RCBS Rockchucker Supreme vs. Forster Co-Ax

[wkdickinson]

For the most part the people who bash the Co-Ax have never owned one and the people who sing the praises of a Rockcuck have never owned anything else. I’ve owned both and still have my Co-Ax.

I second that totally! I've had both and several others as well over the last 40 years, nothing compares to the Co-Ax. Almost makes relaoding fun.

 

[PatMiles]

Gents,
Thanks for the input.
If I buy the Rockchucker (where did that name come from?) I intend to set it up with the Hornady Lock-N-Load die bushings which I think are the cats ass. Priming I do with a Sinclair hand primer so that's a non-issue. Decapping, I'm not concerned about a few hitting the floor so that's a non-issue also. A bit pricey but the Redding Instant Indicator intrigues me also.

 

[Ringostar]

If you like the die bushings, then look into the Lee classic cast press. They offer both ways. Original for normal screw in dies, or already set up for die bushings.

 

[Depart123]

Gents,
Thanks for the input.
If I buy the Rockchucker (where did that name come from?) I intend to set it up with the Hornady Lock-N-Load die bushings which I think are the cats ass. Priming I do with a Sinclair hand primer so that's a non-issue. Decapping, I'm not concerned about a few hitting the floor so that's a non-issue also. A bit pricey but the Redding Instant Indicator intrigues me also.

The name "Rockchucker" and RCBS both come from the owner's love of hunting marmots, or "rock chucks" as they are known in some parts of the country.

RCBS stands for "Rock Chucker Bullet Swage" the Rock Chucker press was invented to be strong enough to swage homemade bullets. A kind of cult practice among serious varmint hunters in the years following WW2.

I have 2 Rockchuckers and 1 Co-Ax and 2 Dillons mounted. I use them all.

 

[PatMiles]

The name "Rockchucker" and RCBS both come for the owner's love of hunting marmots, or "rock chucks" as they are known in some parts of the country.

RCBS stands for "Rock Chucker Bullet Swage" the Rock Chucker press was invented to be strong enough to swage homemade bullets. A kind of cult practice among serious varmint hunters in the years following WW2.

I have 2 Rockchuckers and 1 Co-Ax and 2 Dillons mounted. I use them all.

The things a person can learn on this site!
I'm not far behind, a Dillon 650, a Dillon SL900, a Co-Ax and an ancient Pacific press.

 

[Macropod]

Straight up I'll admit I own and use a Rockchucker press, Bonanza press and a Lee classic cast.

The Rockchucker produces extremely concentric ammo (12 years old). Guess which does the bulk of the work? In fairness, it is more a function of die set up and quality rather than the press itself imho. The floating die attachment probably masks something that that wasn't straight to begin with... I still use an O ring on the seating dies on the others. The Lee is probably the best value single stage press around. Very hard to fault it.

 

[1shot]

I currently use both and find I like the RCBS more. The co-ax is fine for neck sizing and loading but leaves something to be desired when it comes to resizing brass. It seems to flex when doing heavy resizing like sizing brass from .243 to SLR which is nothing more than changing the angle on the front of the brass to get a longer neck. The co-ax simply would not do it with any consistency. And the ergonomics...I won't even go there! I am considering switching my main press back to the Rockchucker.

If your making the co-ax flex during re-sizing, you might have a terrible mis-match between chamber size and die size. Or, you not using enough lube. I size cartridges from 7mm Mag. to 6BRX with very little force.
The de-prime feature is the berries as far as capturing the primers in a little bottle, instead of all over the floor where one will get caught in the treads of my boots, then scratch my hardwood floor when I go upstairs. I prime with a hand tool, so I can't comment about how slow it is, but it doesn't look like the ideal set up to me.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd

 

[tharger]

have Dillon 550, T7 and coax. The coax gets the most use. T7 for oddball jobs and the Dillon for pistol rounds

 

[centershot]

I have had a Coax for many years that I use for my long range stuff and a Dillon for my pistol rounds. I decided I would like another press for decapping and bullet pulling etc. I got a rock chucker supreme and I don't like it so much. Its a pain in the rear to use dies in one press and then have to take off the lock ring and reset it for the other press. I really love my coax but I recently got one of those grip-n-pull bullet pullers and that is only thing I have found that will not work on a coax press. I second the notion that you may be going backwards. The coax is so much easier and convenient to use especially if you change dies a lot. FWIW, I don't care for that pullet puller either. It is too easy to leave marks on the bullet.

I switch dies between the R.C. and a Harrells combo press. I use spacers on the die body to make the Harrells within .002". Available at Midway. Primary purpose is to change between .38 special and .357 mag.

 

[dcali]

One more thought. The quick change die feature, no matter the type, is not very useful in my opinion. Theaded dies don’t take bery long and you don’t have to do it very often. It’s a solution looking for a problem.

 

[DRNewcomb]

..... the Rock Chucker press was invented to be strong enough to swage homemade bullets. A kind of cult practice among serious varmint hunters in the years following WW2....

Which, as I understand it, was an outgrowth of difficulty obtaining bullets for reloading during the war. The original idea being to swage a .223 diam. bullet using a spent .22 lr case as the jacket.

 

[Shrek]

One more thought. The quick change die feature, no matter the type, is not very useful in my opinion. Theaded dies don’t take bery long and you don’t have to do it very often. It’s a solution looking for a problem.

So you’ve not used a Co-Ax or a quick change die setup ? I find it extremely useful. I switch dies all the time in my Co-Ax and have never had to readjust a die once set. I had the fiddle with every die I ever screwed into my Rockchucker every time I used them even though I had lock rings on them. Especially once I started putting O rings under the dies to get them to float.

 

[dcali]

So you’ve not used a Co-Ax or a quick change die setup ? I find it extremely useful. I switch dies all the time in my Co-Ax and have never had to readjust a die once set. I had the fiddle with every die I ever screwed into my Rockchucker every time I used them even though I had lock rings on them. Especially once I started putting O rings under the dies to get them to float.

I haven’t had that problem. I screw the dies in and they’re dead on every time. It takes about 15 seconds out of maybe an hour spent at the bench.

I think it’s a great way to sell bushings (not for the coax, obviously). My gripe with the coax is the handle and the shell holder (and the price tag), not so much the die holder.

 

[dcali]

I do like how the coax drops spent primers. But it’s not the only one that does that. The lee classic cast is a very well designed press and drops them right through the ram. This is the big weakness/annoyance of the rock chucker in my view. It’s surprisingly annoying.

 

[PatMiles]

If your making the co-ax flex during re-sizing, you might have a terrible mis-match between chamber size and die size. Or, you not using enough lube. I size cartridges from 7mm Mag. to 6BRX with very little force.
The de-prime feature is the berries as far as capturing the primers in a little bottle, instead of all over the floor where one will get caught in the treads of my boots, then scratch my hardwood floor when I go upstairs. I prime with a hand tool, so I can't comment about how slow it is, but it doesn't look like the ideal set up to me.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd

Not flexing the Co-Ax at all, Whidden Custom resizing die with Imperial sex wax for the 6.5 Creedmoor and a Harrels #2 for the 6PPC. I made a 6" handle to replace the long factory handle, very little effort needed to resize. Easy peasy!

One more thought. The quick change die feature, no matter the type, is not very useful in my opinion. Theaded dies don’t take bery long and you don’t have to do it very often. It’s a solution looking for a problem.

The quick change feature is a cheap, quick alternative to screwing dies in and out, in and out...

 

[Shrek]

Damoncall , As for the price criticism , in the scheme of the money we all spend on our hobby the extra $150ish spread over a lifetime of shooting is a meaningless cost. If a $150 spent once in a lifetime is an obstacle then you really can’t afford to shoot. The shell holder on the Co-Ax is a positive imo.
I also think the Lee Classic Cast is a better O press than a Rockcucker at a better price. As far as I can tell the Lee is 100% American made not a Chinese casting minimally finished in the USA. That has meaning for me.

 

[dcali]

Damoncall , As for the price criticism , in the scheme of the money we all spend on our hobby the extra $150ish spread over a lifetime of shooting is a meaningless cost. If a $150 spent once in a lifetime is an obstacle then you really can’t afford to shoot. The shell holder on the Co-Ax is a positive imo.
I also think the Lee Classic Cast is a better O press than a Rockcucker at a better price. As far as I can tell the Lee is 100% American made not a Chinese casting minimally finished in the USA. That has meaning for me.

The lee is good. The American casting is not as high quality a piece as the Chinese (or so I hear) RCBS, though. The paint is worse, holes may or may not be in the right place, etc. I’m also not thrilled with the cast linkages on the Lee - they tend to rub and throw off a black dust (iron?), but the overall design and function are very good. I wish they made a higher end line of tools. It’s a shame to see such well thought out products suffer from poor quality.

 

[JRS]

The lee is good. The American casting is not as high quality a piece as the Chinese (or so I hear) RCBS, though. The paint is worse, holes may or may not be in the right place, etc. I’m also not thrilled with the cast linkages on the Lee - they tend to rub and throw off a black dust (iron?), but the overall design and function are very good. I wish they made a higher end line of tools. It’s a shame to see such well thought out products suffer from poor quality.

I have 2 Lee Classic Cast presses. Neither of them have cast linkage, and the quality of the casting is much better quality than the casting of my Rockchucker's, of which I have 3, two of which are the old originals with the light green wrinkle finish paint job.

Edit: In fact, the Classic Cast is used by some of our boutique bullet makers to hand swage those beauties they produce.

 

[JRS]

I'm confused on the O ring part why would you want your Die to to not be locked down?

It allows the die to 'float' somewhat You're better off with a bit of slop in the ram

 

[dcali]

I have 2 Lee Classic Cast presses. Neither of them have cast linkage, and the quality of the casting is much better quality than the casting of my Rockchucker's, of which I have 3, two of which are the old originals with the light green wrinkle finish paint job.

Edit: In fact, the Classic Cast is used by some of our boutique bullet makers to hand swage those beauties they produce.

Are you sure about that? The gold colored links on mine are cast, which would be fine except they rub a little sometimes and gives off what looks like cast iron dust. But I agree that they work very well. I have one where the mounting holes are about 1/8” from where they should be. Not the end of the world, but kind of shoddy. I’m not much of a fan of the wooden ball handle either. I replaced mine with a billiard ball.