Second press recommendation

[MrFancyPants]

So I currently have a Forster Coax I bought a couple years ago, specifically for the purpose of reloading precision rifle rounds for calibers like 308, 300 win mag, 300 PRC, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Grendel, etc. I am considering buying a second press now, possibly a turret or another single stage, to reload pistol rounds and other rifle rounds (5.56, 300 AAC, 458 SOCOM) and general target ammo, as I don't really want to use the Coax for that stuff. I mean I could use it for the rifle rounds, but I'd rather use another one for pistol. I have been researching a Redding T7 and Lyman AA8, and I've seen others say they just use a single stage and batch process the rounds, so maybe something as simple as a Lee classic?

A note about my methodology, I will trade speed of reloading for precision and quality every single time. I do not shoot enough that I need to be concerned with how many rounds I can churn out in an hour. But, I would still like something relatively efficient. I know some will say "buy once cry once" and recommend a Dillon, and I have thought about it, but I was thinking in the $400 or less range. I've also looked at the Hornady LnL. If I'm not overly concerned with speed, would a progressive even be worth the added cost over a turret or single stage?

If you were in the market for a "pretty good all around, but not too expensive" press, would you choose a turret or something else?

[newbie1234]

....I will trade speed of reloading for precision and quality every single time.....

Dylon or RCBS

....I would still like something relatively efficient.... I was thinking in the $400 or less range......

Lee Tourret Classic, $220.

Hmm, tough choice, heh !

[rhodesengr]

I could be wrong but if you want low cost, want precision, and don't care about production rate, spend your money on a higher end powder trickler (as in RCBS Chargemaster), and just get another single stage. Does it matter much which one? I have the MEC press for single stage and it is very solid. I mostly use my Dillon SDB but I don't make rifle calibers, just handgun calibers.

I think the only thing that varies much, f at all, in something like a Dillon progressive is the powder drop.

[kevins750]

I load semi auto rifle and pistol with a Lee classic turret press.
Have a dedicated turret with powder dump for each of the 4 chamberings.

Plenty efficient enough for me..

[TomReloaded]

My pistol ammo has a SD of 6.74 and ES of 20, loaded on a lee progressive. I refuse to trickle pistol cases, it's all volumetric dumped.

Going really really slow doesnt equate to better quality pistol ammo, it's just burning up time.

I'd look at a lee 6000. It's cheap and it makes pistol ammo about as good as it gets. It's been a while since I've done 223, but bulk progressive cranked out ammo will shoot tighter than anything boxed as 5.56.

[MrFancyPants]

I'd look at a lee 6000. It's cheap and it makes pistol ammo about as good as it gets. It's been a while since I've done 223, but bulk progressive cranked out ammo will shoot tighter than anything boxed as 5.56.

I had not hard of the Lee 6000, thanks, looking at that one now as well.

[MrFancyPants]

I just ordered a Redding T7, found a good price online, hopefully they have them in stock. After all I've read, it seems to be the best of the best as far as turret presses go, though costly in the long run. But, it should last for life. I will likely eventually get a progressive loader, just not ready for that yet.

[Dooder]

T7 kicks ***! I love mine. Can do so much with it. It has a but of flex but its negligible. Depending on what I'm loading I'll swap out a Redding bench powder drop if I need to chop sticks or a Lee disc. I like that Lee disc set up.

[bigbossman]

Find a used Lee 1000. Inexpensive, and will make all the decent pistol ammo you need. I have three that I use for both straight-ahead bulk reloading as well as load development.

[mindwreck]

turret was a good choice. everything a single stage is, just don't have to swap dies and save time not batch stepping the whole process. you can do 1 round start to finish in one go. save a bunch of little time wasted swapping cases and swapping dies constantly really adds up.

[MrFancyPants]

turret was a good choice. everything a single stage is, just don't have to swap dies and save time not batch stepping the whole process. you can do 1 round start to finish in one go. save a bunch of little time wasted swapping cases and swapping dies constantly really adds up.

Yeah that's why I decided on the T-7 this time, it's a good middle ground between purely single stage and progressive, and fits well into my modest rate of reloading while still being super precise. I will have to invest more into the setup in the form of additional turrets as I have quite a few calibers to reload for, and they're a hundred bucks each, but I should only have to buy them once.

By the way, if anybody is looking for a Redding T-7 at a currently reasonable price, I bought mine at Shiloh Rifle, a business in Montana: https://shilohrifle.com/
Their price is $320 plus shipping, which is much lower than the average $399+ price tag I've seen at all the major retailers.

[Tripplet918]

A lot of PRS guys are using progressives. Scott Satterlee has opined that a lot of “precision reloading techniques” may not really be worth the ratio of accuracy over effort for most people for their intended use. How much accuracy do u want? Will you accept a couple more minutes per round to go from 11-16 SD to 8 or less? Stuff like floating toolheads, a lot of high dollar dies, neck turning, primer hole uniforming, just dont produce meaningful results for most folks.

That said, the Dillon progressives with the addition of annealing and a neck mandrel in my process produces more than acceptable results. I will also manually drop powder from a digital powder dispenser to add that little extra for precision. But not for simple range fodder. If the intended use is only worth range pick up brass, its getting loaded with a Dillon powder measure.

[Cowboy T]

Another vote for the Lee Classic Turret Press. It's not only easy to use and operate, but it turns out very good ammo while being quite affordable. If I could have only one press, that would be it.

On the progressive side, that new Lee Pro 6000 is a good choice as well. Mine is currently set up for .45 ACP and just pumps out quality rounds with little fuss. The new priming system that comes with it is a really good design. I actually consider the Lee Pro 6000 serious competition to the Dillon XL650 that also sits on my reloading bench.

[JagerDog]

I use my T7 like a single stage batch processing.