I currently load on a Lee Turret Press for 357 Mag, 327 Federal Mag and 32 S&W Long. I shoot about 200+ rounds a week of 357 and maybe a couple hundred rounds each of the others in a year. My Lee Turret Press is set up to auto index with a case kicker from Inline Fabrication. This setup works great and produces quality ammunition. Caliber changeover is a snap. I have separate complete turrets set up for each caliber.

However, I don’t prime on the press. After tumbling I size and deprime on an old Lyman Spartan Press, inspect and then prime using a RCBS Bench Primer. All this for 100 rounds may take 30-35 minutes.

I then finish loading on the Turret Press. Since the cases are already sized and primed I can use the extra die position to mount an RCBS Powder Checker Die to verify the load from the Lee Drum Powder Measure. 357 and 327 cases are tall, narrow, and dark inside and my loads are light - a potentially troubling combination. The Powder Checker Die works great to minimize this. I still, however, make a final quick visual inspection with a swiveling mirror before seating the bullet as a double check. Additionally, I verify the charge weight every 25 rounds or so. Total time for this step including set up, reloading, final inspection and put away is about 55-60 minutes for 100 rounds.

I’m thinking of potentially adding a progressive press. Each week I’m starting to shoot increasingly more. I used a Lee 1000 many years ago, when I shot Bullseye. I loaded many thousands of rounds with it and hated every minute. Too much going on at once and most of it not right. The good news was that 45 ACP was easier to load in my view than 357. 45 ACP cases are short and wide which makes it easier to see what was going on in the case. I can’t imagine comfortably loading 357 on this press but I know people do. Back then too you had to figure everything out yourself. There was no internet.

I have been reviewing progressive presses over the last year and there are several great options out there. One weakness of all presses, including progressives, seems to be priming. I’ve never got it to work well with either Lee. On YouTube and this and other forums it’s the most mentioned problem with all presses. Primers get jammed up, end up on the floor, try to load sideways, upside down, high, not at all, detonate or worst of all chain detonate. This later problem is especially distressing and seems to be a problem most associated with the Dillon 650. It appears that rotary dial that feeds primers to the case is prone to a chain detonation so that if one goes off they all do including those in the primer tube. Dillon has built in safeguards and barriers on the press to minimize personal injury and property damage but a questionable design nevertheless. Better to prevent the problem than respond to it. Odd that this was never addressed with another design over the years other than shielding. There should be a 650B. Yet the 650 has been around a long time so Dillon considers it safe and the system must work. I understand that the 550 and 1050 are not as prone to chain detonation as the 650 since they use an on demand sliding bar primer feed as do most other progressive presses.

I know if things go right, priming on a press works very well. Millions of rounds have been loaded safely and successfully. Many never experience a problem and some responses I’m sure will confirm that. I just will never be comfortable with it. I guess I don’t like to walk and chew gum at the same time. I will probably always off press prime. However, I do want to increase my speed without compromising safety and peace of mind. I may be overly cautious but I respect the risks associated with reloading. It’s a great hobby and the only way you can afford to shoot more without winning the lottery. It’s indeed a riskier hobby than stamp collecting. Loading thousands of rounds on a Lee 1000 would make anyone overly cautious. However, the Lee Turret Press works very well.

I’ve been looking mostly at the Dillon 650 (surprised?) and Hornady Lock-N-Load AP Press. I like the idea of auto indexing especially if priming is disabled. Each press has its pluses and minuses – proponents and detractors. The press would be dedicated to the 357. The other calibers I would continue to load on the Lee Turret Press. Caliber changeover is not a major consideration.

The proposed load process would go something like this using Dillon nomenclature:
1) Dry Tumble cases as I do now
2) Install a separate Die Head in the press with just a Sizing Die and run the cases through to deprime. Should be very quick especially if I had a case feeder.
3) Inspect, clean primer pockets and hand prime. I know some don’t consider cleaning primer pockets necessary but I still do it. It makes me feel better. It’s easy to do and it’s relatively quick as part of case inspection. I use a bush in a Dremel Tool set at the lowest speed.
4) Store primed cases until have accumulated significant number to justify reloading (not something I do now – I don’t want the loading session to be too long. Concentration can be lost).
5) Replace the die head on press with one that contains a powder measure, a powder checker (a necessity) and seating and crimping dies. Load cases. Focus is just on getting the powder right and the bullet seated (the walking and gum thing). Again, should be very fast yet safe.
6) Final visual inspection and run through a Case Check Gauge.

It appears other than the manual priming many people do something similar already. Case prep, setup and inspection are usually not mentioned in discussing reloading speed. It’s just how fast the press spits rounds out. But these steps also take time.

For example, many people wet tumble cases. In almost all cases they deprime before wet tumbling on a separate press to be sure primer pockets are cleaned. Case inspection is next. Checking for split cases, steel pins from tumbling stuck in case, wrong caliber cases in the mix (a .380 in with 9 mm), a small primer case when expect a large (45 ACP), crimped primer pockets etc. All this takes time as does press setup such as loading primer tubes, powder filling and charge weight checking, final inspection and put away. With rifle, even worst - add lube and trim. We all do these steps to one degree or another depending on what we shoot and where our brass comes from. Some steps are fixed no matter what we use. I’m hoping that the most significant savings in time would be in actual reloading itself because of the increased efficiency of the press and doing larger batches in the same timeframe.

Does all this sound reasonable or am I expecting too much? What can I expect? I know I will never achieve the full potential of either press with the approach I propose but it’s something I’m very comfortable with. That matters too.

I don’t want to get into a blue vs red discussion. Both should work OK and are both good presses. I could live with either. I just wonder if I will experience significant enough increase in speed without compromising safety and peace of mind to justify the additional expense. What I have now works very well. I just want it to be faster.

As always thanks again in advance for your input.