Single stage press upgrade

[allstajacket]

So I do all of my handgun loading on a Dillon 750, but my long gun loads are done on a single stage press. My current press is an old RCBS Jr. that works, but I think it is time to upgrade to something a bit bigger.

I have loaded .308, .30-06, and .300 win mag on the Jr.

The Jr is currently mounted on an inline fab mount, which I believe will not work with any of the bigger presses.

I’m currently trying to decide if I should upgrade to a turret style press, or just a nicer single stage, like the Rock Chucker Supreme, or RCBS Rebel.

I’m not a fan of always setting up dies and would love the ability to set and forget for bullet seating dies etc, however if I end up with a simple single stage it’s not a huge deal.

Hoping to hear some ideas or thoughts to help navigate this decision! Thanks!


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[Mojave]

Depends on how many calibers you are dealing with and how often you load them.

I would keep the RCBS Jr set up to de-prime, with a universal de-prime die.

I like the Hornady heavy press.

 

[allstajacket]

Mostly .308, 6.5cm, .30-06, and maybe 7mm mag, 300wsm, 6.8 western.

I currently don’t load as much as I’d like to. But even then it’ll be a low amount compared to some others. These are mainly for hunting and practice so 100-200 rounds of each annually? Maybe more for the 308.

I do between 1 and 3k annually of 9mm on the 750 but that’s a different animal entirely.


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[SchwarzStock]

I use and RCBS Ammo Master, got it when I started working with the 8.58x71 before it was commercialized as the 338 Lapua. Works for every rifle cartridge I load. I was given a Dillon 550 and few different dies sets/die holders. It works but I just prefer the single stage especially with 50-70 and 50-90. On my bench I also have a RCBS Jr and it is set-up with a universal decapping die and used for that purpose only. Next to the Ammo Master and Jr presses I have sets of shell holders so they are always at hand. After a day shooting I try to sit down and decap all the fired cases so I can get them in the tumbler for cleaning that day or the next. The nice thing about the Ammo Master is it can be expanded to accommodate the BMG should you decide

 

[Mojave]

1200-1600 rounds a year. I would upgrade and keep the other one as a deprime for sure.

 

[Wrench]

I'd strongly suggest looking at the forster coax. The forster is so much easier and more accurate than my rcbs was that I will probably never touch my rock chucker again. No shell holders, no spinning dies....always accurate and the mechanical advantage is unbelievable.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

My Rockchucker has been solid for me for close to 40 years now.

 

[wind gypsy]

What does setting up dies entail for you? I've never had a turret press but on standard single stage if i'm not changing seating depth, I dont do anything more than screw a seating die in and pull the handle and it's close enough to my last session. Same thing with sizing dies but I'll usually measure shoulder bump and maybe just tweak a little bit with comp shell holders or a slight adjustment of die if necessary.

The one thing that I would not live without on a single stage is compatibility with an inline fab case ejector setup. Reducing the # of times you need to handle each case is a game changer. I'm not sure if there is such a system for the co-ax and that's part of the reason i've never bought one.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

What does setting up dies entail for you? I've never had a turret press but on standard single stage if i'm not changing seating depth, I dont do anything more than screw a seating die in and pull the handle and it's close enough to my last session. Same thing with sizing dies but I'll usually measure shoulder bump and maybe just tweak a little bit with comp shell holders or a slight adjustment of die if necessary.

This is what I was wondering, does he have dies with a locking ring that stay locked once set? Or is he dealing with something like lee dies with the oring compression to set them and thus the setting is lost every time?

If the latter get some locking rings. Hornady and forester both sell them loose, they're the style that doesn't tighten against the die threads (preferable imho).

 

[TaperPin]

A heavy single stage is always up to the task, whatever task that is. You’ll never wear it out, and even forming cases won’t break it.

A Rock Chucker is overkill unless you’re forming cases for a wildcat, but it’s nice to not have to worry about it with normal fl sizing. When my Rock Chucker was gifted down the totem pole, it was replaced with a Rebel, which is a little heavier and doesn’t have a built in priming system like the Rock Chucker, which I never used anyway.

 

[Castle Rock]

The Redding T7

 

[jfk69]

I’d keep the old one as a dedicated decapper. If I were to replace my Rockchucker, the only single stage press I’d want is a Forster Coax.

 

[SloppyJ]

Turret press is the jam but the coax looks sweet too. I have all of my dies setup and just pop the turret in with the dies I need and go to town. Love it.

If I'm loading pistol, I can go from empty case to completed case without touching it after I load the case. That's also a game changer.