FNG Reloader

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GrizzlyLC

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Hello ladies and Gents

I am very interested in reloading(precision side of it) as I want to feed my .308 RPR the ammo it deserves. I am struggling with choosing my first press (single stage of course) but I haven't been able to find a good comparison article like there is for progressives. I could use some advice on what to look for in a press, I'm looking for accuracy and ridgidity more then anything else. I looked at the starter kits but none of them are what I'm looking for, a friend of mine suggested to just purchase everything individually which I'm ok with. with the research I've done I've pretty much figured most of what I want to get except the press it's self. When it comes to tools I live by the "Buy once, Cry once" mentality so I don't mind spending a bit for quality within reason of course.

Presses I've looked at

Hornady LNL: -reputable brand
-Mid range price
-Spent primer system looks less then desirable
-LNL bushings

Hornady LNL Cast: -built like a brick S@!% house
-expensive as frig
-expensive auto prime
-LNL Bushings
-seems hard to get in Canukistan

RCBS Rockchucker: -very popular
-spent primer system looks less then desirable
-mid range price
-no quick change bushings

Lee Breech lock Classic Cast: -Cast iron
-cheapest option
-auto prime looks cheap as frig
-BL Bushings
-Awesome spent primer system

Forster Co-AX: -seems like the most accurate option??
-incredibly expensive
-Support in Canada???
-no autoprime, priming system seems very complicated and requires handling primers with greasy hands
-spent primers systems is nice

I've looked at a few others but they don't really fit the bill. I am really interested in the quick change bushing systems but I haven't found anything that compares the 2 against each other, any info on this would be great. any insight will be greatly appreciated and I'm also open to buying used(as long as it was well maintained) if someone is looking at offloading some gear.

P.S. Making a sticky post like the progressive comparison would greatly help any FNGs like myself find the info quick and easy. I think this would be great idea.
 
I have a Lee breech lock challenger (which is the same design as the Lee breech lock cast iron, but not built as tough) and have used an RCBS in the past (not mine). The RCBS is "built thougher", but it really doesn't change anything. The Lee is tough enough to do any calibre that fits in the press, which is everything smaller than 50bmg. The Lee gets a bad rap because one of their progressive press, the pro1000, is a complete piece of garbage, but their single stage are just as good as all the other companies. In any case, I think one can make ammos that are just as good on any of these presses.

The spent primer on the Lee does work well, I don't think it has failed to catch a single spent primer in many 10's of thousands of unprimed brass. We occasionnaly hear crying from people with RCBS who believe their press is broken because it "misses" a few primers here and there, but I think they're amplifying their problem. In any case, a press shouldn't be judged by its spent primer system imho.

The priming feature on single stage press is the most useless thing imho. There isn't one that's fast and works very well. I bought a hand primer (a lyman, which is supposedly the best one, but I've never tried any other) and I'll never, ever prime with the press, that would be way too long and tedious. I can prime hundreds of brass per hour while in front of the tv.

The BL bushing system is really great with the Lee, but if you have multiple calibres, the cost adds up. There's 2 model: the regular ones at 7$/bushing and the ones with an allen screw at 10$/bushing (they call them "eliminator"). If you buy a set of allen screw bushing for 4 dies, that's 40$ you have to add up to your set of dies. A 80$ set of dies suddenly cost 50% extra. If you have only 1 calibre it's not that bad, but if you have 4 or 5 sets, then it gets expensive. I've never tried the LnL bushing system but it looks like it'll work just as well. Re-setting your dies every time will be a pita imho, and it'll be hard to be as consistent from batch to batch.

As for service and support, I don't know about forster, but the other companies all provide good service for their presses. Hornady and RCBS will not charge you for spare parts, but it might take forever to get them. Lee doesn't charge anything for replacement parts, but they charge shipping. The upside is that the parts are all available from Lee's website with a souple mouse clicks and shows up at your door a LOT faster than rcbs. I wouldn't hesitate to buy any of these presses used because even if there's something broken, you can usually get a replacement part for free (I got my Lee challenger for a pittance because there was a broken part, then got the replacement for free). You mostly won't need it for any of these presses though, the single stages are simple systems without too many small parts that usually break, and some people have reloaded 10's of thousands of ammos over a few decades without anything ever breaking.

There isn't a sticky post about single-stage because as long as you go for an O-frame (all your choices are O-frame), there isn't one that's really bad, and single-stage presses are very simple mechanism, so you won't go really wrong no matter which one you choose.

Final note: I don't know if budget is a concern to you, but if it is, then I would much rather choose a slightly less expensive press such as a Lee, and get a hand primer, than get an expensive rcbs and have to prime with the press.
 
I have an rcbs. Primer catch is lame but can be replaced with a more reliable 3D printed option.

Personally I would opt for a redding T7 if I were to do it all again. Single stage accuracy with the convenience of having all your dies setup ready to go.
 
It would come down to the rcbs and Lee for me. Both will be just as accurate. Anyone who says different, please enlighten us on how one is better than the other. I found the breech lock to have play in it so I stayed away from that. The locking collars in the non breech lock press is the way to go if you don't want to set up dies every time.
As for the priming systems, don't bother. Hand priming is the only way to go. I use a lee. The only othe one I've used is the rcbs and didn't care for the mechanism.
 
I load my personal match ammo on a Redding T7. I switched from a single stage about 40 years ago. I use like a single stage. Size a bucket of Brass, then seat bullets in a bucket of brass.

I prime with a Lee Autoprime and throw charges with a Redding BR thrower, or a RCBS Chargemaster.

The T7 has worn out a number of parts over the years, but they have always sent me new ones - free.
 
Over the years I have acquired 3 single stage presses. The Lee classic cast that I use for all my large diameter dies, A Lyman orange crusher that I use as my factory crimp station with Lee dies and lock rings for easy die change out. and my go to press the Hornady 007 classic with quick change bushings. Once you set the die in the quick change bushing, switching from die to die is a matter of seconds. The only thing you will ever have to fiddle with is the seater die if you change to a different projectile.
 
Not mentioned here is the Redding Big Boss 2 press.

Its like a Rock Chucker, but has a bigger frame and better build quality, like all Redding products. More expensive? Yes, but well worth it.

As far as the Lee Classic cast press is concerned, I would buy the standard version, not the breech lock version.

The standard version has a removable bushing for extra-large dies. As well, the quick-change die feature is largely just a gimmick.
If you perform your resizing/decapping, mouth belling, and bullet seating in batches of 50 or 100 or more, what significant time is being saved by not having to unscrew one die and screw in another, every 100 rounds or so? Three minutes total per reloading session? Big deal.
 
Have a look at the MEC marksman press. I plan on upgrading to that in the near future.
Also you can use the hornady bushing with a conversion kit
 
Consider separating out the depriming and priming steps from the press functionality.

I use a Harvey deprimer I ordered from the US (Google it) to deprime everything, so the grit and dirt from the primer doesn't get near the press ram. Also good to deprime before tumbling in stainless pins for truly shiny primer pockets.

For priming, I use the RCBS hand primer tool, as you have much more "feel" on primer seating and how loose the primer pocket is, and you don't have to single load primers into a primer arm as the OP mentions.

I love my Forster coax press. Expensive yes but allows for quick change of dies without bushings (just cheaper locking rings), and by going manual deprime and prime, you've taken these steps out of the equation. The result is low runout ammo from a press that you may well use for decades - far outweighs a couple of hundred $$$ in price difference. Your mileage may vary.
 
I pulled the trigger (pun intended) on the Hornady LNL cast single stage kit from X-RELOAD, they have a decent deal on right now if anyone else is interested. I would like to again thank everyone for the imparting their knowledge and I can't wait to get 'er chooching. I'll be posting some pics once I got it set up on the bench
 
Ganderite said:
I load my personal match ammo on a Redding T7. I switched from a single stage about 40 years ago. I use like a single stage. Size a bucket of Brass, then seat bullets in a bucket of brass.

I prime with a Lee Autoprime and throw charges with a Redding BR thrower, or a RCBS Chargemaster.

The T7 has worn out a number of parts over the years, but they have always sent me new ones - free.
Click to expand...

Do you just leave a couple of calibers set up all the time? I guess the turret head is rigid enough that it doesn't rock at all? I used to have a Lyman T Mag, and I wasn't confident in the rigidity of the turret.
It was fine for 38/357, but I always used a single stage for rifle calibers.
 
kawicrash said:
Do you just leave a couple of calibers set up all the time? I guess the turret head is rigid enough that it doesn't rock at all? I used to have a Lyman T Mag, and I wasn't confident in the rigidity of the turret.
It was fine for 38/357, but I always used a single stage for rifle calibers.
Click to expand...

Yes. At the moment it has the FL and seater installed for 30-30, 7.5x55 and 303 Brit, plus a collet bullet puller.

What I don't do is switch back and forth between dies. I size all the cases, then take them away for primers and charging and then come back, click the turret 1 place and seat all the bullets.
 
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