press question.

[moooose102]

is there a reloading press out there that the spent primers do not fall out the side of the ram? i hate dumping all of the nasty debris right into the stroke of the ram, where it can work its way in between the ram and the press body, where it causes wear. plus, it drives me crazy. and i end up tearing the press all apart to clean it. seems like any one engineering these, that actually uses one, would design the press to drop the primers all the way straight through the ram and out the bottom. it would be easy to do, and conveinient also. just place a trash can under the press, and all of the primers would just drop right into the can.

[Daniel1120]

Thats what the lee classic cast turret does. Spent primers are dropped straight out of the bottom of the ram and into a tube that is attached to it.

[lordgroom]

With the RCBS Pro2000 the primers do not contact the ram but drop down a tube into an awaiting cup. I replaced some of the aluminum tubing with poly tubing and directed it to a larger container on the floor rather than the cup. It is totally contained to contain the primer dust.

[Landric]

In addition to the Lee Classic Turret the Lee Classic Cast single stage and I believe several Redding presses do the same thing (drop through the ram into a plastic tube attached to it base).

I replaced my Rockchucker II with a Lee Classic Cast ( I still have the RC, it just mostly sits on the bench though) primarily because of the on press priming system and spent primer disposal, both of which are light years ahead of the RC. As for press quality the Classic Cast is every bit of the press the RC is, and at half the cost.

[rfwobbly]

The Hornady LNL AP also does the tube out the bottom trick.

[loadedround]

Some of the Redding presses such as the Big Boss and their turret press (model T7 I believe) have the spent primers drop into a collection bottle beneath the press. Redding presses are quality presses and extemly well made. However they are expensive. My favorite press after my Dillon 550B.

[TimRB]

"The Hornady LNL AP also does the tube out the bottom trick."

As does the Forster Co-Ax.

Tim

[rg1]

Forster Co-Ax drops the primers and debris out a tube and into a plastic bottle. The automatic shell holder area stays clean.
http://www.larrywillis.com/Forster.html

[moooose102]

GOOD,at least i have options. the only 2 presses i have ever had, and old rock chucker, and my current a lee challenger, both dropped them out the side. it is an ugly mess. i guess they just didnt know better, or didnt care. now, i just have to decide on which one.

[delta5]

I have the Lee classic cast turret press and I love it. I am glad that I went ahead and purchased it for my first press instead of the Aniversary kit. I can load anything I want with it, and with the pro disc powder thrower, I can reload up to .308 very quickly. I just wish they had an automatic thrower that would dump larger amounts so I can do 8mm and .30-06 automatically instead of by hand.

[dmazur]

The Dillon 550b has a trick primer catcher that collects the spent primer and then dumps it into a cup at the end of the downstroke -

550b.jpg

I haven't seen this on a single stage, probably because the catcher rides under the shellplate and there's no easy equivalent location on a single stage ram.

[moooose102]

a dillon progressive would be a wet dream for me. couldnt afford it unless i won the lottery, and since i dont play much, is very unlikely to happen. i just need a good long wearing single stage press that eventually i can hand down to the kids. hopefully one of them will get the bug. they both like to help, but i think that is more about dad time than anything. besides, honestly, i dont have much patience for complicated things. i like simple stuff. more labor intensive, but way easier on my brain.

[David Wile]

Hey Moooose102,

If a Dillon progressive is too expensive for you at this time, I would think that would also be true of all of the other presses mentioned except for the Lee brand. The Hornady single stage press may also have a modern primer catch system and be within your price range.

You are absolutely correct about the RockChucker's primer catch system being lousy compared to modern ones that drop through a tube. However, you should consider that the RCBS RockChucker and Junior presses were designed nearly 50 years ago, and their priming and depriming systems were really an improvement over many of the presses that came before them.

In the early 1960s, I thought the RCBS priming system with its auto feed (used on the Junior and RockChucker presses) was a great improvement, and I used it for maybe 25 years until I tried a Lee hand primer tool and have used it ever since. I still have and still use an RCBS Junior and RockChucker for special reloading work, but I wouldn't think of using the primer system on them even though I thought they were great nearly 50 years ago.

The spent primer catch sytem used on those two RCBS presses was also considered a great improvement over many of the other presses that came before and had no catch system at all. Many earlier presses just let all the primers fall where they may. The RCBS presses had their aluminum catch pans that fit around the base of the press, and they did catch at least half of the primers. Of course, some of the spent primers bounce out and on the floor, and others get caught behind the primer seating arm if it is left in place.

To this day, my RCBS presses still have their primer seater arms and auto feed mechanisms in place even though I have not used them in about 25 years. I simply put up with the much less than perfect primer catch system and clean the ones up off the floor. As far as your RockChucker wearing out from "...all of the nasty debris right into the stroke of the ram, where it can work its way in between the ram and the press body, where it causes wear," don't worry about it. The RockChucker and the even older presses that came before it will still be working just fine in the next 50 years. Is it as convenient as a new modern press? No, but it will outlive you and I with a minimum of care. I have never taken my press apart. I simply wipe the dirt off that I can reach, and I keep it oiled - that's it.

I also have a Hornady L&L AP progressive press that I bought in 1997. It is far more modern and able to handle all the rifle and pistol calibers that the old RockChucker could. I have about nine or ten shell plates for the press, and they are used to load perhaps forty different calibers of die sets I use. In spite of its ability to load quality ammo quickly, I still spend more time using my old single stage presses than the progressive. I use the single stage presses for small batches of ammo and testing loads.

If you like simple stuff, your RockChucker cannot be beat. It is more labor intensive, but it is both simple and reliable. It may rust away if you let it, but you won't wear it out if you give it a minimum amount of care.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[rfwobbly]

The Dillon 550b has a trick primer catcher that collects the spent primer and then dumps it into a cup at the end of the downstroke...

I'm a 550b owner and I must say that of all the 550's very fine features, catching primers and "smut" is NOT one of it's strengths. The primer catch does not smother the bottom of the shell plate and so ~1 out every 100 primers goes errant. Then, there is always an un-neat pile of smut around the ram. This makes for gritty operation on my machine and I find myself cleaning and oiling this area about once a month.

I've found that this errant primer issue is improved with the right dies. Right now I'm on my third set, so the search is getting expensive.

I've also extensively modified the catcher to extend its length and coverage and the issue has been reduced, but it has not been eliminated.

If I purchased again, I'd have to look at the LNL AP. True, it has it's own issues, but those I know how to fix.

[SSN Vet]

I have the Lee classic cast turret press and I love it. I am glad that I went ahead and purchased it for my first press instead of the Aniversary kit. I can load anything I want with it, and with the pro disc powder thrower, I can reload up to .308 very quickly. I just wish they had an automatic thrower that would dump larger amounts so I can do 8mm and .30-06 automatically instead of by hand.

My experience exactly....

I'm toying with some extended side risers and screws that will allow me to tripple stack

[BigJakeJ1s]

The Lee classic cast and classic turret, the Redding Big Boss II, UltraMag and T7; and the Forster co-ax are the only single stage or turret presses that handle spent primers down through the bottom of the ram. Note that the Lee presses do a lot better job of keeping the primer from coming out the primer arm slot if the priming arm is left in the ram slot, whether it is used to prime with or not. I'm not sure how the priming arm/slot works on the Redding presses, so that may or may not matter. The Co-ax is a straight tube from right under the shell holder jaws, with no chance of escape for primers or debris, and it stays far away from the ram.

Many users have complained that the Dillon 550 primer cup is not very reliable at catching all of the spent primers.

Andy

[JimKirk]

If you load for accuracy, get the Forster Co-Ax!
If you load for speed get one of the others.

[Walkalong]

The LNL AP does a great job of getting rid of primers with no mess at all.

[ranger335v]

"design the press to drop the primers all the way straight through the ram and out the bottom. it would be easy to do, and conveinient also."

I hate primer grit getting in my RC ram too. Solved the problem with a little Lee "Reloader" press and dedicated it use with a unversal decapper. Put it on a short length of 2x4, attached it to the bench with the press sitting about forward of the bench top, drilled a hole under the press primer catcher cavity and put a pill bottle under the hole. Works fine.

Liked it so much I got a second "Reloader" press for permanent use re-priming with a Lee Auto Prime II. Love that too.

If I were buying a new single stage press today it would be a Lee Classic Cast, partly because of the much better primer catcher system! (As well as being bigger, stronger, more wear resistant, better lever mechanism and all made in the USA!)

[Noveldoc]

Simple way to do 30 06 with that Lee Turret with disc powder measure. Give the case 2 stokes. Easy to work out with the double disc set.

I often decap with the Lee hand press. It stores about 20 primers at a time and I just dump them in the trash.

Tom

[moooose102]

If you load for accuracy, get the Forster Co-Ax!
If you load for speed get one of the others.

well, with a single stage press, there is only so much speed you are going to get, unless you are on drugs, or your name is "Speedy Gonzales". and i have yet to see any cartoon characters (especially those from the sixties) that can really opperate a computer, or a reloading press! LOL! i no longer have a 9 to 5 job, so i can usually find time to play around with the reloading stuff. but, you have my interest, what is so special about the forster co-ax press compared to the others? and, will i need to replace all of my lee dies in order to realize the accuracy improvement? mostly, i reload to save money, but anytime i can improve accuracy, without replacing everything i already own, it is something i am interested in.

[Rugg_Ed]

After 50 + years of loading shells, forming brass, swagging bullets/ bumping bullets with one single press and it still works fine, along with the other green one (different brand) of over 25 yrs use. Besides they get along just fine with the other colors. Just normal cleaning and lube they will most likely out last me!!
Some body gonna get a good deal when I am gone.
Good Luck