Just bought a Grand last year at a closeout sale for Sportsman's Warehouse. Sorry to see the store go but I couldn't pass up the liquidation price of $350. I am relatively new to progressive shotshell reloading so I will say that some of the issues I experienced were due to a lack of attention to detail on my part. With 8 stations moving at the same time, I had to learn quick to watch out for a few critical things. No matter how experienced, I recommend taking a lot of time to make necessary adjustments for your specific recipe and load a box or so one at a time.
I will put an A+ on RCBS customer service. As I was breaking parts, they were very easy to work with supplying new parts quickly and usually with extras so I could build a small parts department for myself. It takes a while to get them on the phone (especially Mondays) but once you've got them, they're great.
So, I cycled 400-500 rounds through it during this "break-in" timeframe and then began to experience a couple more serious issues. Strong back pressure on the downstroke and an annoying squeaking noise caused me to lubricate those parts for which lubrication is recommended. This didn;t help. Because I'd developed a history with RCBS, I contacted them and asked if they could go through the press with a fine tune comb and return it me. You see, I suspect that the Sportsman's Warehouse may have used this press for their demonstrations and reloading classes. I bought it "as-is", obviously, from the liquidation sale so there was no returning it. Again, RCBS was very accomodating and sent me directions for return. A little expensive to package and ship it UPS across the country but I am confident I'll get it back in good shape. Not a very conclusive review for you but I am still leaning toward a "Yes" vote. If issues persist upon retrn, I may have to change my opinion. But for now, I can;t say anything overly negative about it. I do not American Hunter published a good review of the Grand in a recent issue...I think September 09.
General Comments - when it hums, it hums (very easy to knock out a box inside of 4-5 minutes. Indexing is crisp. Love the off/on/dump features for shot and powder. Auto primer feed and wad insertion systems are great.
