Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Single Stage Press - - What's best? And Why?

Get the Rockchucker...It's the best...

I wasted 7 years of my life with a Rockchucker, before I spent the money and got a co-ax.

Now I have two co-ax presses and have designed a number of improvements.

nuther vote for co-ax

She sits right where the lee use to sit

Well, just to see if the Lee bashers knew what they were talking about I bought a Lee Challenger. Is it as finely finished as a press costing several hundred dollars more? No, of course not. Does it look like some sort of Rube Goldberg machine? Nope, disappointed again. It looks like a single stage reloading press.
But the proof of the pie is in the tasting. It turns out .223 ammo that has a 0.00-0.002 runout. I laugh all the way to the bank.

I started with a lee challenger press, and loaded 1000's of rounds with it, quality, accurate ammunition.

But the question was what is the best single stage press, and based on my experience of owning and using ~1/2 dozen different kinds of presses is the co-ax is the best.

"just to see if the Lee bashers knew what they were talking about I bought a Lee Challenger."

Lee's Challenger isn't on my bench but I wouldn't care if it was. Keep the large bolt that holds the two-part toggle block tight (as the instructions clear say) and the Challenger will do anything except - maybe - major case reforming. Few people do that so it doesn't matter.

"Best" of anything is relitive and largely a personal thing. If I had to replace my RCBS Rock Chucker tomorrow it would be with Lee's Classic Cast; it's the better press.

The Co-Ax is a good enough press but I don't care for the ergonomics so I wouldn't buy one if they cut the price in half.

I have used several presses and would say most were equal with each having its own pluses and minuses until I got the forster. There is NO comparison between this press and the others (including the rockchucker). Changing dies takes literally 1 second and it is built like a tank. I also currently have a Dillon 650 but unless you shoot one caliber alot (and I mean a lot) I wouldn't recommend one. Buy a forster and I promise you will never regret it. There is a reason you see other presses for sale in classifieds and never see a forster.

In my case, I was loading a whole lot of .223 ammo and a whole lot of 22-250 ammo so I bought the Lee so I could have a dedicated set up for the .223. I already had a RCBS press that I used only for 22-250. And another RCBS that I used for general reloading.
I don't think I could afford to spend several hundred dollars for a single cartridge dedicated press. But with the Challenger or any of the more modestly priced presses,I could.

Yeah the large bolt and two-part toggle block is the weak link of this press; I've broken several. Lee offers replacements CHEAP so it isn't an issue for me.

I can tell you, and I don't know if this is what one would call "major" case reforming, but I've necked 270 WCF brass up to 338-06 with no problem on mine, as well as 22-250 up to 6mm-250 (which I KNOW is not "major").

I bought the anniversary kit years ago when I started loading and nearly all the parts of that have been replaced... I think I still have the original funnel... and I had figured the "cheap" press would need it sooner rather than later but here I am, thousands of rounds reloaded, and other than the cheap toggles mentioned above I'm happy as can be. If I were to purchase a new one it would only be so that I could have 2 cartridges set up and running at the same time cuz this one ain't needing replacing!

"I don't know if this is what one would call "major" case reforming,.."

Expanding necks up or taking them down as you describe really isn't a press stressing task. I do consider making some of my best .22-250 and 6mm International cases from .35 Whelen/.30-06 to be major case reforming and that MIGHT be more than I would ask of a Challenger press!

I sure like the Redding Big Boss II with the taller opening and the spent primer tube system. My RCBS Rockchucker is 32 years old and as soon as I wear it out I am buying a BB-II (or by then maybe it will be a BB-III or BB-IV......)

Imho about any of the single stage presses put out there by a reputable company is pretty well suited for reloading ammo. Now if you are trying to form 22 hornet cases out of 50cal brass then something like a rockchucker is probably the way to go. Seriously for years I used an old lyman spartan c press I bought from a dorm mate in college for $10 and did fine. I have had for the past 25 years a RCBS reloader special and it has been just great. I do like the compound leverage presses better as to taking much less effort but the old ones are fine. My brother still has my old spartan and uses it still.