Need advice to planned mod on RCBS Ammomaster-Auto press

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have picked up one of these for a very reasonable price with a lot of shellplates and I picked up the only other shellplate that I needed today, also cheap.

You get ought for nought as the English say and as a result of being able to hancle everything from the 32 Auto to the 460Weatherby Magnum, the press has a veryyyyyyylong stroke!

I was thinking that if I fabricated a shorter set of the support rods for when I was reloading pistol cartridges I could make reloading pistol length cartridges a lot simpler. I would have to also fabricate a steel rod cam guide for the primer feed. It appears that these would be relatively simple to fabricate and the original parts could be swapped out in 10-15 minutes.

The easiest way to do this would be to buy spare parts and shorten/ rethread the rods and bend the steel rod guide and shorten it.

Here is a link to the exploded diagram of the press parts.

http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/instructions/AmmoMasterAutoProgressiveReloadingPressInstruction s.pdf

The drawing is on page 24 of the 28 peage manual and the support rods are part number 22 and the cam rod is part number 21.

The extra 20 minutes or so set up time would not be a problem because I will be reloading a lot of pistol ammo when I do load it and the quantities loaded would last me 6-12 months.

I load, 9mm, 38Super Auto, 38Special, 44Special, 44Mag, 44/40 45ACP and 45 Colt. I will be loading a few hundred 44Mags and about 800 44Specials, the rest a minimum of a thousand of each and the 9mm about three thousand, so you can see a few minutes setting up will be appreciated by the time I pack away the pistol reloading stuff.

Has anyone done this or am I way off beam?

I forgot I also will be loading about three hundred 25/20s, a hundred or so 32/20s, 222s and a swag of 223s, also reasonably short cases.

All told thats a few less miles of lever pulling! When these are loaded and stored away, I would convert back to the full sized parts ready to load the rifle cartridges, which are generally no where near as many.

[cheese1566]

I didn't care for the long stroke either.

I took my handle to the friendly machine shop. He took about 6" off the top end and threaded to cut ends to match the factory so the ball handle will screw on. If i want it back to length, I can screw off the ball and put the 6" piece back on.

Plus, I didn't like the straight handle since my hand would end up close to the primer apparatus. i had the shop put a slight bend in the rod near the bottom. I modeled it after my Hornady ProJectors.

The AmmoMaster still has a long stroke, but I think its a lot better with the shorter handle.

I can do pics if wanted.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I saw your post on the other thread about this and I was just about to send you a PM when the phone rang. I see you are on the job and I won't have to now.

Thinking about it, I would be wise to do your mod first, it might be enough. I kinda likt the idea of having a shorty Ammomaster though. Maybe I should keep my eyes out for a second victim (press, that is).

I get the idea, but a pic or two would be nice.

[cheese1566]

What about using parts from a RCBS PiggyBack unit?

I would have to look on mine to see if the riser posts are the same.

I believe the shrter primer actuating rod and shorter hex drive rod would work...

I know the top plates where the dies screw into are the same.

hmmmmm?

[Four Fingers of Death]

I was just looking at your projects and the exact same thought occured to me. No fiddling around or jiggling parts to fit, just swap em' out and you would be good to go. Every thing else looks exactly the same, which makes sense from RCBS's point of view.

I never really looked at the piggybacks, all but scoffed at the idea when I first saw a picture of one. Looking at them in a different light now (especially as i have a Rockchucker downstairs, lol.

They would go well together, pistol reloading on the piggy back and rifles on the Ammomaster.

I would love to get hold of a spare shellplate carrier. I fancy fabricating a slide/projection to be able to use a Lee1000 case feeder on the first station.

[cheese1566]

Unsure how the some parts would work off a PiggyBack...the steel risers are a little smaller diameter, but may be threaded the same. Plus, I think you may lose a little leverage with the shorter ram stroke since the shellplate would hit the bottom of the dies before the handle cams over. Maybe no biggie on pistol loading.
I load 45acp on mine and have had no issues with the shorter handle.

Next to the handle is the cut off/threaded section.
42405 42406 42407

[Four Fingers of Death]

Great pics, thanks. The piggyback is a lot smaller isn't it? The mod you have done is obviously the way to go first.

If Ipick up a piece of suitable barstock cheap (or free :) )I might try my idea down the track. That is a good point about the leverage and could be a problem with 5x 45ACPs on the flightdeck. Anyway, either mod allows you to return to normal easily.

that is a neat cut and re-thread job, very professional.

[cheese1566]

Best part was the old timer at the shop only charged me $20 for all the threading and bending!

[Catshooter]

If you have a Rockchuker then you could do what I did. Bought a PiggyBack. That gives me:

A Rockchuker for a single stage.

The above with a PB and I can load pistol rounds with a decent length stroke. I do not hustle, I load at a regular pace and can do 350 rounds an hour easy.

The mighty AmmoMaster. I can load x54r, 45-70 what have you progressivly. Long stroke doesn't matter then, you need it. With RCBSs conversion kit it will also load the 50 BMG (single stage).

The PB and the AM share many parts so if one goes down the other might be able to help while RCBS ships you the new part. Shell plates interchange. Same with all the priming parts except the bar that pushes out the primer arm.


Cat

[Four Fingers of Death]

That definetly sounds the way to go. I will keep my eyes open for a Piggyback. I'm not interested in breaking any reloading speed records either, just want the convienence. I am looking forward to being really stocked up on ammo, especially the pistol calibre stuff for cowboy shooting. I haven't been able to do that for some time. I love being able to open up the ammo cupboard and pulling out whatever ammo I want and not having to do the maths 'now if I shoot the 44/40 handguns and rifle, I might be cutting it a bit fine, I'd better shoot 45 handguns and the 44/40 rifle' sort of thing, or being rescued once again by the 357 Rossi in my avitar, down to the gunshop to buy some American Eagle 38Special ammo (the only lead ammo readily available and cheap for cowboy.) It goes against the grain buying factory ammo when you have a couple of big coffee cans full of brass at home, or buying Winchester cowboy ammo at well over a dollar a shot for the 44/40s and 45Colts.

I will print out your pics today cheese and take them down to my mate who is a hobby (ex-professional) lathe and mill operator and get him to do it for me. With the bend it should be worth a slab of beer. We have a premium beer here called Crown Lager, which is more expensive than most beers. It is either a slab of beer job or if more complex or difficult, it might even run to a slab of 'Crownies' as they are affectionately known. Just tastes liek beer to me, I actually prefer the standard stuff, but you really make an impression if you spend the extra $8-10 for Crownies! lol

I am getting really excited about this press setup. The brand new LnL is languishing away in the box at the moment, waiting for yet another part to get it going. Actually, it is ready to go, but I decided to fit the new EZject shellplate holder and the new powder measure overtravel linkage before I fired it up.

I am trying to decide on the powder thrower. The ammomaster came with a Uniflow measure and a case detector linkage set up (which the previous owner never got around to fitting). I really like the big Honady measure (mind you, I have never used one) with the press button insert removal system. The other option is to fit a micrometer adjustor to the UNiflow. The final option is to 'sleeve it.' That is sleeve it alone, HaHa! I had a Uniflow a few years ago and I used the depth gauge on my vernier calipers to change the powder settings. That worked ok and I now have a digital set, so I should be able to return to the various settings pretty well exactly. I will try that first as that is the free (or as my Chinese wife calls it, 'no money' option.

RCBS now make powder through neck expanders, so they will get a run as well. This will free up a station and allow me to fit the Hornady bullet feeder dies to the press. I got an idea off a guy on this board to use the dies and a plastic fed tube feeding the bullets (Hey! let gravity do the work of a $500+ machine, it might / should work).

I will also try some of the Lee Auto Disk powder measures I have been using with great success for many years. I will try this option first, as I already have the neck expanders, etc for these. Again, a 'No money!!!" option.

A $200 press has excited me more that a machine that has cost me some $8-900 dollars so far and I still have bits coming that are going to cost me $120-150.

As an aside, I read one neat trick in the RCBS manual. They recommended that when you load a new pack of primers, to only put out 100 bullets ( I will be putting out a hundred cases if the bullet feeder dies work as planned). As you see the bullet stock go down you will know when the primers need topping up. As simple as, but sound advice.

Thanks again for your input guys!

[1bluehorse]

I had not thought of using parts from the Piggyback on the Ammomaster to "shorten" things up. Very interesting, I'm gonna give RCBS a call and see if those parts will fit. Thats very cool thinking...

[troyboy]

I agree. Very useful information. I like the idea of using a RC with a PB better. I wonder if you could use the PB with the CC lee press?

[Four Fingers of Death]

I had not thought of using parts from the Piggyback on the Ammomaster to "shorten" things up. Very interesting, I'm gonna give RCBS a call and see if those parts will fit. Thats very cool thinking...

I think the support rods as they call them are slimmer on the piggyback. You can see that in the pic. They should be a realitively simple lathe job to turn up a shorter set. I will try cheese's shortened handle first.

The idea of having a Piggback as well is sound as a source of instant spare parts while you wait for replacements (especially for me living in Australia). This would work for both presses for most of the bits. You can only operate one at a time.

I might lash out and buy a shellplate for my 416 Rigby, that would be a hoot seeing those big old boys dropping into the catcher! With the quantities you shoot of this calibre, it is a bit of a silly idea, but if would be fun and would make a great YouTube video. :) :)

[cheese1566]

Might take a look at your LNL handle for a model.
I used the handles on my Hornady ProJector's to model the modifications to the AmmoMaster.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Good idea, thanks.

[Catshooter]

Four,

I to wondered about the Uniflow micrometer adjuster. Right up until I used one the first time. That's all I have now. In my loading binder, where I keep track of what I've loaded and how it worked I now put down the reading off of the micrometer for a given load of powder. Like: 9.0 grains Universal Clays= 68 in the small chamber. Then when I come back to load more of that weight I just dial up the number and Bob's yer uncle. It's just that easy. And no locknut to mess with either, they never move on their own.


Cat

[Four Fingers of Death]

Four,

I to wondered about the Uniflow micrometer adjuster. Right up until I used one the first time. That's all I have now. In my loading binder, where I keep track of what I've loaded and how it worked I now put down the reading off of the micrometer for a given load of powder. Like: 9.0 grains Universal Clays= 68 in the small chamber. Then when I come back to load more of that weight I just dial up the number and Bob's yer uncle. It's just that easy. And no locknut to mess with either, they never move on their own.


Cat

I take it you need a different micrometer for both of the drums, i.e rifle and pistol?

[Catshooter]

Yes you do Mic, they are very different in size.

I did some looking at my PG & AM this morning and the three posts that hold up the die plate are the same size. In other words you could install the short posts on the AM frame and have a short stroke. The holes they thread into and the bolts that secure their tops are the same.

I don't know for sure that all the other parts would interchange, can't really tell without doing it but it sure looks like it. RCBS tries real hard to keep parts common, that's pretty plain.

Here's some pics for ya:

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo235/Catshooter45/Shop/th_IMG_6245.jpg (http://s379.photobucket.com/albums/oo235/Catshooter45/Shop/?action=view&current=IMG_6245.jpg)

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo235/Catshooter45/Shop/th_IMG_6244.jpg (http://s379.photobucket.com/albums/oo235/Catshooter45/Shop/?action=view&current=IMG_6244.jpg)

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo235/Catshooter45/Shop/th_IMG_6243.jpg (http://s379.photobucket.com/albums/oo235/Catshooter45/Shop/?action=view&current=IMG_6243.jpg)

My shop is tiny, about nine by ten feet. Or if y'all are metric it about 3 by 3.2 meters.


Cat

[Four Fingers of Death]

Apart from the rod that cams the primer feeder in and out, I can'r see that anything else needs to be changed (sound too easy doesn't it?).

[Catshooter]

Well, there's also the hexagonal rod that rotates the shellplate. And the powder measure activation rod. But really, it's not all that much to change over.

If you do talk to RCBS, ask them for the slow twist rod that rotates the shellplate. If you load a case with the powder level near or at the mouth then this is a better rod. The rotation isn't so violent that it shakes out powder. It won't slow your output any.

I do love mine. I figure that's probably why they discontinued them. Seems to work that way alot for me. Good luck with yours Mick.


Cat

[Four Fingers of Death]

I though that the Lee style twisty rod stuck out the top, unlike the Lee. Too sick at the moment to open up the garage and check.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Hey Fella,

When I read your post, I saw some things I had information on that might be useful to you, so I cut the post up and posted some information for you in red below. Might enhance what you're working on doing.


I will print out your pics today cheese and take them down to my mate who is a hobby (ex-professional) lathe and mill operator and get him to do it for me. I have a buddy that does this kinda thing for me and if your pal has scrap steel laying around to do this, I'm betting you'd be money and marbles ahead to get him to do it vs. getting lighter weight parts of another similar press.

I am getting really excited about this press setup. The brand new LnL is languishing away in the box at the moment, waiting for yet another part to get it going. Actually, it is ready to go, but I decided to fit the new EZject shellplate holder and the new powder measure overtravel linkage before I fired it up.

If you're going to add the case feeder, you're better off waiting and adding the Ezject setup. I owned one of these for ten years and know the tuning of one and how to get it to hold tune quite well. When you get ready to get it running and want to run it smoothly, PM me and I'll be more than happy to share all the tuning stuff I learned over running a LnL progressive for a decade.

The case activated powder drop and the overtravel linkage work well if you're using the case mouth expanding inserts, especially for cast boolits. You may want to consider getting your machinist friend to make you a combination of a Lyman M-die insert with the Hornady case expansion insert for improved case mouth expansion.

I am trying to decide on the powder thrower. The ammomaster came with a Uniflow measure and a case detector linkage set up (which the previous owner never got around to fitting).

If this is an RCBS version of the Hornady case activated powder drop, it and the one that came with the Hornady LnL are very similar in operation. You may want to get your machinist friend to make an overtravel linkage for this one as well.

I really like the big Honady measure (mind you, I have never used one) with the press button insert removal system.

You can use the Hornady measure on the RCBS case activated powder drop and the Uniflow on the Hornady case activated powder drop. They are interchangeable.

The other option is to fit a micrometer adjustor to the UNiflow.

If you're doing very very long runs of cartridges in extremely high volume, it doesn't take that long to setup the standard Uniflow adjuster using a powder scale to check it. That said, the Hornady LnL powder measure and it's case activated powder drop will fit in a standard die location. The Hornady powder measure has a much larger reservoir, allowing you to load more cartridges before you have to refill it. With your long runs, you will quickly appreciate this I'm betting. My suggestion is use the Hornady case activated powder drop in this application with the Hornady measure on top.

The final option is to 'sleeve it.' That is sleeve it alone, HaHa! I had a Uniflow a few years ago and I used the depth gauge on my vernier calipers to change the powder settings. That worked ok and I now have a digital set, so I should be able to return to the various settings pretty well exactly. I will try that first as that is the free (or as my Chinese wife calls it, 'no money' option.

Now what fun is there in just leaving something untuned? For example, a rifle with a tuned trigger is much more fun to shoot than one with a rough factory trigger.

RCBS now make powder through neck expanders, so they will get a run as well.

I suggest buying one of these for the Hornady case activated powder drop and getting your machinist friend to make a cross breed between it and a Lyman M-die insert. Your cast boolits will be glad you did. I'm planning on doing this very thing with all my pistol and cast boolit higher volume reloads, just to make the best cartridges possible.

This will free up a station and allow me to fit the Hornady bullet feeder dies to the press. I got an idea off a guy on this board to use the dies and a plastic fed tube feeding the bullets (Hey! let gravity do the work of a $500+ machine, it might / should work).

I'm doing the very same thing. Be sure if you're planning to use cast boolits and find where the fella modified those Hornady bullet feeder dies to accept cast boolits. You'll need to google it, but he did a you tube video on how he got those dies to feed cast boolits. It was an extremely easy modification. And the plastic tubes work great. Be sure and buy enough to load up several hundred boolits at a time.

I will also try some of the Lee Auto Disk powder measures I have been using with great success for many years. I will try this option first, as I already have the neck expanders, etc for these. Again, a 'No money!!!" option.

I've used these as you describe on my progressives for years. Work fantastic if you tune them and use a powder they like and match the disk/bar/microdisk to the size of the powder load.

A $200 press has excited me more that a machine that has cost me some $8-900 dollars so far and I still have bits coming that are going to cost me $120-150.

Old toys can be extremely fun. I'm having a ball with getting an old Star tricked out.

As an aside, I read one neat trick in the RCBS manual. They recommended that when you load a new pack of primers, to only put out 100 bullets ( I will be putting out a hundred cases if the bullet feeder dies work as planned). As you see the bullet stock go down you will know when the primers need topping up. As simple as, but sound advice.

The K.I.S.S. is always an excellent option for getting quality out of a process. Less to go wrong and confuse the issue.

I hope the above information is useful.

Dave

[Four Fingers of Death]

Thanks Dave, all good info. I have a situation where I have a very expensive press sitting in a box, with two shellholder so far allowing me to relaod 38s and 9mm. The Ammomaster for a total investment of $300 ($200 for the press and $100 for two extra shellplates) has eight shellplates and wil load everything pistol wise that I have apart from the 45 Colt and 44/40. As it stands, the Ammomaster can load 9mm, 38Super, 38/357, 45ACP, 222/223, 22/250, 270, 308, 3006, 300WM, 338WM, 7.5Smit Ruben and the 30/30! The 44/40 and 45 Colt aren't a problem as I have a Lee1000 set up for those cartridges. Apart from some oddball military cases, the only thing not covered by these two outfits is my 444Marlin and my 45/70s. At the cost of 444brass out here, I get by with 120 cases and am happy to load the 45/70 on the Lee Classic Turret press as I load all blackpowder in this cartridge (fancy sullying such a historical old cartridge with smokless powder, is nothing sacred? lol).

I can't see any opportunities for the LnL in the immediate future at $77.80 a shellplate!

[1bluehorse]

The more I think about this "remodel" I'm thinking you'd also want to shorten the ram as well for the press to work correctly...

[Four Fingers of Death]

Beginning to sound like 'if it sounds too easy, it probably is!'

I think converting the handle to a two piece is definetley viable, but the rest of the deal, maybe not.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Mick,

More information and a couple thoughts in red below.


Thanks Dave, all good info. I have a situation where I have a very expensive press sitting in a box, with two shellholder so far allowing me to relaod 38s and 9mm.

Look on the bottom of these shell plates. If there is not a circular groove cut just outside the spring loaded balls, you have original Hornady LnL/Projector plates and cannot use them with the EzJect without having a groove cut in them. If they have the groove, you can use them with either.

The Ammomaster for a total investment of $300 ($200 for the press and $100 for two extra shellplates) has eight shellplates and wil load everything pistol wise that I have apart from the 45 Colt and 44/40. As it stands, the Ammomaster can load 9mm, 38Super, 38/357, 45ACP, 222/223, 22/250, 270, 308, 3006, 300WM, 338WM, 7.5Smit Ruben and the 30/30! The 44/40 and 45 Colt aren't a problem as I have a Lee1000 set up for those cartridges. Apart from some oddball military cases, the only thing not covered by these two outfits is my 444Marlin and my 45/70s. At the cost of 444brass out here, I get by with 120 cases and am happy to load the 45/70 on the Lee Classic Turret press as I load all blackpowder in this cartridge (fancy sullying such a historical old cartridge with smokless powder, is nothing sacred? lol).

I can't see any opportunities for the LnL in the immediate future at $77.80 a shellplate!

Before you say that, set it up for a single calber (I suggest the .38 special) and run a bunch of cartridges off, enough to get familiar with the press. Do the same thing with the Ammo Master in the same caliber. See production rates, efficiency of operation, difficulty of tuning, etc. I'm betting you'll find out which one you prefer and which one is worth the money you paid for long term use.

I have done that with an RCBS Rock Chucker vs. a Lee Classic Cast single stage, a Lyman Turret press vs. a Lee Classic Turret and a couple of scales over the years. It can teach you a lot about what you prefer and what is worth it for the money. BTW, the Lee's beat the "big boys" both times.

My Redding RS 2 scale so far has held off a used RCBS 10.10, but the RCBS had a problem and RCBS replaced it. I have yet to calibrate the new scale and get them on the bench side by side. Round two coming up.

[Four Fingers of Death]

The computer isplaying silly buggers and the quote feature is not working, but from memory, the shellplates are the newer type it seems, which is fortunate as I didn't know there were two types when I bought them.

I am reluctant to use the LnL because if I ended up selling it, it would bring a better price if NIB. I don't suppose it would make that much difference and you are right I should do a comparison between the two.

Maybe end up using the LnL for small primer stuff, 9mm, 38Super, 38 Special, the RCBS for the large primer stuff and rifle cartridges and the Lee1000 for the 44/40, 45Colt (Black Powder loads in these two as well), 25/20, 32/20, 222 and 223.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Having owned a LnL, I can tell you without reservation that it is one of the best progressive presses related to bullet runout you can buy. I know this throws mud in your waters, but I would reload rifle cartridges on it before anything else. It's an ideal rifle cartridge progressive.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Having owned a LnL, I can tell you without reservation that it is one of the best progressive presses related to bullet runout you can buy. I know this throws mud in your waters, but I would reload rifle cartridges on it before anything else. It's an ideal rifle cartridge progressive.

No doubt you are correct in that, the only reason I was going to start with the 9mm, 38 Super and 38 Specials were because those are the only shellholders I have been able to find so far.

Hard to fork out $70+ for a shellholder that is covered by another press. I will try at least one to get a fair picture though.

The rifle cartridges will not be such long runs, so would be better suited on the LnL for quick change over. The 9mms, etc will probably be doing a 1000+ when I sit down to reload them, so an extra 15 minutes set up is long forgotten once you get into it.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Mick,

Man, it's tough to be a reloader in Oz. it would appear. Good luck with that one. I'm sympathetic to the high cost of reloading stuff in the first place.

[Four Fingers of Death]

They would no doubt be a lot cheaper if I imported them direct. When I get it up and running, I will consider importing a few shellplates and more bullet feeder dies as they come out (I have three, 44, 38, 45ACP, just waiting on the 9mm/38Super. The only other one produced is the 40S&W, which hardly anyone uses in Australia after the +38 Handgun calibre restrictions came in. A lot of the guys now have obtained 45ACPs including me, not many shooters seem to have bothered with the 40S&Ws that I can see (big calibres not allowed to be used in combat/service competition, ok for silouette and cowboy shooting, yep, makes a lot of sense, or it made sense to someone. We got shafted by the Bullseye/Olympic shooting crowd who were feathering their own nest. They are pretty influencal and the new laws are pretty much word for word with a sentence out of their rule book. They didn't mind screwing over everyone else to protect their section of the sport).

The laws in my state are a bit more sensible than others as we have a couple of senators elected and they have got a bit of common sense injected into the argument. Apart from being able to use firearms for self defence, we can pretty much own what we want apart form AR and other nasty guns and semi autos, but we just have to pay a lot for licenses and such and jump through a lot of hoops. Can't just buy a gun because you like it and stick in in the corner and forget about it. Have to attend shoots, etc, etc, etc. If you are keen you will shoot. We are a heck of a lot better off than the poor old Brits! My guns number in three figures and I have all sorts of powerful stuff, often duplicated, the pommy coppers would have a cow if they looked into my gunsafes, lol.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Mick,

You're a man after my own heart. I have guns I buy just because I think the government doesn't want me to have one like that. I figure if they don't want me to have it, I probably NEED to own one so they aren't able to take away my rights.

Best Regards,

[Four Fingers of Death]

IN 1996 when the new laws came in I had a respectable, but not overly large armoury.

After the laws came in I was determined to keep big bores and got the appropriate license. My big bore handguns at the time were two 44Mag Rugers. We didn't know what the future held, but I felt that it would be easier to have the gun then maybe try and convince the powers to be in the future that I really needed to own it. With that logic, I didn't hesitate to buy guns after that and have pretty much covered most of the stuff I have always desired.

I must start shedding a few as I have bought mysef into the poor house (well not quite, but funds are a lot leaner now that I am retired). I have tried a lot of the rifles and guns that I fancied and while I'd like to keep them all, it is almost a full time job looking after them as well as all the reloading and shooting. I've had the experience of owning and shooting them and will now reduce my armoury to a more sensible level. I will put a good price on them as I am not in a hurry to sell and I will keep a few favourites and pretty much what is left after that.

I didn't want to end up on the porch rocker saying to myself, 'I wonder what one of those would have been like?' Now. in teh future I will sitting in my rocker, boring the **** out of all and sundry, saying 'Man, I used to have a 44Mag/44/40/45Colt/375H&H/416 Rigby/444/1903 Springfield/Mosin Nagant/No4 Savage/30/30 Marlin/whatever/ Man! was that gun a treat to shoot, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. HaHa!

[BST4227]

I know this is an old topic but I would like to know if anyone has moved forward on this. The main reason I ask is because I have both the Ammo Master Auto and a Piggy Back. The reason for having both is due to being stationed in Germany and not thinking I would need the Ammo Master there and finding out I was wrong and compromised while there.

So here I am now close to 20 years later with a Piggy Back sitting on my bench and thinking of stripping it for parts, when I run across this thread. Cant do anything right now due to some minor surgery yesterday but in a couple of weeks I'll have use of both hands and may try this out, unless someone has done so and fines that it can't or shouldn't be done.

[troyboy]

I tried using the piggy supports and indexing rod to shorten the throw on the ammomaster. Lost all the leverage that the press was designed to have. The ammomaster ram would have be stortened to maintain the proper geometry.

[Four Fingers of Death]

As it turned out, I was on the range one day and overheard a young shooter saying that he was either going to buy a Dillon or a LnL. I told hom about mine and he was the proud owner as soon as I could go home and get it and he went to the banka nd got some money out. I dropped a few dollars on it, but I will concentrate on the Ammo Master now. It has only loaded 44Mags since I last posted.

BST4227, you should be able to get spares to get the piggyback to work from RCBS, seems a shame to strip it. I never fancied the piggyback, but I had a friend who was a gun dealer and he used to reload bulk ammo for kangaroo shooters on his and it worked like clockwork.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

BST4227,

Were I you, I would start a fresh post with what you have and get help getting any and all RCBS presses you have up and working making ammo. It won't cost you a lot and once they're up and running, if you decide you want to sell, you'll be able to sell them in the Swap & Sell and get your money back out. People like to buy things that are cleaned up, freshly lubed and working correctly out of the box, so you'll get the best price.

I'm betting if you post a post by itself, you'll get the help you need from the guys that are experts on the progressives you have.

Best Regards,

Dave

[BST4227]

Just so I can clear up the air, my AmmoMaster works fine and If I mounted the PiggyBack on a press it would work as well. After reading this thread I got the wild idea to take my PiggyBack parts and mount them on the AmmoMaster to shorten the throw for the pistol cartridges. Or just strip the PiggyBack for the parts I can use them (if needed) on the AmmoMaster. It looks like troyboy (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?16408-troyboy) answered my question(s).

I've had my AmmoMaster, for a long time like it, I know it, and understand it, if I recall correctly it was the only 5 station press at the time when I bought it. That being said I am looking at one of the newer Pro Chucker Progressive Presses or maybe a XL650. There is nothing wrong with it, I just want to upgrade to something a bit newer and more modern, after all my press is a first model and I bought it about 6 months after it came out, as a matter of fact I got it from a small outfit called Lock, Stock, and Barrel long before Midway bought them out but that's another story.

Anyway after reading this thread and the thought of using the PiggyBack parts on the AmmoMaster to shorten the throw would be nice to do. But thanks for the advice on both presses, I hope no one takes this the wrong way as I am not offended and am not trying to poke anyone in the eye.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

BST,

I have the RCBS Pro 2000 press and have had it a good while now. It was one that had been part of a defective run with an incorrectly machined subplate, so it did not start out well for me. But RCBS customer service proved superior (Better than Dillon when I had a 550 years ago.) in getting me the parts I needed to correct the subplate issue, along with a bunch of spare parts I might need (I never have needed any of them, it's run that well since.) I installed the corrected subplate, got the machine timed (with the free timing blocks they sent me), then finish setting it up per the instructions.

Since then, the press has been boringly reliable. The ammo loaded has been great and I've done a bit of tuning to improve the ammo using techniques learned from years of being online and seeing how folks can tune presses. I'm extremely happy with the press, it's speed and especially the reliability. The only regret is RCBS did not design a case feeder for it.

I haven't heard of anyone posting on the new Pro Chuckers, but if they've got the capability of adding a case feeder, they're likely wonderful machines.

[BST4227]

Dave,

I have the same thoughts on my AmmoMaster. It took me a while to learn how to use it and there were no sources of reference like the internet at the time, so just as reloading and casting it was pretty much seat of the pants learning to boot.

I almost bought a blue machine when I bought the green one, what sold me was the 5th die station and no one else had one at the time. When the RCBS 2000 came out I looked at it long and hard and didn't see any great improvements over the AmmoMaster so I didn't upgrade then. When blue brought out the 650 I looked hard at it and couldn't justify the cash outlay at the time and didn't see enough improvement either.

So fast forward to today, I'm looking at the Hornady LnL the 650 and the newest entry from RCBS. I'm really wanting both the bullet feeder and case feeder so I'm holding out to see if RCBS is going to pony up cause I really like the 7 station. If Dillon didn't cost so much to really take advantage of their machines I would have already gone to the 650 when it came out.

All of these machines are really great and they keep improving them and the price keeps going up on them all, its hard to want to put the money on the table. Most of my stuff is green so I'm pretty invested in them, but I do have a little bit of all the colors Orange, both Reds, Blue and the other Green too, so no matter which one I go with I'll be starting over. But I do so love this part of shooting almost as much as shooting itself so I'm stuck with this addiction.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I can't say on the case feeder, but I can say I owned the Hornady, the 550 and load pretty regularly on a friend's 650. If the RCBS mechanical design is as good on the newest presses as it is on mine, I'm not sure the case feeder is a big deal. The wonderful thing is, no matter which way you go, they are all pretty decent, though I wasn't overly impressed with the LnL casefeeder, but I had a very early model LnL that wasn't designed for a casefeeder and did not have the bosses for the case feeder mounting on it.

Looking at pictures of the AmmoMaster, the rotating portion of the Pro 2000 is very similar in design. I'm wondering if it has the same ball detent and spring that the Pro 2000 has. If so, you can control the rate of rotation and smooth it out using springs with different rates.

[BST4227]

I believe you are correct, the shell plates are the same and I found a guy on Ebay selling a lighter spring and a phenolic detent ball to change the rotation on the 2000 and the PiggyBack....this would mean that it would work on the Ammo Master too seeing as how the AM and the PB have the same shell plate mounting and operations. Changing how hard the shell plate snaps in place would be nice. I may have to order one just to see if it works better then the factory ball and spring.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

BST,

If you call RCBS, they'll send you one. That's how I learned about the change. They sent me one.

Dave

[BST4227]

Hey Dave I'll do that thanks....didn't know RCBS also recognized that these presses rotated hard at times