Forster CO-AX press, Are they any good?

[mikenbarb]

Im possibly looking to buy a Forster Co-Ax press and im wondering if their any good or not? I dont know anyone near me who owns one to try it out and im hoping its a good press because it looks like something I have a use for on my bench. Its also got me confused on how the system works with the self closing shell holder and ram working as one.:confused: Any comments on it would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike

[Bret4207]

Outstanding press, very easy to use, very precise and accurate. The SH works well with MOST cases, some it won't work with at all it seems and I got the adapter to standard SH for those. It won't let you use certain Ram Prime or unusually tall dies or the Lee sizer top end.

[leadhead]

I've had one for years, and in my opinion, it is the best you
can buy. Everything floats so that the case goes into the
die straight. The army and marines use them to load there
sniper and compitition ammo. If its good enough for them,
its good enough for me. You can't go wrong with a co-ax.
Denny

[Gary51]

Have had a couple of them over the years and they are very strong, easy to use and would recommend one to anybody looking for a high quality tool.

[Geraldo]

I bought one last year and I've been very happy with it. I use it to prime and load smaller lots of ammo, and I've also used it for case forming. I sold my RCBS hand primer after I got the Co-ax because I found that I prefer the Co-ax for priming. I read recommendations for the short handle, and I understand why when seating bullets. Instead of buying or making a short handle, I just use the yoke with the handle removed, which allows me to stand directly in front of the press.

[KCSO]

If I were still loading for varmit rifles i would still have a Co-AX. It was one of the best presses I ever used for making dead accurate ammunition. I lost mine in a move and have never been able to replace it.

[Dan Cash]

I finally got one last year. It is an old brown one but it is the cat's meow. I have not run into any case that the auto jaws don't fit but that is not to say that there aren't some. My Rockchuckers sit unsued and taking up space. May have to sell them.

[Toobroke]

I've had mine for quite a few years now and I still love it. Sent it back to Forster a few months back and had it upgraded to the newest version (B-3?). It'll now take a Redding 45-70 competition seater die--wasn't enough clearance before. I have both the L and S jaws and they work on all I reload for (38 S&W, 40 S&W, 44 Mag, 22-250, 270, 30 Carbine, 30-30, 308, 300 WM, 375 H&H and 45-70). If I remember right, I only have to swap jaws for the 38 S&W and 45-70. My CH Champion press will probably be used only for swaging now.

[mikenbarb]

Whats the capacity of it? I load a ton of .300 and .338 Win.Mags with A-Max's and Ballistic Tips and hoping they will fit. Im definatly gonna order one as soon as I have some extra toy funds. Its expensive for a single stage but it sounds like its well worth the investment.

[Jon K]

Total opening w/shell holder adapter & shellholder = 3-5/8"
w/spring shell jaws + 3-7/8", I don't know your bullet length, so you do the math, looks like it will work.

Jon

[TC66]

You can't go wrong with it. A++++ PRESS

[mikenbarb]

Thanks Jon. Its close but it should work.

[dromia]

A fine press, just make sure that it will take the length of ides your using and the length of cartridge as you are checking.

Its my go to press especially for bullet seating.

[Bret4207]

I keep forgetting about the topside priming rig. It won't work with all brands of SH, but one day I'll get a chucking reamer of the right size and fix that. It's a really sweet press, the workmanship...feels like a bank vault closing. Very, very smooth.

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

Whats the capacity of it? I load a ton of .300 and .338 Win.Mags with A-Max's and Ballistic Tips and hoping they will fit. Im definatly gonna order one as soon as I have some extra toy funds. Its expensive for a single stage but it sounds like its well worth the investment.





300 wm and longer = slow going and finger pinching

[Safeshot]

The press is very similar (if not identical) to the older Bonanza Press. My comments are based on the Bonanza Press.
I agree with all the positive comments. I know of only four "cons" (drawbacks):
1. The initial cost of a new one is high.
2. I would not risk it for swaging bullets (the swaging dies might not fit or function anyway).
3. It works best (mentioned in the Forester instructions) with the "split" die locking rings with the straight cross socket head machine screw to close/tighten the locking ring onto the die body. Some of the locking rings on some die sets will NOT fit in the press. They are too big. They can be "machined down to fit." Some of them are so small and narrow (older Lyman "hex nut" lock rings and to a lesser extent the newer RCBS "hex nut with round corners" lock rings) they do not position or hold the die very well. However the die locking rings are easily changed. The Lee die locking rings will work but are "different" and need some attention to keep them in position. (Again - easily changed.)
4. The clearance is "tight" for some of the longer cartridges, and is too short for a very few.

One very good feature is that once a set of dies for one caliber are adjusted for the press, changing dies from sizing die to case neck expanding and belling die to bullet seating die is very fast (about 2 seconds).

When all of your die sets for all of your calibers are adjusted for the press, changing calibers takes about 2 seconds also.

So far, the shell holder plates have functioned with one setting (assembled one way) with all calibers that I load.
There is also an accessory adapter available that takes standard shell holders if you really want to use them.

[monkeymt]

After reading these posts I went out and got myself one of these presses. What a great tool! The workmanship is excellent and as someone else said, it is like a bank vault closing. While they recommend Forster lick rings I found that both Lee and Hornady will also work but not quite as well as the Forster rings. The new press did come with two extra rings. Nice touch. Excellent primer seating as well.
Mark

Never trust a woman or an automatic pistol - John Dillinger

[TAWILDCATT]

mine is a bonanza and tho I dont load on it I do decap and form on it.I have both sets of jaws.and one thing get a bolt the thread size of the jaw opener.and you can cut the lever throw like on pistol cases.shell holders should fit the upper station as all shell holders are universal.I like the primer cup.I decap as the next operation I do is tumble.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[Buckshot]

...............I have one and rarely use it. It's a nice well made press and does everything everyone has said. My only issue with it (and have heard no one else mention it) is the location of the cartridge being between the 2 guide rods. The design pretty much requires it to be so. Being right handed and operating the lever with the right hand places you almost directly in front of the press, as with any other.

With an 'O' frame your left hand comes in from the side and does the case swap. With the Co-Ax you have to lean right, or take a small step to the right, or some other movement to swap cases. At least I have to as my wrist and arm just isn't that flexible :-)

..............Buckshot

[Dan Cash]

...............I have one and rarely use it. It's a nice well made press and does everything everyone has said. My only issue with it (and have heard no one else mention it) is the location of the cartridge being between the 2 guide rods. The design pretty much requires it to be so. Being right handed and operating the lever with the right hand places you almost directly in front of the press, as with any other.

With an 'O' frame your left hand comes in from the side and does the case swap. With the Co-Ax you have to lean right, or take a small step to the right, or some other movement to swap cases. At least I have to as my wrist and arm just isn't that flexible :-)

..............Buckshot

Buckshot, you just have to get rid of that miserable second rate junk press. Box 'er up and send it to me and I'll give you what you figure it is worth and save you from all that right stepping misery.

[quasi]

Buckshot, turn your press about 10 degrees to the left.

[rbstern]

Wonderful press, but I traded mine off on a Ruger 77 MkII in 308.

[monkeymt]

I have found that when using Forster die rings to make sure to use a #2 Phillips. I made the mistake of grabbing a #1 and it will not tighten the ring very well. Great press.
Mark

[Rockydog]

mine is a bonanza and tho I dont load on it I do decap and form on it.I have both sets of jaws.and one thing get a bolt the thread size of the jaw opener.and you can cut the lever throw like on pistol cases.shell holders should fit the upper station as all shell holders are universal.I like the primer cup.I decap as the next operation I do is tumble.:coffee:[smilie=1:

TAWILDCATT, I have one of these also and my observations are much the same as yours with one small caveat. Not all shellholders will work for priming with this press. It's not that they don't "fit" it's that the hole through the shell holder isn't large enough for the primer cup to fit through. A carbide bit and a drill press can fix that in a hurry though. ;) RD

[JimKirk]

Question for you guys using regular shell holders? Did you not like the adjustable priming system? Was it too much trouble for you to adjust? What was it?
I like the adjustable system myself, I know that it is somewhat slow to adjust, but always seats primer .005 below flush.

Jimmy K

[Rockydog]

Jim, I guess I'm not familiar with what you are talking about. My press has a block on top for mounting a shell holder. The priming ram comes up through the shell holder to prime the case inserted in the holder. Very fast very simple. If you always seat primers .005 below flush I'd assume that not all primers are bottomed in the cup. When this happens the primer absorbs some of the firing pin shock as it moves the primer toward the bottom of the cup. This can result in inconsistent primer strikes and ignition. I'd rather uniform the pockets and have them all seated to the bottom than seat them at some predetermind depth below the surface of the case head. RD

[JSH]

I looked at the CO AX presses for a long time. Every time I would run across one for a good price, I was always 60 seconds late. I have had a dillon 550 for about four years. I have not loaded one single round on it. I have fooled with it a bit, but found it to be sloppy in OAL. Powder measure works fine, with ball powders. SR4759 and the like you can forget it.
I guess my question is, to those of you that have fooled with them both. Which way to turn. I would like to speed up production some if at all possible. But, I don't want to sacrifice quality.
Kind of falls into beer drinking in my younger days. It was not the quality but the quantity,lol.
I had a chance to swap the 550 off on a Coax and didn't do it. The gent had the Forster powder measure but didn't want to let it go.
I load a fair sized array of calibers. I have come to trust my old RCBS rockchucker with all of them thus far.
jeff

[BarryinIN]

I got one this past winter, and have used it some. Not anywhere near as much as my old presses, but enough to have picked up a few things.

The first thing I tried was sizing a bunch of .308 military brass I had never gotten around to. I had sized a few, but just enough to find they had evidently been fired in MGs or something with a big chamber, as they took a lot of effort to size.
It seemed like a good test of the Co-Ax's leverage.
I thought they were easier to size on the Co-Ax than on my old Rockchucker. My buddy swore he couldn't tell a difference, so that may be a subjective thing. I sure thought it was easier to do on the Co-Ax and would rather use it for this.

I agree the open front layout is odd feeling after using a regular O-frame press for 25+ years. I don't think it's bad, just different. Standing there sizing a couple thousand .308s got me used to it, I guess.
I had little systems down for some reloading operations (like how one hand is working the press handle while the other is picking up another case and turning it base-down, for example), and I had to alter some of these habits and systems to suit the Co-Ax. It just takes a little experimenting to work it all out.

FWIW, a left-handed friend has a Co-Ax and says it's more lefty friendly than anything else he's used. I'll take his word for it.

I think that shellholder system is just a little faster/handier to use than slipping cases in and out. I can place a box on a barstool in front of the press and it's the right location that I can sorta flick the just-sized case into that box as I'm putting the new case into place. Small thing, but one small thing can speed things up quite a bit when doing a lot of cases.
I think the handiness of that shellholder offsets any awkwardness of the layout I may feel (again- a subjective thing).

The downside to that shellholder...if it affects you at all... is that it won't work with some things like my RCBS primer pocket swager. I don't know if it will work with the Lee push-through boolit sizing pusher thingy either (I have one but have only looked at it once- I'm not casting yet and have been a lurker until now).
Forster sells an adapter to use standard shellholders, but I don't have one.

The spent primer catcher deal is kinda nice. I can already see that it's letting less primer grit get all over and into everything. Another small thing that might matter to some more than others.

I've used the priming system only once, just to try it out. I like it a lot better than most of the press priming afterthoughts, but thought it took a little while to adjust the jaws to the case. But once set for a common casehead like 308/30-06/270/etc, it's set.

Overall- It's different, but I like it a lot.
I don't know if I would want one as my ONLY press, since it doesn't come with a universal shellholder system. But that's correctable if it's that important. It just adds to the cost.
If someone were just starting out reloading, they may not have a bunch of the old round die lock-rings like most of us here do, and would have to buy some.
Those are the only real negatives I can think of. The other things, like the general layout, come down to personal preference I think.

I have two friends looking for them how after trying mine. That's how I knew of those two listed for sale. I think I'm looking just as hard for one now as before I had one. I'm just doing it for other people after they've tried it and/or I've talked it up so much.

[slughammer]

I have had a dillon 550 for about four years. I have not loaded one single round on it. I have fooled with it a bit, but found it to be sloppy in OAL.

I guess my question is, to those of you that have fooled with them both. Which way to turn. I would like to speed up production some if at all possible. But, I don't want to sacrifice quality.


I don't have a co-axe, but I have a Dillon 650. For the OAL length issue I found a fix and it involves a hammer. There is some play built into the fit of the die holder flange and the channel in the press frame. I decided that I wanted to hold my die holders in the "UP" position all the time. I took a center punch and put a series of punches around the die holder flange near the lower edge. The ones that were a little heavy needed to be dressed down with a file some; but now my die holder is in the "UP" position all the time and OAL is not based on case tension or how many cases are in the shell holder.

The other thing that I do is to adjust the shell plate with the press in the up position. I tighten it down a little too tight, lightly snug the set screw and then loosen the bolt until I can index the holder with my thumb. This makes sure the shellholder is as far down as possible and doesn't rock. (not sure if the 550 is the same as the 650). This is just a set up tip, the main fix is the modification of the flange.

Regards - Slughammer

[JimKirk]

Rocky,
My press is an older Bonanza, it has the "easy adjust" priming system. It has three adjustable jaws that you can set to almost any case made. The priming post has a built in .005(below flush) seating depth. I would say that I have loaded many..many rounds in my 40+ yrs of reloading and I never had a single primer not go bang. If you will measure most factory loads, you will find that they are very close to .005 below flush. If you will look closely at a primer, you will see that the anvil sticks out slighty of it, the priming compound pellet is between the cup and the anvil. If you seat the primer too hard, you will crush the pellet and cause misfires. As long as the anvil is touching the bottom of the primer pocket, it will fire. I would be willing to bet that more misfires are caused by reloaders over seating than are by seating .005 below.

Jimmy K

[JimKirk]

From the Forster Web site

Our Special Co-Ax® Press Priming System Helps Guarantee Consistent Performance.
Proper priming is one of the most critical operations in the reloading process. In order for your ammunition to perform efficiently, consistent ignition is absolutely mandatory. For that reason, we paid special attention to the priming function in the design of our Co-Ax® press. The primer seater in our press is engineered with such precision that no excessive tolerance or “slop” is required in any of the mating parts. The primer seater moves freely in its channel with only .001" radial clearance as opposed to the customary 1/16" clearance required by most other presses. As illustrated in the two drawings of enlarged views of our primer post, the extremely tight tolerance delivers remarkably consistent seating depth time after time.



Fig.1: Dimension "A" is greater than dimension "B" by .005". Fig. 2: When force is applied to the guide block of the press, the bottom of the primer cup stops against the base of the primer post. The top of the primer cup stops against the head of the cartridge case. Because the primer punch is longer than the cup by .005", the primer will always be seated .005" below the head of the case. Regardless of the variation in the dimension of the shell holder or the amount of force used in seating the primer, it is impossible to crush a primer pellet or vary the seating depth.

A Primer On Primer Seating
The following three drawings illustrate the critical nature of accurate primer seating.

Illus. 1: IMPROPERLY SEATED - This primer is improperly seated, preventing the cups of the primers from resting solidly on the bottom of the primer. Some primer cups measure .120” in height, and if seated with crowns more than .004” below the case head, the anvil would be forced through the crown, rendering the primer useless.

Illus. 2: IMPROPERLY SEATED - This primer is improperly seated too high. A high primer is erratic in performance. It is also dangerous and could explode in the chamber of a rifle when the breech block closes on it before it is locked.

Illus. 3: PROPERLY SEATED - This primer is properly seated, exactly as it would be with our Co-Ax® Press. The crown is .004” below the surface of the case head; the anvils are on the bottom of the primer well; and the primer mix is properly stressed by the anvil for sensitivity. It is also much safer than either of the two seated primers shown above.

Our Primer Catcher Makes Housekeeping Easy
The Primer Catcher on our Co-Ax® Press works so well, it brings your reloading out of the basement and into the living room. With our unique system, there's no more carbon, ground glass, spent or live primers to clutter up the floor or contaminate the working parts of your press. The Co-Ax® Press's drop tube, which is threaded into the carrier below the shell holder, directs all spent primers and other residue into a jar below the press. The tube and the jar follow the carrier during the sizing and seating process. Simply remove the jar to empty it.

Jimmy K Go here for photos explaining process: http://www.forsterproducts.com/Pages/press.htm

[Rockydog]

Jim, So yours has a jaw set up on top that is just like the shellholder on the bottom? Mine has a plate that holds a conventional shell hoder on top. I think you and I have the same appreciation of where and why a primer should be set. In the day when these were introduced tolerances in primer pocket depths were probably very uniform. I don't have a depth gauge to measure all the different brands of cases or primers but I cant imagine that every combination would be most efficiently set at .005. We are probably discussing minute differences here that might affect some benchresters vision of perfect. If I get to minute of Prairie Dog I'm good either way. Your methodology might be the right one. Anyway, good conversation. RD

[JimKirk]

Rocky
Does yours look like this:
http://www.forsterproducts.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=36
Mine looks like this:
http://www.forsterproducts.com/Pages/seater.htm
I could not find a photo of the jaws on my press, but they are just like those on the Forster Primer Seater tool only the jaws are on the top of my press and work just like the primer seater. If I get time I will take a photo pf my press.

Jimmy K.

[JimKirk]

Rocky,
All you need to measure seating depth or primer pocket depth is a caliper that has a rod that comes out the end. I use the Lyman Calipers. I think quanity has taken a back seat to quality in almost everything!

Jimmy K

[Rockydog]

Jim, Yup the top of my press has a plate very similar to the one you pictured that a shell holder slides under. Never saw one like yours. Holes in standard shellholders may need to be drilled out to accomadate the sleeve around the primer anvil. At least my shell holder for 270 had to be and I had both a CH and an RCBS holder. Neither would work without mods. Other wise it works great. Fairly fast and easy to use for a single stage primer. RD

[Irascible]

I've used one of the older Bonanza models for approx. 30 years. I also have a Lyman Orange crusher and I started out with an RCBS Rockchucker. The use of a case checker made me try the Bonanza, and I've never looked back. Mine has the plate for a shellholder on top, but I've never used it. I load sitting down, and found that by mounting the press into the table top, just far enough back to allow full swing of the long handle, I could load easier and that there was plenty of room for both hands to work. This needed an extended primer dump tube which I made out of automotive brake tubing. You learn to build up a rythm and can load quite fast. I size all cases, then switch dies and do all the cases in that die, and then process all the cases in the third if necessary for pistols, cast bullets, or? I used to remove the handle which was never bolted in, and use just the yoke for seating and crimping, but I've added the short handle, shortened even more to clear the bench top. I did this foe a touch more leverage when crimping. According to the instructions that came with my press, only early RCBS or Forster/Bonanza lock rings were the prober diameter and thickness to work properly, they are all I have ever used. Midway seems to always have a sale on those lock rings in a bag of either 10 or 12.

[LAcaster]

I really like mine the best part is it catches all the primers in a jar for easy recycling. You will be very happy if you get one and like most said if you want accurate ammo this is the press.

[jsizemore]

I read an article in Precision Shooting about presses causing runout in reloaded ammo. The fella that wrote the article did all kinds of stuff to them and caused frames and rams to deflect with micrometer on the affected part to quantify the runout in the ammo produced. He had a long list of presses, but the only press he couldn't figure out how to mess-up was the co-ax press. He'd try to deflect it one way and the design of the press countered his attempts. That sold me right there. Got me one and ain't looked back.
I bought the ls jaws and have only used them to load the Hornet.
Just come off the money and enjoy.

[mikenbarb]

I just ordered one yesterday for my new reloading shop and im anxious to get it and run some thru it. Im sure I wone be dissapointed with it from all the great feedback from you guys and I want to thank you all alot for the replys.

[Clark]

I needed an operation but put it off.
Then after 10 years, I had it done.
Now I can do push ups again.

I told myself I would never put something off like that again.

Then I lived with an RCBS rockchucker press for 10 years before I bought a Forster Co-ax.
I did it again.
I wish I had not waited.

[bowhunter]

that's correct it can be awkward to use, but it is a very good press.

[hiram]

My bp compression disk (die):

Turned a disk to fit the die station.
Threaded through the center 1/4X28
through the edge of the disk, 6X32

Dial the compression depth and lock the screw.

[zxcvbob]

I bought one a couple of weeks ago from Cabelas with my Cabelas Club points. Played with it a little when I first got it, but just got it set-up today. It's a joy to use. I just decapped/resized a box of .30 Carbine brass without lube, and they went easier than on any of my other presses with lube. And the little primer catcher jar is nice.

I need to make a short handle for it for doing pistol cases, although I'll probably use it mostly for rifle cartridges and case-forming.

[hiram]

For a short handle, I ised a piece of closet rod from the white vinyl cover wire closets sets. I had a lacrosse ball and put that on as a handle. Its terrific.

[zxcvbob]

I almost forgot to mention. The first time you take the universal shellholder jaws apart to turn them around, 2 little springs jump out. One goes all the way across the room one way and the other goes just as far the opposite direction. Don't ask me how I know this.

I'm going to talk to the Forster people and suggest they mill a little groove in the corners of the jaws so when you lose the springs you can put a small rubber band around the whole assembly to act as a temporary spring while you order another set. (I found mine fairly quickly, but I got lucky)

[Jon K]

I find it easier to use shell holder adapter...........cause changing the jaws a pain. I have even lost a spring or 2. I already had shell holders anyway.

Jon

[dudel]

Not only any good; but very good. Possibly the best single stage currently made (and priced accordingly). The floating die holder, easy to mount die system, is all good.

The only downside might be that it might be difficult to mount a case actuated powder dump on it. There was a time when I would use a Dillon powder dump on the RC to flare and dump powder. Worked quite well.