Is the M Press any good?

[kengel2]

Saw it was about half off some places. Been looking to upgrade the lee turret press.

I only reload rifle rounds right now.

Ive read a few threads but it seems like it has very mixed reviews. Im thinking most people are trying to load 9mm and its not working for that.

 

[Supergyro]

I had one for a short time after picking it up for about half price. Unfortunately it was not a good press for my use, for a few reasons. It's not compatible with Forster seating dies, at least for the 6 Dasher. The wider knurled portion of the die contacts sides of the shell holder recess before the die is fully screwed into position. To get around this issue, I thought I would use my Redding Competition shell holders in the spreadable jaw-style shell holders that come with the press. It worked well, up until I had a stuck case and the jaws let go of the shell holder. If I did not have another press to put the die into and pull the stuck case, I would have been up a creek.

It did produce good shoulder bump and base to ogive numbers though. No issues with consistency.

 

[kengel2]

I had one for a short time after picking it up for about half price. Unfortunately it was not a good press for my use, for a few reasons. It's not compatible with Forster seating dies, at least for the 6 Dasher. The wider knurled portion of the die contacts sides of the shell holder recess before the die is fully screwed into position. To get around this issue, I thought I would use my Redding Competition shell holders in the spreadable jaw-style shell holders that come with the press. It worked well, up until I had a stuck case and the jaws let go of the shell holder. If I did not have another press to put the die into and pull the stuck case, I would have been up a creek.

It did produce good shoulder bump and base to ogive numbers though. No issues with consistency.

Just thinking about upgrading the Lee Turret Press. Maybe Ill stick with a Rock Chucker or something.

 

[Mad_Charlie]

Just thinking about upgrading the Lee Turret Press. Maybe Ill stick with a Rock Chucker or something.

Personally, I think that a Rock Chucker, even a well used one, would be a great improvement over a lee turret.

 

[COprecisionhunter]

Older post I know, but I figured I'd share my experience.

I reload SA cartridges for precision rifle competitions and LA magnum hunting cartridges. I wanted a Forster Co-Ax but at the time they were hard to find and the FA M-Press was significantly cheaper (you get what you pay for?). I believe the general design of the M-Press is well thought out and it sounds gimmicky but I appreciated the LED light that shines down on the cartridge. The problem is the manufacturing quality/tolerances. The main cartridge platform (where the shell plates sit) has a large amount of play front to back and up and down on the two vertical guide columns. Because of these loose tolerances I had a lot of trouble getting repeatable resizing and seating dimensions. I had to be very careful to try and apply the exact same amount of pressure to the reloading arm at the bottom of the stroke and the best results for shoulder set back and seating depth I could achieve was +/- 0.004". I know that sounds like a very small amount but the 40 year old single stage pacific press I was using previously would hold +/- 0.0005". For some people this may not be a huge issue, but when I need to bump back a shoulder 0.002" and the press doesn't achieve this consistently and then the bolt is stiff to close or won't close during a rifle match the press is not going to work for me. Also, I had a heck of time trying to get dies to stay set in the die-block. No matter what tension I used on the set screw the die always worked loose.

I did have a good experience with the FA customer service. They sent me a brand new press; however, unfortunately it was of the same quality and I ended up returning it and found a Forster Co-Ax that I've been completely happy with.

This is just my experience and I'm not trying to imply anything about the quality of FA products. I know a lot of people use their products and have great experiences!