CH 444-X Press. Got one? How do you like it?

[AbitNutz]

I've been eying the CH 444-X 4 station H-press for a while. I have more than a couple of different style presses and this one looks pretty sweet. How do you like your?

Anyone looking to part with one? I saw one on eBay but it's an older 3 station and looks a bit ragged out.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I use mine to assemble all of my centerfire rifle rounds above .223 (they go on the 550B) I also use it to assemble my .44's and any other small batch of ammo.

I like being able to charge a case in the left station, seat the boolit in the center station, and crimp it in the right station, Done round! This eliminates any possibility of incorrectly charged or assembled rounds since you are completing each round independently.

I Size and Deprime cases on a Rockchucker and then they go into the tumbler. You can resize large rifle rounds on a C&H however it takes a lot more effort since the mechanical advantage in not the same as a Rockchucker, and this is why I use that press.

I assemble clean cases everytime, and the ammo looks a works very well.

Mine was actually a Pistol Champ 444 and came with the powder measure. I used it to assemble .44's either Mags or Specs. It is no problem at all to size pistol cases on this tool, and if you want to load pistol rounds you can get about 200 per hour out of this machine, For most people this is more than good enough production. If you want more then you're going to need a progressive.

One point about the 3 hole ones, they are pretty much the same as the 4 hole ones, as far as usability goes. they can also be easily refinished if they look bad. Very seldom are you going to see a reloading tool that is "worn out." Not taken care of is more often the case.

We refinish these tools frequently here, and Me and Seagiant just refurbished a pair of RCBS presses last week. They both came out better than new.

These are extremely useful tools and I love mine, wouldn't be without it. Here's a pic of mine setup to load .308's.

Randy

[gwpercle]

CH4D still sells them , the factory list price is around 300 for the rifle version and 430 for the pistol loader with a set of carbide dies, not too bad a price for brand new tool. Might find it a little cheaper from one of the supply places. If I had the bucks I would love to have one.
Gary

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I've been using a couple of 3 stations for many years now and they are still working very well with no apparent wear. I keep them greased and oiled including tipping them upside down to get to the linkages in the moving platforms. The spent primer collection systems don't hold too many so I've been doing the resizing and decapping on a separate press first which also allows for putting a taper crimp die into the mix. They're good presses and worth what CH is asking for them as they are well made and reliable. LLS

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well...I've never seen a CH-444 set up better than Randys there! I KNOW it makes great ammo! That said, the CH-444 dosen't really blow my skirt up. To "busy" for me moving the case from shellplate to shellplate. I have voiced this opinion before as people ask wanting opinions on this loader. I sold mine and went to the PW Met-II, better mouse trap to me,YMMV!

[AbitNutz]

Well that is great info...please PM me if you wish to part with your 444-x!

[seagiant]

Well that is great info...please PM me if you wish to part with your 444-x!

Hi,
Well,you asked! If you read my post a little closer ^^^^ you will see I already sold mine!

[AbitNutz]

Argh!

[AbitNutz]

On the 3-station press, it looks like there is a set of, for lack of a better term, "ears" of the back left side that are not on the 4 hole press. What exactly goes in there? Is it for some sort of priming gizmo?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121346254421?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[Dave C.]

I have the 444. It is a good pistol case reloader. Not so much for rifle.

Dave C.

[mdi]

Dave, why?

[W.R.Buchanan]

MDI: the press doesn't have the mechanical advantage that say a Rockchucker has. As a result it takes a lot more effort to F/L Resize a large centerfire case like a .30-06. It will do it, you just won't like it. For assembling the rounds it is just fine since it takes little or no effort to seat a bullet and crimp it.

As I said in post #2,,, I breakdown fired cases on the RC and assemble pre-processed cases on the C&H.

I have a PW Metal-Matic II also which I got from Seagiant, (thanks Greg) and it works very well for assembling longer rounds like .30-06's etc. I have a problem with .308's and .223's because I can't use my RCBS Precision Bullet Seaters due to needing the Shell holder Riser installed for those dies.

If you look again at my picture above you can see how the center station has the riser in place and the other stations have only a normal shell holder. This is not possible with the PW press.

One of the things that equipment hoarders like Seagiant and myself, and many others here get, is the satisfaction of using many different types of tools to do specific jobs in the reloading process. This is fun for us and we go so far as to restore older tools to new or better than new condition simply to satisfy this need that we have.

Lets face it we could do everything there is to do in reloading with a Lee Hand Press, but how much fun would that be?

Experimenting with other tools is half the fun.

Randy

[AbitNutz]

I think I'm cut from the same cloth...or pressed. I also have a PW Metallic as well as more than a few others that skulk about my bench....and to feed the habit. I just ordered a CH 444-X....

[mdi]

Thanks W.R...

[seagiant]

I think I'm cut from the same cloth...or pressed. I also have a PW Metallic as well as more than a few others that skulk about my bench....and to feed the habit. I just ordered a CH 444-X....

Hi,
Well I can't begrudge that! If I saw a CH-444 at a good price, I would buy it just to play with one again! If it was an orphan and needed it's nose wiped,so much the better!

[Kevin Rohrer]

I bought mine new in 2010 by picking it up from CH. It works well for pistol and small rifle, also neck-sizing large rifle. It doesn't work well fir FL resizing large rifle cases due to the compact design.

Having said that, I haven't used it in awhile and am interested in selling it and a new Lyman 55 if anyone is interested.

http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0470.jpg


Seagiant: how do you prime on you PWII?

[AbitNutz]

My sickness now includes CH 444-X (When delivered), Ponsness-Warren Metallic II, Ponsness-Warren Metalmatic P200, Forster Co-Ax, RCBS Summit, Dillon RL 550B, Corbin S, Redding T-7...what is that? 8? And I'm looking at a Dillon 650...oh what a disease I have.

[seagiant]

Hi,
If you look at the pic to the left you will see a primer tube. When you swing the arm all the way to the left and push down on the tube it will deposit 3 primers in a bushing in the arm. Then when you swing the arm over to the station it will deposit a primer on the primer assembly and ready to prime!

It's hard to explain but I will say works great and have not seen anything close to this on any other press! It's just a neat press and when you are loading sounds like the "Tin Man" dancing,which is the primer arm ticking and snacking as you load!!!

Oh yea,this press in the picture is now Randy's press! I had two! I'm always looking for another anytime I can find it!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Funny that does look a lot like mine.

I did a bunch of .223's on that machine and it worked pretty well. I like the priming system, you just have to remember to fill the primer hole every two the three rounds.

I am about to set it up to load .30-06's for a new gun I got, and I know it will work well for them. Waiting on another Lee Charging Die from Midway so I don't have to break the setup on the C&H for the .308's.

With .30-06's I can use my RCBS precision Seating die as there is no riser for it due to the length of the cases,,, Unlike on the .308.

However the rest of the setup will be the same including a Lee charging die with funnel and all charges will be thrown with the Lyman DPSIII just like I do with the .308's in fact the only difference in the two cartridges as far as loading is the cases which are .30-06 instead of .308's ,,, same bullets, same powder, same amount, and same primers.

Going to be shooting a lot of .30-06's in the near future due to the acquisition of a new rifle, and this machine will probably stay set up for this cartridge for a while. I have 3 rifles to load .30-06's for now and they all get the same standard load and they all will get Cast Boolit loads as well.

In fact I think I will start setting up that machine tonight since it is Memorial Day weekend. :drinks:

Randy

[seagiant]

Hi Randy,
Is that a Dillon powder measure? Nice looking rig there! It is nice for rifle reloading!

[Ben]

If you're in the " right place at the right time ", look what $40 will buy you .

A very nice slick , smooth running 3 Station Texan :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/027-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/028-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/029-4.jpg

[seagiant]

Hi Ben,
Texan made good stuff! Me like!

[AbitNutz]

Kevin Rohrer PM sent

[AbitNutz]

Seagiant. What kind of die are you using to attach the powder measure with? I'm using one of the newer Lyman through powder expander dies...seems like it will work pretty well.

[Ben]

Hi Ben,
Texan made good stuff! Me like!

For $40, it was a very nice " Gift Horse".

Ben

[seagiant]

Hi,
AbitNutz,yes the lyman is good!

Ben, I love finding stuff like that for a good price! Getting HARD to do that now a days! Nice refurb job!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes Greg,,, that was my set up for .223's. I will be using a Lee powder charging die for the 06's and all charges will be thrown by the Lyman DPS III. Same set up as the C&H for that station.

That Dillon PM is on the 550B right now which is set up for .223's. That machine is better suited for making lots of the same ammo where precision is a relative thing. The problem with using the 550B for 30-06 is I am throwing individual charges of powder as opposed to using a machine mounted PM. That machine really needs a PM mounted as part of the operation to be effectively better than other machines doing the same thing. The PW has lots more room to see what is going on and deal with the individual rounds. It will work better for assembling .30-06 rounds.

I'll put up pics of the set up once it is running.

Randy

[seagiant]

Hi,
Thanks Randy,I thought that looked like a Dill PM! I have a Dillon manual PM off of a RL-450 I bought from Brian as I like them and the manual push knob on the front works for me!

The PW Met-II IS nice for rifle rounds and you are right the wide open front works well to see everything and like my Dillon 300's with the two post or "H" type set up is good for righte's or southpaws!

Yes!,maybe you can start a new thread and show some pics! As usual weve about hijacked this one (again!)

Oh yea,this is my older PW with the bronze platen! Notice the organized and orderly workbench!

[W.R.Buchanan]

We're still on topic aren't we? Oh right we started out talking about something else I have, now were talking about these things.

I can hardly keep track!

Randy

[AbitNutz]

Hey...let the topic go where it may. I've already been convinced to buy a 444-X and keep Metallic 2. I never seem to subtract. I only add and/or modify.

[AbitNutz]

Seagiant: When did PW switched from bronze plate? Mine is bronze...what did they go to?

PM to Kevin Rohrer....

[jmort]

Next press I get will be a CH4D 444 set up permanently for .357

[AbitNutz]

I've come to the conclusion it's more effective for me to have a dedicated press for each caliber that I reload. I try to match the type of press to the gun. I shoot a ton of 45 acp so my Dillon RL550B with feeders is set up for that. My Metallic is mainly used for my Ruger in 300 GNR...and the list goes on.

I have found that it cost me more to switch between calibers in time, money and tuning than to just set it it up, get it right and leave it alone. While this may sound crazy expensive, the time savings is worth the money....this is just me. Your milage may vary.

[seagiant]

Hi,
The PW Met-II went from a bronze platen to an aluminum one! When? I don't know? I wouldn't put one over another as I have owned both and saw no difference?

As far as a dedicated loader per caliber that is the best reason to have a bench with all kind of loaders! I have 2 Dillon RL-300's and would like 2 more but they are hard to find!

[OuchHot!]

Randy, your 444 has a beautiful wrinkle finish. How did you accomplish that? thanks

[W.R.Buchanan]

OuchHot: I bought it that way, All of the newer ones have that finish. If you were refurbishing an older press then simply painting with crinkle finish paint and cooking it with a heat lamp will yield the same finish.

Randy

[Guardian]

Seagiant mentioned not liking moving the rounds from shellholder to shellholder on the CH444. All the photos show a single cartridge on the press. Could you not have 4 cartridges on the platen at once? Kick the loaded one out, move all the others one step forward, and insert an empty? Just curious. I've never seen one of these in person. From the looks of it, it should be one step above a traditional turret press and one step below a typical progressive from a speed perspective.

[seagiant]

Seagiant mentioned not liking moving the rounds from shellholder to shellholder on the CH444. All the photos show a single cartridge on the press. Could you not have 4 cartridges on the platen at once? Kick the loaded one out, move all the others one step forward, and insert an empty? Just curious. I've never seen one of these in person. From the looks of it, it should be one step above a traditional turret press and one step below a typical progressive from a speed perspective.

Hi,
NOW,you are really getting busy!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Guardian: you could conceivably do it like that, but it really is slower than just moving a single cartridge from station to station and completing each round individually. What you make up by only pulling the lever once, you would lose in the busyness of moving the four cases around. Pulling the lever multiple times is much easier when you are only processing one round.

The way the C&H press normally works is you Size and Deprime the case in the center rear station. It is directly between the guide rods and is the strongest place of the press.

If you are advancing from there, you move the case to the left front station where with an up stroke of the lever, which moves the platen down, you Seat a Primer which you placed on the priming arm with the primer placer.

Then with a down stroke of the lever the Platen goes up and into the Expander Die where you Expand and Flare the case mouth,,,

Then with the Powder Measure mounted atop the Expander Die you Charge the Case.

Next you move the case to the center front station and Seat the Bullet/Boolit.

Then move the case to the front right station to Crimp. Done round.

This is normal operation of these tools. What drives the market on this tool is it's simplicity and it also takes up little space on your loading bench. They are excellent tools, and I really like mine. Learning different ways to use this tool is part of the fun. As I said earlier they don't resize big rifle cases very well simply because they don't have the mechanical advantage of a Rockchucker, they will do it,,, it just takes more effort. The machine will do pistol rounds from start to finish very nicely. The best I ever did with mine is 150 rounds of .44 Special in one hour. Which I still haven't shot up. :Fire:

Randy