Forester Co Ax Press

[OpFor1]

I didn't get in on the Forester Co Ax discussion in time so I am starting a new thread.
I see the Forester has a strong following. What are some of the things that make it possibly better than other presses?
I am not a benchrest guy so I am just wanting to learn.

[OpFor1]

Thank you for moving this for me. Had a brain fart about where I was.

[centerfire]

CoAxial alignment between the die and the case. The die floats in the press concentric (in theory) to the shell. Also, the dies are quick change and return to zero after removing them from the press. I've been using a LNL conversion in a RCBS RCS and it has runout issues due to tolerance stacking. I have mitigated the runout through trial and error with multiple bushings but it is not perfect. The CoAx shouldn't have those issues assuming your dies and lock rings are square. I'm sure there are other features that people feel are as important but to me the floating dies and quick change system is what I'm most interested in.

[OpFor1]

Thanks Centerfire.

[HickLife]

I don't have one but I was told another good thing is that it has a lot of leverage if you want to load much larger magnum cartridges like the 50bmg. It doesn't take as much force to get it to do what you want.

[kmon]

Agree with what he said. Also the linkage gives you all the pressure you need with less effort than other presses.''
Not having to change out shell holders
If you do not have them Hornady locking rings work great with the Coax and do not have a screw going into the threads to lock it in place. '

I have RVBS Rockchucker, Lee Challenger, Lyman par-T and an old herterrs along with the Coax. Those others gather dust lot of the time now except the lyman which does not load the most concentric ammo but I keep it setup for a couple handguns

[Mad Charlie]

I don't think you can get .50 Browning in a regular Forster, at least not mine.

[kmon]

I don't think you can get .50 Browning in a regular Forster, at least not mine.

It will not fit even if t had enough length the dies are larger diameter than the opening and try to find the right pate that serve as the shell holder if you could get it to fit. I use a Lee 50BMG press and dies for my 50 not as nice as the Hornady or RCBS but I have shot half MOA at 325 yards with my loads using 750gr A-Max bullets.

There is a press that is built to tighter tolerances than the Forrester but at $950 Euros plus shipping and customs fees from Germany price no thanks and they do make one that fits the 50.

[centerfire]

It will not fit even if t had enough length the dies are larger diameter than the opening and try to find the right pate that serve as the shell holder if you could get it to fit. I use a Lee 50BMG press and dies for my 50 not as nice as the Hornady or RCBS but I have shot half MOA at 325 yards with my loads using 750gr A-Max bullets.

There is a press that is built to tighter tolerances than the Forrester but at $950 Euros plus shipping and customs fees from Germany price no thanks and they do make one that fits the 50.

I considered buying a Prazipress but it lacks the quick change feature. All reviews out there basically say it's not better than the CoAx. I went through the entire purchasing process and stopped when they wouldn't remove VAT from the bill. It looks nice but nah, too much trouble.

[Mad Charlie]

I considered buying a Prazipress but it lacks the quick change feature. All reviews out there basically say it's not better than the CoAx. I went through the entire purchasing process and stopped when they wouldn't remove VAT from the bill. It looks nice but nah, too much trouble.

I looked at those too, that is as far as it is going to go.
Starting to get "handloading poor" around here, time to pull the ripcord and slow the descent down the rabbit hole for a while.

Between my Forster, my old Rockchucker, and my 550b, I am pretty well covered for my needs.
Still keep finding myself thinking about getting another 550 from time to time though. Mainly so I don't have to swap primer setups. Pretty expensive convenience though. Maybe better to use the money for a LabRadar...you see how it goes.

One thing I would recommend for other Forster owners are the Sinclair stainless, cross bolt lock rings.

https://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/reloading-dies/replacement-parts-amp-upgrades/sinclair-cross-bolt-lock-ring-prod32863.aspx

It IS best to use die lock rings designed for the Forster, also, short handles are available too.

[centerfire]

I have Forster, Sinclair, Hornady, and Whidden rings. The Sinclair rings feel the best but they're all square. Forster and Whidden rings are aluminum. I ordered a new Ultramount top plate to convert my mount and a short roller handle, both of which are already here.

[Mad Charlie]

CF, the die rings on the link I posted are round, I'm not familiar with square rings...

[centerfire]

CF, the die rings on the link I posted are round, I'm not familiar with square rings...

Sorry, I didn't mean the circumference is square. I meant they are all threaded square to the bearing surfaces that contact the press or whatever mount you're using. I specifically have the collars in your link as well as the other brands.

[Mad Charlie]

Thanks, I was a little confused there for a bit, easy to do these days I guess.

[centerfire]

I should have bought a CoAx sooner. The Coax is replacing a Rock Chucker Supreme I bought new 20 years ago. I converted the RCS to the Hornady Lock N Load bushing system so I could change dies without resetting them. The RCBS press is kind of setup intensive in that if you don't spend time fiddling with the dies it adds quite a bit of runout to sized brass and seated bullets. The CoAx, on the other hand, requires no special setup with the dies to get zero runout. I have some new Peterson 6CM brass I've been prep'ing, from the factory it has at most .001" of runout at the mouth. Running a Forster .242 mandrel through the cases adds no runout to the zero'd cases and reduces the ones that started out with some. No special attention to the dies, just set them to height you want and tighten collars. All micrometer dies are indexed in any orientation you want.

I'm using Forster, Sinclair, and Hornady locking collars. The Hornady collars are actually the easiest to set up, the Sinclairs are the closest to the size of the press opening and have to be tightened slightly before they'll slide in.