How do the old presses compare?

[StuBach]

Grandpa bought a Star progressive in the 30s followed by a Star Universal in the 50s. Both are still fully functional and produce superb ammo. Only thing that went bad on the progressive was 80 years of use cracked the original powder hopper so I bought a replacement from Bruce when I cleaned them up in 2016.

Gave brother the universal since I also have a Dillon 650 but I would say the Star is just as accurate as the Dillon but the Dillon is faster by a huge margin (even without any of the “feeders” which I have yet to invest in). You’ll be hard pressed to pull that Star away from me.


Dad got Grandpas old Pacific single stage and that thing was a beast and still worked great last I saw it.

[Brassmonkey]

The single stage Hollywood press I use has a bit of slop but I can't see any negative effects from it yet. Shell holder lines up flush with the die. I have not used feeler gauges to measure but it looks good.

[Char-Gar]

One my bench are;

Pacific C (c1935)
Pacific Super C (c1955)
RCBS A2 (c1960)
2 Lyman All American Turret Presses (c1958)
2 Lyman Tru-Line Jr. Presses (c1960)
Redding six hole turret press..25 years old

Any and all of these presses will produce highest quality ammo, albeit slower that the modern progressives.

[jetinteriorguy]

I have a Crusher, including both priming arms and tubes. You won’t get that away from me for that money. It’s been used a good bit, but still as smooth and tight as when I got it. That was probably back in the 80’s??

Sam Sackett

That would be the Orange Crusher, quite a bit better than the new Crusher II. I just picked up a NIB Orange Crusher for $200.00. I winced at the price but happy to pay it once I started using it. I was thinking around a $120.00 for the Crusher II so I’m right about where Bazoo mentioned.

[Mk42gunner]

I forgot to add that my Super C has the ram for interchangeable shellholders instead of having to change rams when you switch cartridge families. The shell holder is secured with a setscrew so it stays in one place as opposed to being free to rotate like most of the ones held in with a spring.

Robert

[Eddie Southgate]

I wouldn't know , I'm still using the Tru Line Jr's and All American like I always have .

[GregLaROCHE]

My cousin who was twenty years older and a tool and die maker, had an RCBS green machine I think it was called. He was the one starting me reloading and when I said I wanted a press like his, he said to buy the kit Lyman was selling. It was a great deal. So I did. It was with a turret press. It worked well and today is still my go to press. A few years ago I found a good deal on a Rockchucker. I bought it because I always wanted a big green press. Today I only use it for sizing boolits, which it is really good for if you really want to get down on forcing an oversized boolit through a die. Today I am almost always using my Lyman turret press for all my reloading.

[Rich/WIS]

First press was a Lyman Spar-T, so much flex in the turret took it back and exchanged it for a Spartan. Used it for over 30 years, great for handgun but lacking compound leverage was a bit of a struggle FL sizing rifle ammo. My son was getting into reloading so bought him a Lee Challenger, was a revelation on how much easier FL sizing was and so used it for rifle ammo. When he moved and took his press was lucked into a used RC for a good price for rifle reloading. Replaced the Spartan with a used Lyman T-Mag for handgun, in fact gave the Spartan away. Only other press is the little Lee C-press used for priming with the Lee Auto Prime II. Does the RC or Lyman T-Mag make better ammo than the Spartan or Lee, if they do I can't tell.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

My first press was a blue Pacific C press (1965 ?) that had 'standard linkage, it cracked and the material would not take a weld with materials available in 1971(?). Got a red Pacific 'O" frame press with compound linkage, still using it for heavy case forming or sizing some once fired military brass. During late 60's, earky 70's used a Lyman 310 (tong tool) a lot. Got the 3-hole Lee turret soon after it came out, used until the 4-hole cast iron turret showed up. Converted a 4-hole Lee cast to use 3 hole turrets (many calibers in 3 hole turrets, better decap primer control), still have old 3-hole presses, have a couple Lee 1000 3 hole Progressives since they first came, everything working fine. Modern tools are very well made and last a very long time. I do buy new stuff, but mostly hoping for better performing priming systems or more accurate powder dispensing. Care in loading technique, STRAIGHT consistent cartridges make accurate shooting, equipment is secondary.

[Kraschenbirn]

Been reloading since the early 1960s and have only 'lost' one press in all that time. Had a Bonanza 68 O-frame, bought new around 1970, that developed a crack in the ram (heat treat issue?) after 25+ years of service. By that time, though, Bonanza had been bought out by Forster who had dropped the Model 68 from their catalogue...ergo, no parts/service available. (The good folks at Forster, while I waited on the phone, did actually go through their 'junk room' to see if they had any old warranty returns or QC rejects laying around.) Right now, I've got two 80s-vintage Dillons, a 50-year-old Rockchucker (1971 mfg.), and a Lyman Spartan of unknown provenance. All are in good condition and I expect them to last long enough to be sold on my estate auction.

Bill

[1hole]

I have an old Pacific Super C press that loads ammo just as easily as my Rockchucker. It really doesn't take a lot of effort to just resize cases and load ammo.

Ain't it the truth! Ammo is made in the dies, the press the dies are in really doesn't matter. Presses are the most hyped and least critical reloading tool we can own. (Look at the small arbor presses used by BR shooters!)

I've read some posters saying they need a bigger press because they can't get "machine gun" cases fully into their FL sizers; I don't understand that at all. For my first 30 years of reloading I used and even happily reformed a lot of 1942 WW2 .30-06 cases into .22-250 with a smallish "C" type turret press, Lyman's Spart-T. It's easier to use my bigger compound toggle press but the finished ammo is no different. I can't imagine anyone needing something massive to simply FL size .223 cases ... or anything else!

Where the O frames and compound leverage really come into their own is with heavy case forming. There will be less deflection with an O frame, at least in theory.

Yeah, but the theory is wrong. I have a dial indicator that reads in tenths of a thousanth and I know how to use it. I have two of Lee's tiny alum alloy "Reloader" C presses, the smallist presses I know of, and I tested them both to see just how badly they stretched compared to my big RC II.

Long story short, the RC deflected about 3 thou when FL sizing .30-06 but neither of the "flimsy" little C presses stretched enough to measure! I've also tested a couple other old iron C presses and they deflected about the same as my O frame RC II.

Moral of the story: C presses are more rigid than many folk think and O presses are less rigid than many folk think but it just doesn't make a lot of difference.

Good dies used correctly can make good ammo in any press but no dies used incorrectly in any press will make good ammo.

I've found as much +/- variation of dimensions between dies of the same brand as between brands. Individual "good" dies are hit or miss, the end results are not strongly price or brand related. I've measured the run-out of a lot of dies and found that Redding and Forster are tied for the best "competition" dies by a small but fairly consistent amount. All the rest - including Lee's - are closely tied for second place.

NO DIES or presses can make accurate (straight) ammo if the case necks aren't straight and they rarely are. But dies and presses just can't fix problems like that.

Bottom line: No tools OR high grade components can do better than the hands that use them. At the end of the day WE are usually our own worst reloading enemies!

[robg]

im still using my 40 year old wamadet press .loaded thousands of rounds ,cant see or feel any wear .

[Walks]

I got My own reloading setup when I got out of the Service in 1975. A Lyman Spartan, a year later a GF gave Me a Rock Chucker for My BD. She got it on sale, $32.
Still using it to size everything. The Spartan sits on the other bench. It expands,seats & crimps.
Newest press I have is a Hornady L-N-L, bought maybe 20yrs ago. It loaded many thousands of .30-06 for My Garand; sized, primed, charged, seated bullets and taper crimped.
So do today's presses do a better job ? No I don't think so. As long as they are Quality American made.

[Prairie Traveler]

I bought my RCBS Rock Chucker, used back in the early '70s. Except for a tome in storage, after which it needed a little cleanup, it's been pumping out good rifle , and pistol ammo, and formed a lot of .222 cases out of .223,& 6mm cases out of '06 cases. I would like to replace the "bicycle" handle with a round ball type, and try out a turret type for handgun brass.

[1hole]

I would like to replace the "bicycle" handle with a round ball type, and try out a turret type for handgun brass.

Ball handles really are good. Find an old pool ball if you can, they are the right size. Drill a sorta deep hole in it that snuggly accepts the lever and epoxy it on; done.

Unless you get a Lee Classic Turret press with it's unique auto indexing feature I don't believe you'll find any real advantage to using a turret for reloading anything at all.

[poppy42]

I think, if used for their intended purposes, it is very difficult to ware out a press. Heck I still have and use a roughly50 year old Lee inexpensive C press! I don’t use it often, but I still use it! If that thing hasn’t worn out I would imagine it’s extremely difficult to wear out a rock chucker. As for the Lee app press being a Mickey Mouse press, I disagree. If used for its intended purposes I see no reason why it shouldn’t last for decades. One of the plastic parts wearing out, yeah I see that happening. Incidentally the old Lee C press and my new APP press are the only two new presses I’ve ever purchased. I have an use a lime in Spartan, truLine Junior, One of the first iterations of a Lee challenger press, and a Lee 4 hole Turret press. All of which I use. I won’t even mention sizing presses. Like my Lyman 45’s and 450’s. With the exception of my inexpensive digital scales and my inexpensive digital calipers I suspect all of my reloading equipment will still function properly long after I’m gone!

[poppy42]

Ball handles really are good. Find an old pool ball if you can, they are the right size. Drill a sorta deep hole in it that snuggly accepts the lever and epoxy it on; done.

Unless you get a Lee Classic Turret press with it's unique auto indexing feature I don't believe you'll find any real advantage to using a turret for reloading anything at all.

I don’t know how you can say that. It’s a heck of a lot quicker to rotate deterrent than it is to unscrew and set up an individual die. I have and use a Lee classic turret and don’t always use the auto index, I also use a True line Junior. In the case of the lee turret, you can set up all your dyes for a specific caliber and just manually turn the turret. Change calibers, just change the turret. In the case of the true line Junior, I have mine set up for 38 special. The only guy I ever have to adjust is the seating die! Otherwise just rotate the turret. Heck of a lot quicker than unscrewing a die screwing another one in and making sure all the adjustments are correct.

[AZ Pete]

Ball handles really are good. Find an old pool ball if you can, they are the right size. Drill a sorta deep hole in it that snuggly accepts the lever and epoxy it on; done.

Unless you get a Lee Classic Turret press with it's unique auto indexing feature I don't believe you'll find any real advantage to using a turret for reloading anything at all.

I put a golf ball on the handle of my Bonanza Co-ax. Works for me!

[1hole]

I put a golf ball on the handle of my Bonanza Co-ax. Works for me!

Pete, my hands prefer to grab something a bit larger than a golf ball so I really like pool balls. But, you're right, golf ball handles do work well on many things and I use them often. And, they're much easier to find than loose pool balls!

[atr]

I'm still using my Herter’s model 3 which I bought in the mid 60's. Never had a problem resizing or reloading. Handles Magnum cases easily.