Which new press to buy?

[Bo22]

I varmint hunt .223 with mostly factory ammo. Reloaded a bit on a Dillon 550 that I no longer own, (don`t ask). Have a Lee CC on the way. And now I want to shoot F class with my .308. I want a press that will load accurate ammo.

I am looking at three presses. For the .223 I believe that a bit of volume will be beneficial.

Can you rate the quality of ammo each of these presses will produce? Is one going to be any better than the other? If the Forster is left out, will the Hornady load as good as the T-7?
Is the T-7 a consistant press?

I am confused, and need help deciding.



Hornady Lock-n-Load, nice progressive press.

Redding T-7, turrett press.

Forster co-ax press, because of volume really my last choice.

 

[mike in co]

buy another dillon 550b. or a at500 and up grade as money comes in.

whats a lee cc..a classic progressive or single ??

i size my 6mm br cases on a lee classic

you can use the dillon as a progressive for the 223 and then as four single stage presses for the competition ammo ....

mike in co

 

[Larry Elliott]

For what it's worth it's not so much the press as the dies and their setup and adjustment that produces accurate ammunition. A lot of people want a press that's super precision when it's the dies that do the work. A press that has enough leverage that you're not busting a gut FL sizing cases is what you need for the .308. I use an RCBS Partner press for small cases like the .222, 223. up to 6 BR and it produces ammunition that's as accurate as I can shoot anymore. For larger cases I use an old Rockchucker. With rifles I do everything one step at a time, i.e., size and trim (if needed) a batch of cases, prime them with a handheld priming tool, then charge the cases with powder and seat bullets. Not as fast as a progressive press, but I know that every case has a primer properly seated, the right charge of powder from an RCBS Chargemaster, then bullets seated with a good seating die.

The only guns I "plink" with are .22 RF rifles and pistols so loading up a bazillion rounds of centerfire "plinking" ammo isn't necessary. My live varmint ammo is loaded one at a time, even if I'm loading several hundred rounds.

Some people want lots of ammo in a short time, but I've got time, so....

 

[Bo22]

Lee Clasic Cast

buy another dillon 550b. or a at500 and up grade as money comes in.

whats a lee cc..a classic progressive or single ??

i size my 6mm br cases on a lee classic

you can use the dillon as a progressive for the 223 and then as four single stage presses for the competition ammo ....

mike in co

 

[Boyd Allen]

Better to have old junky presses and high end dies than the other way around. Guys tend to get carried away by shiny and advertising. Get some measuring tools, learn what to measure with them, and use the best possible dies. I forget who it was that said it, but the gist of it was, if you are going to have a tight fit, things had better be perfectly aligned, otherwise it is better to let things float, and self align.

 

[alinwa]

I'm with Boyd..... And furthermore will add (MY OPINION ONLY) that the idea of an "aligned" press is kinda' goofy. You shove the "alignment" end into a liddle cast iron clip fer cryin' out loud! And this promotes "precision?"

It's all in the dies IMO. I load ammo on a 20.00 Lee 7/8X14 nutcracker hand press that's perfectly straight.

al

 

[abintx]

Bo ...

And now I want to shoot F class with my .308. I want a press that will load accurate ammo.

I use a Redding .308 full length sizing die with bushings, a Wilson .308 seater die with a micrometer top, the Forster CO-AX Press, K & M Arbor Press, and an RCBS 1500 ChargeMaster Combo powder dispenser. It doesn't get any better or simpler than that.

 

[squeakie]

I use a Redding .308 full length sizing die with bushings, a Wilson .308 seater die with a micrometer top, the Forster CO-AX Press, and an RCBS 1500 ChargeMaster Combo powder dispenser. It doesn't get any better or simpler than that.

The Forster press is the best press out there by a wide margin! I can full length size 6mm Remington brass with two fingers. I like their dies as well, and can see little difference between my Wilson dies and the Forster dies in the same caliber. The one major advantage the Redding dies have is the numbers are easier to read for us old folks. But not worth twice the price in my book. At the range I use a little bitty K&M arbor press and Wilson dies or similar custom built dies.

Just being a little nosey, but how well does the RCBS meter powders like 4350 and 4064? I've kinda been looking at one for awhile now.
gary

 

[abintx]

squeakie ...

I only meter two powders: N-133 for my 6PPC, and H-4198 for my 30BR, 6mmBeggs and the .308 W for my son's Savage. Those two powders meter extremely well in the ChargeMaster. I try to keep it simple, whenever I can.

 

[Larry Elliott]

squeakie, I mostly use smaller granuled powders like Art, but have noticed that some of them tend to keep tumbling out the end of the dispensing tube after it's stopped turning, especially ball type powders. The larger ones up to Reloder 15 anyway tend not to do that. I'd have to say that the Chargemaster would likely do well with larger granuled powders like 4350 and 4064.

 

[squeakie]

squeakie, I mostly use smaller granuled powders like Art, but have noticed that some of them tend to keep tumbling out the end of the dispensing tube after it's stopped turning, especially ball type powders. The larger ones up to Reloder 15 anyway tend not to do that. I'd have to say that the Chargemaster would likely do well with larger granuled powders like 4350 and 4064.

well the two of you pretty well answered my question. I too use about of fine grained powders, but almost always use my Harrel Culver style measure, or a slightly modded Lyman #55. Yet neither of the two do large stick powders all that well. That's why I asked, as I'm tired of having to throw a charge a few grains short, and then trickle in the rest on my PACT scale. Guess that'll make a nice birthday present for yours truly!
Gary

 

[R.G. Robinett]

I varmint hunt .223 with mostly factory ammo. Reloaded a bit on a Dillon 550 that I no longer own, (don`t ask). Have a Lee CC on the way. And now I want to shoot F class with my .308. I want a press that will load accurate ammo.

I am looking at three presses. For the .223 I believe that a bit of volume will be beneficial.

Can you rate the quality of ammo each of these presses will produce? Is one going to be any better than the other? If the Forster is left out, will the Hornady load as good as the T-7?
Is the T-7 a consistant press?

I am confused, and need help deciding.



Hornady Lock-n-Load, nice progressive press.

Redding T-7, turrett press.

Forster co-ax press, because of volume really my last choice.

That, your quote (above), in red , is all you will need: MEGA BANG for the buck! RG

 

[Bo22]

OK, I will use the Lee CC. I have the basic Redding dies for the .223 and .308, are these dies adequate? Or should I buy better dies?

What does the Arbor press do that another press will not do?


What powder measure/dispenser should I use? I don`t want to spend much over $100 if I don`t have to.

 

[abintx]

The Arbor press is used for seating bullets when using the Wilson Seater Die, and is sometime used with other hand dies.

In my humble opinion I'd spend over $100 and buy the RCBS 1500 ChargeMaster Combo and end the endless frustration and loss of time associated with other dispensers. I've been there, done that, and nothing increased my enjoyment of reloading more [vice a chore] then going to the ChargeMaster.

 

[R.G. Robinett]

OK, I will use the Lee CC. I have the basic Redding dies for the .223 and .308, are these dies adequate? Or should I buy better dies?

What does the Arbor press do that another press will not do?


What powder measure/dispenser should I use? I don`t want to spend much over $100 if I don`t have to.

You will likely be pleased with the combination of Redding dies and the Lee Classic Cast. You may find a combination of a Type 'S'. FL/Neck-bushing re-size die, and either a Redding or, Forster BR seater die better; assuming straight/concentric re-sizing, the Forster BR seaters usually produce very concentric loaded rounds. If your Redding sizer is a plane-jane FL die, it will still probably pay to remove the neck expnder, which often causes neck mis-alignment.
Good shootin'!
RG

 

[squeakie]

OK, I will use the Lee CC. I have the basic Redding dies for the .223 and .308, are these dies adequate? Or should I buy better dies?

What does the Arbor press do that another press will not do?


What powder measure/dispenser should I use? I don`t want to spend much over $100 if I don`t have to.

I have a Harrell measure that is a very nice one. But it has it's draw backs like anything else. I have to keep a log book for the "clicks", but is very consistent. For small grain powders you just can't do much better than a plain jane Lyman #55. I have one with the Sinclair bottle adapter, that served me well for many years. I've used the Redding BR30, and it's a good one too. But no better than the cheap Lyman 55. The main thing with every powder measurer I've used in the past has been to develope a rythem in your motions. Do everything exactly the same eachtime! I also like to check the powder by weight every so often (I use a PACT scale)

Sometimes I think maybe I'm getting a little too picky about powder weights and seating depths, but then I remember how much I hate pulling bullets!
gary

 

[squeakie]

You will likely be pleased with the combination of Redding dies and the Lee Classic Cast. You may find a combination of a Type 'S'. FL/Neck-bushing re-size die, and either a Redding or, Forster BR seater die better; assuming straight/concentric re-sizing, the Forster BR seaters usually produce very concentric loaded rounds. If your Redding sizer is a plane-jane FL die, it will still probably pay to remove the neck expnder, which often causes neck mis-alignment.
Good shootin'!
RG

I've never used a Forster bushing die, but have used their full length dies a lot thru the years. If you go with standard type full length dies I think the Forster is a better die. If not then it's just as good as the Redding for about half the money. Forster does sell a .308 NM die set, but have never seen one, so I can't comment. I like to use the Redding body dies, and then do everything else with a Wilson die set. Yet the Wilson does not seat bullets very much better than the Forster; if anybetter at all.
gary

 

[mike in co]

no reason to put teim on the pact scvale...your beam is just as good......no advantage to the pact. they are still just plus or minus 0.1...beam or pact.


mike in co

 

[Larry Elliott]

What MIke said about the PACT scale, or pretty much any inexpensive electronic scale for that matter. Even top quality laboratory electronic scales tend to wander a bit, and they generally cost over $1k each which is not for chrome and paint.

As for powder measures, remember that you're trying to measure an irregular solid (except for very fine grained ball type powders) by volume when it's the weight that's the thing of importance with smokeless powder. Some folks who are very coordinated can operate measures with great reproducibility, I tend to not be that coordinated especially if I'm throwing a lot of charges. I've read that with enough practice ANYONE can throw charges ± 0.1 gr with ANY powder. To which I can only say, "HA, HA, HA!"

 

[squeakie]

no reason to put teim on the pact scvale...your beam is just as good......no advantage to the pact. they are still just plus or minus 0.1...beam or pact.


mike in co

I don't even own a beam scale anymore.
gary