Turret presses

[Hammerhead]

You're worried about the flex in a T-7, but you're thinking of a 550?

[Stats Shooter]

You're worried about the flex in a T-7, but you're thinking of a 550?

Are you saying the 550 deflects a lot?

[ed308]

I think you answered your question already. All of these presses have flex to some degree. The 550 flexes at the tool head and the shell plate. It's designed to flex in those spots. But there's no flex inside the die. And that's where it matters.

[Hammerhead]

But the flex in the shell plate can lead to inconsistent OALs, especially the first few and last few when the plate is unbalanced

[ed308]

I don't have a 550 but do have the 650. I get consistent OAL. With any press, there's many factors that can affect OAL:
Shell plate is tight.
Dies are tight.
Seater die clean.
Type of bullet used.
Type of brass used.
Whether you pull the handle the same every time.
Whether the shell plate is aligned to the tool head.
Calipers rounding up or down.
Setting up the dies with cases in all point on the shell plate.

That last one is really important when setting up the press and to reduce OAL variance. If I pull the 2nd and 2nd to last completed round off my 650 I get differences of one to two thousand. Not sure that matters with all the other factors that come into play. With the Redding T7, 550 or 650 (and many other presses), I don't think the flex built in is going to matter. All are capable of producing accurate ammo thats better than what you can buy.

[Stats Shooter]

Hmm. I use a Forster Ultimate micrometer seating die for my F-CLASS open .300wm rounds. 1-2 thousandths OAL change matters, especially if it is 0.002.

I get heartburn when my base to shoulder datum measurements are not within a 1/2 thousandth after sizing. On my good ol rock chucker supreme presses (plural) I'm averaging about 1/1000 run-out, and seating is exact as I anneal every case after every firing. With all that it is a consistent 1/8-1/4 moa rifle with my load.


Thats probably asking too much from a turret press. Like i said I don't own one. I have a progressive but I crank out .223, 7.62, 40 s&w etc on that one but am happy with moa and an occasional flyer with the rifle rounds. If a turret is no better than that, then I'll just get a couple more single stage presses to speed up production.

Might try a big boss 2 or co-ax from Forster

Thanks

[The Kingfish]

Th Redding T7 is my only press. Suits all my needs so far, but I'm not a high volume shooter. If I was I'd get a Dillon.

[Doublehelix3216]

I get slightly less COAL variation from my Dillon XL650 than I do with my LCT. Both are acceptable, especially for pistol. For precision work, I would recommend the Co-Ax as well.

[disseminator]

The Dillon is a very nice press and I believe it is capable of very consistent output. I only load volume on it though.

For precision work, I would suggest a quality single stage as it can reduce flex to virtually zero, and will give maximum consistency when that is paramount.

I have the Redding Big Boss II, and I love it. I have an inline fabrication auto eject system on it and I can produce ammo quite fast if I have need, or slow it way down and take maximum care for precision. ( For me that is Hunting Grade, not competition grade. )

I keep trying to convince myself I should "upgrade" to a T7 or the Co-Ax but for the life of me I cannot do it.

Which, if you knew me better, you'd know is saying something since I can rationalize UN-needed purchases with the best of 'em.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I think the OP needs one of these, so he will never worry about turret flex. To illustrate the size of this Hollywood Super Turret, those cartridges are a 45-70, 50-70, and a .308:

[Stats Shooter]

Good grief! What is that monstrosity!

Yes I'm guessing there is no flex, or vibration, and the work bench needs to be able to handle 3 short tons just to support it.

[ed308]

I've read where those old Hollywood presses from the 1940s and 50s weighed over 40 lbs.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Yes, my bench does NOT move.

My smallest Hollywood turret weighs 38lbs. The Super Turret weighs around 75lbs.

[jetinteriorguy]

Holy crap, do you need a crane to mount it on your bench? What a beast.

[Stats Shooter]

I have read a lot about Hollywood presses. Never owned one. You can still get them off ebay. But what I heard was that the shop burnt down, and even before that, the customer service was terrible. They used to be a premium shop, but now you will have a hard time getting parts, especially for the old ones.

besides, when it gets to this point link
we have removed all potential wobble or deflection, but I just don't think thats practical.

[Hammerhead]

I think you're down to the Co-ax or an arbor press for your obsessive needs.

The Co-ax looks pretty fast for a single stage with the auto jaws and quick change dies. Small footprint too, way cool.

I would not have the patience for an arbor press.

[Stats Shooter]

I think you're down to the Co-ax or an arbor press for your obsessive needs

Yea, I guess a turret press just isn't for me. I use my progressive to crank out 40 S&W, .223 for my AR's, and 7.62x51 for my Custom SAIGA .308 and AR-10. Then just use multiple single stage presses for precision work.

I'm anal, but I think an arbor press isn't for me. I'm shooting 2 F-CLASS matches per month right now and don't have time to make 70 rounds per match, 140-150 rounds per month, on an arbor press....
Especially with all the operations I have to do to get a case ready. It requires 4 different dies

[Kevin Rohrer]

Perhaps a Ponsness-Warren Metallic II is what you are looking for. It is four position. I have one and love it.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Pon...tinfo/161MET2/

[Stats Shooter]

My dad shoots competition trap and sporting clays. He loads all his shot shells on an $1,100 posness Warren. They make good stuff.


Upon further review, the Posness Warren seems to fill the bill. But what does it do for a shell holder? From the pictures on the internet I can see mostly how it works. But can't seem to see how the shell holder works. And I like the fact that the toolhead doesn't move, and you swing an arm to move the shell..And the whole bottom comes up.

[Kevin Rohrer]

It uses standard shell holders. The mount for it unscrews; you slide the shell-holder in and screw the mount back down so the shell-holder is held rigidly.

You can use whatever powder measure you want. I use a Quick-Measure, the powder drops in automatically when I raise the shell.

[pete2]

I use a Lyman turret press for rifle and once in a while for odd handgun loads, It works fine for mu purpose. I use a Dillon RL550B for regular 9mm, .38 and .45 loads. I shoot .223, .243 and .270. I'm not a bench rest shooter so the Lyman works fine. There isn't enough deflection in the Lyman press to matter. I do keep the rod set where there is a screech when you turn the turret. The only complaint I have is the 2 extensions that are there to hold the priming apparatus that I don't use. They are in the way. I may have one machined to remove them and see how that works.

[JeepHammer]

Mississippi,
I only read your original (first) post, so if someone came up with a brilliant idea along the way I missed, I apologize.

Out of the dozens of presses I've owned/tried,
The same old iron frame Rock Chucker I've had for 35-40 years for super tight tolerance/super low volume loading,

The only other manual press I have mounted right now is a Lee Classic Turret.
I've owned Hollywood, Texas & RCBS type pin mounted turret presses, and they simply aren't any more accurate than the cheap & fast Lee for small batches,
And all of them are stupid expensive compaired to the Lee Turret.

My only gripe with the Lee Classic Turret, it NEEDS a bigger ram that doesn't deflect under pressure.
When you 'Cam Over' a Lee, that small diameter ram rod reflects.
Not stupid amounts, just enough to aggravate you...
But then again, I probably should have been working on the Rock Chucker when that happens anyway, the Lee is just so quick & easy to make caliber changes I often stop there instead of going on down the bench to the Rock Chucker...
(Mostly because I'm getting lazy in my old age!)

Outside of the auto indexing progressives, I can guarantee you the Lee gets the most use around here...
I still catch myself looking for used or broken Lee Turret presses at shows/swap meets...
I have more than enough spare parts/extra presses to last several lifetimes,
But I tend to make sure I have plenty of spare/replacement parts handy for the stuff I use the most.
With reloading, that's parts for the Dillion XL650 & Lee Turret.
The Dillon (anything 'Blue') is expensive, but it's the best bang for the buck in self indexing, not overly complicated presses.
Caliber changes are MUCH more expensive than the little Turret tool head for the Lee, so it's set up for common calibers I shoot the most.

The Lee tool heads are so cheap, I keep about all die sets in them in the storage rack. Having three holes keeps the die sets together and away from harm when not in use, and a couple flicks of the wrist lets you free the dies for the Rock Chucker (or whatever).

I probably shouldn't say this out loud since someone will call me a dummy,
My Turret/tool head rack runs long, behind the Rock Chucker on the bench.
The last two tool heads don't have threads.
Those are my .308-..300WSM match dies that get used exclusively in the Rock Chucker, taking the threads out lets me 'Slip Fit' the die bodies into/out of the 'Turret' Tool head...
Keeps them handy and out of harms way, but visible so they get cleaned/rust preventative with the rest of the dies when I do bench maintiance.

Being able to pop the 'TOOLS' head in the press and pull bullets on the spot,
Instead of setting them aside until I forget WHY I culled the rounds in the first place, is a HUGE help!
'TOOLS' turrets have swaging tools, bullet pullers, universal decapping dies, etc so it's a FLASH to get the right tool in the press & keep up with production culls on the spot...

People think the manual Turret and the manual Dillon are 'Too Close' together on a 4' bench top, but the two work so well tighter in tandem it's not funny.

Even more so when the Lee is in tandem with a driven machine, like a motor Dillon 1050. You can QC and take down culls while the machine runs, nearly in real time... No pile of culls laying around, which I hate having...

[Berserker]

Yes the turret is in their loose, but when seating you are driving it up with the ram.

Saves alot of time on set up. You can switch between calibers on the fly, just to load a few if you want.




People measure their rounds when they come out. You think they are going to very in length and still sell?


Single stages seem such a great waste of time to me, unless you buy a bunch of them. The turret can be operated like a single stage for one at a time.

If you use crimp dies, than you are really wasting alot of time with single stage.

If you only load one bottle neck single stage I suppose isn't awful, or if you buy one for every caliber.

[GCbroker]

I use a Lee Turret Press but I also now have the New MEC Marksman Single Stage Press too.
It's a monster.. Well designed and built like a tank. Consider purchasing the press if you decide to go Single Stage, You won't be disappointed.

[Stats Shooter]

Cartridge overall length? As in COAL? Or cartridge base to ogive?

Because bullet Tips can vary by more than 0.005", but it isn't terribly important, what is important is the distance from the rifling that the beginning of the bearing surface is.

I'm not familiar with Lee seating dies but if they are pushing on or very near the tip, you would get a more consistent OAL but a widely variable cartridge base to ogive.

My Forster Ultimate seating die is within 0.0005" Cartridge base to ogive.

I don't want to assume that you don't know something that you actually do, so maybe you need a new seating stem. But otherwise the Forster ultimate seating die is the most accurate bullet seating die I have tried including the RCBS Gold medal match. Even my standard RCBS seating dies are more accurate base to ogive than 0.005! More like 0.0015.