Im wanting to start reloading and was trying to get input on what kind of press to get

I would recommend a single stage "O" or "D" frame press. All of the equipment makers offer a quality unit. The beefier it is the less flex it will have. This is not critical for pistol or smaller bottleneck ammo. But full length resizing a large lot of 308 Win brass(or larger cases) can put quite a strain on some of the presses sold. And if flex is a problem you may not be adequately resizing the case on some or all the brass. This could lead to a dangerous situation.
When buying tools I always recommend, buy the best you can afford. A good press should out live you. And you only have to cry once when you pay for the quality tool. Not twice, once when the cheaper unit fails and again when you pay for a quality replacement. I speak from experience. I ruined three Lee presses. One of the "C" frame and two of the "O" frame pot metal presses. Lee does offer a cast iron "O" frame press now.
My single stage presses are an RCBS rockchucker(this can be purchased in a kit with every thing you need to start, and an RCBS ammomaster. The brand name is not as important as the quality of the tool. Most makers offer a get started kit.
Sorry this got so long. Hope this is some help.

muck

quote:

Originally posted by muck:
My single stage presses are an RCBS rockchucker(this can be purchased in a kit with every thing you need to start, and an RCBS ammomaster. The brand name is not as important as the quality of the tool. Most makers offer a get started kit.
Sorry this got so long. Hope this is some help.
muck

Muck's advice is about as good as it gets. roger

Lee's Classic Cast presses are good to go if you're on a budget though. I'm really loving my Co-Ax press, but my Lee Classic Cast loaded really good ammo and sized 300 Wby and 45-120 high pressure (over SAAMI) brass FINE.

thanks for the advice I think im going to be on this site a lot

Forester Co-Ax is a one time investement.

with the co-ax you don't have to buy shell holders every time you change a case size, no old primers all over the floor, dies snap in. etc etc etc

RCBS starter kit at Cabels 249.99 has all you will need except for dies.

RCBS Rockchucker, best press for the money. Bought my first one in 1981 and it's still going strong, I came across another one a few years back real cheap. NIce to have two RC's on the bench.

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:

quote:

Originally posted by muck:
My single stage presses are an RCBS rockchucker(this can be purchased in a kit with every thing you need to start, and an RCBS ammomaster. The brand name is not as important as the quality of the tool. Most makers offer a get started kit.
Sorry this got so long. Hope this is some help.
muck

Muck's advice is about as good as it gets. roger

+2
Don't know how much money you want to spend on a press, but take a look at the Corbin press. If I was buying a press today, I'd sure look long and hard at theirs.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by Tx6BR:
RCBS Rockchucker, best press for the money. Bought my first one in 1981 and it's still going strong, I came across another one a few years back real cheap. NIce to have two RC's on the bench.

I use a RCBS Rockchucker, I plan on getting a Rockchucker Supreme next.

The new Hollywood press EEEEK class, stregth and good design.They are a little pricey but if you have the bucks it's a beautiful life time investment.

tel (818) 842-8376, ask for Joe or Margaret.
roger

I have had a Forester co-ax for over 20 years and have had others but nothing compares. If you can spend the money!

Been doing the "loading my own" for a long time! Used Pacific(now know as Hornady), LEE and RCBS as far as presses go. Just get yourself the RCBS ROCKCHUCKER SUPREME KIT and learn and have fun!! The Rockchucker press mouned in my reloading room is 33 years old. I have data from every shell case to ever go thru it and it is a bunch!! The kit is all first class equipment that will last a lifetime! There are also Dillon 550B's there but that's another story. For my precision shooting, I rely on my RCBS stuff to turn out quality ammo! For my "I'll shoot a lot of ammo up in a short time" I use the DILLON's. GHD

I ran across the press shown below in 1956 while I was in the engineering school at Penn State. The reason I bought it back then was because of the perceived possibility of loading more concentric ammo, with less run-out, as compared to the multitude of "C" presses being sold in that timeframe.
I have used this press continually since then, save a few tours of Duty while in the US Army.
The press has served me will, and that's the reason for the recommendation of the press Corbin makes. It has twin columns that keep the case centered with no flexing as this one has.



Don

That press is still being made.

Choice of press can depend a lot on cartridges you will be loading which you haven't mentioned.

I always suggest, "find your groove." Nice way is to read and reread half dozen or more used reloading manuals. Usually cheap at gun shows. (Buy a new one for current load data.)

If you are going to do a couple boxes of deer loads, anything from the LEE hand press up is o.k. If you are going into competition pistol and you might fire 10,000 in a year, you might want a progressive. Now the "one hole boys" don't even use a press. "Hand dies." Wilson for example. Now what they spend on case prep tools gets obscene.

The corbins have the Rolls Royce of presses. Dave at corbins.com and richard at rceco.com. These presses are for bullet swaging and reloading is "light duty." Little pricey.

This is an addiction/hobby. You will always want to try something else (or they should bury you). I don't disagree with anything said, much, but wonder how well it fits "YOU?"

While I have a Corbin press, I don't plan to let go of my Rockchucker any time soon.

Find your groove, start there, and you might find that groove growing... Grand Canyon style... LUCK.

I have a Rockchucker because at the time I couldn't afford the Forester Co-Ax. Until I break the chucker, I'll keep using it.

Buy what you can afford, but never buy what you may HAVE to replace!

Never skimp on Tools, Toilet Paper, or Peanut Butter! Words to live by....

If you believe you are serious about handloading then acquire the Co-Ax Press.

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
Forester Co-Ax is a one time investement.

This is very excellent advice.

However, since I am lazy the Dillon 1050 with case feeder is setup to do Decap, size and prime operations only.

Then I weigh every charge on autoscale system and then seat with Co-Ax. I like the Co-Ax because it has built in compliance in addition to the other feature mentioned. That means that the die floats so that it is always dead center or co-axial to the round.

Dillon with case feeder and auto primer, etc gets rid of the problem of handling hundreds of little parts multiple times. I can resize and prime 200-300 rounds per hour with it. I believe I first saw this trick at the AMU site.

Last varmint hunt I saw squirrels taken at 300 to 400 yards with .204. This round is favored by land owners after rim fires because they operate at explosive velocities and tend not to ricochet.

By the way, after shooting squirrels at 400, PD seem like grizzly bears. I was cautioned not to take PDs under 300 as it wasn't sportsmanlike. Heck with that!

I love my rockchucker. The price of a shell holder is not going to send me to the poorhouse. If you are just loading 1 or 2 calibers, other than the dipper, I would not worry about a Lee.

Get the RCBS all-in-one kit Rockchucker kit. It's got all you need except for dies, holders, powder, primers, cases and bullets.

THE thing to be said about a Rockchucker is if you buy one it's something you will NEVER need to replace.

I cannot say the same thing about ANY aluminum O-frame press.

AD

My vote goes to Dillon -- if you want to produce prairie dog hunting quantities of ammo. On a recent hunt, one of our lads shot over 1400 rounds at PDs in a three-day shoot. The RL500 will produce ammo more accurate than many shooters can exploit. If it breaks, Dillon will fix it -- even if the problem results from operator error. Having said good things about the RL550, I prime with a Lee AutoPrime tool, and dispense powder with a RCBS Chargemaster, so the powder is consistent to the exact reading on the Chargemaster display. The Dillon powder measure will drop some powders to +/- .1 grain consistently, but not all. I use a cast iron Pacific O-frame press for bullet pulling with the Hornady collet system.

As a side note, the only thing I use a press for today is resizing cases, nothing else.
I deprime cases using a Neil Jones decapper, and then do the case sizing with a standard sizing die in the C-H "H" press. I seat new primers using a hand priming tool, not the pedestal on the press. After charging cases with powder, I seat bullets with Wilson seaters, or custom made seaters similar to the Wilson's. I use either an arbor press, or the heal of my hand to seat the bullets. I think I get less bullet runout with Wison seaters. The accuracy I get today is better than when I used the regular seater that's used in the press. Not all of the improved accuracy I'm getting today can be attributed to straight line seaters however, as I pay a lot of attention to other aspects of the rifle and reloads that contribute to better overall accuracy; the straight line seaters are just a part of the improved accuracy.
So, presses are not that important to me.

FWIW,

Don

If you buy a Forester CO-AX press you won't have to buy another press!!

I have both a Rockchucker original and a RCBS Turret press, both are excellent for all jobs.
I use the Rockchucker to do swaging and simple jobs like bullet pulling, and I use the Turret press for everything else. On the Turret press I have 2 heads, one with Sizng dies, up to 6 calibres can be installed, and the other with seating dies, it only takes a few moments to switch from one to the other.
I recommend the Turret press first, buy now what you'll buy in 5 years time as your need for ammo increases, and you will have a press that will never need 'updating'.
Cheers.
416RigbyHunter.

quote:

THE thing to be said about a Rockchucker is if you buy one it's something you will NEVER need to replace.

I cannot say the same thing about ANY aluminum O-frame press.

AD

Is the Forester made of aluminum?

Landrum

quote:

Originally posted by yoteslayer:
Im wanting to start reloading and was trying to get input on what kind of press to get

Yoteslayer,
I am at the same place as your are in reloading, asking questions, learning etc. I agree that quality is quality, it is what it is. I would ask myself questions though. What volumn of reloaded ammunition will you (I) require weekly? How will you use your ammo? Hunting or very accurate target shooting? What is your budget? Do you really need a progressive press with several stations that will each do a function with one pull of the handle at greater cost and possible less accuracy (maybe) or can you do with a single stage press which is less costly but requires four pulls of the handle to load one round? Are you going to reload for more than one caliber?
In my case Im not a high volumn shooter. I take my time at the bench and fire perhaps 100 rounds per session. If you plan on going pararie dog hunting you may require many
hundreds of rounds for a weekend trip.
Many very accurate reloaders have had success with simple cheap hand reloaders at the expense of speed and ease of use. If money is no object sure a Forster of Dillon is great for high volumn needs.
Your age and planned years of use is another consideration. In my case I won't be around for that many years to make a "large Investment" system pay off. I will probably start with the "O" frame Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press kit shown here for $103.04 with a few accessories such as a Hornady M2 medium size vibratory tumbler, a straight variable speed electric screw driver for deburring and polishing cases, a decent caliper with bullet comparator, and a good OAL guage to determine chambering/seating length.
https://www.midsouthshooterssu...m.asp?sku=0000690030

Everyones requirements are a little different and what may be right for one type of shooter may be overkill or underkill for the next type of shooter and his needs. As an example I know that I don't want a progressive press and would prefere the more manual press where I can use my hands and feel each step of the process while spending my cash on the guages to determine what my chamber and bore requires. Then a Chronograph to measure the bullets performance and consistancy would be nice.
Like I said, I'm just getting into this and my needs are more towards accuracy than volumn.
Guys please straighten me out in my thinking or add your comments and knowledge and do both of us a favor. It will be appreciated.

Pete K.

From the latest info given, I would get a rock chucker and be done.The co ax is a great press, but you can buy a ton of shell holders for the price , and the Rock chucker will make just as straight of round.