i have several vintage reloading presses; one of them is a RCBS A2. i know that for a short time that rcbs made a A3. can someone tell me about them. bigger,smaller, heavier ??
i have several vintage reloading presses; one of them is a RCBS A2. i know that for a short time that rcbs made a A3. can someone tell me about them. bigger,smaller, heavier ??
They were the last of the A series presses. They were made for about one year, 1968/9. It was determined that the Rockchucker would do everything the A would do at a lower build and shipping cost. The bigger A just was no longer needed.
The ram is perma pined so the original shellholders and swaging dies cannot be used. There is no die bushing.
The light green paint is thin and flakes off rather easily. And it, like the 2nd gen A2 is made of cast iron.
Ken
Pressman, how would you classify the A4???
The A4 is a marketing name as the press is in no way related to the original A's. The A4 is bigger and stronger with a completely different design. It's a great press and nearly overkill for most reloading tasks. Where the A's are slightly larger than the original Rockchucker.
This got me thinking, how much different or larger is the RCII compared to the 1st model RC.
Ken
Of all the “A” series presses, my A3 is my go to. Is it because it is really any better than any of the other A presses? No. It’s was the hardest one for me to find, therefore it is my favorite lol! I will post a pic later today.
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The A3, looks much like the earlier A's only the paint color is lighter.
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Last edited by 1hole; 03-20-2019 at 05:36 PM.
Onehole you are right about the steel links. Buzz Huntington mentioned them to me one time, wanted to know if I had one. Apparently the customer feed back was so intense that the steel links had to be replaced with cast links. The perception was they could not be as strong as the cast ones. Seems silly, but that was what happened.
I didn't have one then, I did get a great deal on one this past summer at a show in Rochester, MN.
Ken
I just found this thread and thought I'd ask about the 2 pre RC presses I have.
Both have 2 piece inserts where the dies are threaded in . One takes shell holders, but modern ones are too big.
The second has collet to hold the rim with springs to open the collet ring on the down stroke.
Neither have any numbers, just Orrville California cast in the front. This is my first attempt to upload pics. Hope it works.
Thanks for posting the pictures for me, now i want to know what each is worth. The collet press even has the primer arm, and the spring is intact working/workable. I have seen newer "A" models on E-bay, but I don't really see them being that valuable. But to be honest I don't really know. I'd like a no biased fair estimate of the value for each.
Thanks for all the help in identifying these press.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |