Best / most precise reloading press ?

I do understand you re looking for info on presses . But from what I am understanding your having 2problems. Run out on finishesd rounds. And double diget velocity spread . While you have gotten some good info so far. May I inquire to your reloading process from start to finish ? I have personally found that every thing up to bullet seating makes a bigger difference to run out then that actual press does (providing your running somthing of decent quality )

As far as presses go . I will agree with Ian that the co-ax is a great set up . Iv run quite a few rounds threw my buddies and will be purchasing one when I feel the need to spend money . For now my rcbs is providing results that work and it shows on paper
 
Is your .005" runout with new unfired brass?
I usually get about .005" TIR with new brass, but once fired it goes down to .001-.002 at worse with my rockchucker and forster benchrest dies. I figured the first firing irons it out.
I did find with some experimenting last year that if there's very high neck tension there can be a variance of a few thou in seating depth, I figured it was due to flex. I was playing with hbn at the time which made for higher seating force required, no issues with bare bullets, they seat within .001 or so. I don't think ram alignment plays too much into it though, unless it was wayyy off, but a few thou shouldn't matter, the case has a bit of room to move in the shell holder to line up with the dies anyhow, as it should be.

I need to get my velocities tighter as well, not playing with coatings anymore that's for sure, FX120i .02gr scale solved my charge weigh worry, and switching to magnum match primers this year(waiting for good weather to go chrono), I think in my case br2's didn't have the power to fully light N160 for a consistent burn and some test barrel reports with slow powders seem to indicate that with a second pressure spike. What do you use to light the powder in yours? sorry to derail things a bit more..
 
ultimate_monkey said:
I do understand you re looking for info on presses . But from what I am understanding your having 2problems. Run out on finishesd rounds. And double diget velocity spread . While you have gotten some good info so far. May I inquire to your reloading process from start to finish ? I have personally found that every thing up to bullet seating makes a bigger difference to run out then that actual press does (providing your running somthing of decent quality )


As far as presses go . I will agree with Ian that the co-ax is a great set up . Iv run quite a few rounds threw my buddies and will be purchasing one when I feel the need to spend money . For now my rcbs is providing results that work and it shows on paper
Click to expand...

short version , the reason I was asking about the press was because I can solve most of the other problems myself. not too worried about it. So I decided to ask because , although the press is probably the least of my problems, I wanted to know if it was one to some degree. That's why for the most part I was not to concerned about other guys opinions on reloading. Unless it was truly some valuable knowledge from an experience that was relevant. I don't need someone wasting my time telling me about run out and match dyes as if ive never heard of them. As far as my reloading practices ... pretty much exactly what they are doing in that accurate shooter article ... although they do not talk about annealing , I do it ... im not into the head spacing dye as of yet.

Im about to spend more time shooting and loading this year so im looking for every edge I can get. I want to refine all of my shooting / loading practices to as close perfect as possible. My rifles , glass and general shooting equipment is very high end , so my practices need to get better



SND said:
Is your .005" runout with new unfired brass?
I usually get about .005" TIR with new brass, but once fired it goes down to .001-.002 at worse with my rockchucker and forster benchrest dies. I figured the first firing irons it out.
I did find with some experimenting last year that if there's very high neck tension there can be a variance of a few thou in seating depth, I figured it was due to flex. I was playing with hbn at the time which made for higher seating force required, no issues with bare bullets, they seat within .001 or so. I don't think ram alignment plays too much into it though, unless it was wayyy off, but a few thou shouldn't matter, the case has a bit of room to move in the shell holder to line up with the dies anyhow, as it should be.

I need to get my velocities tighter as well, not playing with coatings anymore that's for sure, FX120i .02gr scale solved my charge weigh worry, and switching to magnum match primers this year(waiting for good weather to go chrono), I think in my case br2's didn't have the power to fully light N160 for a consistent burn and some test barrel reports with slow powders seem to indicate that with a second pressure spike. What do you use to light the powder in yours? sorry to derail things a bit more..
Click to expand...

Ive actually never ran match primers ... only reason is because no one ever has the friggin things in, and I want to shoot. In my custom 7rem mag its FED210's with Retumbo and my 300wsm was WLR primers with H380. I will likely be doing something similar with my 300WSM again, it should be back in a couple weeks ... its being rebarrled as we speak.

I as far as your seating , if your measuring of the tip of the round and using you COL as a measurement I find they can be out a couple thou , but I have a tool from forester that measures of the ogive of the round and I find there may or may not be any difference that should matter. I find even match bullets the tips an be out a couple thou no prob. Im sure your aware of that

Ok if the thread gets of track a bit as long as its all relevant. Frustrating when you ask a question about a press and the first response is " Run Out For Dummies " with a link showing you the EXACT concentricity gage that's been on your bench for 3 years
 
Last edited:
Definitely measuring the ogive.

I compared WLR's for od diameter and weight variation against br2's, 210m and 215m's, WLR's varied up to .001" on od, compared to +/-.00015" on match primers. weight spread a bit a bit wider as well, but I don't trust them due to all the pierced primers.
Heard there's match primers coming in feb or march but I bet they'll be eaten up fast.



Back to presses. Can anyone here using Wilson dies or similar with an arbor press tell us what sort of concentricity, or run out they're getting?
I'm thinking of making a seating die similar to that at the same time I'll chamber the F-TR so it can all match, if its worth the trouble, I'm not entirely sure it is.

We all talk about it... but its usually hard to find unquestionable numbers on anything eh.
 
I have always seen the BR2's and have had mo major problems in finding them.Not sure if you want to use them in larger cases or not as I don't have them in anything that is really over .308 case capacity.I go with 215 for my WSM, and LM loads.I don't load for any belted magnums so I cannot say.

When measuring my rounds with a Hornady COAL gauge I cannot even think of a time that my loaded rounds ever varied more than 0.001" , they all seem to be very consistent.Match bullets or hunting bullets , no difference.I guess if the ram stops at the same spot every time there is no reason it should be out unless of course things are worn.This is why I really don't see a major difference in presses myself.
 
prairieguy said:
Keep it simple. Get an arbor press and Wilson hand dies. Much more precise than any single stage press. Drop by a bench rest match as talk to those guys about how to build accurate ammunition. I bet every single one will tell you what I just did
Click to expand...

I agree, If your prime concern is accuracy, then wilson dies and an arbor press is the way to go
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
I have always seen the BR2's and have had mo major problems in finding them.Not sure if you want to use them in larger cases or not as I don't have them in anything that is really over .308 case capacity.I go with 215 for my WSM, and LM loads.I don't load for any belted magnums so I cannot say.

When measuring my rounds with a Hornady COAL gauge I cannot even think of a time that my loaded rounds ever varied more than 0.001" , they all seem to be very consistent.Match bullets or hunting bullets , no difference.I guess if the ram stops at the same spot every time there is no reason it should be out unless of course things are worn.This is why I really don't see a major difference in presses myself.
Click to expand...

Where are you grabbing your primers from ? If you feel like sending me a PM on that one id appreciate it. I would rather be running match for sure. as far as the COL , ya I seat off the ogive so .. couple thou on seat from odd ball tips dose not bother me too much when it happens

quarterman said:
I agree, If your prime concern is accuracy, then wilson dies and an arbor press is the way to go
Click to expand...

Just spoke with a couple other shooter outside the forum this afternoon and it seems to be the trend
 
My runouts are mostly .001" and .0015" with the odd .002";-)
Calibers .308 and .338LM mostly!
RCBS Rockchucker
Forester bushing dies, Redding bushing dies
Forester ultra seater dies
Redding bump dies

Knowledge of correct annealing practices lol! So much bad info allot of guys over anneal!

But what do I know! I do not compete!

Buy the arbor press and hand dies if runout gets better and more consistant great if not
It's time to look in the mirror;-)
 
From what I understand, only runouts over .003" and greater can affect accuracy at the longer ranges. Nothing under .003" can be detected. Therefore, I use 0 - .002" for match ammo, .002 - .003" for practice or winter league, and anything over for fouling rounds or barrel break-in. I fire these rounds once then re-turn the necks, reload and measure the runouts again. If the cases produce over .003" again then I throw them away. When cases are consistently producing excessive runouts it is usually due to inconsistencies in the case wall thickness and this will give you fliers on the targets. The cases banana under the stress of firing and present the bullets to the rifling cockeyed causing the fliers.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I never use expander balls in my dies. The expanders cause more issues on runout than anything else.

Steve
 
DG Photography said:
My runouts are mostly .001" and .0015" with the odd .002";-)
Calibers .308 and .338LM mostly!
RCBS Rockchucker
Forester bushing dies, Redding bushing dies
Forester ultra seater dies
Redding bump dies

Knowledge of correct annealing practices lol! So much bad info allot of guys over anneal!

But what do I know! I do not compete!

Buy the arbor press and hand dies if runout gets better and more consistant great if not
It's time to look in the mirror;-)
Click to expand...

lol or you could give it the ole swissinn special and just pull cases out of your gun, prime them, fill them and shoot them...and hit 15x15 targets all day at 1200m! Sounds like more fun to me then all of this "reloading" you guys are talking about haha
 
SteveB said:
From what I understand, only runouts over .003" and greater can affect accuracy at the longer ranges. Nothing under .003" can be detected. Therefore, I use 0 - .002" for match ammo, .002 - .003" for practice or winter league, and anything over for fouling rounds or barrel break-in. I fire these rounds once then re-turn the necks, reload and measure the runouts again. If the cases produce over .003" again then I throw them away. When cases are consistently producing excessive runouts it is usually due to inconsistencies in the case wall thickness and this will give you fliers on the targets. The cases banana under the stress of firing and present the bullets to the rifling cockeyed causing the fliers.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I never use expander balls in my dies. The expanders cause more issues on runout than anything else.

Steve
Click to expand...

ya ... im onto the expander balls ... and that is my goal .002 or better , anything in a .005 goes in the plinking pile

swissinn said:
lol or you could give it the ole swissinn special and just pull cases out of your gun, prime them, fill them and shoot them...and hit 15x15 targets all day at 1200m! Sounds like more fun to me then all of this "reloading" you guys are talking about haha
Click to expand...


Already doing this ... not good enough
 
Trust me my friend I understand your obsession with perfect as possible ammo. Especially if you want to compete. I was there too. But never ending hours in the basement gets me in the dog house with the old lady so now i'm happy with MOA ammo lol. I wish you luck.
 
swissinn said:
Trust me my friend I understand your obsession with perfect as possible ammo. Especially if you want to compete. I was there too. But never ending hours in the basement gets me in the dog house with the old lady so now i'm happy with MOA ammo lol. I wish you luck.
Click to expand...

I go on and off of it ... keeps you sane that way , just took a break ... time to get back at it
 
If you don't want to go the route of the arbor press and your reloading up to and including the 50 bmg look into the walnut hill bullet swaging press with the reloading adapters........much cheaper then anything you can get made in Canada and dual purpose to boot.........

Get rid of your expander balls.......using a neck bushing means your sizing from the outside of the neck, the bushing will move around and center on the neck, after spending the time to create the perfect neck you ruin it sliding the expander ball through the neck......it is attached to a fixed threaded shaft that may or may not be held true in the die body, it really defeats the entire purpose of what the die is intended for.

Look into micrometer adjustable neck sizing bushing dies, you can adjust how far down the neck you want to size, not sizing all the way to the shoulder and only as deep as the bullet is in the neck will also help fine tune things, especially with tight neck cambers and tight clearance on your neck/chamber, only sizing where the bullet is will allow the neck to fireform to the chamber and self center, mind you if your chamber is cut slightly off square to the bore what does anything matter???........

Your going to have to spend more time sorting your brass by weight and by volume to get your SD's and ES's down, primer pockets can leak, it may not be much, and it's had to tell by looking at the brass but when all of a sudden you hit 18 inches low at 1000 when all your brass prep and loading was top notch something fishy took place......
 
swissinn said:
lol or you could give it the ole swissinn special and just pull cases out of your gun, prime them, fill them and shoot them...and hit 15x15 targets all day at 1200m! Sounds like more fun to me then all of this "reloading" you guys are talking about haha
Click to expand...

I do that with a progressive press.........and can hold moa to 1400 yards......but sometimes a guy just has to know how tight of a group his rifle is really capable of......oh that and one also knows when it was the nut behind the bolt that screwed the shot up for total equipment error.......
 
The brand of press you use has nothing to do with reloading quality ammo. Neither does the brand or type of dies. Bench rest techniques are good to know though. Just remember that BR shooting is totally different from any other kind of shooting. Some of those guys don't bother resizing or any of the other 'normal' techniques.
 
most br competitors full length resize , we are looking to bump the shoulder just enough that the bolt falls about half way down and then makes slight contact with the chamber, should be almost no pressure to close the bolt fully, we like to size the body just enough so that it does not drag in the chambered and will not "stick " on extraction.
most have small inline or c presses for sizing its a combination of precision and convenience as we load at the range and its usually only one caliber. arbor presses for seating with inline dies (mostly custom)
as for presses any press where the ram is square with the die and does not flex will work , turret presses can be fine but there is sometimes a bit of inherent play on the turret head.(you can shim them) , press quality like everything can vary from run to run. there are some easy ways to check them.
many times the dies do not fit the chamber (depends on your tolerance level)if this is the case you can live with it or get another die , many shooters are fire forming every time they reload and just don't know it, if your brass wears out prematurely this may be the case.
all of this of course depends on the type of shooting you do and the level of accuracy you hope to achieve. I have turret presses single stage presses and br type presses and even a co ax press, all will get the job done I do like the co ax for die changes .
hope that is of some help
good luck in your search
 
yodave said:
If you don't want to go the route of the arbor press and your reloading up to and including the 50 bmg look into the walnut hill bullet swaging press with the reloading adapters........much cheaper then anything you can get made in Canada and dual purpose to boot.
Click to expand...

I own 1 of those walnut/corbin presses, it is truly a POS, which is why we undertook to make a press that actually works, IS precise and is user friendly. The walnut/corbin has a full 180 degree throw and very little true mechanical advantage. I bought mine expressly to load 20mmx138B rounds, which it fails miserably at and 1 stands a very high likelihood of physical injury to the operator if used much.
Given our current dollars value and the cost of the extra parts to make it useful the walnut hill or corbin press will cost a fair bit more in the long run, and God forbid you ever have a problem with it.
 
Ian Robertson said:
Co-Ax is my favourite although I have others. It is so powerful that I made a short handle for it when I don't need full power and very seldom do I need to change universal shell holders. A most excellent press for single stage work.
Click to expand...

I did the same, shortened the handle. I bought mine in the late 60's or early 70's. Brown in color back then... I was working at Barotto Sports and we became the first Canadian distributor for Bonanza... we sold a lot to dealers and customers... the Co-Ax with the Benchrest dies made Benchrest ammo as good as the Wilson inline dies...

I would not trade my Co Ax for any other press... the same goes for my Benchrest powder measure...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom