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Lyman / Mark 7 Apex 10

Cardboard Assassin

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 6, 2020
594
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Canada
Anyone have one of these? I'm shooting more and more and while I love reloading I am trying to streamline things for time saving purposes.

I am currently loading on a Dillon 650 (which I would probably keep as I have multiple toolheads / case feeder etc etc and I could use it for little jobs) but the Apex 10 is a pretty awesome piece of kit and has enough stations that there are no compromises (swaging / powder check / separate seating & crimping which from what I have read is deffo the way to go).

I watched some videos and the Apex is pretty involved to switch calibers so I would only do that to do a large volume . This press would be setup almost exclusively for loading 9mm, maybe once a year I would switch toolheads to process - ie decap / size / swage - pre cleaned 9mm brass before cleaning it again (I know it is two passes but it keeps all the crap away from the press and the loaded ammo doesn't have lube on it). Bulk 223 would be the same deal.

I would be purchasing this and running manually initially to get it setup / get a feel for it with a view to automating. I would add the suite of sensors as that is part of the attraction (swage sense / primer orientation etc etc).

My questions to anyone who has the Apex 10:

1) My main question is how has the priming system performed? I have read a LOT of reviews and the one negative thing I kept seeing was priming issues - I know not everyone is mechanically minded so that could be a factor but if its going to be a heart break I don't want it.

2) Did you get the digital powder measure? If so how has it performed?

3) My current presses live in my unheated garage but I figure the Apex 10 with all the extra tech / gadgetry really needs to live somewhere more hospitable / heated - where does yours live at and how has the reliability been?

4) What dies are you using? FW Arms seem to be the go to for this machine - anyone running these?

Lyman / Mark 7 are working on another new press which is pretty revolutionary (Genesys) and I am keeping an eye on that but they have been saying it is just about to be released now for some time which makes me nervous (hopefully they are getting the final gremlins ironed out and it will be awesome). It is more of a out of the box solution with everything included and a bunch of new technology (separate motors for indexing / moving the toolhead etc etc) as opposed to the Apex 10 which is more of an regular / proven design where you can start basic (ie manually) and add tech until you are fully automated. The Genesys cannot be run manually which is a downside for me (if the press is doing something funky it is good to be able to run it manually to aid in troubleshooting).

https://www.mark7reloading.com/the-mark-7-genesys
 
I’ve thought about doing a write up on mine, but wanted to wait until I had about 6k-8k of precision rounds loaded on it. I’m probably only @ 2k

Short review… They’re remarkably precise, but you’re in for a bad time if you are inattentive. Complaints re: priming system seem to be dated, mine feeds & functions flawlessly. It will take you 1-5k rds to pick up all the nuances, depending on previous experience with progressives and how mechanically inclined you are. Loading in 2 steps on a 750 is probably a better solution for most precision shooters.
 
1) My main question is how has the priming system performed?
Feeds flawlessly, zero flipped primers. Doesn’t like seating F205M or F205MAR, cups are too soft(but failure rate below 1%).
2) Did you get the digital powder measure?
No.
where does yours live at and how has the reliability been?
Indoors, wouldn’t want it in an uncontrolled environment.
4) What dies are you using? FW Arms seem to be the go to for this machine - anyone running these?
FW Arms decapper sucks, has failed to decap quite a bit. FW Arms lock rings also suck, they have to be torqued very tight or they’ll back off and the die will back out. Both of those will cause huge frustrations on any progressive. Other dies… I’d have to do a write up.
 
I’ve thought about doing a write up on mine, but wanted to wait until I had about 6k-8k of precision rounds loaded on it. I’m probably only @ 2k

Short review… They’re remarkably precise, but you’re in for a bad time if you are inattentive. Complaints re: priming system seem to be dated, mine feeds & functions flawlessly. It will take you 1-5k rds to pick up all the nuances, depending on previous experience with progressives and how mechanically inclined you are. Loading in 2 steps on a 750 is probably a better solution for most precision shooters.

What makes you say the 750 is in general a better choice? I expected the rl1100 or super 1050 to be the main comparison
 
You can get a 750 to make incredibly precise ammo as well, but they’re much simpler than an A10. An 1100 or 1050 is a better comparison, but for similar reasons as the A10, most precision shooters would be better off with a 750 than an 1100/1050 as well.

The relationship between the number of processes and the complexity of operation (read: probability of user error) is parabolic for progressive presses. A press performing 10 processes isn’t twice the complexity of a press performing 5 processes… generally, it’s much greater than twice the complexity. Kind of depends on what you’re doing though. E.g. brushing necks or a second mandrel is pretty hard to screw up
 
I loaded on a hornady progressive for a few years, eventually moved on because the priming system was awful and I broke a bunch of lnl inserts, so I have some experience using progressive machines.

What's the actual max coal you can load on the mark 7? All the info just says 308, which is not helpful
 
2.800” is spec per M7, but M7 has loaded 6.5 Swede and there’s a guy on YT loading 7.62x54. I tested for max COAL using a Lyman Pro Seater and got 130smk out to 3.000” without issue (could probably go out to 3.050” if I backed my seater out another rev). Any seater with a sliding collar will be much shorter though. The shell plate begins cycling before the tool head has reached “TDC”

IMG_6708.jpeg


I think I just need to do a write up
 
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