I would like hornady but am open to other suggestions. Just curious if anyone here is wanting to sell. I am a beginner and want to get into reloading. I have most of the auxiliary equipment except a press. So Let me know =).
Beginner Reloading Press
- Thread starter GungHo
- Start date
If money is tight there is nothing wrong with a RCBS Rock Chucker. Get the Hornady L-N-L Die bushings for it and you'll be making quality ammo in no time.
thos is what I got....
www.midwayusa.com
Lyman Ultimate Reloading Press Kit System
The Lyman Ultimate Reloading System is the only kit you’ll ever need! Outfit an entire reloading bench with premium products designed to...
www.midwayusa.com
If you are really looking at it as a "beginner" press, which implies you are going to swap it at some point, just pick a color and go. As you get more involved your beginner press will stay on the bench and be used for dedicated depriming and one-off type stuff so you are not wasting any money. My first press was purchased in 1993. It is still mounted to a bench and gets used all the time despite having 3 others.
The only thing I would not do is start with a progressive.
The only thing I would not do is start with a progressive.
This is what I recommend. As you become more advanced, you’ll need more advanced equipment.
I started with a Lee Classic Cast and Lee dies. I still have it ( but not the Lee dies) along with three other presses, among them a Bonanza COAX, a Redding T7 and and an RCBS....
On sale at midway right now. This is what I just got
www.midwayusa.com
Lyman Brass Smith All-American 8 Station Turret Reloading Press
Lyman – an innovator in the field of case preparation and reloading – has introduced the Brass Smith 8-Station Turret Press, the most...
www.midwayusa.com
I have other progressive presses and an arbor press with hand dies for loading precision C/F. I bought a Rock Chucker for full length resizing and shoulder bumping. I was/am really impressed with the Rock Chucker. It is a stout, brick shithouse. If you are going to go single stage to begin with, I'd recommend it as well.
You have to first ask what is your intention. How large of case are you going to have to size? If you want to just practice and make hunting ammo an RockChunker will be more than sufficient and can be had a a very reasonable price. As mentioned they will serve you well even in more advanced endeavors later and there are many that are 30+ years old, so they will last. If you have the intention of getting into precision shooting, then it might make sense to go ahead and get something like the CoAxis up front.
There will be zero difference in "ammo quality" making it on a Rock Chucker vs a Co-Ax.. All your getting is a different feature set. Ive load 10's of thousands of rounds of precision ammo on a Rock Chucker for many years with Forster dies. I have a Rock Chucker, Co-Ax, 550 and 2x650's. They all have different features, but ALL can load precision ammo when setup properly.
If i already got hornady dies then shouldnt i just get a hornady press? Can i use the dies on the coax?
As mentioned, they will work. A bunch of people use buy Hornady rings for their RCBS, Forster, Redding, etc. dies to use in the Co-Ax because it makes it easier to get them in and out without having to mess with the set screw. I tried it but found some of the Hornady rings were not finished properly and put a small cant in the die causing concentrically problems.. For the most part any common die will work.
Some things to keep in mind with the Co-Ax: 1) The priming system. While very good, it does not work well with shallow primer pockets. Lapua brass will not have a problem, but all the other brass I have tried requires the pockets to be uniformed to avoid having some of them not fully seat. Some have reported problems setting up the jaws for the priming system as well. Read the instructions, but the bottom line is don't set them too tight against the brass. 2) The long handle is kind of a pain in the rear and overkill. Get the short handle. 3) If you buy a used one, make sure it has the updated shellholder jaw housing. 4) Look at the drill template before mounting it. If you set it too close to the bench it will drag on the front of the bench when operated.
Some things to keep in mind with the Co-Ax: 1) The priming system. While very good, it does not work well with shallow primer pockets. Lapua brass will not have a problem, but all the other brass I have tried requires the pockets to be uniformed to avoid having some of them not fully seat. Some have reported problems setting up the jaws for the priming system as well. Read the instructions, but the bottom line is don't set them too tight against the brass. 2) The long handle is kind of a pain in the rear and overkill. Get the short handle. 3) If you buy a used one, make sure it has the updated shellholder jaw housing. 4) Look at the drill template before mounting it. If you set it too close to the bench it will drag on the front of the bench when operated.
I've owned several RCBS and Hornady single stage presses over the years. They've all loaded accurate ammo. But they require a lot of pulls on the handle to produce ammo. I've decided to replace my Hornady Iron Press with a Dillon 550C with Whidden floating tool heads since I don't have the time or patience to pull the handle multiple times to produce a round. I'll still use my FX-120i scale with Auto Trickler and Throw for powder drops. Let me know if interested. Have the Iron press, auto priming system, bunch of QD fittings plus a Inline Fab QD mount. Probably less than 1000 rounds on it.
Thank you for the offer. However, I am only interested in single-stage presses at the moment. Maybe i'll just get the RCB offered but it seems like you all prefer the very expensive Forster and Hornady Iron Press. Please let me know if you guys have them.
Last edited:
The Hornady Iron Press is a single stage press. But it can be used with an automatic primer feed, which is why I decided to buy one. The Co-Ax, the Rock Chucker are all good single stage presses. I tried a lot of single stage presses before deciding to go with the Iron Press. All will load accurate ammo. The big negative is time. It takes a lot of time to load 100 rounds on a single stage.
If you want to spend money while still being able to get the fundamentals down (a progressive makes that difficult), get a solid single stage that will outlive your kids (e.g., Rock Chucker Supreme) AND an arbor press (K&M or similar). The arbor presses use in-line dies. A L.E. Wilson seater with micrometer (theirs, not Sinclair - Sinclair's is meh) runs about the same as a competition seater. Once you use an arbor press for seating you won't ever go back so no point in buying regular seating dies that you will sell later. I know you already have Hornady dies, but guessing your caliber selection will grow over time). The cost of the RC Supreme + K&M arbor press is less than a Co-Ax.
The Forster Co-Ax is a great press. I don't expect to sell mine unless I give up reloading. However, I do think it has some things about it that distract from learning the process which is why I do not consider it a 'beginner' press.
The Forster Co-Ax is a great press. I don't expect to sell mine unless I give up reloading. However, I do think it has some things about it that distract from learning the process which is why I do not consider it a 'beginner' press.
I'll be the outlier as usual... I load quality ammo on my Lee Breech Lock Challenger press. I've had good luck so far with lee collet neck dies and FL sizer, and I use a forester micrometer seater die. The press is about 70 bux.
Last edited:
You can’t go wrong with the Forster Co-ax or the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme.
I will say I’m personally not a fan of the co-ax style press. I prefer to have my handle set off to my “strong side” versus in the middle of the press.
I ended up grabbing a MEC Marksman with the MEC stand for it. I love the press, it’s operation is buttery smooth and I get great results in keeping good concentricity on my cases and seated bullets.
If you get the Rock Chucker...make sure you grab a “primer catcher” from Amazon. The factory primer catcher is a joke and will drop spent primers way too frequently.
I personally wouldn’t recommend buying a Lee Breech Lock Challenger press without knowing you’ll probably replace it quickly. It was the first press I ever used. After only 1 year of use my ram became sooooo incredibly sloppy it was ridiculous. I kept it and it decaps all my brass now, but that’s all I use it for.
I will say I’m personally not a fan of the co-ax style press. I prefer to have my handle set off to my “strong side” versus in the middle of the press.
I ended up grabbing a MEC Marksman with the MEC stand for it. I love the press, it’s operation is buttery smooth and I get great results in keeping good concentricity on my cases and seated bullets.
If you get the Rock Chucker...make sure you grab a “primer catcher” from Amazon. The factory primer catcher is a joke and will drop spent primers way too frequently.
I personally wouldn’t recommend buying a Lee Breech Lock Challenger press without knowing you’ll probably replace it quickly. It was the first press I ever used. After only 1 year of use my ram became sooooo incredibly sloppy it was ridiculous. I kept it and it decaps all my brass now, but that’s all I use it for.
I like my T-7 quite a bit. It's a rock-solid turret press. In case you're wondering, turret presses are essentially single-stage presses that allow you to rotate dies into place instead of removing one and replacing with another. If you're only loading for a couple/few rifles, then this works well. You can also get extra turrets, but on some presses, changing them out is not all that easy.
Still, as much as I like the T-7 I'm in the "considering" stage for a Forster Co Ax - but that will have to wait until I get my new reloading room set up.
Still, as much as I like the T-7 I'm in the "considering" stage for a Forster Co Ax - but that will have to wait until I get my new reloading room set up.
Only two (2) I would purchase (and I did!!!) :
A) REDDING BOSS on Sale $135.00 at MidwayUSA
OR
B) Forster Co-Ax In Stock at Grafs
A) REDDING BOSS on Sale $135.00 at MidwayUSA
OR
B) Forster Co-Ax In Stock at Grafs
I started out with a Forster and quickly moved to a Dillon 550C. I would strongly suggest you look at the Dillon if you can afford it. It can produce ammo that is just as good as a Forster (at a price premium) and is only slightly more mechanically complex. It's also a lot faster than a single stage.
