Hey Oyeboten,
I think you were asking about the different models of single stage presses offered by RCBS over the years, and I think I can offer a bit of an overview of those presses. All of the RCBS single stage presses were “O” frame presses noted for their heavy duty design, and on a bit of a down note, they were also noted for their terrible spent primer collection systems.
In the mid to late 1950s, RCBS sold their A press which was a massive press with what I think may have been the first swing arm compound leverage system. Later A press models included A1 and A2 designations, but I am not sure what the differences were. Around the mid 1960s, RCBS introduced their RockChucker press which was apparently intended to replace the A model press. While less beefy than the A model, the RockChucker was designed to load anything short of 50 BMG shells.
I had purchased an A model and used it for a couple of years when the RockChucker came out, and I really liked the idea of the more compact RockChucker. I sold my A model and bought a RockChucker which I have been using ever since. My only regret is that I sold the A model to buy the RockChucker. An RCBS A Model press today is worth several times its original cost, but that is pretty much true of most other old RCBS presses.
Around the same time the RockChucker was introduced, RCBS also came out with the RCBS Jr. press. It was a much smaller brother to the A model and the RockChucker. Like the A and the Chucker, it was also an “O” frame, but it had a smaller ram and overall smaller casting. At the time, I think I paid less than $20 for a new one without any die set. The Jr. press did not have the leverage power of the RockChucker, but it was quite effective at sizing even the largest cases.
As years went by, the RCBS Jr came out as a Jr. 2 and I think a Jr. 3, but again I am not sure what the differences were if any. I think the #3 was simply a Jr. press included in a kit form, but I am not certain of that.
The early RCBS presses came with aluminum catch cups to catch spent primers. The cups were held in place with a rubber band that went around the back frame and held onto a lug on each side of the catch cups. By the late 1970s, the aluminum catch cups were replaced with plastic catch cups which were surely cheaper to make, but they were no more effective at catching spent primers than the aluminum ones.
Supposedly, RCBS presses are now cast in China and assembled in the USA. I have no idea if it is true, but I have seen pictures of an RCBS progressive shotshell press that looks like a very good machine.
I still have my first RockChucker and two Juniors. I also have a Hornady L&L AP progressive press and a couple of other single stage presses. My one regret is that I did not keep my original RCBS A Model press.
One final note: RCBS stands for Rock Chuck Bullet Swage Company and was started by Fred Huntingdon in California.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
