shepherddogs · March 4, 2010, 09:36 PM

I like my RCBS turret. I only use it for rifles. I mainly load for .270, .308 and .223. I leave all the dies set up and spin the turret and change the shellholder and I'm reloading another caliber. You can purchase additional turrets as needed. The press is very solid.

88KEYS · March 4, 2010, 10:29 PM

No question Redding makes great stuff, love the profile crimp die! It centers the bullet if it is not dead center, with lead bullets it trims off any lube and lead sticking out.

LOLBELL · March 4, 2010, 11:05 PM

I like my RCBS turret press as well. I load .270, 22-250, 35 Rem, and 9MM. I am new to the turret press but not reloading. I've only reloaded about 4-5 hundred rounds on the turret. So far so good.

sk330lc · March 5, 2010, 06:53 PM

For you all that have the RCBS How does your priming system work with WLP primers? I can not get the Dumb thing to take them out of the Tube. Seems that the WLP primers are too thick and drag on the head.
The press Is built heavy and Functions great. The Deflection Measured with a Dial indicator reads .006" on the up and down stroke. On the Up stoke the turret head hits the Back of the press, where the detent ball is. It seems that it is Perfectly parallel with the shell holder and ram. But as said on the down stroke It is not.
This is not a problem for me loading Pistol stuff. For Rifle I'll keep using the ROCK CHUCKER!

OldShooter · March 5, 2010, 08:54 PM

I have a Lyman turret. It's the only press I've ever owned. I'm not going to tell you to buy this one or not buy some other brand(certainly not without some substantiating facts and information). It works well for the handgun rounds I load, .45, 9mm & .380. I bought some extra plates so I never have to dismount my dies. I didn't like the primer device so I took that off and got a handheld RCBS device that works fine. I don't do high volume, the thing will outlast me.

highvel · March 5, 2010, 09:34 PM

IMHO I had a Lyman turret years ago, but as I got more into reloading I got rid of it and went for a crusher. All of the precision that needs to go into the alignment of die's and shell holders made me dislike the play in the turret style presses. If it revolves around an axis, it will have deflection and resultant misalignment.

warnerwh · March 6, 2010, 01:48 AM

"IMHO I had a Lyman turret years ago, but as I got more into reloading I got rid of it and went for a crusher. All of the precision that needs to go into the alignment of die's and shell holders made me dislike the play in the turret style presses. If it revolves around an axis, it will have deflection and resultant misalignment."

This is one place the Lee shines. The turret is held on the outside rather than only being held in the center. There is no deflection and misalignment this way.

reloader28 · March 6, 2010, 10:35 AM

sk330lc...

I am the rare one that likes the press priming over hand priming. I use a piece of brazing rod as a follower in the priming tube. Put a small ninety degree bend in it at the top of the tube. You can tell how many primers you have left by how far above the tube your bend is. I used to use a 1/8" wood dowel but it wasnt heavy enough. A stiff piece of wire might work.

sk330lc · March 6, 2010, 08:52 PM

Reloader28,
I will give that a Try. I'm sure I have some 1/8" flux free Brazing rod in the shop. That Might just solve my problem. I also Thought about cutting the Primer tubes down. so they are level with the turret. This will let the turret turn and clear My powder hopper. They should hold about 200 primers which is perfect for me.
Thanks!! for a great Idea.

March 4, 2010, 02:44 PM	#1
Red_Eagle Senior Member Join Date: February 3, 2007 Location: Western NY Posts: 598	RCBS turret press I'm considering the purchase of an RCBS turret press. Can anyone relate thier experiances with this press? __________________ My Calibers: 22 Hornet, 223 Rem, 22-250, 243 Win, 270 Win, 280 Remington Ackley Improved, 30-30, 308 Win, 30-06, 300 Winchester magnum, 7.62x39mm, 380 Auto, 9mm Parabellum, 38 Special, 357 magnum, 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, 45 GAP, 45 Auto, 12 & 20 Guage

March 4, 2010, 11:05 PM	#8
LOLBELL Senior Member Join Date: March 4, 2010 Location: Fayette AL Posts: 226	I like my RCBS turret press as well. I load .270, 22-250, 35 Rem, and 9MM. I am new to the turret press but not reloading. I've only reloaded about 4-5 hundred rounds on the turret. So far so good. __________________ Don't squat with your spurs on!!

March 5, 2010, 09:34 PM	#11
highvel Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2010 Location: Powhatan VA Posts: 633	IMHO I had a Lyman turret years ago, but as I got more into reloading I got rid of it and went for a crusher. All of the precision that needs to go into the alignment of die's and shell holders made me dislike the play in the turret style presses. If it revolves around an axis, it will have deflection and resultant misalignment. __________________ Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.--Mark Twain "I have opinions of my own 'strong opinions' but I don't always agree with them."--George Bush

March 6, 2010, 01:48 AM	#12
warnerwh Senior Member Join Date: February 11, 2009 Posts: 329	"IMHO I had a Lyman turret years ago, but as I got more into reloading I got rid of it and went for a crusher. All of the precision that needs to go into the alignment of die's and shell holders made me dislike the play in the turret style presses. If it revolves around an axis, it will have deflection and resultant misalignment." This is one place the Lee shines. The turret is held on the outside rather than only being held in the center. There is no deflection and misalignment this way. __________________ Portland, Or

March 4, 2010, 04:15 PM	#2
totaldla Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2009 Location: SW Idaho Posts: 1,291	Buy the Lee Classic Turret instead

March 4, 2010, 04:31 PM	#3
88KEYS Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2010 Posts: 145	I have a Rock Chucker on my bench and use it for my single stuff like my High Power loads. I started with that press 25 years ago, and like RCBS stuff. I know nothing about the press you mentioned, but just wanted to share some information. I load many calibers have a Dillon 550B, it is easy to change caliber’s (no shotgun) and is a great press, have had mine over 10 years. They cost about $500.00 to get it started, and will use your current dies. The real thing I like about Dillon is customer support, if you lose a small part call and they send it for free. Then 5 years ago it broke cracked at the base of the ram the cast iron. I called and long story short it was fixed, updated new primer feed system, new powder measure. The invoice had $200.00 listed of new parts no charge, it looked new. So my 2 cents consider the Dillon good product.

March 4, 2010, 08:52 PM	#4
sk330lc Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Posts: 26	Buy the Redding!!! I just Bought the RCBS turret Have loaded about 150 45acp on it . The Priming divice is useless. I ended up hand priming 145 out of the 150. If you use a uniflow Powder disp. When you turn the turret around it hits the Primer Tube. The head has a Lot of deflection. Seems ok for Pistol But not sure for Rifle with the Expander Ball on the down stroke. Seems it would Pull the neck off center. Wish I would have gotten the Redding.. Better Yet a Dillon! I had a Lee Classic I hauled it to the scrap yard with a load I had Last fall. enough said.

March 4, 2010, 09:13 PM	#5
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	I agree with sk330lc I aint done it yet ,but when I do, I'm going to get the Redding. Way heavier duty than all the others.

March 4, 2010, 09:36 PM	#6
shepherddogs Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2007 Posts: 1,007	I like my RCBS turret. I only use it for rifles. I mainly load for .270, .308 and .223. I leave all the dies set up and spin the turret and change the shellholder and I'm reloading another caliber. You can purchase additional turrets as needed. The press is very solid.

March 4, 2010, 10:29 PM	#7
88KEYS Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2010 Posts: 145	No question Redding makes great stuff, love the profile crimp die! It centers the bullet if it is not dead center, with lead bullets it trims off any lube and lead sticking out.

March 5, 2010, 06:53 PM	#9
sk330lc Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Posts: 26	For you all that have the RCBS How does your priming system work with WLP primers? I can not get the Dumb thing to take them out of the Tube. Seems that the WLP primers are too thick and drag on the head. The press Is built heavy and Functions great. The Deflection Measured with a Dial indicator reads .006" on the up and down stroke. On the Up stoke the turret head hits the Back of the press, where the detent ball is. It seems that it is Perfectly parallel with the shell holder and ram. But as said on the down stroke It is not. This is not a problem for me loading Pistol stuff. For Rifle I'll keep using the ROCK CHUCKER!

March 5, 2010, 08:54 PM	#10
OldShooter Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 846	I have a Lyman turret. It's the only press I've ever owned. I'm not going to tell you to buy this one or not buy some other brand(certainly not without some substantiating facts and information). It works well for the handgun rounds I load, .45, 9mm & .380. I bought some extra plates so I never have to dismount my dies. I didn't like the primer device so I took that off and got a handheld RCBS device that works fine. I don't do high volume, the thing will outlast me.

March 6, 2010, 10:35 AM	#13
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	sk330lc... I am the rare one that likes the press priming over hand priming. I use a piece of brazing rod as a follower in the priming tube. Put a small ninety degree bend in it at the top of the tube. You can tell how many primers you have left by how far above the tube your bend is. I used to use a 1/8" wood dowel but it wasnt heavy enough. A stiff piece of wire might work.

March 6, 2010, 08:52 PM	#14
sk330lc Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Posts: 26	Reloader28, I will give that a Try. I'm sure I have some 1/8" flux free Brazing rod in the shop. That Might just solve my problem. I also Thought about cutting the Primer tubes down. so they are level with the turret. This will let the turret turn and clear My powder hopper. They should hold about 200 primers which is perfect for me. Thanks!! for a great Idea.