Thoughts on Turret and/or Progressive Presses?

[Quick Draw McGraw]

Hello Guys,

I currently reload with the old reliable single stage press system, and RCBS Rock Chucker to be specific.  It's a fool proof design to be sure.  But I would relish the opportunity to move a little quicker.  That will naturally require an investment, and part of my concern is that I reload for some oddball rounds and use all sorts of different dies.  I use Lee, Redding, RCBS, and Hornady.  And I reload the following cartridges:

- .357 Magnum/.38 Special     - 10mm Auto/.40 S&W

- .40 Super                          - .44 Magnum/.44 Special

- .45 ACP/.45 Super              - .460 Rowland

- .454 Casull/.45 Colt             - .460 S&W Magnum

- .45-70 Gov't                      - .475 Linebaugh/.480 Ruger

- .50 AE                              - .500 JRH

- .500 S&W Magnum

Some need a factory crimp die, some don't.  Some have powder through dies, some don't.  Before I go spending hundreds of dollars, what recommendations do you fellows have?  I am curious to see what you gentleman think.  The single stage has provided many fail safe's for me in regards to the high-pressure rounds, but perhaps I am worrying too much.  Any and all recommendations are most appreciated.

[mike454]

I have a dillon 550 and a 1050. The 1050 is more press than most need and no fun to do caliber changes on. The 550 is nice, but i've found it to work best with dies designed to run on a progressive press. There is a pretty big funnel on the dillon dies that makes them less likely to hang up than RCBS dies. At least that was the case 20 years ago. I also have a redding 7 station turret that I use quite a bit. I just ordered the slide primer feeder hoping to increase speed just a bit. I leave my 1050 set up for 45 ACP because I shoot more of that than anything else. I'll run 38/357 and 9 on the 550 and do everything else on the turret. I'll be interested to see how fast things go on the Turret when priming on the machine.

[contender]

Both the Turret types and progressives have their place.
First,, a progressive is a volume machine,, and reduces time spent at the bench, once a set-up is made. As far as quality,, I only use Dillon progressives because of the "No-BS" guarantee & quality, followed by the fact it does produce excellent consistent ammo. BUT,, I also shoot certain calibers enough to where the quantity justifies the expense of the machines.
The fact I can have pre-set toolheads with dies ready to load stuff,, makes for easy swapping of things when necessary. But I do admit to owning 4 Dillons,, and air of Dillon 650's, set up for small & large primers. That saves me time in conversions. I have a SDB set up as a dedicated machine for my match ammo for my USPSA load. I also have a 550 set up as my rifle ammo machine.
The toolhead swapping is a fast way to have a set-up & switch between different calibers, then load in volume.

It has been years since I had a turret press. Yet,,,, it has advantages in that you can have a couple of set-ups easily available, and if your desired quantities are lower,, then you would be fine moving up to a turret, instead of a progressive. They operate in a similar fashion as a single stage in that you have to re-set the dies after they are removed.

I still have a pair of Rock Chuckers set up as well. I use them for load experimentation, small quantity loading, oddball loading etc.

One other factor I'm enjoying about my Dillons.
They hold value quite well. I bought my first 650 about 16-17 years ago. I have loaded tens of thousands of rounds on it. If I were to put it on the market today, I would profit from it's sale,,, as the prices have risen enough to where even at 80% of a new set-up, I'd make money. And,, Dillon having their lifetime warranty,, if it were to need anything, I could send it in for a rebuild if necessary. Since my first purchase,, I have slowly added caliber conversions, more machines, etc. I shop around, buy deals when I can, and as such,, and then by the simple fact of time & inflation, I could make money on most of it. And this is AFTER I have used it a lot.

I guess a lot comes down to what your requirements are.
Maybe a progressive, set up for a few things, and a turret for others maybe?
A turret would require a lower initial investment, and allow you to step up a bit. But not too much where the speed is concerned. But it's be a good machine for lower volume calibers you load. And a progressive could be used for higher volume ammo you need.

All this said,, I studied HARD back in the early days of my USPSA competition at what I needed to allow me to not have to spend so much time at the bench. I was shooting my 1911 in 45 acp about 500-1000 rounds per month,, and some months even more. All I had was a Rock Chucker. I had to work at making enough ammo. I studied the RCBS progressive, the Hornady, and the Dillon. It quickly proved that the Dillon was the way to go by it's features & warranty.
Then came the big decision as to which machine.
While the 550 (at the time) was the most popular machine I really wanted more automation. Case feeding & auto-indexing was two of my serious thoughts of study. Also, back then the USPSA would poll the competitors at the Nationals about their equipment. In reloading presses,, Dillon was ALWAYS around 85% or so. USPSA stopped doing the surveys for a while and recently returned to doing them. The Dillon 650 is THE most commonly used press now by the shooters at the Nationals.
The 650 has 5 die stations,, which comes in handy for a few reasons. Step one is de-priming & resizing, like in normal loading. Step two is re-priming, flaring, & powder dropping. Step 3 is a powder check station, where you can AS AN OPTION, have a step that checks the powder level in each case. Some folks have now made that station set as a bullet feeder station by purchasing an accessory for the press. I still have powder check dies.
Station 4 seats a bullet & station 5 crimps it. I think for most hobbyists types,, the 650 is THE machine to use. It allows the separate seating & crimp so critical for many proper pistol calibers. The auto indexing helps prevent double charges, and moves things along faster. The powder checker die,,, well, I will admit to having one set up on my very first 45 acp loading,, and to this day, I have never had a double charge,,( or light charge,) or heard that buzzer except to test it. I call that reliable.

So,, I know I'm only one shooter & loader with my opinions,, but due to my serious study of all of it,, I can say I'm quite pleased at what I chose, and it does all I ask of it.

[wheelguns]

I use an r bs turret press. I upgraded from lee turret press. With a turret, you need to make sure you have enough holes for the dies you will be using. I normally use 5 dies and mine has 6 holes. If you need more holes, redding makes one with 7. I can crank out about one a minute after setup. This is fast enough for me. I am at work now, but will go into more detail after work.

[kings6]

I recently switched to a Redding T-7 turret and love it. I still have the old Rock Chucker for my portable bench but I also bought a second T-7 in case I want to have the same ease of use on the portable. I've had 2 Dillon 550B's but sold both just because I like things clean ans simple and while effective, I just didn't enjoy the feel I got with the Dillon.

[sixshot]

I couldn't be without a Dillon 550 or 650 period. Had the 650 set up just for my 40 caliber revolver loads & loaded everything else on the 550B. When I no longer shot competition I sold the 650 but I still have my old, trusty Rock Chucker for doing small batches or load testing. You can't go wrong with a Redding T7, they are great presses also.
Talked a friend into getting one a few years back & he loves it. Another plus about having a Dillon is every month or so you get to see a new photo of one of Fermin's shop helpers on the front cover of the Blue Press!

Dick

[warhawk]

All I've ever used are Lyman T Mag turret presses. Only quit the first one when a new model came out with a handle to help move the turret. They are rock solid and I would recommend one. Lyman has a new one out lately that has 8 holes in the turret, the T Mag has 6.

[boolitdesigner]

Dillon with no reservations. I've used a 450 since "83. If I had to replace it, it would be a 550 or 650.

[whiterabbit]

I got a loadmaster and have reloaded on singlestage, a T-7 turret, and the loadmaster.

The loadmaster is the only way to fly (never owned a dillon, I am sure they are great). I load for precision rifle on the loadmaster, all the way down to plinker pistol cartridges.

The machine toolheads get set up for the level of production needed. Precision gets a through hole expander with a funnel fed by a dual chargemaster. bulk pistol gets a bullet feed die, volumetric drop, etc for fastest operation. Everything gets case fed whether 223/45 colt, up to 460 weatherby (now 375 Ruger)

I ALWAYS keep my single stages around, there is always a need for a quick operation. But the T-7 was a loaner. Went back to the owner. I will not be buying a turret press. All it saves me is unscrewing a die.

[ss30378]

I have a lee single stage for one offs and a lock and load for volume, both are probably 9-10 years old now. The quick change bushings on the LnL are fantastic, especially with my bottleneck pistol calibers that I use multiple die sets to load with. For instance, my 38/45 improved brass forming requires 4 steps, a 45 sizer, 45 beller (to straiten mouths and prevent crumple), 400 corbon sizer and 38/45 sizer to get a completed 38/45imp case. It's nice to just swap dies that are ready to go in the slots and go, then when done I can swap to just loading 45 acp or 400CB withing a few seconds. No re-adjusting or setting dies, and a bit easier than a whole toolhead swap that would require multiple die sets.

5 holes and indexing is good as long as you clean things every once in a while.

[eagle1899]

Dillon 550 for a only one machine. Change over is super simple. I love mine!

[paul105]

I bought my first Dillon 550 in the early 80s. Recently broke the crank which was replaced at no charge by Dillon. I can't imagine not having the 550 (actually have 2).

If you go with the 550, you're looking at a pretty significant investment in conversion kits (one for each cal that has different case head) and tool heads not required, but way convenient (although you can get them for 1/2 price on ebay or amaz) and maybe different powder charge bars (or complete powder measures). Although maybe not optimum in some cases, Your dies will work fine in the 550.

On the other hand, if you go with the turret, the only added cost is the press and maybe some turret heads.

FWIW,

Paul

[AxeHandle]

Dillon here... 4 550s, three SDBs, and a 1050... My original Rockchucker from the early 70s too.. Then the Redding Ultra mag for the 8mm Rem based cases before they enlarged the Rockchucker. I'm a proven fool for any die set that I don't already have and have ended up with lots of dies. Dillon dies preferred on my progressives. Outside that I like Redding first and RCBS second. There are Hornady and Lyman dies on the shelf too..

[firedude]

I reload for pretty much what you have listed (not the Rowland or supers but add a couple handgun and several rifles to it). I currently have and use two 550's, a T-7 turret and a Rockchucker. Like others have stated, I could not get along without a 550. I use all brands of dies on my 550's and have had no problems doing so. Down side is you will spend a lot on caliber conversion kits. I am fairly new to the T-7 and REALLY like it. I tried the priming setup they sell for it and did not like it at all. Guess my response would be to get a T-7 and a 550. Not sure I helped here.

[gregs]

There is a big differance between a turret and a progressive production wise.  I have a T7, a Rock Chucker and an 86 Dillon 550.  The turret is mainly used for load work ups since I can leave all dies set up until the load is found.  I also use it for small batchs of less than 100.   There are some + and - to using a progressive.

+ Speed, time wise and production
Can be used for both rifle and pistol
Can be used to prep brass for use later in a single or progressive press (Size and expand)
The dillon can be set up to size and trim with the dillon power trimmer.

Dillon has excellent customer service.

-  The primer seating is not as positive as I would like on the Dillon.  I prefer to seat CCI primers by hand.
Match ammo can be made pretty consistantly but I prefer to size my brass in a single stage and hand seat primers.

  If I was to do anything to change my set up, I would move to a 650 with a case feeder for the autos. Redding has come out with a large O frame press in which the Frame is set off about 2 oclock instead of 12 as on the Rock Chucker.  This allows move open access.