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KEEP Your Old Single-Stage Press
Wolf.
Member Posts: 2,223 ✭✭✭✭✭
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The topic was locked before I could insert my two cents worth [:D] .
So you got a nice Dillon progressive press and the old RCBS seems to be nothing more than a doorstop?
There's an important reason to keep it, because the old single stage will fill a gap that the progressive canot efficiently fill.
Bolt the single stage back down to the bench, and buy and install a decapper die in it. I don't mean a decapper/resizer die; I mean a simple decapper that does not resize the case.
Now you can decap your brass before you put it in your vibratory cleaner. This single process of decapping is not as readily done in the Dillon without messing around with your toolhead setup or having a separate toohead to handle a single function.
After you clean the decapped cases, you should get a flash hole cleaner/sizer and a primer pocket cleaner/sizer and go through all your brass and work those critical areas. You will find that sometimes you have a stuck clump of cleaning media in the case (now you know what causes at least some of those failures to fire). Sometimes a dirty primer pocket will not let the primer seat properly in the case. If you have ten percent of your reloads in the scrap box, that ups the cost of your reloads in money out of your pocket. Plus your time is worth something. If you shoot competition and reload yourself, these two critical points, primer pocket and flash hole, can really cost you if you don't pay attention to them.
Keep the single stage press to pop out the spent primers.
The topic was locked before I could insert my two cents worth [:D] .
So you got a nice Dillon progressive press and the old RCBS seems to be nothing more than a doorstop?
There's an important reason to keep it, because the old single stage will fill a gap that the progressive canot efficiently fill.
Bolt the single stage back down to the bench, and buy and install a decapper die in it. I don't mean a decapper/resizer die; I mean a simple decapper that does not resize the case.
Now you can decap your brass before you put it in your vibratory cleaner. This single process of decapping is not as readily done in the Dillon without messing around with your toolhead setup or having a separate toohead to handle a single function.
After you clean the decapped cases, you should get a flash hole cleaner/sizer and a primer pocket cleaner/sizer and go through all your brass and work those critical areas. You will find that sometimes you have a stuck clump of cleaning media in the case (now you know what causes at least some of those failures to fire). Sometimes a dirty primer pocket will not let the primer seat properly in the case. If you have ten percent of your reloads in the scrap box, that ups the cost of your reloads in money out of your pocket. Plus your time is worth something. If you shoot competition and reload yourself, these two critical points, primer pocket and flash hole, can really cost you if you don't pay attention to them.
Keep the single stage press to pop out the spent primers.
Comments
Also, when I want to make a few (20 or so) really precision rounds that I want to take my time with - thats when I use the single stage.
I don't know how Wolf has his set up, but if he has to adjust the toolhead every time, or change his die settings around; he's probably got it set up wrong.
Just another example of how low-tech solutions to non-existent problems get solved, sorta.
wolf: that is excellent advice. i will do exactly that. thank you. will i need seperate decapper dies for each caliber? one for .40 one for .45 etc?
It's called a "universal decapping die", and it de-caps everything from 22 Eichelberger (sp) IE the 25ACP necked down to 22cal, on up to the 460 Weatherby with the one die.
Another good use for a "spare" single stage is bullet pulling / opps corrections.
This picture is why I kept my single stage
5 shot group with my 308Win., I tried to put another one in there while I was on a roll but it wasn't meant to be. I cried over this one![:(]
Low tech solutions to non-existent problems? Cute.
An arrogant, haughty remark if I ever heard one.
If you have something significant and or constructive to add, spit it out. Save, however, the sm@&+ @$$ed remarks for your diary.
wolfy-simply an observation; you read into it whatever strikes your fancy