I recently got into progressive reloading after doing it all on a single stage for 10 years. I sort of fell into deals on the RCBS progressives that use the tube primer setup and now find myself with one Ammomaster and 3 Piggyback II's with a RS5 Press that they attach to. I have been using them for about 2 years now and find that there is a lack of information about these presses on the web and some outright bad information about them. I am starting this thread to add tips tricks and upgrades all in one place that I have found works and please add more to it for what you have found works. Again this is what works for me. I am looking for other peoples experience and tips and tricks. Please do not use the thread to bash this equipment.
1st a description of the presses:
Ammomaster - 5 stage progressive or manual indexing (you choose). It can also be setup as a single stage press with a kit and also has a kit to reload 50 BMG. It is also strong enough to perform some bullet swaging. As it comes from RCBS it has an automatic case activated powder dispensing system with a shell sensing system. It did not have a case feeder or bullet feeder from the factory although people have added other brands equipment to add these features. If you had to have just one press this one is the only one I know of that can do it all.
Piggyback II - This came before the Ammomaster and is what it was designed (upsized) from. It has all of the features of the Ammomaster in a smaller size. It can handle all pistol calibers. It requires a RS5 or Rock Chucker press to work as it attaches on the top of these presses. It says it can handle .223/5.56 and 7.62x39 BUT I have had problems with this on my press with the Lee Dies I use so I only load pistol loads on the Piggybacks.
My setups that I have found that work:
Piggyback II - I have one setup for Large Primers and one setup for Small Primers. I use the following dies in these positions. I use mostly Lee Dies except for a few exceptions. I have found that they work great and produce ammo that works great for me. There are some limitations they have but overall they just work. I have modified my RCBS RS5 press by drilling a hole in the top front arm of the press that lines up with the alignment pin on the Piggyback. Normally the alignment pin would be removed when used with a RS5 press but I find it useful.
Station 1 - Size and De-prime Die setup with press at top of stroke and screw in against the shell plate holder and then back press arm off and turn die in 1/4 turn.
Station 2 - No die. Priming system only.
Station 3 - Lee Powder through expander dies with a Lee Auto Disc Powder Measure setup properly. Adjust the die in until it will just work the powder measure through a full stroke any more will damage brass and any less with result in inaccurate powder charges. I have polished the base of the powder dispenser where the plates go and I make sure to not tighten down the screws that hold the powder dispenser too tight. These measures will throw consistent charges if you take some time with them. They have a better case sensing mechanism that the RCBS powder drop system. I have used the Pro version of this measure but found that the standard Auto Disc works just as well and is cheaper. Also I always install the swivel adapters on all of these powder measures. The expander portion of the die seems to work well for me and expands the case mouth for easy feeding of boolits and bullets.
Station 4 - Lee Bullet seating die. I use Lee's instructions to set this die up for no crimp. It is just used to seat the bullet. These dies come apart easy for cleaning (bullet lube mostly from my 45/45/10 tumble lube).
Station 5 - Lee Factory Crimp Die. I have found that these dies will give me the crimp I need and will also ensure the cases will feed in my autoloaders. Just follow the Lee instructions for setup.
Some tips for the pistol setup.
-The Piggyback to Press nut is hard to tighten with the included wrench. Remove the alignment pin and you get the room you need to use the wrench and then you can put the pin back in. If it comes loose it will affect your stroke. Check that it stays tight by trying to move the piggyback relative to the RS5 press before you start loading and after every primer tube.
-ALWAYS ALWAYS use full strokes. It will keep you from damaging the indexing bushing and causing the press to come out of time.
-This is not a race. Take your time and watch all of the stations. Listen to the sounds. Get a rhythm going. Get a feel for the press.
-Look at all cases prior to putting them in the press. Check for proper caliber, military/crimped brass (put them aside for proper depriming and primer pocket swaging before running through the progressive press). A crimped primer pocket and forcing the press is probably how I did most of my damage to the press. If it feels hard on the priming stroke then STOP and remove that piece of brass and primer. You can lift up the shell plate slightly (not enough to get the indexing rod up into the twist portion) and remove the shell and primer. If you lift the shell plate too far then manually index the shell plate around. Unload it and start over. It will save you time over replacing the index bushing. You will be safe if you don't lift higher than the top of the indexing pin.
-If the priming stroke feels like a hard stop without a slight resistance then you are either out of primers or it failed to pick one up. Check the priming system. I have found polishing all of the priming system parts and following the manuals instructions to the letter results in a system that works. Also ANY powder spill or getting dirt/oil/grease etc in the priming system will mess it up. If I spill powder I use compressed air (my compressor and garage are right next to my bench) and blow out all of it. If it failed to pick up a primer lift the shell plate with the arm until it is just at the top of the alignment pin and pull back on the primer arm to pick up a primer and then allow it to go back to position to prime the shell and stroke the arm back up to prime.
-Until you either smooth out the powder measure or are sure it is setup properly you should pull a case every 10 -20 cases to check charge. Make sure the powder measure is doing a full stroke and is returning to the start position to get the next charge. I also have a light shining down towards the press in that area so I can see the charge in the case. After these powder measures are smoothed out and setup properly they are very reliable.
-Once you get the feel of it and get a rhythm going you can load 200-300 per hour comfortably. That is the speed that I get with mine without trying too hard. Use the primer tube filling breaks to check some of the loaded rounds for primer seating depth and crimp appearance.
-The manual is your friend. Use it and follow the instructions in it. I believe most of the problems attributed to these presses are due to not following the instructions. I can and have gone over 1000 rounds in a loading session without a problem. But that is the exception. I will usually have a few issues in a loading session but it is normally my error or a crimped primer pocket I missed.
Next Post I will cover the Ammomaster and my rifle setup. Please feel free to add any tips you can share on these great presses. I will also take some pictures and add them later.
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Originally Posted by OuchHot!
