Press Recommendations???

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Press Recommendations???

Postby TacoTaco » Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:14 am

All,

My (very) old Rockchucker is starting to show its age. After 10's of thousands of rounds loaded, I think I'm about ready to retire the old girl and upgrade to something new. My only criteria is that me new press be a single stage. I've got a Dillon 550 progressive, but I'm not a big fan of it. It's just about useless for rifle reloading due to the trimming requirement, and I don't shoot enough pistol to really make good use of it. So....

Opinions on a Single Stage? I was thinking about just replacing it with a new Rockchucker, but the Hornady Lock N Load caught my eye. I REALLY like the idea of not having to setup my dies over and over. That train of thought also brought me to a Turrent press, but I have no experience at all with them either. I'm really concerned with the repeatability of both the Hornady and the Turret Press....will they remain consistent??

Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Mon Jul 09, 2012 11:33 am

RockChucker! But how old is your current one? Mine was made back in or around 1983 and shes still as solid as when I bought her used back in 1984. And I load EVERYTHING on her. 38/357 Mag, 30-30 Win, 30-06, 5.56 NATO, 7mm Rem Mag, 9mm, 45ACP, 32-20 Win,7.62X39, 6.5 Grendel,450 Bushmaster, She is the only press I own to date. I may get a progressive for strictly 9mm and 45ACP later, but i have no intentions of retiring my old rockchucker for my rifles. I have only considered buying her a twin Rock Chucker so I can have one as a spare for special tasks such as Legendre Crimping and to keep bored youngsters occupied decapping the thousands of 9mm and 5.56 NATO brass I have. We don't want the "art" to die out like HAM radio is dying out. :ugeek:
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby TacoTaco » Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:21 pm

Not sure how old it is. Bought it back in 2000 from a Buddy who knew a guy selling his reloading gear. It doesn't look like any other RCBS that I've ever seen, Im just assuming it's a Rockchucker. When I get home I'll take a pic and post it up. Maybe someone can tell me what it is that I have
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:13 pm

If it's an ambidextrous RCBS press single stage, it's newer than mine.
You can zoom in and see mine over on the right hand side of my bench.
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby TacoTaco » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:24 pm

Image

Here's what I got. Ideas on what it is???
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby paulmark3010 » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:56 pm

That looks like a RCBS Jr. The RCBS Rockchucker is way more press than that. You cannot wear out a Rockchucker. If you do, RCBS will fix it or replace it for free. :twisted:
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby paulmark3010 » Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:03 pm

Texas Sheepdawg wrote:RockChucker! But how old is your current one? Mine was made back in or around 1983 and shes still as solid as when I bought her used back in 1984. And I load EVERYTHING on her. 38/357 Mag, 30-30 Win, 30-06, 5.56 NATO, 7mm Rem Mag, 9mm, 45ACP, 32-20 Win,7.62X39, 6.5 Grendel,450 Bushmaster, She is the only press I own to date. I may get a progressive for strictly 9mm and 45ACP later, but i have no intentions of retiring my old rockchucker for my rifles. I have only considered buying her a twin Rock Chucker so I can have one as a spare for special tasks such as Legendre Crimping and to keep bored youngsters occupied decapping the thousands of 9mm and 5.56 NATO brass I have. We don't want the "art" to die out like HAM radio is dying out. :ugeek:


Hey Dawg, if you load those pistol rounds and want to speed things up, get a Piggyback for your Rockchucker. It turns your single stage into a progressive. I had a Piggyback III and loved it. I decided to get a full RCBS progressive and sold the Piggyback. :twisted:
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:35 pm

Thanx Paul. I am considering a progressive press but every time I price them, I balk. There are so many accessories you have to buy that it just gets discouraging. But I've actually gotten pretty efficient loading my pistol stuff. I get all my brass decapped and prepped, then primed in bulk usually 100 - 200 at a time then do a production run. I've been buying, scavaging and hoarding brass for decades and I have picked up thousands of rounds of 9mm and 5.56 brass off of ranges. I also have close to 600, 30-30 Win cases, and 7mm Rem Mag brass and 30/06. I probably have more than I will ever use in my lifetime. ( Unless SHTF). I did an inventory check on my smokeless powder and primer reserves and I think I'm better off than most folks. I still have 1K lots from bulk purchases in the 1990s. I guess I am a hoarder.... There, I said it. It ain't pretty, but there it is, all the same.
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby 1fullmag » Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:56 pm

taco,
have you talked to rcbs? they may be willing rework your press for free.
I have a dillon 550 that I love I use it for auto pistol and .223/5.56 it works great, with the bottle necks when they get too long I deprime trim then run back thru 550. I also have a lyman turret that I use for most other loadings. its great too, you can set up all dies in turret and leave them and buy more turrets for different loadings. and I have rcbs big max that I use for swaging military primer crimps, and usually the one that friends get to use if they decide I need to load stuff for them.
If I were to buy a new single stage today I would prob lean towards the hornady because of the bushing system I can't see there being a probem with it my dillon has a removable toolhead that has plenty of verticle play but col and crimp are very consistant, and I think hornady still has the free bullet deal with purchase.
hope this helps a bit?
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Re: Press Recommendations???

Postby Wicked Hunter » Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:23 am

I bought the Hornady Lock-n-Load kit and i have nothing but good things to say about it!. The bushing system works well and isnt sloppy at all.
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