Lee's auto index

[pennstater]

Ok,
I'm looking to buy a turret type press for handgun reloading. The Lyman T-MagII looks pretty good, but looking at The Lee's, just what exactly is "Auto Index"? Is lee the only one that uses it? Thanks guys.

[joefreas]

The auto index rotates the dies. Your casing stays in the single shell holder. If you are going to reload handgun ammo I recommend a progressive press that rotates the shells instead of the dies. With a progressive press a completed round is produced with each pull of the handle. The auto indexing press is much slower and still setup is tedious.

[Markus]

It just turns the turret to the next die. Not sure if Lyman does that too but for what it costs I imagine it would though they may call it something else.

[MaHoTex]

The Lee "Auto Index" rotates the shells, NOT the Dies.

You pull the lever, a completed bullet pops out the other side. Setup is tedious at first, and I imagine all progressive loaders are the same in that regard. My Lee load master works great everytime.

[apbrian112]

The Lee "Auto Index" rotates the shells, NOT the Dies.

You pull the lever, a completed bullet pops out the other side. Setup is tedious at first, and I imagine all progressive loaders are the same in that regard. My Lee load master works great everytime.

Ummm... i'm pretty sure on a turret press w/ auto index, it "auto" rotates the dies and the shell stays in the same place (the essence of a turret press as opposed to a progressive press).

[joefreas]

The Lee "Auto Index" rotates the shells, NOT the Dies.

You pull the lever, a completed bullet pops out the other side. Setup is tedious at first, and I imagine all progressive loaders are the same in that regard. My Lee load master works great everytime.

Take a look. Lee makes turret and progressive presses. http://leeprecision.com/xcart/4-Hole...ret-Press.html
Turret auto indexes the dies, progressive rotates the shells.

[MaHoTex]

Take a look. Lee makes turret and progressive presses. http://leeprecision.com/xcart/4-Hole...ret-Press.html
Turret auto indexes the dies, progressive rotates the shells.

Doh.. my mistake... I missed the key word in the original post "turret" OOPS...

[joefreas]

Doh.. my mistake... I missed the key word in the original post "turret" OOPS...

No worries.

I think turret presses are pointless. All the setup pain of a progressive with the speed of a single stage-

[xrMike]

Setup is more tedious how? No matter what method you use, you still have to adjust your dies correctly... ???

But with auto-indexing/turret presses (and multiple turrets set up for different calibers), you only need to adjust your dies one time, then you trade turrets to change calibers. So the next time you load that caliber there's no setup at all because the dies are already adjusted.

But I've never actually used a progressive, so I could be wrong... Progressives do turn out more ammo though, no denying that.

[xrMike]

I think turret presses are pointless. All the setup pain of a progressive with the speed of a single stage-

Not quite... Like I said before, LESS setup than a progressive (after the first time loading each caliber).

And they are faster than a single stage because you don't have to load your round onto the shell carrier 3 or 4 different times (1x per die). It's 1x only with the turret press. Doesn't seem like much, but loading your shell multiple times adds up.

[Alan Block]

Look at Dillon too

Their warranty is unbeatable.

[joefreas]

But I've never actually used a progressive, so I could be wrong... Progressives do turn out more ammo though, no denying that.

I have 3 progressive presses and 2 single stage setups. The reason I have three is because I was sick of the PITA involved with caliber changes.

Buy a progressive and you'll see-

[pennstater]

Hmmm, points well taken. Maybe I'll look into a progressive. Thanks all.