Decision on a press ... Forster, T-7, Summit?

[nettlle]

Some folks like me load in "stages". One day I will decap, resize, and expand a large quantity of cases. The next session I will prime a large quantity of cases and put them in airtight containers. The final session I will charge the cases with powder, seat, and taper crimp. This is not necessarily the fastest way but the way I prefer to do it. It makes for a shorter amount of time on the loading bench each session.

 

[daboone]

The Summit is similar to the CO AX sans its priming ability. If the Hornady's LNL bushing are added/installed it is VERY similar and as fast to switch out dies. It has one advantage over the CO-AX in that the lever arm can be tightened so as to allow the arm to be left in a set position rather than having to return to the full extent of travel. That ability is very ergonomically convenient when doing repetitive tasks like depriming, sizing ang bullet seating. The Summits biggest fault is it's depriming containment container. It's flimsy. That does require some beefing up and modifications. Nothing extraordinary but it does need work.

 

[Rule3]

This is in no way directed to the OP but to these types of threads in general.

There are many new comers to the hobby of reloading which is great. I have never understood the rational of buying top of the line expensive equipment when first starting out and especially when the need is only to load one or two calibers. Not talking precision long range rifle stuff.

Yes, my Father always said buy good tools the first time, which I agree with. But there is good and very, very good. As a homeowner I do not the best contractor grade tools. Kind of a diminishing return .
When I bough my first car and helped my kids with their first cars it sure was not a BMW or Lexus.

Buy a decent good press and if your interest grows or you need more production you have not wasted any money, you can use if for other tasks or sell it and have not forked out big money at first. Again, add up all the "extras".

If you have unlimited disposable income than of course buy whatever.

 

[wiiawiwb]

Rule,

I think the difference between this and giving a young kid a BMW is that this will last my lifetime, and then some. The BMW can not make the same claim. It will be sold, scrapped, or traded-in within a few years of taking ownership. Moreover, if the Co Ax/T-7 is more car than I can handle, I am confident I could sell it lightly used and not take much of a beating. The same can not be said of that BMW.

When I was upgrading my backpacking equipment to take advantage of new technology, I jumped all over the new cuben-fiber stuff. Was it expensive? You betcha. Has my enjoyment of backpacking increased with the featherweight equipment? Infinitely.

I'm in my 60s and if a little extra money can make life a little bit easier, I'm all for that. It's an approach to sports equipment that I've never regretted in all of my many years.

Wiia

 

[Dudedog]

Quick comment on priming.
I like my Lee hand primer. It gives you a nice feel seating the primers.
I do a quick run through the tumbler, deprime, clean the cases some more, then prime with it most of the time. (sometimes even when using my progressive)
I find it fast and I can do it while watching the news..etc on TV. (wear safety glasses)
The hand primer and shell holders for it are not that much, but it does use it's own special shell holders.
It is very quick to put the primers in it as compared to the tube type primer feeder on my progressive which requires you to "stab" each primer with the tube. (I know there are tools out there to fill the tubes but that's another $50)

I would suggest watching a video of someone loading on the Lee Classic turret. I think one would make a good first press for you or anyone starting out loading pistol ammo. I do load rifle ammo on my "Deluxe" turret (not as nice as the Classic) but if I was starting with rifle I would lean more towards a SS.

I own a progressive and while you could learn on one I would not recommend it.

 

[stubbicatt]

I'll share my experience with the Summit and Co-Ax. I do not have a dedicated reloading room with bench. I have mounted them to a 2x6 and then "C" clamp that board to my kitchen table for reloading chores. The handles are on top of the presses, and are not as comfortable to manipulate seated at the table, and if used while standing, access to the shell holder is sort of a stretch. If the bench top were perhaps another foot closer to the ground it would all work out well for seated use I would think.

The nice feature of the Summit is that one doesn't bang his knee into the linkage below the table as is wont to happen with other presses.

I did not like the Co-Ax as one has to buy the lock rings to use that press. I found it finicky to set up dies for bottleneck cases, but OP has indicated that his will be pistol rounds, so that may not be an issue for him. I did like the primer catching bottle and the priming system on top of the press like that. I did not like the so-called automatic shell holder which opens and closes on the case heads. Some folks really like that press, but in the end it was a loser for me, and I sold it within a few months of buying it.

I do not have experience with the Redding turret mentioned by OP. My first press was a Lyman T Mag, very similar in design to the Redding. It was a nice press. Today I use the Lee Classic Turret for my pistol loading, and the Summit for rifles. I have used the Lee for bottleneck cases up to 308 length, and it works just fine. I just prefer the Summit for that use. The turret interchangeability on the Lee is superior to that of the Lyman, not as heavy, and very simple to change out, inexpensive enough to buy one for each caliber you load. The priming system on the Lee is a good design, and strong enough for the job.

OP, if you are unsure, try to source a used press of the 3 that you listed as in the running. If it doesn't do what you want it to do, you can always sell it. I would encourage you to consider the Lee Classic Cast turret with the Safety Prime system. I do not think you will be disappointed if you do.

 

[243winxb]

Dillon BL 550 Basic Loader

Rule 3 I am surprised the boys in Blue have not yet said to get a Dillon Progressive

Not a progressive, i dont think? Dillon BL 550 Basic Loader. Looks about the same as my old Dillon RL 450.

 

[wiiawiwb]

If I were to buy a turret, I think it would be the Redding for two reasons. I would want the ability to use it as a SSP so the auto-indexing function of the Lee would be a no go for me (unless it could be turned off). Also, I could contemplate having 5 dies in the turret for each caliber:

1) Dedicated depriming die (use prior to cleaning)
2) Resizing die
3) Expanding die
4) Seating die
5) Crimping die

 

[Rule3]

Yes the LEE Classic turret can be a single stage, you just take the index rod out but it is only 4 holes.

If you are into the quality of the T7 the Lee would not be up your alley.

As with cars the choice is all yours.

 

[Dudedog]

On my Lee I just have the decap only die (which I use for .223 - crimped primers) on its own turret. For pistol rounds I don't find the decap only die necessary. I just use the resize/decap die then clean the cases.
So only having 4 die positions might not be as much of an issue as you think.
My Lee turret is the old 3 hole model. So in my pistol turrets I have expand/powder drop, seat, and crimp dies.

As Rule3 mentioned earlier it is easy to remove the index rod on the Lee. You can then load like a SS or rotate the turret by hand. Just replace the index rod when you want to have the turret auto rotate.

I have never used a T7 but they are supposed to be nice

 

[cwall64]

I have a 30 year old Rockchucher, a year or so old T-7, and a few month old Dillon. The T-7 is a great press, I probably use it the most. They all make a great product, and the T-7 seems to be my go to press when I am needing a couple of hundred handgun rounds...

 

[lauderdale]

Its been well described on what one has and likes. I have A Dillon SDB and a T-7 and I mostly reload smaller pistol calibers so far. But have a bunch of Rifle loading to get into next. Ive not have loaded as long as some but I re-load a bunch/ thousands. 380/9mm/40/45. Any how my T-7 I use the most and have time to. The SDB I have set up for Prime de-cap resize. The T-7 is a smart investment to me as I know I have allot of work ahead.
Good luck,John

 

[Drop45]

I have a single stage, a Redding T-7, and 2 Dillon 650's. One 650 is for 9mm and the other is for .45 acp. The T-7 is used for all my revolver rounds as I don't shoot too many of those throughout the year. With that said, I love my T-7 press. I have 5 heads set up with various dies and it works like a charm.

 

[Toprudder]

Can't comment on the T7 or the Forster, but I do have a Summit.

Let me qualify my comments by saying that up to this point I have loaded mainly straight wall pistol ammo. I wet tumble my brass, and deprime all my brass before I tumble. I had a Lee Challenger that I used for some time to deprime, but the spent primer handling on that press left something to be desired. The primer residue would gum up the ram, requiring cleaning/lubing every 1000 rounds or so. I bought the Summit mainly for depriming, and with the idea that I would use it for rifle loading later.

I mounted the Summit flush with the front of the bench, and had a plastic bin mounted under the bench lip to catch the spent primers. Works great. I never liked the included plastic part they included for catching primers.

The problem with depriming lots of brass (I sometimes do 1000 at a time) is that the high mounted lever is not very ergonomic for such a repetitive task, even with the optional short lever. I was having to lift the weight of the lever AND the carriage every time.

I have since sold my Challenger press and replaced it with a Lee Classic Turret. I really like that press. I have one turret that contains both the universal decapper die, and a collet bullet puller. I can decap faster than the Summit press, and don't feel like I have gone through a workout doing so. The weight of the ram balances out the weight of the lever such that I can easily move the lever by just bending my elbow. The extra turrets are only about $12.

The RCBS is threaded for 1-1/4" x 12, and comes with an adapter for standard 7/8" dies. You can use the Hornady bushing kit, which I did, which makes swapping out dies very quick and easy.

With the linkage used on the Summit, it is not possible to use something like the RCBS collet bullet puller (which is what I have) as the linkage interferes with the puller. The Hornady cam lock puller might work.

There is no provision with the Summit to prime on the press. It would be possible to buy a ram prime die (Lee sells one) but that is more of a pain than using a hand primer.

At this point I don't plan to get rid of the Summit, I still plan to use it for rifle rounds and I think it will be great for resizing. But, I will also try out the Lee Turret to see how that compares. If I feel like the Lee Turret does as good a job as the Summit, I may sell the Summit altogether.

So far I have not mentioned that I do have a Dillon 550B that I use for 90% of my pistol reloading.

 

[ATLDave]

I got started with this a few years ago: https://kempfgunshop.com//index.php...roduct_id=630&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=41

I haven't felt any compulsion to "upgrade" since.

 

[JonB]

There is no provision with the Summit to prime on the press. It would be possible to buy a ram prime die (Lee sells one) but that is more of a pain than using a hand primer.

Correct. I have a Lee Ram prime that came with my kit that I haven't ever used as the hand primer is the way to go. But just for giggles I put in in the Summit and it would work - albeit very slow, placing each primer one by one...

Could be done, but that would be as tedious as removing crimps on 9mm brass. Life is too short for that

 

[wiiawiwb]

Going to make a decision tomorrow and then pull the trigger and order either the Redding T-3 or the Forster Co Ax. Still don't know which one it will be. Would be great to be near the Cabelas Flagship megastore in Hamburg, PA so I could try handle both first.

We'll see.

 

[DR915]

I have the T-7 and I love it. I use it for 308 mainly. I am one that does a lot of research and then I buy once. Like Toprudder I have Dillon for pistol loading. I will load 1000 rounds in one sitting. But I do not recommend that for you. Now back you your question...Forster is a great press and I did like the quick die setup. I did not like how you primed on the Forster. Just was not for me. I decided to go with the T-7 because it offers more growth. Right now you do 1 caliber, and you can set up your dies and be done with it. If you decide to do another caliber you can set them up too. That still leavea you room for a universal decapping die. As for a quick change in the Forster, That can be taken care of in the T-7 with Hornady quick change setup. I think Forster is a great press, but should be use for slow precision rounds. The T-7 can be used for slow precision rounds too, but can be used for higher volume rounds if you should choose to. I think the T-7 is best used when one does one thing to all the brass and then turns the turret to the next step. I think the better choice for you would be the T-7 IMO.

 

[daboone]

The priming tool built into the CO-Ax is the only design I'm aware of seats the primer a fixed distance, 0.004, below flush which helps prevent slam fires.

 

[wiiawiwb]

Many seem to complain about the Co Ax priming system. I've always thought it was one of its strengths. Obviously not as fast nor convenient as other systems but it would be difficult to argue about its effectiveness.

 

[DR915]

Like I said, either one will be fine. You just need to pick which one works for your needs. Please let us know which way you go.

 

[HexHead]

Another vote for the Dillon BL550. When you get tired of messing around, you can just add the priming system and powder drop and have a progressive.

 

[wiiawiwb]

At one point in the time line, I checked out the Dillon BL550. What was very disconcerting is there are almost no videos on YouTube of the BL550 or the 450. That spoke volumes to me and I dismissed that press from further consideration.

It may be the best one on the planet but when no one else cares to post it on YT, while 5,000 others have posted their 550b, Lee, RCBS, T-7, Co Ax and others, it makes me wonder why.

 

[sixguns]

I have the Co-Ax, Big Boss 2 and the Rockchucker. I could also add another press of any type, but all I use is the Co-Ax now.

 

[JonB]

Many seem to complain about the Co Ax priming system. I've always thought it was one of its strengths. Obviously not as fast nor convenient as other systems but it would be difficult to argue about its effectiveness.

Priming is priming. I don't see how the Co-Ax squishes a primer in any better or more effectively than anything else. The primer only goes in so far which is dictated by the primer pocket in the brass. To me, the Co-Ax priming looks awkward in that your working space is between the forks on the handle and have to touch/place each individual primer.

In thousands of rounds loaded using my hand primer tool, I haven't experienced the 'issues' that the Co-Ax claims to be better at - ie flipped primers, crushing of primers, etc. Seems to me like the marketing guys had a list of everything that could go wrong with priming and then said 'ours doesn't have those problems.' Guess what? most priming methods don't have those problems either