RCBS 7 Stage Progressive Press ....very interesting indeed

[omgb]

So I was invited to a special demo of the RCBS seven position progressive press. It was very impressive indeed. Seven die stations, a Hornady like priming system and powder drop, automatic pistol bullet feed and fully adaptable to Hornady's rifle bullet feeder, this it the cat's meow for sure. They are still working on a case feeder without it it's a NASCAR racer with a Pinto motor. The best part of the whole deal is the centering pin in the shell plate. Each time the press indexes that pin cams the plate into absolute zero backlash. Very slick. Unfortunately it's gonna cost more than either a Honrnady L-N-L or the Dillon 650XL. An exact price has not been settled on as of today from what I was told.

[Catshooter]

If I were twenty years younger . . . but I'm not. I'll stick with my Rockchucker/PiggyBack and Ammomaster combos. But if I were . . .


Cat

[jmorris]

It was not meant to compete with the LNL or even the 650, they were going after the 1050 (why the copied the pin through the shell plate).

Without a swage station it really doesn't have the same features though, not to mention no functioning case feeder yet. They also seem to have priming system problems, they send extra slides with them new but one report I read said all were broken in short order.

if your interested you might want to wait until they get the bugs worked out. I would actually wait until they have a case feeder for sale and it is problem free. As that must be the most difficult part for them or they would not have taken it to the SHOT show, then starting to sell them without one.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Hmmm.. it seems to me that RCBS puts out reloaders frequently before all the bugs are taken care of quite a lot!

The RCBS Green Machine and the RCBS 4X4 Progressives come to mind!

To be fair I guess the Pro 2000 was good to go just sayin!

I would wait also and see IF they get the bugs out, I'm sure they will, as they have something already to go by (painted blue!!!)

[salpal48]

Sounds Like a Giant Leap in the Bigger, Better, More expensive, Faster Loading world. when you only need a single stage and a great deal of knowledge.

[Bonz]

I called Hornady a few months ago and asked them if they were coming out with a progressive reloading press with 6 or more stations. She said "we announce our new products in October"

[HGS]

Found a price on line from Bass pro shop for the new rcbs pro chucker 7 for $829.99 plus shipping. At this price, they are going to have to work all the bugs out if they want new customers. My older rcbs presses will be still loading ammo long before I put out that kind of scratch.

HGS

[mold maker]

Any automatic multi stage press will load at the same speed if hand fed brass. Half that speed if boolits are also hand fed.
44Vaquero solved my hand feeding problem.
I can pick even little 380s up,
standing at attention,
in the grip that I load the shell holder,
without even looking,
or fumbling.
I was, spending more time feeding the press, than using it.
Quiet a change in both speed, and enjoyment.
Thanks Jim

[jmorris]

While I generally agree with that idea, in the real world the ones that don't have to stop for malfunctions win.

There is also slight differences in how they/I preform operations. The best I have done with a 650 for example is 100 rounds in 3 min, while the best I have done on a 1050 is 100 in 2.5 min.

Salpal, the idea of a progressive is to load 100 rounds without 400 strokes.

[salpal48]

Since the reply was addressed to me. . In many of the Older book The was not called Re loading But Handloading. Taking it further with that You are not handloading but manufacturing. As with most manufacturing process The Operator is The least skillful. The machine does the work. and you are Unskilled labor.
Sal

While I generally agree with that idea, in the real world the ones that don't have to stop for malfunctions win.

There is also slight differences in how they/I preform operations. The best I have done with a 650 for example is 100 rounds in 3 min, while the best I have done on a 1050 is 100 in 2.5 min.

Salpal, the idea of a progressive is to load 100 rounds without 400 strokes.

[omgb]

Man you the operator better have a good set of skills if you intend to make ammo with progressive reloaders. They all need TLC and a good whack from time to time. Knowing when and how to whack them is the skill part

[cheese1566]

Is it the same concept of the locating pin through the shell holder used on the AmmoMaster and piggybacks?

My RCBS tech friend told me about the unit last fall and asked hat I keep it to myself until the shotshow.

My my ammomaster and LNL are just fine for me. Unless of course I get a returned unit gifted to me !

[jmorris]

The machine does the work. and you are Unskilled labor.
Sal

A progressive does the exact same thing a single stage does (using the exact same dies in most cases). It just does them all at once with one pull vs one at a time with four pulls.

I think it could be argued that unskilled folks operate all different kinds of presses. Would be a lot less "Kaboom" threads if it were just up to the machines to manufacture the ammunition. Seem to remember something along the lines of "to err is human".

That said my best press requires the least skill and removes the human element almost completely, from the process.

[stubbicatt]

Too bad they didn't use the APS strip primer system. I'm a real fan of that setup.

[dilly]

Yes, I was thinking the strips seem like a good idea as well.

However at this price I'm VERY disappointed there is no swager.

Anybody who wants 7 die positions is going to want to run completely unprocessed brass and turn it into loaded ammo in one go round; that calls for a swager.

[EddieNFL]

Sounds Like a Giant Leap in the Bigger, Better, More expensive, Faster Loading world. when you only need a single stage and a great deal of knowledge.

Could you part with some that knowledge that will help me load multi-thousands of rounds (per month) while staying married (and not retiring)?

[David2011]

Could you part with some that knowledge that will help me load multi-thousands of rounds (per month) while staying married (and not retiring)?

Eddie,

How many thousands are you thinking and what cartridges? Could be easy if 2000 .40 or .45. If 5000 of .223 that's harder. Give us something to work with.

David

[jmorris]

Eddie,

How many thousands are you thinking and what cartridges? Could be easy if 2000 .40 or .45. If 5000 of .223 that's harder. Give us something to work with.

David

I think it was a rhetorical question. There is no way to load on a single stage with less work or more speed. If you use only two dies, you will have twice the amount of strokes and charging the case with powder forces you to remove and replace the case (that takes longer than the stroke) so your looking at a much, much slower process and it only gets worse.

You run a size/deprime die, powder through expander, seat die then a separate crimp die, your looking at 4 strokes per completed round vs 1.

On a progressive, the same work can be completed in a fraction of the time. This is one of my 650's loading 100 rounds in under 4 min.



How long is 100 taking you on a single stage?

[EddieNFL]

Rhetorical indeed. I figured it out about 30 years ago. After spending about 10 years behind a SS, I got smarter...and faster. My single stage still, and always will see use, but it's not the tool for every job.

[David2011]

Sorry I missed the tongue in the cheek. I had a friend in East Texas that shot USPSA Open loading on a single stage Lee. I respected his tenacity and dedication. Almost any amount of ammo can be loaded if enough time is dedicated to the task.

David