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by K-Texas
Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:23 pm
Forum: Reloading Forum
Topic: Single Stage Press: Hornady vs RCBS?
Replies: 25
Views: 12869

Re: Single Stage Press: Hornady vs RCBS?

Howdy Y'all! New member, long time handloader.

To the OP, are you considering the Hornady vs RCBS because of the complete kits?

As far as precision handloading I will make a suggestion that doesn't often get mentioned: that of Top-Dead-Center. This is a mechanical means of stopping the rams up-stroke at the same point every time. It is a very worthwhile feature witnessed by the presses that don't have it where the handloader ends up buying a Competition or Micrometer seating die to control Over-All Cartridge Length which I generally type as OACL.

REDDING includes this feature and I have an Excellent Boss press that's 20 or so years old. Get a good set of dies (I use REDDING here as well) and you can maintain OACL tolerances tight enough that you may never need a competition seating die.

One other brand uses T-D-C also, but limited to 2 of their presses. The LEE Classic Cast single-stage and the LEE Classic Turret that was recommended on page 1. I bought the Classic Turret for handgun loads, and being something of a control freak I do not use a progressive. I can't recommend very many LEE products, but the Safety Prime system, Large & Small, is very worthwhile. I would not buy any LEE press in kit form. Dies are okay but if you plan to load cast or poly-coated handgun bullets later, I would avoid the Factory Crimp Die, or FCD.

While the Classic Turret allows the dies to rotate manually or by auto-index, the T-D-C feature makes sure that the play necessary for easy rotation is removed when the case is in the die. After getting extremely tight tolerances with my handgun loads, I started loading 5.56mm NATO with the Classic Turret. I was so pleased with the results that I started loading Hunting/Target rifle cartridges on it as well.

For handgun loads, I no longer use the Auto-Index feature. I've found that it's actually faster to rotate the turrets manually. That way you're not required to lower the handle all the way down to index to the next station. Then there's the matter of powder charging. I bought the Pro Auto Disk with mine, didn't like it, or it leaking fine grained powders and sold it. RCBS and Hornady have case activated systems that will work so long as you have their powder measure and I have the RCBS Uniflow. There has to be a case entered into the charging/expanding die for it to drop powder. This also lessens the likelihood of failing to charge a case when you're loading a good quantity of handgun loads. But, because of the additional weight of either brand, the cheap plastic parts that LEE insists on using will wear out much more rapidly, and what got me started manually indexing. Production is close enough for me to progressive while you still maintain the control of working with a single case and die station. You'll get to know things like brands of cases by feel when resizing and expanding.

I know the subject was about loading the 6.5 CM, but since you're on this forum, it's very likely or probable that you will get into loading for handguns eventually. But as far as rifle cartridge reloading, a Turret press has the advantage of being able to set-up your dies and leave each set into their own dedicated 4-hole turret. You can load one station at a time without rotating the turret, or you can rotate a single case through each die station. Their are other brands of turret presses but most of them allow for 7 dies and are harder to rotate. And while you have some play between the press and the turret, Top-Dead-Center causes everything to flex to a single point for precision. I get OACL variations as low as guys using competition seating dies.

But if your heart is set on a good Single-Stage press, I'd recommend a REDDING because of T-D-C. The Classic cast should work very well also but I do not use one and can't make a recommendation.

Starting off with a lot of wind here, but expect to see a lot of me in the future. I'm kind of used to writing in detail and have wrote several articles for blog.westernpowders.com

I'm also proud to say that I'm a fan and friend of Charles Schwartz. Some of you may be familiar with his techniques and book titled: Quantitative Ammunition Selection. We like to bounce ideas from one to another, and currently I'm developing some pretty effective 147 gr. JHP defense loads around 1050 - 1150 FPS. I'll post pics and such as I become more acclimated to the forum. ;-)

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