trouble with shell holder on RCBS press

[s12.aaxtell]

I got a new RCBS rock chucker supreme reloading press for christmas. I just set it up in the basement today and was excited to get working but I ran into a problem right off the bat. I have a set of RCBS dies for .303 that are 20-some years old (a gift from a family friend). I cannot for the life of me get the shell holder the dies came with to fit in the press. It seems to large. I have seen other threads of people having problems with mixing brands, but the press and dies are both RCBS. Any help would be great.

-Alex

 

[Fleet]

Try another shell holder...they're less than $10.

 

[cfullgraf]

Generally speaking, shell holders today are pretty much interchangeable between the different brands. 20 years ago is getting into the end of the range where some companies were different.

Most of the RCBS shell holders I have are stamped "RCBS", even ones from 30 years ago and they should fit.

If you have another shell holder for any cartridge to try, it will tell you if you have a press problem or a shell holder problem.

As said, shell holders are not expensive. But 303 British sometimes can be difficult to find.

I have seen manufacturers and gun scribes recommend to not mix manufacturer dies and shell holders. In 30 years, I have never specifically followed those recommendations and have not had any issues.

 

[ReloaderFred]

If you can determine where it's binding, you can stone a little off the shellholder and make it fit. It probably won't take much.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[243winxb]

Rotate the shell holder counter clockwise, or to the left while pushing it into the ram. There is a spring clip there to retain the shell holder. What number is stamped on the shell holder?

 

[s12.aaxtell]

It says RCBS #7 on the back. I see the spring clip, but the shell holder wont even get far enough into the press to reach that spring. It is getting caught up immediatly upon trying to slid it in.

-Alex

 

[243winxb]

The bottom of the shell holder measures .560" The opening in the ram, is just a hair bigger, but i can not get in there to measure it. If the spring clip is not sticking out to far and blocking the shell holder, then a call to RCBS is needed. #7 is the correct shell holder.

 

[MEHavey]

Remove the spring clip and check again. That will elimnate one of the three variables.

If it still doesn't fit, beg/borrow/steal any other shellholder from any other source. That will isolate the last variable

 

[s12.aaxtell]

Thanks for the advice guys. I went back down and pretty much forced it on. It works now but I'm going to keep an eye on it and see if I have any trouble in the future.

-Alex

 

[wy child]

Her is a link to handy a handy cross reference chart for shell holders / mfg. I have found it very useful

http://www.handloads.com/misc/shellholders.asp:)

 

[GW Staar]

Glad you got it on. In the future knock down all the burrs...especially on the corners of the ram's slot on a new press. I also use a stone on all new shell holders that won't slide in easy, to smooth them just a little. Also sometimes a new shell holder is too tight for cases to go in and out easily. Deburring the edges of the holder almost always ends that problem as well.

 

[243winxb]

pretty much forced it on.

When new it takes a little more force to get it started, it will wear in. Been using RCBS for 40+ years, very few problems and great customer service.

 

[s12.aaxtell]

Yes, it did break in and I can now put the shell holder on and off easily. I then had a problem with the hand priming tool. I called RCBS and they told me that the new shell holders have a thinner section on the bottom. They said if I send in my old one, they will replace it with a new one free of charge. Great customer service, they have a customer for life now.

-Alex

 

[altitude_19]

I just had a similar issue with my Lymn Crusher. A little gun oil smeared around the base of the shell holder makes things smoother.

 

[UniversalFrost]

rcbs is tops for customer service.

i am suprised they want you to send in the old shell holder. more often than not they will just send you a new one with no strings attached.

heck even disposable things like the depriming pins for the sizing dies are replaced by rcbs. I called them up one time saying I was having a problem with the pins staying in the rod and they send me a new rod (these were the x-sizing dies) and a pack of new pins. FREE

also , if you have old rcbs presses or dies and want to upgrade, simply call them and they will work with you to give you a discount on the new products (this you do have to send in the old product). I upgraded from an old 1st gen JR press to a rock chucker iv press for only $35 shipped to me (of course this was several years ago when the RC IV was the new press on teh block, now they are on V or VI)