Lyman Users

[Bella]

Does anyone here use Lyman reloading equipment? I was looking at their turret press and was wondering if its any good.

[Shootest]

The T-Mag II is a good solid cast iron press, the priming system on it is not so good. I did manage to get it to work OK after filing and a lot of tinkering. Lyman does not warranty the press for more than a year, and will not replace worn out or broken parts, unlike most other companies.
GOOD LUCK

[trapper9260]

I use the lyman t press and bullet sizer and lube 450 and had them for years.I also use there dies also.and there tumbler.It all depends on what you are looking to do with the press or any other thing. I know alot use there M-dies for there case for loading cast bullets.I have the T press from back in the larte 80's the down fall of it is that the screw that hold it on to make sure that you do not break that screw I say get a single stage press for sizen your case.

[andyjr11]

I got the T mag a couple years ago and have had no problems with it at all. The primer setup does leave a little to be desired and I gave up using, I now prime off the press.

What I do is size and then expand, remove to prime, then charge, seat and crimp. On average I will do about 100 rounds in 50 minutes.

What I really love about this press is I have 3 extra Turrets and can make a caliber change in seconds. I have about 20,000 rounds through it and still works like new.

[JMP]

I have the T-Mag also and it works. It was my first press and I've loaded thousands of rounds on it. I use it as a single stage that I can leave my most used dies in four of the holes and the other two I change out. I did break the bolt on top that holds the turret on once, called Lyman and found out, like Shootest said, they don't replace broken parts. Its a cast iron bolt so it wasn't going to last anyway. I replaced it with another regular bolt for 1/5th the price of the Lyman bolt. Also like Shootest said, the primer system isn't very good but I don't know that any of the built in primer systems on presses work very good. I took all the primer stuff off mine and use a hand primer.

If I had it to do over, I would probably still get the same one. Overall, I like it. I have red and green stuff too and in my opinion, there's not a whole lot of difference between any of them except for the warranties.

[Axelwik]

I ended up getting a Redding T-7 instead of the Lyman. Just seemed like a better design. Couldn't be happier. I do use Lyman bullet moulds, lubrisizers, and some other odds and ends. Quality can be hit or miss... I once bought a set of Lyman 30-30 dies and the sizing die left the neck crooked

[Pathfinder45]

I use an old Lyman Spartan press.

[Tony Z]

I use a 35 year old Spartan, have a 45 cast bullet sizer and a variety of other Lyman equipment. Year or so ago I wanted another turret style press (have a Lee) and because the Redding T-7 wasn't available, I ordered a Lyman turret from Amazon.

It went back after a day or so! Was not smooth in operation, goop in die threads, etc. Whereas my Spartan was smoother than the pick-up lines I used in my late teens and early twenties, the Lyman turret was akin to a sixty-something oldster trying to sweet talk a twenty something looker - just wasn't going to happen.

After the Lyman was returned, I ordered a Redding Big Boss II - the quality feel is there in a way it was with the Spartan. I've heard of others having great luck with new Lyman and have thought mine might have been a fluke. Maybe so, but that is no reason to have kept it. Lyman needs to return to the quality level it had of old.

[Malibru]

The newer model T-mag (II?) is nice if you like to load a few calibers. Get some extra turrets, swap them out fast and you don't have to bother removing/replacing dies. The older T-mag had a lot of slop in the mounting of the turret, stay away from that model. And agreed, priming system is less than desirable. A simple rcbs posi-prime or similar hand primer worked well for me. Once you get the "feel" for the hand primer you can develop consistent primer seating.

[wachtelhund1]

I use a Lyman T-Mag II turret press and have had no problems. Bought it direct from Lyman as one of their reconditioned items - $127.00. Great deal. I now have three extra turrets all full of dies. Wish I had bought two of them. I have a Lyman #55 powder measure, which I used regularly, given to me when I started reloading - 52 years ago!

[Sevens]

I use a Lyman 55 powder measure and it is (unquestionably, without any doubt) my favorite tool of ANY that I use at my bench. I have heard that Lyman's QC is not at all what it used to be, and that is disappointing to me, but I don't have hands-on experience with newer Lyman equipment. My 55 was made in the early 80s, I believe.

I can't see any advantage, even slight, to any brand of turret press above & beyond the Lee Classic Turret. Because of the following reasons, I don't see how any other turret press on the market can compete:

--irrationally quick-swap ability of the turrets
--irrationally low cost of extra turrets -- and it's not even close
--ability for the press to index the turret if you wish
--the overall price of the unit

While most Lee presses (and Lee tools across the board) find a role as a less expensive alternative to other products on the market, it seems to me that the Lee Classic Turret is an extremely sturdy press that doesn't have an equal in the market.

You could literally screw every single die that you own across every pistol and rifle caliber represented at your bench in to it's own turret for $10 a caliber. What does an extra turret for any other turret press on the market cost? Outside of the inferior Lee 3-hole Turret press, there is no competition when it comes to having all of your dies pre-installed and pre-set and ready to load ammo in literally one second.

[miketuite]

I just picked up a used older-model T-Mag. It's built like a tank! The one problem I'm having is the big screw on top that holds the turret in place keeps backing out after just a few rounds. The needs re-tightening it after every few rounds. Is that just inherent in the design or can it be fixed?

[Lost Sheep]

Originally Posted by Bella

Lyman Users
Does anyone here use Lyman reloading equipment? I was looking at their turret press and was wondering if its any good.

I have a friend who loves his Lyman Turret. It is plenty strong enough (he loads up to 500 S&W) and it is easy to insert and remove cartridges. He batch processes.

How did you settle on considering only the Lyman? I researched all the turret presses I could find when I decided to give up on progressive presses (too many simultaneous actions for my comfort zone). So, I got a turret press that auto-indexes the head so continuous (as opposed to batch) processing was easy. Now, continuous processing on the Lyman (and the others) is possible, but you have to advance between dies manually.

Other considerations on turret press choice (about which we are ignorant) are:
What calibers will you be loading?
What kind of quantities
How many dies do you use for your chamberings (two-die, three-die or four-die sets)?
Anything else you think might be helpful for us to know.

Lost Sheep

[pete2]

I've had a T Mag for about 10 years, works great. Get 2 or 3 extra turrets and you're good to go. I quit priming on the press, 30 years ago. Use a Lee or RCBS tool.

[primerman]

I have used their pistol dies but when I broke a primer pin and they wanted me to purchase a new one I put them away and ordered some of their competitors dies. Their products are ok but their warranty falls way behind others on the market.

[Hunter Customs]

My reloading bench is a pretty large L shape bench.
On that bench is two RCBS single stage presses, one Dillon 650 and one Lyman T-Mag turret press.
The Lyman T-Mag has and still does see a lot of use.

Back in my competition shooting career I was loading 50,000 rounds of 45acp plus 357 mag, 38 special and 44 mag ammo on it.
I'm still loading all those calibers plus 45 Colt and 223 ammo on it, the T-Mag has held up very well and still growing strong.

If I was going to buy another turret press it would be at the top of the list for choices.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com