Forster Co-ax?

J

jschroed

New member
I have some money burning a hole in my pocket and I've done some research on the co ax press. For those of you who use one, have you seen many benefits? How do you like it? Is it that much better then a traditional O-frame press?
 
While I can't prove that it's any stronger than others on the market, I do feel it allows me to produce more accurate ammunition due to the self centering case holding jaws and the precise alignment of the dies..

While I do prep my brass to the best standards that I can, I've never run into a 'run out' problem with my loaded rounds due to misaligned bullets and cases...

The leverage that is available seems to be much more than adequate to resize even the larger cases that appear to have been fired through military auto weapons...

While some do not like the primer system on the Co-Ax, I've found it to be consistent and impossible to crush a primer due to a too much pressure application...
 
It beats all of the other presses I've owned. Very quick and easy to change dies out and/or from sizer to seater. Run out is pretty much zero, like Old Turtle said. I don't use the primer seater on mine because I prefer hand primers.
You will never regret buying a Co-ax press.
 
I agree with both of the previous posters. Runout is pretty much non-existent when using the Co-ax press. Like K22 said, you will never regret buying a Co-ax press. I abolutely love mine.
 

I bought a Forster Co-Ax press a while back, so far I like it, I like the Forster seating dies far more than any plain RCBS or Hornady seating dies.

I'll see how it does tomorrow when I size some 300 Win. Mag brass.

Did 50 pieces of 300 Win. Mag, for sizing it had plenty of power and worked fine.

Is it any better than the average RCBS RC press, I don't know. But I do like the floating aspect of the shell holder and the dies.

Works super on my .243 as I bought the Bench rest Die set.

DAB
 
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I lucked into an unused previously owned one for $150.00. I was trying to get into reloading on a budget, so I use the on press priming system and like it too. Not sure I'll ever fool with getting a hand primer.
 
I had one in the 90s. I found that the jaws on the shellholder would slowly stop opening far enough. There is a screw in sort of pointed bolt which is supposed to force them open, and it would frequently come loose.

Also I had to switch out the jaw to the optional ones to load smaller cases, which is somewhat aggravating due to the coil spring in there. Too, you need the Forster lock rings to get it to work with other brand dies.

I was very excited to get the press and excited to sell it.
 
Originally Posted By: stubbicatt

"I was very excited to get the press and excited to sell it."



lol.gif
My first laugh of the morning. My sentiments exactly.

Owners of the Co-ax seem to be cult like, and refuse to admit that there are good things about them, and BAD things about them.

Presses are just tools, like hammers.

While they are nice presses, they DO have draw backs - and for me, not worth it in the end.

I chose another (several others).


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I have owned a Co-Ax for over twenty years and have considered selling it several times...just never got around to it. I actually still do use it, but only as a spare press. It is easier to keep it on the bench and have two presses than to unbolt it, pack the heavy thing up and take it to the UPS store.

I bought it slightly used from one of those "cult" followers that swore by it. Back then I thought I was really getting the answer to all of reloadings problems. At least I was according to him...all I ever really wanted was better bullet seating concentricity. I am sorry to say I did not even come close. At least the one I have is unable to seat bullets in any cartridge I load any more concentric than my RCBS Rockchucker. It is absolutely not worn out. The previous owner didn't load with it for six months when he came up needing money.

If I want to seat bullets withh .003" or less runout I have to use a Wilson Straight Seater. Do not be surprised if you have the same results. I have been a machinist all my life and there is no rocket science to boring a press so that the ram bore is concentric with the die threads. Floating the die sounds great but in my experience it is a sales thing. It wasn't invented to seat/size cases any more accurately...it was invented to sell presses. Based on what I have seen, it is much more important what is going on inside the die than the press itself.

Kinda like deer calls if you have been following those over the years. A hunting show comes on and shows a buck "grunting" behind a doe. That years call was the buck grunt and they sold a million of them. Next was the "snort/wheeze"...a couple million more sold. Then the "buck roar". Whats next?? The whistle, bang, smoke???? Presses are no different in that they have to be sold.

All that said, the Co-Ax is at least as good as other presses, just not any better...so why pay more????
 
Quote:I found that the jaws on the shellholder would slowly stop opening far enough.....Stubbicat,,I've found that a light application of good lubricant and not cranking down on the attachment screws eliminates this problem...I do routine maintenance on mine about once a year and never have problems...
Quote:I was very excited to get the press and excited to sell it...I think that could be said of most material things... I know it was true of my Harley, I've heard the same sentiments from boat owners, even about ex-wives, as well as firearm owners..

All things are not meant to satisfy all people, all the time..
 
I guess I am a member of the "cult".

I can only compare the Co-Ax to the Rockchucker and Dillon 450, as those are the only presses I have ever used before. I still use the 450 for pistol, but would not trade the Co-ax for anything. I load rifle cartridges for Rem 221 FB to 300 WM. Ease of use (caliber change etc.) is fantastic, but the real reason for me is I do get the most uniform loads (concentric) from the Co-ax.

Like CatShooter said, presses are only tools with pros & cons and all of them need maintenance, but to each his own. Just my 2 cents worth.

Oh, you can use Forster or Hornady lock rings.
 
Being lazy I use my Co-Ax for small cases up to 6.8 SPC and the Rockchucker for all cases larger. That way I don't have to flip the sliding jaws back and forth. I have to say I have not been able to see any improvement of concentric ammo by using the Co-Ax vs the Rockchucker.
 
I just bought a Co-ax last spring and I perfer it to my Rock chucker. But I had some rounds that did not fire. I was not wearing gloves when I put the primers in the primer seater. My hands felt clean but I still wounder if handeling them individualy like this killed some of the primers?
 
I have two co-ax presses, bought one new as my first press, after learning how to load on one of my friends. The second one I bought that was used but looks like new at a nice price. If the price was not as nice as it was I would not have bought it.

One is set up for the small bolt face rounds 223 stuff, and the other for 30-06/ 308 bolt face stuff.

I was not fond of the switching the base for the different size heads.

I like them quite well.
 
Call me a fan. I bought mine years ago and use it for .473 sized cases. If you don't like the jaws, you can always swap out the assembly for the shell holder assembly. I use a Lee Classic Cast for other calibers (mainly .378 boltface).

The Forster has it's pros:

- No need to screw/reset the die each time
- Very smooth in articulation
- Spent primer tube that works

Cons:

- Older press handles won't clear some of the dies related to long calibers
- Jaws aren't easy to change out from .473 to .378
- Expensive

I prefer mine to the other single-stage presses. Forster dies in my opinion are some of the best on the market.
 
Originally Posted By: ScalloperI just bought a Co-ax last spring and I perfer it to my Rock chucker. But I had some rounds that did not fire. I was not wearing gloves when I put the primers in the primer seater. My hands felt clean but I still wounder if handeling them individualy like this killed some of the primers?

About rounds failing to fire. I really doubt that your handling primers without gloves made them fail to fire.
Your fingers would have to be basically dripping with contaminates to cause a fail to fire. This is just my own opinion.

I have never used gloves to handle primers and I have been loading for over 40 years. Never had a fail to fire yet. I do load quite a lot of ammo.

I just wash my hands with soap and water before I start priming if I think I have any oil on me fingers.

The system I use for prepping cases and loading does not have me with oily or wet fingers when it comes time to prime cases.


Did you ever figure out for sure what was the cause of the fail to fire rounds?


The more I use my Co-Ax press the more I like it.

DAB
 
Quote:I was not wearing gloves when I put the primers in the primer seater...I've never worn gloves when handling primers and I think you must have a problem in some other area... I read a test article where a guy was intentionally attempting to degrade primers and even after soaking in an oil bath, they ignited...I tend to be a little anal in my reloading, but not to that extent...
 
Originally Posted By: ScalloperI just bought a Co-ax last spring and I perfer it to my Rock chucker. But I had some rounds that did not fire. I was not wearing gloves when I put the primers in the primer seater. My hands felt clean but I still wounder if handeling them individualy like this killed some of the primers?

You cannot kill primers by handling them - even if your fingers are covered with oil.


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