Reloading press accuracy , run out testing

[dragon813gt]

I would think a benchrest or long range shooter might see the difference. They seem to strive for the zero runout. I dont know if the average guy shooting groups at 100 yards would see the difference between .001 and .0007 runout. Im not sure.

Benchrest shooter isn’t going to use a reloading press. They have specialized equipment. Long range, maybe, but will you see a difference when the MOA circle is rather large at 1000 yards? The press is one of the least important factors at this point.

[1hole]

As Lloyd and others have posted, a careful statistical sample of ONE of anything is meaningless, including presses, dies, etc.

Next, BR shooters who have rifles and dies and and scopes costing some ten times what the rest of us shoot don't expect a press to force anything into alignment, in fact they know a bit of press-shellholder slop is an advantage to accurate reloading with threaded dies.

Consider that a press has a very simple job: push cases into and pull them out of the dies. Dies are what makes the ammo, the press hardly makes a lot of difference in our accuracy.

Custom BR dies are unthreaded and they work cases as tiny amount as absolutely needed. Our sloppy factory (SAAMI) chambers demand dies that significantly over work our cases to insure the end ammo will function in every factory firearm ever made.

But, consider this - a round tapered plug (case) will always self center into a round tapered hole (die) UNLESS the cases and dies are rigidly held off axis when they are jammed together.

Loosely held round parts will precisely align themselves IF they are allowed to do so. It's that single fact that drives BR shooters to use hand dies and arbor presses because they just can't get looser than that!

When we get a worn press-to-ram fit many of us are eager to get a new press just when the current press has finally worn in enough to allow our cases and dies to come together properly!

Moral; don't sweat your press, if it works it's good. Do sweat the dies, how you prepare your cases and how well you develop your charges and seating depth.

[doulos]

There must some real believers out there in the floating die Co Ax camp. I say this because as we speak a USED Forster Co ax just sold on ebay for $410 bucks. You have to be kidding.

[dverna]

I bought my Co-Ax when they were <$70 new. It may not be the best press out there but it has produced great results for me. And it suits my weird way of reloading. I find a load that works and stay with it. Hardly ever change bullet style or weight so the seating die stays put most of the time. Just use it for rifle loading. I prime off the press so that hassle is gone. Not needing to find the right shell holder is a minor but nice plus.

[Lloyd Smale]

there not a bad press. Ive owned a couple myself. That said they sure wont do anything a rock chucker wont do as well. Yes there easier to swap dies in and out of but you can convert most any press today to lee or Hornady snap in bushings. 400 dollars for one used??? spend a 100 bucks more and get a 550. most versatile press on the market and will load ammo every bit as accurate as a co ax and do it 10 times faster. Might give a 100 bucks for one and certainly not more then a new rock chucker costs.

I bought my Co-Ax when they were <$70 new. It may not be the best press out there but it has produced great results for me. And it suits my weird way of reloading. I find a load that works and stay with it. Hardly ever change bullet style or weight so the seating die stays put most of the time. Just use it for rifle loading. I prime off the press so that hassle is gone. Not needing to find the right shell holder is a minor but nice plus.

[doulos]

there not a bad press. Ive owned a couple myself. That said they sure wont do anything a rock chucker wont do as well. Yes there easier to swap dies in and out of but you can convert most any press today to lee or Hornady snap in bushings. 400 dollars for one used??? spend a 100 bucks more and get a 550. most versatile press on the market and will load ammo every bit as accurate as a co ax and do it 10 times faster. Might give a 100 bucks for one and certainly not more then a new rock chucker costs.

What calibers are you loading on your 550?

[dverna]

What calibers are you loading on your 550?

I have two 550's and as far as I know the only caliber I cannot reload on it is .25ACP. But then I do not reload anything exotic. If there is a caliber you need to reload, go to the Dillon site and check...or call Dillon. It is likely the best press for the buck if you want reliable operation and some speed. I have never heard of anyone trading their 550 for another make. Even when I upgraded to the 650 (now gone) and the 1050's, I kept the 550. And then added another 550. Beware it does not autoindex...that is its biggest fault IMHO.

[Baltimoreed]

Interesting thread and videos but as an average shooter I’d invest my money on my components, dies, quality brass, bullets and the best optics that I can afford to go on my rifle. Sounds like some folks shoot to reload as opposed to reload to shoot.

[country gent]

I believe there's a way to work around this press run out issue. that may be fairly easy and quick. Purchase a +.010 7/8 14 tap. Tap press thread out with the oversized tap. Now when setting up run die in and size to desired depth. leave ram up and case is in the die holding alignment set lock ring. The +.010 tap will give .005 radial movement to the die to align and the lock ring should hold it. The old trick of an o ring under the lock ring would also allow for some self adjustment to squareness.

The oversized tap and o ring would allow for most misalignments to be adjusted for on a lot of presses. A +.015 would be more room but is a lot harder to find. The tap would probably be $30.00-$40.00 but could be reused many many times for other presses.

[doulos]

Im just reloading my ..45acp and .38 special on my 550. Just wondering who is doing rifle rounds.

[dragon813gt]

Im just reloading my ..45acp and .38 special on my 550. Just wondering who is doing rifle rounds.

Only rifle I load on one is 223 but the brass is prepped first. It speeds things up. But the main reason I use it is because it’s less pulls of the handle compared to the LCT. I have the pieces to load other rifle rounds on it. But I don’t shoot them in enough volume to make it worthwhile.

[tazman]

I have been getting very good accuracy with the ammo from my Lee Classic Cast Turret press. I don't have a run out gauge so cannot say how straight the rounds are. Must not be bad because the results I get would suggest things are good.
The interesting part is the slop in the turret. The turret moves vertically quite noticeably when the press reaches max rise. There has got to be a horizontal component there as well. If not in the turret, there will be in the shellholder.
Apparently it is just where it needs to be.

[flashhole]

Technique and practice are far more influential for low runout than the press.

[Lloyd Smale]

personaly only rifle loading I only do 223 308 and 30 bo and some straight walls like the 444, 4570 50ak ect. on a 550. Even most of my 223/308 is done on a lock and load with a case feeder because its faster. Most of what I do with those rounds on a 550 is load development where I only need to load 10 or 20 rounds with different bullets or powders. I do most of my bolt action stuff on a single stage. But that said you can load anything on a 550 and use it just like a single stage press if you want to.

[1bluehorse]

I don't do bench rest or any other type competition shooting. I'm not even that good a shot. Can't compete with those on this board that shoot those 1/2 moa 2 and 300 yard shots I read so often about here, let alone those 1/2 inch and better 100 yard groups. However I do like to "construct" rifle my reloads to be the very best I can make. I uniform primer pockets, flash holes and even turn case necks to "clean" them up to very small variance. I have bullet comparators and the Hornady gauge to set my bullets where I want as to the lands and also measure the shoulder "bump". I have and use a concentricity gauge to measure case necks (prior to turning) and runout of both brass and finished rounds. I also use Forster comp. dies and find them excellent. It hasn't "improved" my shooting ability one bit as far as I can tell but like I said I'm just an "average" shooter. But I do know that the rounds I load aren't the problem and probably not my rifles either. As far as presses go, use want you will, tell yourself it doesn't matter if you want, perhaps it really doesn't, but I'll keep my Co-Ax and not be trading up to a Lee Classic Cast or Rockchucker any time soon. Actually I have a LCC on a bench by itself, use it for things I don't want to do on the Forster. And just to let you know it isn't a Lee thing with me I have and use a Load Master press for 9mm, I use the RCBS Pro 2000 for everything else. I had a Dillon 550, sold it.

[44magLeo]

I was leafing through a December 2018 issue of Handloader Magazine. In the back is a column In Range. by Terry Wieland.
In this column he talks about something very similar, our American ability to build Quality Tools.
One example he uses is that Redding came out with their T-7 turret press in2002. Sierra Bullets bought one to load test ammo for ballistic testing.
They used it for 15 years and loaded over one million rounds of ammo with countless times of rotating the turret. In 2007 Redding got the press back. They used two dial indicators to display the amount of run out this press had. They don't say the amount but do have a pic. I can't tell by the pic just how much but it looks like not much.
This is after the years and millions of rounds. I think this shows that Redding knows their stuff.
I have had Redding products for years and like them a lot.
Leo

[MT Chambers]

Checking the run-out on Lee presses is important because eventually most will run-out and buy a good press.

[Livin_cincy]

I have been getting very good accuracy with the ammo from my Lee Classic Cast Turret press. I don't have a run out gauge so cannot say how straight the rounds are. Must not be bad because the results I get would suggest things are good.
The interesting part is the slop in the turret. The turret moves vertically quite noticeably when the press reaches max rise. There has got to be a horizontal component there as well. If not in the turret, there will be in the shellholder.
Apparently it is just where it needs to be.

You are on target with your observation on the design of the press.

[Lloyd Smale]

LOVE IT!!! Id bet 1/2 of us here who do a lot of progressive loading started with a pro 1000 or loadmaster that is just a bad dream today.

Checking the run-out on Lee presses is important because eventually most will run-out and buy a good press.

[Hamish]

I have been getting very good accuracy with the ammo from my Lee Classic Cast Turret press. I don't have a run out gauge so cannot say how straight the rounds are. Must not be bad because the results I get would suggest things are good.
The interesting part is the slop in the turret. The turret moves vertically quite noticeably when the press reaches max rise. There has got to be a horizontal component there as well. If not in the turret, there will be in the shellholder.
Apparently it is just where it needs to be.

"Slop" is my single biggest aggravation with this press in that COAL has to be watched a harder. That having been said, it is the press I seem to fallback to for the most part, especially for large runs or when I need to make a batch quickly.

The first Classic Cast turret I bought NIB, had a problem in that the turret ring was not parallel to the base, I had to actually tip cases into the die to get them to go in. Had to spend a few minutes adjusting. Second one I bought used was perfect.

As has been said, the I.D. of the die seems to be a bigger determining factor,