RCBS press questions.

[BlackPowderBurner]

There have been lots of issues with the new Rock Chucker Supreme, being made in China now, and sloppy QC that comes with that.
I wouldn't be dropping that kind of money on a Chinese press, but that's me.
Older Rock Chuckers are good presses.

I've seen people reference this before however when I look at the box and all the paperwork inside I only see made in USA. Some in the US have said their box is printed "made in China".
Not trying to argue I'm just genuinely curious, do you have a confirmed source for this info?

 

[bearhunter]

OP, there are a couple of ways to measure if the mandrel and die bore are true to the axis of the machine.

This is what I do.

I have a 17 cm long piece of drill rod that fits snugly into the shell head holder slot on the mandrel. The rod was machined so that it would center in the mandrel when pushed all the way back.

With a magnetic based dial indicator button seated against the side of the press, with the dial set on "0", run the mandrel all the way up. This will give you a measurement of how far off true the set up is to the axis of the die hole bore.

The only other way is to measure the run out on seated bullets in the cases. Of course, this also needs a dial indicator and a special base set up to measure.

For most hunting purposes, the average press is accurate enough. It's only when you get anal about accuracy that such intricacies come into play.

If I were going to use a press to assemble match quality ammo, i would use the Forster press. The thing with the Forster set up is they require proprietary dies and shell head holders.

I'm just anal enough about such things, that I have a few match grade die sets made up for rifles I've built, using the same reamer that was used for cutting the chamber of the rifle. Even the shell head holders were custom made to be a very snug fit into the press mandrel. I will admit, this is over the top for most shooters and I only use it for a couple of precision long range rifles I shoot.

I got out of competitive shooting, other than the odd fun shoot, simply because I don't have the ability to know when to stop looking for the next best shooter. It consumed most of my time and became an obsession. I still shoot a lot and my obsession with accuracy still nudges me more than it should, but I'm actually having fun with the builds, rather than pulling my hair out while trying to figure out why a $700 barrel doesn't shoot that much better than a take off factory barrel.

If you aren't planning on being an accuracy freak, that new press you've ordered will very likely assemble cartridges with .003 in or less of bullet run out, which will be very suitable for most of the bullets that are presently available, which are better than ever since manufacturers started taking more care to keep jacket walls concentric and of consistent thickness all the way around.

 

[kamlooky]

I lucked out years ago finding a new in the box old Rockchucker.
Doesn't have the gimpy left handed awpshun.
Go Green me types.

 

[Hitzy]

I've seen people reference this before however when I look at the box and all the paperwork inside I only see made in USA. Some in the US have said their box is printed "made in China".
Not trying to argue I'm just genuinely curious, do you have a confirmed source for this info?

https://picclick.com/RCBS-Rock-Chucker-Supreme-Master-Reloading-Kit-09354-362296654741.html
They are owned by Vista Outdoors, they are very much a "made in China" product company.

 

[Kegcaissy]

OP, there are a couple of ways to measure if the mandrel and die bore are true to the axis of the machine.

This is what I do.

I have a 17 cm long piece of drill rod that fits snugly into the shell head holder slot on the mandrel. The rod was machined so that it would center in the mandrel when pushed all the way back.

With a magnetic based dial indicator button seated against the side of the press, with the dial set on "0", run the mandrel all the way up. This will give you a measurement of how far off true the set up is to the axis of the die hole bore.

The only other way is to measure the run out on seated bullets in the cases. Of course, this also needs a dial indicator and a special base set up to measure.

For most hunting purposes, the average press is accurate enough. It's only when you get anal about accuracy that such intricacies come into play.

If I were going to use a press to assemble match quality ammo, i would use the Forster press. The thing with the Forster set up is they require proprietary dies and shell head holders.

I'm just anal enough about such things, that I have a few match grade die sets made up for rifles I've built, using the same reamer that was used for cutting the chamber of the rifle. Even the shell head holders were custom made to be a very snug fit into the press mandrel. I will admit, this is over the top for most shooters and I only use it for a couple of precision long range rifles I shoot.

I got out of competitive shooting, other than the odd fun shoot, simply because I don't have the ability to know when to stop looking for the next best shooter. It consumed most of my time and became an obsession. I still shoot a lot and my obsession with accuracy still nudges me more than it should, but I'm actually having fun with the builds, rather than pulling my hair out while trying to figure out why a $700 barrel doesn't shoot that much better than a take off factory barrel.

If you aren't planning on being an accuracy freak, that new press you've ordered will very likely assemble cartridges with .003 in or less of bullet run out, which will be very suitable for most of the bullets that are presently available, which are better than ever since manufacturers started taking more care to keep jacket walls concentric and of consistent thickness all the way around.

This is great! By some kind of chance i have a dial indicator and a magnetic base, i will check the press i just buy using that method. I was thinkering with mine this morning to make something on skateboard bearings to check case runout. I'm not going to win 1000Y matches, just want my reloads to be more accurate. Looking to make dies someday...

 

[bearhunter]

One bit of info I should have included

As long as the mandrel is moving straight up, there is usually enough tolerance in the shell head holder to allow the case to move to the center of the die.

If the threaded die bore hole isn't drilled/tapped straight then you will get crooked cartridges, this will show up on the neck run out check.

If the die bore hole is straight to the axis of the mandrel but a few thou offset, usually the tolerances in the shell head holder will allow everything to be assembled true with less than .003 in run out of the bullet.

If all is well with your press and you're still getting excessive run out, send the die set back to the manufacturer. They will replace it, without question. I have found that if I phone/email them first it clears up a lot of things and turnaround time is fast.

I had one set of dies returned with a new seating stem and ogive cup installed by Redding. It's loaded a lot of acceptably straight ammo since.

That die set was for a Tikka T3 I have in 6.5x55. When I first started loading for the rifle, accuracy was not good. 2 inches at 100yds was the best it would shoot. Checked the bullet run out and there was close to .010 in run out. It was so bad that I could see it without measuring it while rolling the cartridges on a flat surface. I knew the press was fine and the shell head holder was ok, so it had to be the die.

Well, it turned out the die was fine as well but the seating stem cup wasn't. The good folks at REDDING swapped out the stem/cup and had it back to me two weeks after I sent it off. They also included a couple of other stems with different shaped ogive cups. Great folks there.

This rifle now shoots everything from 87 grain to 165 grain Bergers and some custom bullets, consistently into a half minute of angle.

 

[209jones]

"If I were going to use a press to assemble match quality ammo, i would use the Forster press. The thing with the Forster set up is they require proprietary dies and shell head holders." Not true.

About the only thing you may want to buy to use a Forster Co-ax is their die lock rings, but Hornady rings work also. Forster has some restrictions on die lengths, for some very large cases, Rockchucker does too, on the cases, not the dies. I have had one cartridge that the rim was too big to use the universal shellholder jaws on, 450-400NE, they have a shellholder adaptor though, to use RCBS type shellholders if necessary.. I have a 218bee that the rim thickness is not real compatible with the universal shellholder in the Co-ax, bit tight, but useable. RCBS bullet puller doesn't work in it, without a modification. But, that's OK as I have a Rockchucker & Lee handpress, and sidecutters, also. Hornady trimmers and concentricity tool , handprimer, do have to use Hornady shellholders, hole size is different. Lee priming tools have to use Lee shellholders. There are some other accessory tools out there that require their own shellholders, some that have a "universal" setup such as a collet type unit, much like a router or a drill chuck, or jaws that are "universal" up to a point, some use case holders.
When it comes to an accessory like a trimmer,see how expandable it is, what add-ons can you get for it? Drill drive adaptor? 3 way cutter? Inside neck reamers? Outside neck turning tool? Concentricity measurement setup? Take a look at the whole picture when buying tools.

 

[OttawaHunts]

I bought a Single stage RCBS Rock Chucker 8 yrs ago that was already 30yrs old when I bought it (I have yet to find a die system that does not work with it). I have two LEE single stage press (hand and bench), and they just don't compare to weight and stability of RCBS. I also, own a LEE turret press (Pistol 9mm- 45), and 3 MEC shotgun reloaders 600, 650 and 700. The two presses I use the most are RCBS and MEC. I enjoy the single stage process of check and rechecks as part of that process.