Re: Lee Classic Turret and RCBS Rotary Case Cleaner
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 7:30 am
I originally stated that the picture of Rick's progressive press was what persuaded me to go lay out some cash. Well, that's not the whole story - not quite. At around that same time I sent my boys a video of me decapping some of those 600 cases I was reloading with my Rock Chucker. My younger son is an avid reloader so I figured he might enjoy the visual. My oldest boy, a sheriff's deputy and not a reloader, said "well that's going to take a while"'. So it was actually a combination of factors that pushed me over the edge, so to speak. I just wanted to be fair laying the blame here.
I have my press all setup for 9MM. So now I have turned my attention to 45 ACP. I really love the fact that I can simply change turrets and load another caliber without having to adjust dies all over again. While this press CANNOT compete with a progressive in terms of quantity, it IS just what I was looking for. In an hour I can easily turn out a hundred rounds of 9MM and then just by swapping turrets (ten seconds max) I can spend the next hour turning out a hundred 357 magnum or any other caliber. I may just buy one of these presses for my son who reloads. He has a birthday coming up soon.
I don't quite have $500 tied up in this press. That figure I quoted was for the press, tumbler and other goodies in my original picture. So cost wise you can get one of these presses for around $110. Then the dies, primer and powder dispensers are going to cost you a little more. But, in the end I'm happy with the way this turned out. I think a progressive press is in my future, but it will probably be a shotshell press. I go through a lot more shotgun shells than I do any other calibers combined. I love to bird hunt. I always will. Where I live duck, goose, and dove hunting prevail in the Katy Prairie - Eagle Lake area. Throw in an occasional Sand Hill Crane for good measures. That's not even mentioning the skeet and trap shooting I do in the off season. So, if anyone has any recommendations for a shotshell press that can load lead and steel shot in 2 3/4", 3", and 3 1/2" magnum shells send me a shout. I'm all ears. I prefer something a bit better than the Lee Loads All though. I'm currently considering the RCBS Grand whoever the MEC 650N is in the running.
Now the RCBS Case Tumbler was a lot more expensive than the press. That thing was $200 where I bought it. I think you can get it cheaper online at Midway USA or elsewhere. I am convinced that the case tumbler is the way to go. I wanted to thank Bill K and Triggerfingers for offering suggestions of where I could buy other media that will not end up stuck in the case neck. Bill was even gracious enough to send me a sample package. My advice for tumbling in wet media is to put all your available cases, regardless of caliber, into the drum so you won't have to do quite as many loads. You can sort them out later. I haven't yet followed that advice, but I'm going to give it a try real soon. I don't want to have to run that thing numerous times for different size cases. It is an involved process, but the results will leave you amazed. Plan on spending a good amount of time with buckets and hoses after you turn the thing off. Never, I repeat NEVER open the drum without a catch bucket under it. And when the salesman tells you that you need a big magnet to help separating pins/media from the cases, take his advice!! A regular case/media separator pan combo like you would use for dry media works well also.
I'm going to put this review to rest now. Getting long in the tooth. Enjoy!
I have my press all setup for 9MM. So now I have turned my attention to 45 ACP. I really love the fact that I can simply change turrets and load another caliber without having to adjust dies all over again. While this press CANNOT compete with a progressive in terms of quantity, it IS just what I was looking for. In an hour I can easily turn out a hundred rounds of 9MM and then just by swapping turrets (ten seconds max) I can spend the next hour turning out a hundred 357 magnum or any other caliber. I may just buy one of these presses for my son who reloads. He has a birthday coming up soon.
I don't quite have $500 tied up in this press. That figure I quoted was for the press, tumbler and other goodies in my original picture. So cost wise you can get one of these presses for around $110. Then the dies, primer and powder dispensers are going to cost you a little more. But, in the end I'm happy with the way this turned out. I think a progressive press is in my future, but it will probably be a shotshell press. I go through a lot more shotgun shells than I do any other calibers combined. I love to bird hunt. I always will. Where I live duck, goose, and dove hunting prevail in the Katy Prairie - Eagle Lake area. Throw in an occasional Sand Hill Crane for good measures. That's not even mentioning the skeet and trap shooting I do in the off season. So, if anyone has any recommendations for a shotshell press that can load lead and steel shot in 2 3/4", 3", and 3 1/2" magnum shells send me a shout. I'm all ears. I prefer something a bit better than the Lee Loads All though. I'm currently considering the RCBS Grand whoever the MEC 650N is in the running.
Now the RCBS Case Tumbler was a lot more expensive than the press. That thing was $200 where I bought it. I think you can get it cheaper online at Midway USA or elsewhere. I am convinced that the case tumbler is the way to go. I wanted to thank Bill K and Triggerfingers for offering suggestions of where I could buy other media that will not end up stuck in the case neck. Bill was even gracious enough to send me a sample package. My advice for tumbling in wet media is to put all your available cases, regardless of caliber, into the drum so you won't have to do quite as many loads. You can sort them out later. I haven't yet followed that advice, but I'm going to give it a try real soon. I don't want to have to run that thing numerous times for different size cases. It is an involved process, but the results will leave you amazed. Plan on spending a good amount of time with buckets and hoses after you turn the thing off. Never, I repeat NEVER open the drum without a catch bucket under it. And when the salesman tells you that you need a big magnet to help separating pins/media from the cases, take his advice!! A regular case/media separator pan combo like you would use for dry media works well also.
I'm going to put this review to rest now. Getting long in the tooth. Enjoy!