RCBS retro presses ......better than you think!

[xbimmers]

This is a commentary on my opinion regarding RCBS retro presses. If you are thinking about reloading and are interested in buying the cheapest press out there (LEE) because of price...please consider a used old faithful RCBS reloading press. Those things are made of cast iron and are going to do a great job in reloading your bullets for you. They are a real bargain and are much better than the aluminum presses on the market today. On top of all of this...RCBS will help you keep your old RCBS (Made in the USA) press running. I have a 1976 RCBS Jr.3 and it needed a couple of parts. RCBS sent them over to me free of charge. Part of reloading is to preserve our shooting heritage...these old presses do just that. .... there are other old presses such as Pacific which comes to mind....

I've moved to a Dillon 550B progressive....but I will always keep my RCBS Jr.3

[XDRoX]

I have a Jr. 3 as well. I think mine is older than 1976 though. IMO it is built way better than my new Rock Chucker and my new Orange Crusher. I still use it all the time.

Good post, couldn't agree more.

[chesterthehero]

my stepfather is passing his onto me.. he says hes been reloading on it since he was "about 14".. he is now "about 60".. also says he has never replaced a single part..
i have not touched or seen the thing since i was about 5 (im now 31).. he use to let me help pull the lever..
i had been looking at a lee progressive and was talking to him about it.. he offered to either buy me a new one or he would send me his old one (he cant see enough to shoot enough to reload.. and every free moment he gets he tries to spend with grandkids).. i jumped at the chance to get his old one.. maybe someday ill pick up something progressive so i can just crank the stuff out.. however ill keep that RCBS till i pass it on to one of the kids/grandkids..

[bohoki]

ive loaded so many on a rcbs jr2 its crazy i changed the grip to a foam as the vinyl finger grip one was not comfy

[bjl333]

A friend of mine wanted to have my good load for a 223. I gave it to him and he couldn't come close to my groups at the range. I found out he is using a Dillion progressive so I asked him to weight random charges out of his Dillion. He came back with a .7 of a grain varience from Reloader7 powder. This is the reason I recommand all new reloaders to start off with a single stage and get to know all the stages of loading individually. The precision factor is something a progressive will never come close to what is possible with a single stage loader.

[HiPower823]

I agree with bjl... there's no way to get the same precision as the one step at a time method.

[xbimmers]

+1!!!

A friend of mine wanted to have my good load for a 223. I gave it to him and he couldn't come close to my groups at the range. I found out he is using a Dillion progressive so I asked him to weight random charges out of his Dillion. He came back with a .7 of a grain varience from Reloader7 powder. This is the reason I recommand all new reloaders to start off with a single stage and get to know all the stages of loading individually. The precision factor is something a progressive will never come close to what is possible with a single stage loader.

[xbimmers]

I will continue to use my single stage for rifle rounds.....the progressive will be for .40, 9mm, and 45ACP......

[gunboat]

I certainly agree that most all the older single stage presses are good, but you need to take care that they use the "newer" snap in shell holders.
CH , Pacific, rcbs and others used ram shellholders that are no longer easy to find. A replacement ram is available that will accept tha new shellholder but it is not cheap.
Same with lachmiller, Herter, wells that use a larger diameter set screw shellholder. Dunbar, hollywood, and lyman are also different.
Adapters are available for most all these old presses but it is sensible to make sure before buying one.
my ha-penny