Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Considering a Redding Big Boss 2. Any thoughts?

Have a 40 year old Rock Chucker and feeling the itch to upgrade. Will the BB2 offer anything the Rock Chucker doesn’t? I like the idea of how the BB2’s spent primers are handled….the apparent greater leverage of the BB2 is a plus as well.

Opinions of the Campfire Illuminati are appreciated.

Not familiar with this Press, as my own RockChucker is about 45yrs old itself, and its been great! Do you load big magnums that the Press would seemingly be mage for? Reason I ask is IF NOT, it may be too big and bulky and take up alot of Bench...for same thing?

Good press, have been using one a number of years. I prefer my RCBS Big Max for case forming but for general loading the Redding is very nice.

Redding makes good stuff....but what's wrong with Forster Co-Ax?

How much leverage do you need? Are you sizing 458WM brass into 222 Rem cases? Are you swaging bullets?

If your RC is 40 years old you probably have a 1st Gen.

Are you finding a need for a larger opening to make it easier to insert your 338 Lapua rounds and seat bullets?

The current generation RC press has an opening that is 20-30% larger and has more leverage than your 1st gen RC, and is probably a few bucks less expensive than the BB.

The Redding press does have better primer handling though. Decapping brass is a dirty business no matter how the primers are handled by the press and that grit gets on the sides of the ram and into the linkage. I use an old RCBS Jr press that is a dedicated decapping press with a decapping die.

I have a Rockchucker and a Big Boss II. I use the Big Boss to size and decap, as spent primers fall thru the ram into a tube, no primer tray like the Rockchucker. I don't have as many primers jumping out onto the floor.

DF

I have a Redding Big Boss II and have been very happy with it. I use it for loading rifle cartridges from .223 to .375 H&H. It's worked well for everything I've used it for.

Agree with John 55 big max or the rcbs Ammomaster are the tits..mb

No reloader ever needed a valid reason to buy another press:)
Go for it.

Probably nothing, just never had one.

Have read good reports.

DF

My current metallic press is a Redding T7. I have a lot of Redding stuff and, IME, if one of their products is configured right for your particular needs and preferences, you won’t be disappointed with function or quality.

certainly not a CF Illuminati, but i have been using a Bonanza/Forster Co-ax since the mid 70's... from 38 spc to 375 H&H... never felt the need/want for an upgrade... that said, if you have a need for Big Boss size & leverage, Redding Quality is Excellent, and i think? Forster has introduced a larger Co-ax for the really heavy duty jobs... i like the co-ax's snap in/out die feature (quick) and the floating universal shell holder has apparently helped make it easy for this idiot (me) to make very accurate hunting ammo...

I have both The B.B 2and Co-Ax. I used a Dillon power case trimmer for bulk trimming and the Co-Ax is not
a option. The thing I don’t like about my B.B2 is the slight scratching noise as I raise and lower the ram. Probably just needs some polishing. I purchased the B.B to have a larger opening for some magnum cases. I still would prefer a little larger opening for my 3 1/4” sharps.

Lyman orange crusher or ammomaster or quit fugging around with greasers and paper patch those 3 1/4" hulls.mb

Nothing wrong with it if it truly suits your need like a lot of very large case sizing or forming.

But if you load a lot of pistol ammo or a lot of 223 - 308 class rounds in high volume, you'll get for more benefit from a turret press, especially if you crimp any of those.

The less time that you have to handle cases using a single stage press adds up.

YMMV

MM

Amen…. I use a Forster and Redding T7.. If you want a press and you’re not starving your kids, have at it.

I use my Co-Ax for most of my handgun reloading and rifle calibers up to 30-06. It does a fine job. But the one thing I don’t care about is it has poor “ergonomics”. The way it is built makes it a little more difficult to insert or remove a case. Same for placing a bullet in the case mouth.
On the plus side is the location of the handle. It is much easier to use than a rock chucker style press.

For most loading I prefer my old (50+yo) Co-Ax. Even better, the new standard models have a taller yoke opening.

For heavy duty case forming I believe the Redding UltraMag is the best plus it has a huge opening. If you need to go big it is great.

The T7 is a great press but I haven’t bought one because of the two I already have. Great piece of gear.

If you want it, you don't have to justify it. You'll probably not note a lot of change over the RCBS, except as you said, slightly more leverage and a better primer management system.