Press bullet seating vs Arbor press bullet seating?

[Bill Norris]

Bad sizing dies/operation cause runout.
All things equal, an arbor press/die won't make straighter ammo than a Forster Ultra seater.
Regular force pack on a K&M arbor press should be fine. Anything under 18#'s on mine and the bullet won't stay put anyway.

I like and use the K&M arbor and Wilson/Sinclair click adjustable seating die. That said, I get just as good results from a Forster Ultra die when it comes to TIR and consistency in seating. Now, you can have issues with either set up that will/can mess up your results. Seating stems need to fit your bullets correctly and other issues, some have been addressed above.

Long story short, I don't think you'll cut your group size in half by switching to arbor press/dies since you've already been using Forster type dies.

Agree. I did not see it from testing it years ago.

 

[Tesoro]

I’ve probably spent 20-30 K on reloading gear, and the two best pieces of equipment I own are my arbor press and my 21st century primer seater.

I’ll let you do the math on that.

x2

 

[Bamban]

I can believe that!!! Hence, why my post. With $600.00 primer seating tools , $4K scales, it's not a poor's mans hobby. I am leaning toward an Arbor press with force pack and inline seater die....Something about the Arbor press process just seems "precision".Thanks for the reply....I rely on this site to give suggestions and knowledge it has yet to disappoint..... rsbhunter

I have been using this since the 80s. Inexpensive, you can even make it with hardwood. Leverage is not that great, that's what makes it great for my taste.. feel seating pressure differences better.

 

[rsbhunter]

I like that ingenuity !!!!! Alot of times it's not the arrow, it's the indian.....I don't know how much influence the press has on seating the bullet , as long as it puts force on the die. The only reason I would want the force pack is to track the difference in force between rounds....thereby maybe pointing to a lack of consistency on my part....rsbhunter

 

[mikecr]

Most runout comes from sizing, with less influence from seating.
Some of it can come from a press or threaded die used for either.
A hand die & arbor removes some potentials.

I neck size and seat with Wilson dies and an arbor, so my runout is very low.

 

[rsbhunter]

Going to have to try the inline die....I'm not so worried about run out (but I DO care) as much as the consistency of neck "tension". I brush necks, anneal, lube, size , clean, trim and load. But even with that, I'm not sure my ammo is where it needs to be...rsbhunter

 

[Sleepyhollow]

I've used both wilson in line and redding dies in my ppc. I like the wilson and arbor press for the feel. I have the force pack but don't like it ! To much going on for me. I like the feel of seating a bullet and know which one seats light. As far as run out never checked it and don't care. May barrel and bullet combo likes a medium jam and shoots low 1's when I read conditions right. I took my thumb and push 5 rounds cock eye one seeing if it made a difference when seat in my chamber. Nope 5 shots made a little dot. There is more conditions on the range that will move a bullet outta the more then then a tenth grain of powder or a couple thousand of run out.

 

[1shot]

I’ve probably spent 20-30 K on reloading gear, and the two best pieces of equipment I own are my arbor press and my 21st century primer seater.

I’ll let you do the math on that.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This!

 

[mikecr]

The amount of money spent on reloading pales in comparison to understanding of it.

 

[dcali]

I've not been able to say one is better than the other. They both work fine if you use them properly. I prefer the regular press because it's easier than it looks to not have the die square and in full contact with the base of the arbor. A little piece of dirt can throw off your depth by a thou or two. I get more consistent seating depth from a normal 7/8" Redding competition seating die and a Partner press - it's hard to screw up and it's just as portable as an arbor press. You can full length size with it too.

I think the conventional internet wisdom is that arbor dies are better comes from people aping what they see benchrest shooters doing. And a lot of them like the arbors. Some of that is for portability though, not because they necessarily do a better job. Seating a bullet isn't rocket science.

 

[Fuj]

The amount of money spent on reloading pales in comparison to understanding of it.

Ain't that the truth. Yinz would get the jitters and start drinking
heavily to see what I use.....LOL

 

[mikecr]

I prefer the regular press because it's easier than it looks to not have the die square and in full contact with the base of the arbor.

That's funny. You could use a hammer with a hand die (and no press).
Believe it or not

 

[NC/Br Shooter]

Reading all this on bullet seating. I'm thinking I'm missing something. I use a Hornady. .243 bullet seater for loading all my 6bra bullets. The whole cartridge fits in the die. I control the bullet length by the top stem.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I've not been able to say one is better than the other. They both work fine if you use them properly. I prefer the regular press because it's easier than it looks to not have the die square and in full contact with the base of the arbor. A little piece of dirt can throw off your depth by a thou or two. I get more consistent seating depth from a normal 7/8" Redding competition seating die and a Partner press - it's hard to screw up and it's just as portable as an arbor press. You can full length size with it too.

I think the conventional internet wisdom is that arbor dies are better comes from people aping what they see benchrest shooters doing. And a lot of them like the arbors. Some of that is for portability though, not because they necessarily do a better job. Seating a bullet isn't rocket science.

I agree with all of that.

Funny but true story. Several years back, I think the 3rd or 4th year of UBR, we had a night shoot and I tied the record in good conditions. Granted, those records are quite a bit better now than at the time. But the funny part is I was shooting a 220 Beggs, seating bullets using a Redding Comp seater die....for a 6PPC ! True story!

 

[Chuckhunter]

 

[Chuckhunter]

Been using Arbor press since I started competing around 1979, after God knows how many rounds you get a feel for every subtle little change in your brass and seating tensions, you can see I have my old standby Heart Arbor Press and the Hydro Press seldom ever gets used. I know some guys swear by them, then again I'm sure some guys swear at them. Harrell's makes a nice little Arbor press, I've used one and the feel is very similar to my Heart, Price is very reasonable.

 

[Fclassfool]

Had a 21st hydro now I've got a K&M with force pack it's the only way I seat bullets now