Forester Co-Ax Press

[Rat Rod Mac]

Compaired to the other single stage presses is the Forester/Bonanza CoAx press worth the extra bucks. I'm not sold on things like speed of changing dies and stuff like that. I'm more interested in QUALIY reloads. Is there a better single stage press out there than the Co-Ax? RRM

 

[savagedasher]

I have 2 the others are in the shed.i feel it the best by far. Good Shooting Larry

 

[digger11]

To answer your question,,no there is not a better press out there.

 

[brian427cobra]

Well the speed of die changes also contributes to making straight ammo easier, every other press out there the die is fixed in the press, the shell holder is fixed in the ram, ask yourself how many mass produced things are truely square, on the Co-Ax the dies float front to back, the shell jaws allow the case to float side to side, no Orings or other tricks needed to assure alignment, the erogonomics are not that great but the design offers 2-3 times the mechanical advantage over any other press, FL sizing is much easier, spent primer retention is second to none, no primer ever hits the floor, no tubes running to the trash can, I still use my RCBS press but cuss at it every time I do.

 

[Lapua40X]

It's a fine reloading tool. Very well designed
This kid will convince you ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZPa0mP0mkk

 

[Max]

If it's precision you're after you might want to consider the Corbin bullet making press. It's much dinero but very strong and very precise. Their website goes into a lot of details on it's development. I boughtmine a few years ago for swaging lead pistol bullets and it does a great job. The only press that I know of that offers four sets of needle bearings on the linkages and bronze bearings on the ram. They claim that it's four times stronger than a cast iron press.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

The best! There are benchrest shooter that preload with this press. It load straight ammo.

 

[BaconFat]

Compaired to the other single stage presses is the Forester/Bonanza CoAx press worth the extra bucks. I'm not sold on things like speed of changing dies and stuff like that. I'm more interested in QUALIY reloads. Is there a better single stage press out there than the Co-Ax? RRM

Whether it's worth the "extra bucks" is something only you can decide. One thing about the Forster press is, if you decide you don't like it, you can sell it for what you paid for it. Every vendor that gets in a supply sells out within days.

I do small batches when I reload and the ease of swapping out the dies makes my job that much easier. The primer catch system is as good as it gets. The spent primer and any loose carbon is dropped straight in the tube below the cartridge and contained in a little jar. Keeps everything nice and clean. As far as "Quality reload" go, like others have said, the die and the cartridge are allowed to float a bit and self-center helping everything come out straight and true.

In the end all I know is, I'm not wishing that I bought another press instead of my Foster press.

 

[DanConzo]

Mine is a Bonanza Co-Ax I bought long before Forster bought them out, it was way ahead of its time, Purdey was a genius, there is no other press like it, they are superb.

 

[Zia Hunter]

The first press I bought was a Rockchucker nearly forty years ago and when the linkage started getting sloppy, I replaced it with a COAX. All I can say is I wish I would have done it sooner. In addition to what was mentioned above, it is very easy to make adjustments to your dies since you don't have to unscrew the die from press to adjust the lock ring. I would highly recommend using Forster lock rings in lieu of the ones that come with your dies and the new ones come with hex heads instead of the phillips head. The one thing I immediately noticed with using the COAX was the reduction in runout with FL sizing dies. Well worth the additional cost in IMHO.