I have no idea why they discontinued it. It's one of the great timesavers on a single stage press.
Rock chucker
- Thread starter Somerset Bar
- Start date
I have no idea why they discontinued it. It's one of the great timesavers on a single stage press.
07blackwater
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Coquitlam, BC
It looks pretty easy to make a case kicker from some of that banding they use for shipping crates. I'm going to make one soon and I'll post pics when I do.
OP. Rockchucker is a great press. I'm 3rd owner on mine, they're bullet proof. Go for the big kit, the little doo-dads add up fast when you buy them individually.
OP. Rockchucker is a great press. I'm 3rd owner on mine, they're bullet proof. Go for the big kit, the little doo-dads add up fast when you buy them individually.
I actually ended up ordering the Lee classic cast, I'm actually waiting patiently this very minute for it to be delivered (good ole canpar delivery).
haha! Yeah it was like that. The guy said "I left yours for last because I figured you would be at work". I said "no, it's gun bits, I took the day off and have been wearing a hole in the carpet pacing back and forth.
I used the uni decapper to pop out all the primers, works great. brass is back in the tumbler to clean the primer pockets. I'll post a couple of pics when they're out.
Dies seem to be a bit harder to figure out. 2-piece, 3 piece etc. I'm making a 'list' of items my wife can grab for xmas...powder measure, etc. Until then I'm just going to keep buying factory ammo and having fun, building the brass collection.
What do you guys recommend for powder for a 45 acp and for a 223 winchester? Basic plinking, but I'm looking for a good shooting load. ?? Also, where's a good spot to get it, it seems to be hit or miss (US shortage issues?).
07blackwater
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Coquitlam, BC
I actually ended up ordering the Lee classic cast, I'm actually waiting patiently this very minute for it to be delivered (good ole canpar delivery).
Nothing wrong with a Lee cast press but what I like about the rockchucker is when it overcenters it makes it easier to control neck sizing pressure and the amount of crimping.
If you watch Lee videos they go on and on about how applying pressure on the arm is better but I think that once you set a press to over center you can better control pressure than guessing about how much you apply on the arm from throw to throw.
Just my opinion.
I have to look up overcenter, you may be right, and I don't count an RCBS out of my future, or a dillon, etc, but for $125 this thing seems fantastic. Decapped a few hundred rounds without a hiccup in about 20 mins, and that was never having done it before. New blazer .45, the primers practically fell out, but with the .223 that likely had been sitting around for decades, they took a bit more pressure.
I thought once you set a die that it would more or less seat every bullet the same, including neck size, but I guess not?
07blackwater
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Coquitlam, BC
It's more about case preparation than seating bullets.
You are correct, once you set a die for bullet seating it's set. I was talking about neck sizing and using a Lee factory crimp die when I said that.
There's tons of info in the reloading section and since I can tell you want to learn everyone will be more than happy to help you!
You are correct, once you set a die for bullet seating it's set. I was talking about neck sizing and using a Lee factory crimp die when I said that.
There's tons of info in the reloading section and since I can tell you want to learn everyone will be more than happy to help you!
Okay, so a little ways in, I have a few more components. I have a few die sets, and instead of sticking with one company, I decided to mix and match. For .223 I grabbed the redding steel 2 die pack, and with proper case lubrication, it works great (with improper case lube, it works not-so-good). For .357 magnum I grabbed an RCBS carbide 3 die set, for .45 acp I grabbed the redding carbide 3 die set (I think it's 3 die, I'm still waiting on it to come in). For 9mm I grabbed a hornady titanium nitride 3 die set. I got the RCBS 5-0-5 scale, and the rcbs powder measure with the micrometer adjustment. Oh an I got the lee primer thingamajig, it's not great but does work.
So after about ~3-500 rounds on each set of dies, I can say this:
-I maybe should have grabbed the carbide .223 dies, however I hear you have to lube bottleneck casings no matter what so maybe these are fine, they definitely do reload .223 and crimp seems adjustable.
-The RBCS carbide die set is by far ma favourite, it does a great job of loading .357 cartridges. I do notice that it does not re-size right to the bottom of the casing, but hey, they fire just fine.
-The Hornady dies work well too, but they were pretty pricey for a set of dies. The 'free bullet' promotion sort of offsets that a bit though.
-I feel I should have grabbed the RCBS set of dies for the .45acp but maybe the carbide redding dies will win me over. I have 500 casings that need to be loaded here just waiting for the dies.
Case lube is an interesting journey in itself. Absolutely everyone seems to be out of it this holiday season (and gobels in london doesn't know the difference between case lube and bullet lube). So while looking for a bottle of lube I ended up using stp oil treatment (I didn't even know they still made that stuff) and it worked -great- except that I had to re-tumble the brass in detergent to get it off. I got a can of lyman quik spray and it works well but gets me kind of high. I plan to make a batch of lanolin and alcohol spray when I can find the right alcohol, but in a pinch, the stp works better than the lyman lube in the press.
Oh and the lee quick release thingies work really well. Most of these dies have lockrings that have screw locks so you set them on the quick release bushings and you're good to go. Still not sure why people were hating on these so much. Saves a ton of time.
So after about ~3-500 rounds on each set of dies, I can say this:
-I maybe should have grabbed the carbide .223 dies, however I hear you have to lube bottleneck casings no matter what so maybe these are fine, they definitely do reload .223 and crimp seems adjustable.
-The RBCS carbide die set is by far ma favourite, it does a great job of loading .357 cartridges. I do notice that it does not re-size right to the bottom of the casing, but hey, they fire just fine.
-The Hornady dies work well too, but they were pretty pricey for a set of dies. The 'free bullet' promotion sort of offsets that a bit though.
-I feel I should have grabbed the RCBS set of dies for the .45acp but maybe the carbide redding dies will win me over. I have 500 casings that need to be loaded here just waiting for the dies.
Case lube is an interesting journey in itself. Absolutely everyone seems to be out of it this holiday season (and gobels in london doesn't know the difference between case lube and bullet lube). So while looking for a bottle of lube I ended up using stp oil treatment (I didn't even know they still made that stuff) and it worked -great- except that I had to re-tumble the brass in detergent to get it off. I got a can of lyman quik spray and it works well but gets me kind of high. I plan to make a batch of lanolin and alcohol spray when I can find the right alcohol, but in a pinch, the stp works better than the lyman lube in the press.
Oh and the lee quick release thingies work really well. Most of these dies have lockrings that have screw locks so you set them on the quick release bushings and you're good to go. Still not sure why people were hating on these so much. Saves a ton of time.
Well realistically it's just a piston. The dies, shellholders etc really make up the main parts of the process, and really the only thing I would want in a press would be a shorter throw radius on the ram arm.
Just a little update...
I am really getting into this thing. I can see the appeal of the turret press just for cranking out the ammo, but after ~1000 rounds out of this, I like it and I'm really getting a feel for the process. I spent 4 hours the other day transforming the work area because it was crazy cluttered and too easy to get distracted and make a mistake.
From this:
To this:
(the whole area is lockable with a metal door and deadbolt I also installed this weekend)
I am really getting into this thing. I can see the appeal of the turret press just for cranking out the ammo, but after ~1000 rounds out of this, I like it and I'm really getting a feel for the process. I spent 4 hours the other day transforming the work area because it was crazy cluttered and too easy to get distracted and make a mistake.
From this:
To this:
(the whole area is lockable with a metal door and deadbolt I also installed this weekend)
