Righto folks, if one was to upgrade the single stage press from the Lee, which one?????
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Righto folks, if one was to upgrade the single stage press from the Lee, which one?????
Lets skip the "double the price" comments if possible, unless it adds significant value
I have a Rockchucker, had it for years now, probably be able give it to the great grandchildren one day working as well as when I bought it, don't know anything about the coax sorry.
Just found this in my mailbox, timing is everything
it may be of some help.
https://www.longrangehunting.com/thr...7#post-1568138
Vice grips and a hammer would be a step up from anything Lee.
No experience with either press but have other Forster gear and it functions well. I have a Redding Big Boss and couldn’t see any reason to ever need another press.
Forster.
Case holder floats, dies float, great for consistent runout. Has a consistent priming setup.
And a good feel to it when seating projectiles. You can notice anything different just by the feel.
4 screws into your bench and doesn't take up much room.
If you ever go to loading ridiculously large cartridges like a 50BMG you can change the handle.
I recently bought a fixed plate shell holder that you can use standard case holders in. I needed it for a smaller than normal cartridge.
Bought the co-ax in 91-92 haven't had any breakages or problems apart from the paint fading.
I have iirc lost the springs that work the case holder jaws once or twice. They are a bit fiddly and can fire off to little hidy places, even tho not under great tension. [emoji16]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e98cc5eff8.jpg
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I also run a large Progressive Press for pistol and some rifle stuff, but figure the new rifle desevse a new press too. My 12 year old Lee single stage (loaded over 7,000 rounds) with Lee dies can produce <0.4moa ammo in factory rifles if I do my part. Also worth noting that when I've needed parts for it, I've called them and they direct ship to NZ and in the case of a defect part, all at their cost (remember this is a NZ$80 press they shipped a US$15 part at to NZ).Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwijames
No real help here, dont own a Coax press, I do have a lot of their other gear though.
I found it concerning from the attached add on post from jakewire regarding their customer service, I have found them to be excellent, When I bought my coax primer the included large primer assembly had a weak spring . a quick talk ( that they initiated via conference call ) had them sending a replacement.
I have bought stems and dies and bushings from them direct no problems too.
Word to the wise, the ultra micro stem and the bench rest stem arent interchangeable.
Some of their stuff is a bit proprietary but they are aware of their downsides and try to improve.... the coax seater is a bitch to recharge the primer tubes.... they now have a nice plastic device that makes recharging a breeze!
And as has been said Lee make some good stuff too.... I like the way they think outside the square ( just like Forster ) and end up with some proprietary gear.... the Lee multy stage presses and their collet die being to prime examples.
Just to throw a curve ball though.... T 7's are bloody nice for similar money, a mate got one and had a couple of thou skimmed of the turret head ..... took out all the play, very nice!
Good info.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnd
I have a Hornady Lock and Lock 5 station progressive that I get great results from for the 260 and 308. Very consitant powder thrower and would use this for the new rifle if I wasn't going to try and shoot 2,500m :)
Rockchucker type press is good. Redding boss is good. Co ax is very good. Only one thing I found with co ax is that the new hornady seating dies drop that inner sleeve down so far that the co ax is awkward with it. Conventional seating dies are fine though. As somebody already stated; the co ax floats the dies so everything centres nicely. I also like to use Lee hand press with Lee primer seater ad a seperate operation sometimes. Lee neck size collet die sometimes too. I have no regrets with my forster co ax. Its very good.
Sorry for the digression, but what was the deal with this? Do they usually have play in the turret head? How do you skim a couple of thou off and how does that help? I remember Phil at Mainly Hunting in Wellington was a bit frustrated with the T7 they had in there - I think for a similar reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnd
I've had both. Firstly the Rochucker for about twenty odd years; a good reliable press. Replaced it with the Co-Ax some time back now on a whim when I was earning a lot more than I do now. The Co-Ax is very well made, has tight tolerances and is very easy to use. I really appreciate the primer catcher. You should use the Forster die lock rings with it though because they're made of alloy and won't wear into the die slot on the Co-Ax like steel lock rings can. I've found slightly better concentricity of loaded rounds with the Co-Ax. Overall, if you can afford it, go the Co-Ax, if not then the Rockchucker will still do everything you want.
There is a VERY SMALL amount of tilt to allow for the rotation of the tool head, it sits on a bushing (IIRC), he took it to a engineering co he used to work for and they machined the bushing down. I cant comment on how they did it ( I have zero tooling skills ) but the end result was less play in the fitting, if he ever sells it I would be first in line.Quote:
Originally Posted by WillB
Lymans turret presses used to have an adjustable bolt at the rear of the press/turret to adjust the play out.
Personally I have a redding big boss 2 and it does a great job, theres just something about a T7 that I like. Maybe its the satisfying clunk as it rotates to the next station.:pacman::pacman:
It is probably worth reminding the reloading fraternity that some of us routinely develop 0.5 - 1.0 MOA loads with our single stage Lee presses, cheap arse beam scales, various bits of budget 'kit' and cheap arse rifles too (and we prove it to our mates).Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwijames
And we reload a lot.
Just sayin'. Big and expensive is not always better, in measureable terms, for hunting.
As you were.
Maybe add the newer cast iron Lee press onto your list - it gets very favourable reviews on the net for concentricity and general build quality.
Yes the good old Lee loader with a hammer, not much different from the flash as Wilson in line die set. They certainly teach you the fundamentals very well.
Not always better but seldom worse. It isn't always about money either. Some expensive things, including reloading gear, are just nicer to use. If you can afford it and enjoy using those more expensive things then why not? "You're a long time dead" as the saying goes so why deprive yourself if you can afford it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyblown
Don't get me wrong @10-Ring, I love nice stuff. I've lost count of the amount of times I've stood in front of various makes of presses and scales and so on and nearly walked out with a bundle of goodies... One day, it will happen, sooner rather than later if @Wingman keeps sending me videos of his very cool new set up and how smooth and fast it is...
The question of affordability and "deprivation" is a good one, something that's very different from person to person obviously. I guess it's got a lot to do with the way you are programmed when you are young. I think the primary reason I haven't committed to high-quality super funky reloading gear is not because I can't afford it (I can), but because I was always taught that functional is more important than flash. (Maybe replace the word "taught" with "brainwashed".) This was when I was a teenager being taught by my grandfather how to reload on a shoestring and still bring home a fat deer of an evening. And that approach to life in our house is applied pretty much across the board, even though I hated it as a kid and I'm pretty sure my kids hate it now! We are just a chip off the old block after all...
Funny though, because put me in a situation where I must choose gear to survive a year in the remote outback, and I will buy the most expensive fridge freezer I can find (Engels - I have three), and then spend a small fortune on building a rocksolid auxiliary triple battery system with Redarc charge controllers, with solar.... Because the risk of warm beer is a risk I would never ever be prepared to take... Whereas my grandfather would have dug a deep hole and tried to keep the ice frozen inside a polystyrene box in 35°C, for a fortnight.
Can't deny though there is an element of (probably misguided) pride at being able to put together accurate rounds with a minimum of kit. I also like its portability - I can take my reloading bench into the bush and mount it on a Black & Decker Workmate and sit under a tree.
I'm reading a book at the moment about the early days of benchrest competition. Whilst benchrest is of no interest to me whatsoever, reading about how those guys acheived fantastic accuracy with 1950s and 60s kit, reloading at the competition under a tarp with their nerdy mates... kinda puts my old Grandpa's approach to life in perspective. They didn't really know any different.
Anyway. I'll stop waffling.
The new Hornady Iron press looks very good as well.
Flyblown,
Super accurate ammo can certainly be loaded with less expensive reloading gear if you're meticulous and take your time to get everything right.
There's nothing wrong with the No.8 fencing wire mentality. Our pioneering forefathers had to improvise because they had no choice. It worked well too most of the time. However, most of us these days do have a choice. Some like to load fast because of the volume they have to reload, some just like nicely engineered gear etc.
My Wilson hand dies and arbour press which I use to load my 6.5 Creedmoor and formerly a 6PPC certainly produce consistently more accurate ammunition than my Co-Ax press does with the Redding bushing dies. Does it make a difference in the field for hunting? Probably not at long range and certainly not at shorter hunting ranges. I use the 6.5 CM for target shooting as well though, so there, every bit of extra accuracy helps. Of course you have to have a rifle that can take advantage of that extra accurate ammo, otherwise you're pushing it uphill.
It's all fun at the end of day.
Seeing as I now own the very same press that came out of Mainly Hunting I shall take it to get it skimmed at some stageQuote:
Originally Posted by johnd
Thanks for the advice
Cool as! I learnt to reload on that press. I have an old rock chucker now which is great but so is the co ax. You can’t go wrong
I went straight from a lee loader and hammer (just given it away with my .303) to a Co-Ax. A mate from the Warren Page era told me that was the best and I was fortunate enough to be able to afford it. So, I haven't had to buy again - only got one press - I don't understand the techniques needed to use a screw in sort of press and get the best out of it. I suspect the Co-Ax is easier to use and foolproof for someone like me with limited knowledge or understanding.
If you're already getting 0.5 MOA with your old press why change ?
@10-Ring Thanks for the tip about the aluminium Forster rings. I've used steel Sinclair ones and thought the Forster were cheap lite alt.