Thread: Arbor Press

Another Q. Anyone here running an arbour press?
My range is about 25 min drive away which makes load development a pain in the arse. I think I have been lucky with prior rifles as things ran pretty smoothly. Now with the 243 I want to try a few more things but just don't have the time to run back and forth to do exactly what I want. A simple arbor press and a Wilson seater would have me able to do it in the field real easy I was thinking.

Problem is you are basically limited to Wilson dies then...

Other option is to do case pep at home, and use a lee hand press at the range for seating.

The most common arbour press in the BR world for use with Wilson style straightline seater dies is the one from Sinclair International but it is not cheap, $US115 plus shipping.

[url]http://www.sinclairintl.com/search/index.htm?k=arbor+press&ksubmit=y[url]

I have seen a variety of other items of equipment used as a an arbour press the most basic being a crown bottle capper, but it worked.

Originally Posted by ebf

Problem is you are basically limited to Wilson dies then...

Other option is to do case pep at home, and use a lee hand press at the range for seating.

Wilson vs Lee. Hmmmm let me think on that one.

Originally Posted by kiwijames

Wilson vs Lee. Hmmmm let me think on that one.

Whats to think about James?

You know it's Lee all the way

Originally Posted by P38

Whats to think about James?

You know it's Lee all the way to the back of the line

.

Whats wrong with a lee hand press? If you prep all your brass at home then use that to seat bullets it should be all right shouldn't it?

James, I'm assuming you have standard dies already ? So if you switch to an arbor press, you basically have to buy a new set of dies, in addition to the press. I'll introduce you to several top target shooters using Lee presses and dies, they must have some secret huh ?

Toby, everything I told you was lies It is physically impossible to load accurate ammo using any Lee equipment, EVER ! Pls rush out and buy reloading stuff at least 5 times more expensive, it will make your reloads much more accurate, yea right

of course more expensive equipment will load more accurate ammo, otherwise no one would buy it.

hayden, I have some really bad news for you... it's 90% marketing and 10% equipment

reloading is about using top quality components, and being extremely precise

if I carefully load the same components, using a Lee press for 10 rounds, and then whatever super-dooper mega-expensive press you want to nominate for another 10, how about we do a little test, mix all the rounds up randomly, shoot them, and you tell me which were loaded on the expensive press ?

Originally Posted by ebf

hayden, I have some really bad news for you... it's 90% marketing and 10% equipment

reloading is about using top quality components, and being extremely precise

if I carefully load the same components, using a Lee press for 10 rounds, and then whatever super-dooper mega-expensive press you want to nominate for another 10, how about we do a little test, mix all the rounds up randomly, shoot them, and you tell me which were loaded on the expensive press ?

It will be the one not seated correctly, damaged projectile, and the primer not correctly seated, but hey it's down to the guy pulling the trigger isn't it? Lol

Originally Posted by ebf

hayden, I have some really bad news for you... it's 90% marketing and 10% equipment

reloading is about using top quality components, and being extremely precise

if I carefully load the same components, using a Lee press for 10 rounds, and then whatever super-dooper mega-expensive press you want to nominate for another 10, how about we do a little test, mix all the rounds up randomly, shoot them, and you tell me which were loaded on the expensive press ?

Your onto it ebf.

I've done just that in .308 with my Lee press and RGB dies vs my Forster press and Benchrest dies.

Couldn't tell you which was which after punching paper.

Some answers for you.

Shooting Sports USA - February 2013

Excellent article, and some sound advice...

Triton super jaws make a good base for a portable reloading "bench". Mount your press to a thick board, screw a length of 2x4 to the bottom, and clamp that in the super jaws.

Originally Posted by ebf

reloading is about using top quality components, and being extremely precise

Which kinda makes skimping on dies a rather pointless exercise then. Whats the difference in a Lee seater over a Wilson? I can buy a Wilson seater for around 50USD or a Lee Collet set for 65NZD. The press cost is negated as you need to have one regardless. So there is, after I get the Wilson into NZ about $50 difference? That would be lucky to buy a box of bullets, reasonable bullets, let alone the top quality ones you insist on. And then with the "extremely precise" bit rather than have a competition on who's gun shoots better just compare the loaded rounds for run out, neck tension and seating depth. The terminal side of the equation has so many more variables than the bullet to compare the two fairly.
At the end of the day I have far more money than I have time. Thats not saying a lot, as most working people I know are in the same boat. No one complains about getting too much hunting in. I would rather invest my money into the best gear I can afford in the hope the hype is real rather than manufactured. If you get good result from Lee gear great, but I don't have the time to mess around with gear (that has the frames break with regularity and the scales are better targets than scales) and hope it works out.