Hello everybody,new guy here.I have a RCBS junior press that has seen better days.At he top of stroke it has about 1/16 of play,I am having problems with case necks running-out as much as .007-.008.Some as little as .002.Avrg. is about .004-.005.My question is twofold,even with the press wear shouldent the Sizing die still keep the necks true to the case? Also,how critical is this runout to accuracy?The way i see it if the case is not true the bullet will not enter the barrel straight,and thus hurt accuracy.Another thing i would like to ask is,what brand of press would be a good choice? I saw a Forster in Cabelas anybody know about these?Any other good choices?
Thanks all!

Try this:
Forget the wear in the press

Forget about the runout

Forget that you ever heard this word.

Load a few rounds and see how they group. Workup a load ignoring these things and I have a sneaking suspicion that everything will turn out just right!

Runout might be an issue but more often than not the benefit of solving the issue is not worth it.

BTW....welcome to accurate reloading.....post number 1!!!

Vapodog has answered correctly, that's the end of this post!

rascals, I second Vapo's welcome to AR, and his advice. Having said that, I doubt your runout is due to the play in your press--highly doubt it. If you do a search of the forum, or if he chimes in here, Kraky has excellently explained the best way to set up dies to minimize runout.

He, or at least me, call it the Kraky method....

I like to see minimal runout in my loaded rounds, and I have the Sinclair concentricity gauge to measure it, but often I build loads which shoot really great, and when checking some of the same batch after discovering they shoot well, the runout is often more than what I set up to get if I measure everything before testing some loads.

Good Shooting--Don

Rascals, it is hard to say whether your runout will have a noticable affect on your accuracy, there are just too many variables included, not least how your chamber is cut. But I know the feeling of wondering whether a reloading problem might be the gremlin showing up in your group size... For that reason, I decided to try to improve my reloading techniques, and have actually come out the other side of my endeavour with much improved groups. Was it the reduced runout which did the trick?? In all honesty, I don't know. But all the little improvements together seem to have helped quite a bit.

I still check runout on my reloads, but more as a check on the quality of my reloading process, than to be able to conclude that a certain amount of runout translates into such and such increase in group size. If I get little to no runout, I know I don't need to worry about that part, should I have a problem with my reloads.

I personally use the Forster CoAx press, which I believe is the one you enquired about. It is without a doubt the "Mercedes" of reloading presses, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. It loads very straight ammo, and is oh so smooth to operate!! That said, it has its idiosyncracies. It works best with cases of moderate length, cases of .375 H&H length are possible, but nothing much larger than that. It also requires you use either Forster or (better) Hornady die lock rings for your dies, so there is an extra expense for you.

One of the tricks in avoiding runout, is to use a sizing die without an expander. In particular a FL sizing die modified to have an internal neck diameter allowing you to size without the use of an expander is a super setup in terms of runout (not) produced. I use Forster FL sizing dies, and have them modified by Forster for the princely sum of $10 per die plus shipping. I routinely size with these dies in my CoAx producing less than .001" runout.

After that, you need a first class seating die. The Forster BR Seater (not necessarily with the micrometer option) is about as good a seating die as you can get for the money. The Redding Competition Seater is as good, and better finished than the Forster, but also considerably more expensive.

- mike

I use RCBS water soluble case lube. I found that when I slop on too much of this liquid lube on the neck and shoulder I get increased case runnout.

I tumble my cases in a can with a patch saturated with this case lube. If I put too much lube on the patch the cases get a thick coating of lube. To reduce the case neck runnout I wipe the case neck and shoulder with a paper towel just before the case is sized. Too much lube will also cause shoulder dents.

Now I don't know if this is your problem, but check it out. You may have too much or a non uniform coat of lube on the case neck.

And, I don't think case neck runnot really matters in terms of accuracy. At least the knowledge people have told me that .003 case neck run out has no effect on accuracy. And I believe it. The most important factor on accuracy is the human factor.

Some don`t like them but the Lee "collet dies" will almost eliminate runout. They neck size only though.

I'm not sure that the press is the cause of the runout, but if the press has enough wear that it slops around you should buy a new press.

Check the local want ads, ebay, or Craig's List for presses. Lots of guys buy them but use them very little before losing interest, then in a couple of years they decide to clean out the garage and will sell them for a song. If you do very little "heavy" resizing, then almost any press is serviceable (RCBS Partner, Lee aluminum O-frame, etc. Heavier work is better done on something like the Lyman Crusher, RCBS Rockchucker, or similar cast iron O-frame press. Most of them are as good as the next, but the two presses from Redding may be among the best.

Turret presses are great for light work, but I always use a single-station press for hard jobs. Anyone who owns a turret should also own an O-frame.

Well, I think you'd only need ONE press, a turret -- IF you got the Lee Classic Turret that is: It's plenty solid for SERIOUS work (being made of cast-iron it's a heavy-duty rather than a light-duty press) and it can be used as a single-stage OR a semi-progressive. And due to it being differently-designed than all other turret presses I've seen, it has none of the "flex" problems the others in theory have.

With a Lee Classic Turret press, I think it'd be a waste of money to ALSO get a single-stage press...whether it was a Lee Classic "O" frame press or some other brand "O" frame press since the Lee Turret is sort of an "O" frame press anyway.

Consequently, the Lee Classic Turret is all you'd need if we're talking getting a turret presse.

-- John D.

Rcbs or Dillon