How many of you use Arbor presses and straight line dies.What are the advantages and disavantages to using a set up like this?

I don't own one but am in the stage of buying one. I don't believe there is disadvantages with one. The bench rest shooters are doing excellent in load development with them-Wilson dies and a couple of others.

I am considering a set for my .30-338/arbor press and see just where mine goes as word has it that this caliber was used at one time for the 1000 yd. Does that mean my rifle is ready for that? Hardly. Just something else to do just to satisfy the curious mind.

I have a Sinclair arbor press and use Wilson custom dies with it. You can't beat an in-line press for precision work.

Most all Br shooters use inline dies and an arbor press for bullet seating, but use a standard 7/8-14 press for sizing. There was a time when most neck sized only with inline dies, but that time is gone. Thing is BR shooters run very high pressures in thier shooting(60,000psi and higher). At these pressures, you simply have to FL size every time you pull the trigger. Dies are cut to size just under chamber dimensions and thereby not overwork the brass. I have ppc brass with over 100 firings on it. Wilson seating dies are no more custom than RCBS or Redding, but IMO they do as a general rule produce more consistant and straighter ammo. The best seating die is one that is cut with the same chamber reamer that cut the chamber in your rifle, but custom dies like this get pricy.

I use a K&N,..love it. No better way to get straight rounds.

I use an arbor press for my Benchrest group gun and Hunter Br gun. However, like pointblank said we use std 7/8-14 press die for fl sizing.

quote:

Originally posted by Burke:
How many of you use Arbor presses and straight line dies.What are the advantages and disavantages to using a set up like this?

Burke,
If your rifle has a large chamber you may find that your fired brass will not fit into either your sizer or your seater. That is not really a fault of the arbor press dies but is a reality of some chambers. My offender is a 7mm Rem Mag.
But I still prefer to load many rounds that way.
I could never get by with just the arbor press since I use a lot of once fired cases from ranges that need to be FL sized. I also have multiple rifles in the same caliber and I FL resize to ensure the loads will always chamber if the ammo is not loded for a specific rifle.

I have and use the Wilson dies in 6 PPC, 6 Rem, 6.5/284 and .308. I find the loads to be excellent, but the dies must be perfectly fitted to your chamber. The is a simplicity which is appealing, and the feel is enhanced which is a bonus. I am very partial to the bushing dies, and hand priming. When looking to shave a 1/10 of an inch off your groups, this may be the place to turn.

I use the Wilson straight line seater for .22-250, 6ppc, 7-08, 7mmRM, .308, and .30-06 .

Using the Sinclair press - several observations:

The lever holding it's location - I replaced it with a longer (home-made) one to hold securely.

Pressing the bullets in is a place where if you can feel the process you KNOW that each one is consistant with the others - easy to do.

Getting consistant low run-out of the bullet is largly a function of seating but also a function of neck-sizing. For my shooting runout of .002 on the neck or bullet is good, .001 is not better. I routinely achieve .001 to .002 with the Lee Collet die and the Wilson seater.

I had a friend measure the neck perpendicularity (with the base) of a .30-06 I neck-sized (conventional neck die) in my RCBS JR2 press - for the length of the neck it was out only by not as much as a .001". That gives me confidence in the press-die combination for neck sizing. (The die was tightened down and then loosened 1/8 turn to help.)

I have used Wilson dies for 222, 6mm PPC, 22-250 and 22 PPC with both a Sinclair and a B-Square press. I have also used them with a small mallet out varmint hunting. Works both ways just fine.

I gather from this discussion that using arbor presses is more about the hand dies than the press itself. I don't see how a rack and pinion arbor press is as smooth as a well built press like the CoAx, for example.

I wonder if one could machine a "dummy" solid die blank with a flat bottom, remove the shell holder jaws, etc, from the forster, and use it with hand dies like the wilsons, etc.? Might be fun to try.

Andy - I have no explanation for it. It just FEELS more sensitive to the friction of stuffing the bullet into the neck. YMMV.