Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

TheBrewMaster

TheBrewMaster

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Apr 8, 2011
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SLC, Utah
#1
I want to get started reloading and want to make the most accurate ammo as possible. I see buying all the equipment as an investment and spending a little more upfront would not being an issue as long if it would last longer and could lend itself to making better ammo.

By no means am I limiting myself to these two presses but would like to know what users think.

One thing I like about Dillon is their no BS warranty... and the ability to upgrade to progressive would also be a plus. But I heard that it can wiggle.

I watched a video on youtube and The Forester looks like it's a little snug for anyone with fat fingers and especially if they are loading say 338. Does anyone think it's awkward larger rounds on the Forester?

Thanks
 
#2
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

Apples and bananas.

One is for hundreds of rounds at a time, the other one is for fewer very precisely assembled rounds. If you are loading large quantities you need a progressive press (don't overlook the Hornady).

The press is a just part of the process...Figure out what you want to do and then go for it.

Peace
 
#3
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

+1 on what xfan said.

I'll add to it by petitioning you to consider what your goals are....

Are you interested in benchrest at 100-200 yards, or are you aspiring to be an excellent practical marksman?

If BR is your game, laboring for hour after excruciating hour making a few rounds of ammo with a single stage is for you.

If practical marksmanship is your game, get the progressive and bang out a nice fat batch if ammo in a reasonable amount of time.

Do you want to shoot so you can reload (single stage)? Ir, do you want to reload so you can shoot (progressive)?

I reload to shoot, and make excellent ammo on a Dillon 650. I load my F class ammo on the Dillon, and missed High Master this year by .02% in a terrible wind.
 
#4
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TheBrewMaster</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I watched a video on youtube and The Forester looks like it's a little snug for anyone with fat fingers and especially if they are loading say 338. Does anyone think it's awkward larger rounds on the Forester?

</div></div>

There's plenty of room to work with a .338LM with a Forster, the only thing is its short of height. I just pop the bullet in the neck of the case then feed it into the die before putting it into the shell plate, its really no big deal.
 
#6
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

Look, quality vs quantity is not the issue here. Have both. The RL550B (since you're not afraid to spend once, and cry once) does both. No point in planning to upgrade to what you need in the first place.

You'll have a lot of options, including working just one stage at a time. The Rl550B I've owned for two decades has loaded ammo for myself (and for awhile, a team of ten shooters) that has been capable of delivering the full potential of the shooters and their rifles.

It's the only press I've ever owned, and I have never found myself pining for any other. Just do it.

Greg
 
#8
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

If I could buy a 2nd hand 550 or 650 I most certainly would, but they're as rare as rocking horse shit over here. I'd certainly load .223 and .308 on it and guys who I know have them rate them highly.

You can't get away from the fact though that the Co-Ax is inherently accurate and produces some of the most accurate cases a reloader could wish for. Plus the die interchangeability is worth having it for that alone. I wouldn't get rid of mine for anything.

Buy them both!
 
#9
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

I use the Forster Co-Ax press and Redding dies. Forster sells die lock rings which ensure a snugger fit. I'm only shooting to 1000 yards at present but have confidence my loads would hold up beyond that mark. While some view the single stage press as labor, it is a labor of love. Good luck.
 
#10
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TheBrewMaster</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm sorry I should have said I want to build quality and not quantity.

I shoot at 1500 Yards+

Will redding comp dies fit in the co-ax? </div></div>

If 1500 yard quality then it's very easy, F co-ax. Any standard dies will fit either so yes Redding will work. If you get the ca you will need set of large base holders for the 338lm, they are cheap and easy to change. I suggest small handle option also.
 
#11
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

The CoAx website says the "S" Jaws/case holder will work with the .338 Lapua. The "s" version is standard and comes with the CoAx? Is this not true?


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mark S</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TheBrewMaster</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm sorry I should have said I want to build quality and not quantity.

I shoot at 1500 Yards+

Will redding comp dies fit in the co-ax? </div></div>

If 1500 yard quality then it's very easy, F co-ax. Any standard dies will fit either so yes Redding will work. If you get the ca you will need set of large base holders for the 338lm, they are cheap and easy to change. I suggest small handle option also. </div></div>
 
#12
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TacBlade</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The CoAx website says the "S" Jaws/case holder will work with the .338 Lapua. The "s" version is standard and comes with the CoAx? Is this not true?


</div></div>

You will need the 'LS' jaws sold separately for the .338LM, can also recommend the short handle as someone else has mentioned.
 
#13
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jagged77</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TacBlade</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The CoAx website says the "S" Jaws/case holder will work with the .338 Lapua. The "s" version is standard and comes with the CoAx? Is this not true?


</div></div>

You will need the 'LS' jaws sold separately for the .338LM, can also recommend the short handle as someone else has mentioned. </div></div>

That is good to know, as I am in the process of setting up my reloading gear I got for Christmas! Thanks!

I got the short handle and curved handle this guy makes for the coax:
http://www.inlinefabrication.com/
 
#14
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

Those handles look real nice!! http://www.inlinefabrication.com/Other_press_levers.html

Right off the bat I will be reloading 300 Win Mag.

Does anyone know how hard it is to reload this brass with the short handle?

Has anyone noticed the price difference between ordering the Forester press directly off the site. http://www.forsterproducts.com/catalog.asp?prodid=700682

And off say midway? http://www.midwayusa.com/product/265719/forster-co-ax-single-stage-press

You save in this case over $160!!

If anyone here loads 300WM I would be interested to hear what kind of dies you use and why.


Thanks to everyone for putting in their .02
 
#15
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TheBrewMaster</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Right off the bat I will be reloading 300 Win Mag.

Does anyone know how hard it is to reload this brass with the short handle?

<span style="color: #000099">There's nothing to it, I load .300WM and .338 LM and provided the cases are correctly lubricated there's no real effort involved, the co-ax design offers a good mechanical advantage. I recommend using Imperial Wax.</span>

If anyone here loads 300WM I would be interested to hear what kind of dies you use and why.
<span style="color: #000099">I use a Lee Collet die for neck sizing (cheap, accurate and work extremely well) and for bumping the shoulders back every other firing or so I use a Redding body die. </span>

</div></div>
 
#17
Re: Dillon BL 550 Vs Forester Co-ax B3

The long handle is not intended to deliver additional force. It is intended to deliver the same force while allowing the task to be accomplished with less effort. It's about hanging in there for the long haul.

If you need to push hard for any handloading task, that's generally a clear warning you're doing something wrong.

I'll rephrase something from earlier. The Coax and others like it are machines of extreme precison. For what we tend to do, they are overkill, or putting it differently, they provide a degree of precision that few of us either need or can fully utilize.

For example; the kind of runout/concentricity it can deliver is essentially wasted on any rifle which employs a SAAMI chamber spec. You can get it utterly perfect, or you can do it just like the commercial folks do (and they are no slouches, BTW), and your rifle will shoot either indistinguishably. It takes a considerably tighter neck dimension to give good concentricity any real meaning.

Once you get past that, you begin to recognize that the other differences, whatever they may be, will get lost in the fog of indeterminate and inescapable small influences that the environment imposes on the bullet's flight once the trajectory reaches out to several hundred yards.

It matters not whether the rifle and shooter are suberb, or just pretty good; Ma Nature's last name is Murphy.

As G. David Tubb once explained to me, a good 1/2MOA rifle at 100yd is a good 2MOA rifle at 1000yd. Same rifle, same ammo, same shooter; the difference is the environment's pattern of deception and diversion. It just is.

For somebody who's going for their second or third screamer patch at 100yd, that kind of precison has real meaning. For the rest of us, the Dillon will do very nicely.

Greg
 
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