Forster Co-ax Press...............

[ireload2]

That is right and that makes the Co-AX a poor press for many people to use. However my press will also do all of that other stuff without a problem. I have been using my press 46 years. I don't think the Co-Ax was even around back then. Face it? Why would I face it? I have a better press than what you use. If all you have used is the Co-Ax you don't really know what any other press is capable of. I do know if your lock rings are crooked you will not get a good alignment because the Co-Ax cannot compensate for a tilted lock ring. I guarantee that if you have very many dies that you will have some with crooked lock rings.

the co-ax press was never designed to do the things you talk about. I get great bullet alignment with this press. let's face it if you want accurate and precise loaded ammo the co-ax is the way to go. If you want to swag bullets and load .50 cals get a different press. like I said I been using it for over 35 years (had rcbs press and lee presses ) I can't find anything better for the kind of reloading I do.

 

[hoz53]

Yeah I owned my T7 for a year and a half, maybe two years, before I finally started using it this year. Even had it bolted on the bench ready to go between my RCBS RC and Coax the whole time. Finally set some dies up on it a couple months ago and to tell you the truth, I really like it. Its definitely faster than the Coax. The auto primer arm attachment is also much better than the PIA system the Coax uses. The T7 makes priming very fast and easy after sizing. I hate hand primers. Havent used them in years. The T7 priming arm is right there ready to rock with 90+ primers in the feeder tube. Just pull the spring loaded handle back to received a primer and push it forward under the shell holder and prime the case. Piece of cake.

I like the spent primer dispenser on the T7 better too. It's just a flexible clear rubber tube with a plug on the end. When it gets full, just put a trash can under it and pop the plug. Or pop the tube off the press and turn it upside down in the garbage. Cleaned and done. The Coax can start sticking primers in the skinny metal tube it uses if you dont clean it every once in a while. Never understood why they made that tube so dang skinny?...

I never put the dies back in their boxes once they are on the turret. They just stay in the turret ready to go all the time. For hunting season, I am keeping 3 sets of hunting rifle dies on one turret ready to go all season. When hunting season is over, I plan on setting up another 2 turrets with various varmint rifles and powder measure on top of charging dies in the 7th holes that I will use in preparation for for spring gophers and prairie dogs. I also have the Redding Turret stacker tower to keep everything organized. Of course I always have my RCBS and Coax if I need to do some quick work with other rifles not set up on the turrets. Then some rifles use custom chambered Wilson seaters on the 21st Gen II arbor so I'll always have a need for an arbor. I'm going to keep using the T7 for a while and streamline my process using it as best I can. I still love my Coax, but Im finding that the T7 is more convenient for me.

So the only REAL advantage I see with my coax is the quick die change for dies I don't put in T7 turrets.

Thanks for all that info Ledd. Sounds like the T7 works for you. I think uou load much higher volume than me. i keep my dies for the calibers i use often setting in blocks on my bench so i can just slide one out of the coax and slide another in. thats pretty fast. I use dillons for some calibers. i could see where the T 7 may work for me someday.

 

[hoz53]

I will pay shipping on all The giveaways .
Larry

to begin with your supposed to be getting those presses out of the shed for me larry.

 

[hoz53]

For the cost of a Co-Ax you can buy a much more useful and rugged press by buying a used but excellent condition RCBS A2 press or if you are lucky an A4. Both of these presses will easily perform forming and swaging operations that would wreck the Co-Ax. Even the Lee Classic Cast will handle heavier tasks such as .50 BMG.
The Co-Ax is a light weight design that is differentiated by mostly by marginal value gimmicks. It is ok for a simple reloader to FL size and seat bullets but if you want to do heavy duty case forming, case head swaging or bullet swaging it is not going to be up to that heavy duty use. Case head swaging capable splitting reloading dies would push a sizer die through the lock ring of a Co-Ax.

The so called advantages of the Co-Ax amounts to
1. Disposal of primers when many other presses dispose of primers the same way
2. A floating shell holder - Most shell holders do not fit the case head that closely so the floating factor is all in the marketer's imagination. Clarence Purdie's company Bonanza designed that maybe 40 years ago and it was for most of that time ignored by the reloading world. Ever try Wilson inline dies? If you really think floating is important just skip the shell holder and use Wilson dies.
3. Slip in dies using the lock ring. Heavy duty use would probably break the die lock rings so this is a negative in my experience. The threaded die body is much stronger. Any misalignment of the lock ring will tilt the die when the end load of sizing is applied.

i had 4 other presses when i got my first coax. i wouldnt suggest anyone get one as their only press. i really like the quick change die feature. That itself is worth the cost of the press to me. Id love to have an A4 to add to the colllection. ( 8 at this time)

 

[USMCDOC]

The only attractive feature to the Co-Ax is the ease of changing out the dies.. i found this guy's vid to be interesting in what he surmised..

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Thanks for all that info Ledd. Sounds like the T7 works for you. I think uou load much higher volume than me. i keep my dies for the calibers i use often setting in blocks on my bench so i can just slide one out of the coax and slide another in. thats pretty fast. I use dillons for some calibers. i could see where the T 7 may work for me someday.

Yeah you'd definitely be better off with the Coax then. If you don't keep your dies in the turrets, the T7 is much slower on the die swap

 

[Liven The Dream]

This press my Favorite ran over on Long Range Forum .
Co/Ax did well ! In the end Single Stage Press like RCBS Rock Chucker got more likes.

I have Pals that love them on each side of the the Style.

Best of Luck

 

[Medic505]

Isn't it amazing the length people will go to run something down?

Mine says Bonanza on it, has worked great for what I've used it for and there are things I don't like about it. Would I get rid of it? Not a chance.

 

[chromatica]

Isn't it amazing the length people will go to run something down?

Mine says Bonanza on it, has worked great for what I've used it for and there are things I don't like about it. Would I get rid of it? Not a chance.

I also have a Bonanza press I bought used. I don't use it for resizing but I use it for seating and crimping with a Lee Factory Crimp die. Best $25 I ever spent.

 

[JRS]

Your finished ammo comes from the dies you use, not the press. Don't worry about the brand name. The press supplies the power needed to size the brass. Put your money in dies that produce cases to fit your chamber.

 

[jdh47]

The Co-Ox is a pretty good press. I have one and I like it. It does have some warts for me at least. The shell holder works great until you forget to change it for the .223 case. It may or may not hold it. If not you will get a case stuck in the resize die and that to mess with. Unless you get the upgrade feature the shell holder is a PITA to change. I ended up just using the standard shell holder plate.

It has some good features and some that can be troublesome. Lock rings need to be good.

It is not quite as robust as O frame presses. All in all it reloads as well as I am able to set up the dies. It is a good press but I am not so sure that it is quite worth the extra money it costs but that is subjective.

Joe

 

[Damfino]

For me, it's about convenience. I'm old and lazy and it's just easy to use. I've loaded rounds for service rifle (.308), high power silhouettes, high power prone, bench rest (6 PPC), and now F-class with it. Mine also says Bonanza and it was given to me well used by a dear friend. For my purposes, it seems bullet proof, quick and easy to deprime with, my runout is minimal, MV extreme spread is acceptable, food taste better and I'm more attractive to the opposite sex. And yes, I do have and use a couple of Harrell's and an arbor press, but the Co-Ax is a real workhorse for me.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I didn't have much confidence in the S-jaws either so I've never used mine for sizing. Just seating. I've always sized in my RCBS RC. I have the shell holder adapter for the Coax but have never installed it. I love the Coax for seating. Just pop a die in and seat the bullet. I never swap my S-jaws around because you don't really need any grip or down force when seating. Just need the S-jaws to center the case on the die. If it wasn't for the quick die change out and self centering s-jaws, I probably would not own the Coax

 

[6xcshooter]

That is right and that makes the Co-AX a poor press for many people to use. However my press will also do all of that other stuff without a problem. I have been using my press 46 years. I don't think the Co-Ax was even around back then. Face it? Why would I face it? I have a better press than what you use. If all you have used is the Co-Ax you don't really know what any other press is capable of. I do know if your lock rings are crooked you will not get a good alignment because the Co-Ax cannot compensate for a tilted lock ring. I guarantee that if you have very many dies that you will have some with crooked lock rings.

All I can say is you use yours I'll use mine and we both be happy. Some people eat meat some people are vegetarians what can I say?

 

[Linko]

I've had 1 since they were Bonanza Press been 35 years or so works great never a problem. I have 2 now ,the bonanza and forster. Set them up side by side 1 for large case and 1 for small cases. If you want to, you can get the shell holder adapter so you don't need to change the jaws. After 35 years the Bonanza works perfect. Wouldn't have anything else myself. Had thousands of rounds through them. get one and be happy forever.

What shell holder adapter are referring to for the co-ax?

 

[jdh47]

I use an adapter ( plate) that allows using standard shell holders in the Co-Ax press. It works well and makes it a lot quicker to change between 308 and 223 sized rims. I think Forster sells it. Also there is an upgraded shell holder where the springs are captured and that makes it a lot more user friendly to swap the S-jaws around.

Joe

 

[DRNewcomb]

The Co-ax seems like a nice press to have for a given set of tasks but until a get a much larger reloading room, I'll have to stick with just one press and my RCBS is fulfilling the role nicely. Maybe some day, and throw in a Dillon 650 while we're at it.

 

[msinc]

In all fairness to the Co-Ax, one of the things that gets it a bad rap really is not the presses fault at all. Because it is so easy to flop a die in and out of the thing, guys think that's "all ya gotta do"....set up a die for a specific headspace case length and run that brass and they come out fine. A month later with different brass....flop in the "adjusted" die and run them to resize, only to find that now it is not sizing the same length as before. It is surprising to find how many "reloaders" don't get the whole spring back and annealing thing. This same issue affects the T-7 when setting up dies and leaving them in place...same die, same set up, different sized length. But, different because of the brass, not the press or die set up. I know two guys this year that abandoned their Co-Ax presses for this reason. Once realized, their comment was, "well if I gotta set the die every time what's the advantage???" In that context none. Anneal your brass dude...you should be doing this anyway.

 

[danny]

I use an adapter ( plate) that allows using standard shell holders in the Co-Ax press. It works well and makes it a lot quicker to change between 308 and 223 sized rims. I think Forster sells it. Also there is an upgraded shell holder where the springs are captured and that makes it a lot more user friendly to swap the S-jaws around.

Joe

I have a Forster Co-Ax and a Lee Classic Cast. I like both but now only use the Co-Ax. I find it kind of pointless and a waste of money to buy a Co-Ax and then use conventional shellholders on it. One can do the same thing and do it better on a Lee Classic Cast, at a cost savings over buying a Co-Ax, and one also gains the flexibility of using some tools on the Classic Cast which aren't well suited or useable at all on the Co-Ax.

Danny

 

[Trophy 2000]

Love the co-ax press. Have yet to see a video with another press that has less run out. Mounted mine so the primer bottle doesn't go up and down with every stroke.