Rcbs summit press
- Thread starter glr1
- Start date
jonbearman
I live in new york state,how unfortunate !
It is not so much the press as it is preparation of the brass prior to actually loading. The summit is a good press and doesnt have the linkage to hit your knees or head on. It is sturdy and most likely can help you assemble good ammo. I realize some presses can have issue such as the ram being out of alignment.Then they should go back.Tell us how you prepare your brass as we might be able to see if you are missing something.
im currently shooting 6xc for high power,i already do all the prep work on the brass,as with any competition shooter i would like to shoot the most accurate ammo i can reload.im currently using a lyman press,i have been to many matches and top shooters swear by thier coax press (too rich for me rather spend the money on good components so the next will be the summit).so im thinking of upgrading my press so....is the summit going to be a big improvement over my lyman press.i know everybody can post a reply but i would appreciate it that only summit users reply to this post-hopefully your a competition shooter to.
Maybe I can offer something helpful.
Way back in the 80s my first press was a Lyman turret. I struggled with that press trying to get concentric ammo or even uniform shoulder setback for years. I evolved through several other presses as time went by, including the Co-Ax, which press disappointed me.
The Summit I now have is easier to use, more friendly in some ways... I think someone else pointed out you don't hit your knees on it. I had some teething issues with it initially, but traced them to a bad shell holder, which I was pleased to put in the trash once I found out what the issue was.
I have loaded a handful of cartridges on the press so far and I cannot say that it is any better than a rock chucker. This verdict may change as time goes by and I have more experience with it.
There are many good quality presses available Harrells comes to mind, 21st Century and others. Perhaps look into these other products as well until you find one that has the features you seek. I cannot say for sure, but it seems to me that if the press of whatever make is well constructed and you use quality dies, you will get quality ammunition.
Way back in the 80s my first press was a Lyman turret. I struggled with that press trying to get concentric ammo or even uniform shoulder setback for years. I evolved through several other presses as time went by, including the Co-Ax, which press disappointed me.
The Summit I now have is easier to use, more friendly in some ways... I think someone else pointed out you don't hit your knees on it. I had some teething issues with it initially, but traced them to a bad shell holder, which I was pleased to put in the trash once I found out what the issue was.
I have loaded a handful of cartridges on the press so far and I cannot say that it is any better than a rock chucker. This verdict may change as time goes by and I have more experience with it.
There are many good quality presses available Harrells comes to mind, 21st Century and others. Perhaps look into these other products as well until you find one that has the features you seek. I cannot say for sure, but it seems to me that if the press of whatever make is well constructed and you use quality dies, you will get quality ammunition.
I have one that I work out daily. After I tightened all the bolts and adjusted the guide screws the press is a joy to use. I like the idea of the die being moved down onto a stationary case. Primers don't fall all over the place like with a Rock Chucker and I don't have a huge primer catch tray around the base.
Some like a sloppy press and claim they get the straightest cases. I have my Summit adjusted so there is minimal slop and now get the straightest cases I've ever sized using a Forster BR F/L sizing die. Case runout is in the .0005" or less range now. No more sloppy press rams, O-Rings, or other "Voodoo".
If one is buying the Summit press some suggestions. Get the optional short handle. The long handle is great for sizing even the most difficult brass and the short handle gives a nice "feel" when seating bullets.
The lack of anything hanging down under the bench is a blessing. Rather than a single handle in the middle of the press, the handles can be mounted for left or right hand operation.
The only thing that "sucks" about the Summit Press is the instruction manual and RCBS Tech Support isn't much better. Adjustments are pretty simple. Tighten the crap out of the screws that hold the castings (upper and lower) to the round column. Then adjust the guide screws until they are touching the bottom of the groove and back off just enough so the die holder casting just moves freely with only a trace of "drag". Do this one screw at a time and keep a coating of a good grease in the bottom of the groove. After a hundred cases or so the groove will wear to a mirror finish and you can again readjust the guide screws. This will result in a precise movement of the die and even crooked cases can be straightened out.
My old RCII has served me well but it was time to change. The Summit is now serving me well and have no intention to go back.
Some like a sloppy press and claim they get the straightest cases. I have my Summit adjusted so there is minimal slop and now get the straightest cases I've ever sized using a Forster BR F/L sizing die. Case runout is in the .0005" or less range now. No more sloppy press rams, O-Rings, or other "Voodoo".
If one is buying the Summit press some suggestions. Get the optional short handle. The long handle is great for sizing even the most difficult brass and the short handle gives a nice "feel" when seating bullets.
The lack of anything hanging down under the bench is a blessing. Rather than a single handle in the middle of the press, the handles can be mounted for left or right hand operation.
The only thing that "sucks" about the Summit Press is the instruction manual and RCBS Tech Support isn't much better. Adjustments are pretty simple. Tighten the crap out of the screws that hold the castings (upper and lower) to the round column. Then adjust the guide screws until they are touching the bottom of the groove and back off just enough so the die holder casting just moves freely with only a trace of "drag". Do this one screw at a time and keep a coating of a good grease in the bottom of the groove. After a hundred cases or so the groove will wear to a mirror finish and you can again readjust the guide screws. This will result in a precise movement of the die and even crooked cases can be straightened out.
My old RCII has served me well but it was time to change. The Summit is now serving me well and have no intention to go back.
I purchased this RCBS Summit press three years ago and due to its footprint was able to utilize this on my Kennedy roll cabinet tool box platform with other presses as a moveable reloading setup. The first issue I had was the sloppiness in the ram to shaft interface. This nicely made heavy press is unique in that the die moves downward to a fixed shell holder. I remedied the issue by totally replacing the 1/2-20 following screws in the milled slot to the rear of the shaft. The original turned down tips were too narrow for the slot to be accurate in following the grove throughout the shaft stroke. I also replaced the link arm gaps with thin washers in order to eliminate the side play in the linkage and replaced all hex nuts with double lock hex nuts and fully greased using the onboard grease Zerks. My opinion after my modifications is that there is not enough mechanical advantage to load anything larger than .243,308 and 30-30 with proper case lube. The force is too much for any more than 20 rounds. I use this press solely for mundane decapping, and pistol calibers of .380 and smaller. I have modified the primer catcher by utilizing a small Midway small parts box with hinged cover and cutout. Others sell a 3/8' hose and 3D made plastic adapter on Ebay. My press sits over my rollcab drawers precluding this other modification. I have since elected to use Hornady LNL bushing attachments as the removable 1 1/2" bushing is replaced with Hornady equivalent avail on Amazon with 3 bushings for less than $20.
Attachments
I have two of them. One I have set up with the short handle and I have found it superb for bullet seating. Great feel. The long handle one is fine for what I reload. Not sure that I would want to size 338's in it, but that said, it has plenty of adjustment. a grease fitting, if needed can be flat mounted on a bench. I have zero complaints with them. Plenty of adjustments, just take you time and read the instructions. And they are SOLID!
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Laurie Holland wrote a thorough and informative comparison of the Summit, Rock Chucker and Forster Co-Ax.
Spoiler - the Rock Chucker won.
http://www.targetshooter.co.uk/?p=1750
Spoiler - the Rock Chucker won.
http://www.targetshooter.co.uk/?p=1750
Gary O'Neal
Silver $$ Contributor
Re; the Laurie Holland article. Even for an English article, this was long, boring, wordy and tedious. Congrats on finishing it.For my uses, I choose the Coax. I've loaded thousands of 260, 6.5x55, 30-06 and 7 Rem mag and never felt under-powered in the least. My friend loads 338 Lapua by the 100's and loves the Coax. I've also owned the RC/RCS of the 1st and last generations.Very good presses, but I still load on the Coax.
I had one for 2 weeks........sent it back and got a Coax.
This has to be the poorest designed press out there. Good luck . Buy once, cry once.
Reviews: Reviews always come out after you need one; wait, reviews of the Summit type press were written many years ago, presses with sliding collars around a central post were written in the '60s. That did not changed reviews made by those that were not old enough to remember,
At the same time the reviews were made the reviewers reviewed another press that I described as looking like a spider doing push-ups. And then it became one of those 'and then' moments. I was at the NAPA flea market. A dealer selling restaurant equipment was selling what he thought was a juicer. I explained to him to be a juicer he was missing too many parts and to handle fluid he would have to mount it upside-down.
I paid $15.00 got it and then put it away thinking it was the only one ever built, as a reloading press.
F. Guffey
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