Forster Co-Ax Press

[bigedp51]

I have been thinking about upgrading my 41 year old Rockchucker press and I have a few questions about the Forster Co-Ax Press.

I have look at the instructions and online videos on die adjustment, so my first question is does this press "cam over" with the dies making hard contact with the jaws.

If it does not cam over and has an "air gap" between the die and the jaws do the cartridge case headspace readings come out uniform?

How good is the primer seater on the press vs the cheaper hand held primers.

I have no complaints with my Rockchucker press and using the Sinclair competition shell holders taking the wear and slop from the press and I get uniform resizing results.

Would I gain anything by spending $300.00 for the Forster Co-Ax Press and making some of my reloading gear unusable.

Enfield owners and benchrest shooters may reply. (I tried putting a smiley face here but the buttons are not working)

 

[Catfur]

I have been thinking about upgrading my 41 year old Rockchucker press and I have a few questions about the Forster Co-Ax Press.

I have look at the instructions and online videos on die adjustment, so my first question is does this press "cam over" with the dies making hard contact with the jaws.

If it does not cam over and has an "air gap" between the die and the jaws do the cartridge case headspace readings come out uniform?

How good is the primer seater on the press vs the cheaper hand held primers.

I have no complaints with my Rockchucker press and using the Sinclair competition shell holders taking the wear and slop from the press and I get uniform resizing results.

Would I gain anything by spending $300.00 for the Forster Co-Ax Press and making some of my reloading gear unusable.

Enfield owners and benchrest shooters may reply. (I tried putting a smiley face here but the buttons are not working)

The press can be set up to cam over, yes.

I don't use the primer seater on the press, so I can't comment on that. I do like the press, even though I don't own an Enfield.

 

[jimcasey01]

Headspace (shoulder set back) is very accurate. The self centering of the cases with the "floating" dies will help with run out also. I use the primer seater with no problems, but have not used a hand primer (arthritis and cramps, the rusty years). It is the first reloading press that I have been truly impressed with, wish I had purchased one years ago. As to whether it will do a better job than your current press, I can not say.

 

[chkunz]

I have had one on my loading bench for forty years. I had an article published in Precision Shooting in August 1993 where I did some measurements of run out with several different presses and dies. I measured statically significant sample sizes of each. The Bonanza Co-Ax press did not do as well as the RCBS on run out. It has some nice features and works as advertised but I now only use it to deprime cases. I later found that for the match rifles of the day, Winchester Model 70 in 308, M14/M1A, etc. run out could not be seen on the NMC target so I stopped being concerned about it. With the new arms race on the F Class target it may be a factor but I have not seen anyone present data on this. One reason I bought the press was because it looked very strong. But I had a friend break one and if you look at the design closely you can see the weak point.

 

[artbosco]

I own both: the Rock Chucker Supreme and the Forster Co-Ax.

Yes, it cams over and can be adjusted so there is a .0001"gap between base of the die and the plate that rests slightly below the jaws. The jaws are basically used as a guide to help center the case. Below the level of the jaws is a base plate with a hole in it that allows primers and other debris to fall into the small jar that's attached by a hollow metal rod. Simply empty it when it gets full. NOTHING ends up on the floor.

The thing I like the most, is the ease in which dies can be replaced. Hint: Use Forster's Cross Bolt Die Lock Rings http://www.forsterproducts.com/catalog.asp?prodid=700332 . The space between the rings and the slot that they slip into is minimized with the Forster rings. There's too much slop with other manufacturer's lock rings [their width or thickness is thinner].

For me, reloading is a lot more fun with the Forster Co-Ax press especially when replacing dies.

 

[Deleted old_dood]

I own both also. the primer seater is much better on the Forster press but you have to adjust the jaws holding the case if you change to different size cases. I usually resize 100 cases at a time and the shoulder bump is within .001 when measured with the Hornady headspace tool. I didn't like the automatic jaws for holding the cases because, going from 6mmbr to .223 required that the jaws be removed and flipped to go from large opening to small. I ended up buying the accessory that allows use of conventional shell holders. With that, it's much quicker to change the shell holder instead of flipping the jaws on the shell holder that comes standard. No problem getting cam over.

 

[logger3006]

I love this press, it sizes effortlessly and I have no need for the hand primers the press primes cases well, I like the die set up as well..