It’s here! It’s finally here- the new and highly anticipated 8-station turret press from Lyman. This press, the “Brass Smith All-American 8” is a part of the complete lineup of new tools from Lyman under the “Brass Smith” brand. Why has this press been anticipated so highly since its announcement? A few reasons are: the 8-station capacity, cast iron construction, on-press priming system, ambidextrous design, and turret rear support for repeatable sizing and bullet seating. Plus, it’s made right here in the USA! What to know more? Check out this video!

What’s in the box

The Brass Smith All-American 8-station turret comes complete and ready to load ammunition with standard dies. You also get all of the parts needed to prime on-press with both large primers and small primers. Here’s what’s in the box:

Here we have:

1. Box
2. Press assembly
3. Manuals
4. Priming system parts
5. Handle
6. Pivot pin
7. Indexing handle

Assmembly

There are two activities involved in prepping your Brass Smith press for use: assembling the press, and mounting it to your bench. Assembling the press is simple (see video above). You start by installing the upper pivot pin (by means of E-clip), and then put together the priming system. The priming assembly consists of installing the dispenser/block, priming slide, spring, knob, and finally the priming tube and shield. You should be able to put the press together in 5-10 minutes easily. Here’s my All-American 8 assembled before mounting:

Mounting

You can bolt the All-American 8 directly to your bench, or use some sort of pedestal/stand/mount. Since I use the Inline Fabrication Ultramount (with quick change), I obtained a quick change plate for the All-American 8, and was ready to roll in no time. The All-American 8 has three mounting holes, and they happen to be the same as the Lyman T-Mag in spacing, so if you are upgrading from a T-Mag, you should be able to use the same bolts and holes. Here’s the Brass Smith All-American 8 on the Ultramount ready to load:

Loading with the All-American 8

For my first reloading setup, I wanted to focus on pistol cartridges since they take up a lot of stations- and that makes them perfect “8-station turret candidates”. I chose 45 ACP because I had a brand-new set of Lyman 45 ACP dies that were looking at me longingly. Here’s how I setup the turret stations:

• Station 1: Sizing/de-priming, re-priming
• Station 2: Expanding
• Station 3: Powder charging
• Station 4: Bullet seating
• Station 5: Bullet crimping
• Station 6: [empty]
• Station 7: [empty]
• Station 8: [empty]

I’ve owned many reloading presses, including 3-station, 4-station, 5-station, and 7-station variants, but I’ve never owned an 8-station press until the Brass Smith All-American 8 came to the shop. I’ll have to say- you can’t get too many stations, especially on a manually indexed turret. I love the idea that you can leave dies on the press, and load multiple calibers/chamberings using the same turret setup.

The All-American 8 loads quite well! Once I cleaned out the primer tube (you should always do that on a new press) the priming system worked perfectly, and I had no issues getting up to “full turret speed” after getting into the groove. I’m just getting started with this press, and will share more as I get more experience with it. You can also look forward to some rifle loading stories using this press!

If you are looking for a turret with maximum capacity, lifetime solid construction and on-press priming, check out the All-American 8! You’ll find this press at Midsouth Shooters Supply right here. Also check out my story on the Lyman Brass Smith Ideal press here.

I’m off to load more ammo, talk to you all soon! (and make sure you’re subscribed, because the Brass Smith Victory is coming soon too!).

Thanks,
Gavin