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Posted: 10/15/2009 9:46:05 AM EDT
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Well, I came into about 6,000 rounds of brass and started on the daunting task of de-capping them the other night. I was quickly reminded once again how sloppy my old Lyman ST turret press is. About every 15-20 .223 cases I ran into the universal decapper tapped the edge of the pin on the case mouth and I could not for the life of me get it to line up right betwen the set-screw held shell holder and the angled tool-head, and the sloppy ram mechanism (Less than 5,000 rounds through it, bought it NOS). I think I'm just going to relegate it to pistol/high volume duty.
I've spent over 2 grand recently upgrading my reloading tools and re-stocking components, I hate to make sub-par ammunition. My solution was to fill up the last space on my reloading bench with a stong, solid, single-stage with as little run-out as possible and the ability to switch dies. After doing some reading, it sounds like the Forster Co-ax is the way to go to squeeze the utmost accuracy out of my loaded rounds. Looking for your opinions on the situation. Regards, Sam |
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I want the Co-Ax press pretty bad. It's nearly twice the cost of other presses, but very consistent. Granted, if you figure that you'll probably have it for the rest of your life, that $200+ cost doesn't seem like so much. My runner up is the Redding Big Boss II or RCBS Rock Chucker. |
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I took a wrench to my turrent and cinched it down real tight to no avail... Still sloppy. Mostly in the ram mechanism. It's not worn out, just the way it was designed. I use an RCBS shell holder and it fits fine, but the alignment is spotty at best.
I think I'll drill/tap a handle into the Lyman turret head and use it for pistol rounds. It just sounds like the Forster is cream of the crop and in all fairness, $100 difference is minimal considering the $1,000's worth of components that it will see. |
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I've only had mine for about 10 months, but I think it's the perfect single stage press. It's a quality piece of hardware, plus I like not having to use shellholders. Dies snap in and out in less than a second. The primer seater is not as fast as using a hand-held seater, but with a little practice, it's not slow either, and it seats primers perfectly below flush... and its design makes it impossible to overseat (crush) a primer.
I use mine for .222, .223, 9mm, and .38SPL. |
| I think the shell holder is faster. You can always buy the piece. It is $15 bucks to see if you like it. Here is the part.http://www.midwayusa.com/Search/#shellholder%20plate____-_1-2-4_8-16-32 |
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I thought the floating jaws were half the reason why the runout of the ammo loaded was so good? I don't own a Co-Ax but did consider it.
I ended up getting a redding big boss II to replace my tired RCBS Reloader special 3. I liked the Redding match headspace shell holders for quickly making ammo with different headspace for one of multiples in a caliber. I am thinking of getting one of those do hickeys that measure runout to check my precision ammo. |
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