Old Hornady? press

[archeryrob]

I was lucky enough to get a single stage press and want to start reloading eventually, soon, I was looking for information on this older press and can't find it. I was told it is Hornady but I don't any version of this open circle H as a logo for them. Any help would be high appreciated so i can try and find a PDF manual on line.

Thanks in advance.

[Teddy (punchie)]

CH or C H

I forget the names but that what you have. They made good tools.

[NoZombies]

That's a CH press. The company still exists and is now CH4D.

Some of those use caliber specific rams, and some use 'universal' rams that accept modern shell holders. If it's a caliber specific ram, contact CH4D, they were still making the universal rams the last time I checked.

[archeryrob]

Thank you much. I see now its a CH Super C single stage press. Looking for info online

I have one set of 45lc Lee dies under the tree already. I am assuming they all work together?

[Czech_too]

If that press has a cartridge specific ram this is what you're looking for,
http://www.ch4d.com/products/equipment/presses/412090

I need to order another one myself for an old Pacific 'C' press. Another thing, if you're looking to change the angle that the press sits, it's 15 degrees. I made up a wedge once for one, use it for an upside down sizer.

[archeryrob]

Yes, I called and spoke to Denny? while you were posting this and ordered that Universal C ram. He said it should take 7/8" dies. I have 45LC dies under the tree, wife's requirement,and can't get them until late 12/24

Any reason why it leaning back 15 degrees is a bad thing?

[farmbif]

is that the one that was in swapping and selling section recently. was very tempted myself. its a good strong press and will last a couple lifetimes as long as its maintained with a couple drops of oil.
don't know about a manual but it will get the job done just like using any other single stage press

old Hornady stuff will have the name pacific associated with it

[archeryrob]

Negative, This one was from Maryland shooters karma give away and a guy gave them to another guy and let me have one and I took this. We were both getting into reloading and talking about it. So I offered to pay all his shipping costs.

I have yet to figure out what mounts up top next to the die in the front. I was hoping the manual would give me some incite to it.

[salpal48]

Ch4D is the best

[wolfwing]

They are good presses. You might have a hard time finding a spent primer catch. Something can be rigged from an old coffee can or plastic icing tub and a bungee. I traded mine about a year ago to get a guy into handloading. Mine was missing the handle when I got it, so I made a handle from a shot out Savage 110 243 barrel. While I use a hand primer, it is nice to have the primer set up with it.

[Bazoo]

The ears up front next to the die is for the primer feed. I use a Lyman Spartan and it has the angle as well. I made a wedge for it, but went back to angled. It works, no complaints. I ground the top and bottom tabs off mine since I use a ram prime for priming. No particular reason, just wanted to.

[Czech_too]

"Any reason why it leaning back 15 degrees is a bad thing?"
Not a bad thing, that's how some of them were made back in the day, more of a personal preference sort of thing. I started out using a Rockchucker and found the angle 'different'. Then I started to use that press as a dedicated sizer, but upside down. The vertical ram, using the wedge, just works for me.

[farmbif]

I wonder if the old Lyman primer feed tube could be adapted to it.
very similar setup

[ulav8r]

If loading long flat base jacketed bullets, the angle may allow bullets to tip out of alignment as you start to raise the ram. If using cast and and an m type expander it is usually less of a problem. Your results may vary.

[Wayne Smith]

If you got the universal ram you will need a shell holder for the .45 (ACP? or Colt?). The 45ACP shell holder is the same as the 30-06/8 x 57 family of cartridges so can be very useful. Only Lee dies come with a shell holder.

Yes the ears are for mounting the primer feed tube and those are pretty universal. My RCBS primer setup fits my Grizzly Bair press. I would not be surprised if Lyman or CH4D has a primer setup that fits it precisely.

[1hole]

Pacific - whom Hornady finally acquired - and Charles Herkner (CH) designed the dies, shell holders and presses we now have. Most "reloading" benches were being built to match the work counters short women used in their kitchens (34-35 inches); that meant reloading presses needed to be angled back a bit so the user could more easily see the shell holder.

Fred Huntington (RCBS) realized a loading bench for most men should be quite a bit higher (38-42 inches) and at that height there was no need to lean the presses back. Fred won on the vertical presses but a LOT of people still make their loading benches "lady high" and then often add some sort of lift device.

Bullets don't self align into a case mouth. If the press stands vertically it simply means the loose bullets will tilt randomly before seating starts. Tilting the press will indeed start with some gravity fed offset to ideal bullet entry but as contact is made the bullets will certainly align between the case mouth and seating punch.

Thus, the controlling part of bullet-to-case alignment is the seating die's throat diameter to snugly fit and guide the bullets into proper case alignment. So vertical or tilted, the press angle itself makes no real difference on the final run-out. A seater die's throat that best matches oversize (cast) bullets will surely be a sloppy fit for smaller jacketed bullets. We can't always have it all; to get more "there" we frequently must give up something "here".

I recently had a chuckle at some guy's posted complaint against his "old, bad Lee seater" that was too tight and scratched up the lovely sides of his fat cast bullets during seating but his wonderful new RCBS dies worked just fine. Yeah, I'm sure that's all true but he was looking thru the wrong end of his telescope ... his loudly disparaged "junk" Lee seater would almost certainly have made him some straighter jacketed reloads!

[rbuck351]

The only thing I don't like about the lean back is that longer brass such as 30/06 or longer may have to be held forward to align them to the sizer die to prevent them from not starting in the die. Not a big deal but something you may need to watch.
Make sure you use a good lube on your cases especially on the lower part of the case on the long cases. The Aluminum C-H C type press is not the strongest press and as such care should be taken to avoid sizing a dry case. I have one of these that I don't use much but if it was all I had it is what I would happily use. It will last for a long while with proper use, cleaning and lube.

[shaune509]

CH also had a C shaped bar that pinned into the primer arm / feed mounts to use when swaging, making the C frame an O frame.
Shaune509

[Kevin Rohrer]

"C H" was the initials of the company's first owner, Charles Heckman.