First, I think almost any press would be an upgrade over a big boss 2, at least the one I have. It’s been back to them to be “fixed” and it’s still a POS. It’s only used for hydroforming now.
Zero press is super nice, very well made, shiny, smooth, even the box was impressive. I wasn’t interested until they made their shell holder system and that’s what made me buy one. For me, neither the press nor the shellholder made my brass prep any easier or more accurate. It’s a super nice press to use but it doesn’t produce any better results in the end. The shellholder system doesn’t change much for me. You’re still at the mercy of the elasticity of the brass case. The only thing that I don’t really like about it is seating bullets. The weight of the handle and the position it’s in when the bullet begins to seat takes what little feel there is out of bullet seating. I generally use an arbor press for seating so it’s not a big deal for me.
I have and/or have had Lyman turret, Rockchucker, T7, Big Boss II, Forster, old RCBS A2, and a MEC (my personal favorite at this time) If a press can’t catch a spent primer, it’s dead to me so that leaves the Zero, Coax and the MEC from the ones I’ve used. They all have their quirks but unless there’s a defect in them, like my BB2, they will make accurate/straight ammo with good dies. Like some guys have pointed out, spend your money on GOOD dies, GOOD brass and GOOD bullets. If you’ve already got all that, then by all means, buy a Zero and enjoy what you’re doing.
A little caveat on GOOD dies… just because the latest whiz bang die costs $300+ doesn’t make it good. A GOOD die is one that is straight fits your chamber well by doing the minimum sizing that is required to allow your ammo to function. Some companies struggle with this. I’ve had dies that I thought were great, so smooth to operate, it was almost like they were even doing anything… they weren’t. A couple firings in and it showed up that the dies were barely sizing anything. Off the shelf dies and custom reamers don’t exactly mesh like peas and carrots.
Zero press is super nice, very well made, shiny, smooth, even the box was impressive. I wasn’t interested until they made their shell holder system and that’s what made me buy one. For me, neither the press nor the shellholder made my brass prep any easier or more accurate. It’s a super nice press to use but it doesn’t produce any better results in the end. The shellholder system doesn’t change much for me. You’re still at the mercy of the elasticity of the brass case. The only thing that I don’t really like about it is seating bullets. The weight of the handle and the position it’s in when the bullet begins to seat takes what little feel there is out of bullet seating. I generally use an arbor press for seating so it’s not a big deal for me.
I have and/or have had Lyman turret, Rockchucker, T7, Big Boss II, Forster, old RCBS A2, and a MEC (my personal favorite at this time) If a press can’t catch a spent primer, it’s dead to me so that leaves the Zero, Coax and the MEC from the ones I’ve used. They all have their quirks but unless there’s a defect in them, like my BB2, they will make accurate/straight ammo with good dies. Like some guys have pointed out, spend your money on GOOD dies, GOOD brass and GOOD bullets. If you’ve already got all that, then by all means, buy a Zero and enjoy what you’re doing.
A little caveat on GOOD dies… just because the latest whiz bang die costs $300+ doesn’t make it good. A GOOD die is one that is straight fits your chamber well by doing the minimum sizing that is required to allow your ammo to function. Some companies struggle with this. I’ve had dies that I thought were great, so smooth to operate, it was almost like they were even doing anything… they weren’t. A couple firings in and it showed up that the dies were barely sizing anything. Off the shelf dies and custom reamers don’t exactly mesh like peas and carrots.
