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January 1st, 2011
 Most readers recognize Kelly Bachand from the popular Top Shot TV show on the History Channel. Kelly didn’t win the $100K grand prize, but he was a talented competitor who became an audience favorite with his accurate rifle shooting and “toughness under fire” (Kelly survived more one-on-one challenges than any other competitor). Last spring, with the cooperation of Forster Products, AccurateShooter.com supplied Kelly with a new Forster Co-Ax® Press. Kelly, a college student, had previously reloaded with a low-priced Lee Challenger Press — all that his “starving student” budget would allow. (In fairness to the Lee — it did produce some match-winning ammo for Kelly over the years.)
Kelly has been very impressed with the Co-Ax Press and he put together a video review for us. Kelly likes the ease with which dies can be swapped in and out of the press, and he also enjoys the added mechanical leverage provided by the coaxial design. Kelly favors the Forster’s straight-drop, spent primer-capture system. On other, conventional presses, spent primers and debris can collect around the base of the press, or end up on the floor, on your carpet, or on your bench-top.
Forster Co-Ax Press Design Features
 The Co-Ax’s spring-loaded shell holder jaws float with the die, allowing cases to correctly center in the die. Dies snap easily in and out of the jaws so you can change dies in a couple of seconds. Many folks believe this improves die alignment, producing loaded rounds with less runout.
We really like the primer recovery system on the Co-Ax. Spent primers pass straight down into a cup — no more primers and carbon on the carpet. Every other single-stage press we’ve tried will toss a spent primer now and then, and primer residue builds up around the ram shaft.
PROS: Floating jaw shell-holder design delivers low run-out ammo. Smooth stroke without wobble. Best spent-primer collection system.
CONS: Clearance can be an issue with some very tall dies (but you can mill the yoke to accommodate). Dies must be equipped with cross-bolt style lock rings. We recommend the Hornady lock-rings.
If you need power for case sizing, the Co-Ax delivers three times the mechanical advantage of some conventional presses. The Co-Ax’s dual parallel guide-rod design also ensures that the ram movement is straight and smooth throughout the power stroke. With a center-mounted handle, the Co-Ax works equally well for both right- and left-handed reloaders.
The Co-Ax press accepts any standard 7/8″x14 threaded reloading die. You will need to use cross-bolt-style lock-rings on your dies. We recommend the Hornady rings. These are steel and have a hex-head cross-bolt. The Co-Ax requires no expensive shell-holders. The standard “S” jaw set supplied with the press fits nearly all common calibers except except: 22 Hornet, 378 Wby., 45-70, 256 Win. Mag., 44 S&W, 416 Rigby, 416 Rem., 45-90 and 348 Win. These calibers can be used if you purchase the optional “LS” Jaws.
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August 27th, 2010
 John Perkins of 21st Century Shooting has created new, benchrest-grade hand priming tool that offers the ability to adjust primer seating depth. John is a skilled tool-maker and machinist who has designed reloading tools for major companies including Davidsons and Sinclair International. Guaranteed for life and beautifully constructed from anodized aluminum, the unit costs just $79.99 with five (5) precision brass shell-holders (Lee shellholders can be used as well). The current tool design employs Lee plastic primer trays, though billet aluminum trays will be offered in the future.
Adjustable Seating Depth and Great ‘Feel’
Brad told us: “With this new priming tool you can control, set, and adjust the seating depth of your primers. It was made adjustable because each person has a different idea about the [ideal primer seating depth]. Not only are you able to control the depth, but once you find the depth you are looking for, you lock down the adjustment and thereafter each primer is set at the same depth. So it’s a consistency thing as much or more than the seating depth. With a standard hand priming tool you are relying on feel each time, with no way to know exactly how deep you are seating them from round to round.”
Brad added: “One of the greatest things about this new tool is the quality feel of the tool while you are seating primers. I have handled almost every priming tool on the market and I have never found anything even close to this tool.”
The tool will come with five popular shell holders, including #2, #4, #5, M and PPC. Shellholders are made of brass and “fit much nicer” than the Lee shellholders, according to the tool’s designer. You can also use normal Lee shellholders.
You can order the priming tool directly from 21st Century Shooting, 260-273-9909. Price is $79.99 plus shipping. The tool comes complete with five shell-holders (#2, 4, 5, M, PPC) and allen wrench, but you will need to supply your own Lee plastic primer tray. 21st Century Shooting provides a 100% Money Back Guarantee.
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December 7th, 2009
Adam Braverman of Nammo-Lapua just confirmed that Lapua, at the behest of the U.S. Palma team, has been quietly developing a NEW version of the .308 Winchester cartridge that has a small BR-style primer pocket. That’s right, this is no joke. Lapua has crafted small primer pocket .308 Winchester brass that will be introduced at SHOT Show in Las Vegas (Jan. 19-22).
The new .308 variant is identical to Lapua’s current .308 match brass with the exception of the primer pocket. The brass will be head-stamped “.308 Win Lapua Palma”.
FLASH HOLES: The flash-hole size for the current pre-production .308 Lapua Palma brass is 1.5mm (.059″), the same as Lapua 6mmBR and 220 Russian brass. Lapua spokesmen were not certain if the flash hole size will change for the regular production brass. Note: if you have a Redding .308 die, you can ask Redding for a smaller decapping rod tip (.057″) to use with the new brass.
Tests Reveal Better ES and SD with Small Primers
Initial tests of the small primer pocket .308 by U.S. Palma team members have been very promising. The small primer pocket case seems to have advantages in both accuracy and the ability to handle high-pressure loads. However, the primary improvement found with the smaller primer is reduced ES and SD. Palma Team members have found that, with almost every brand of primer tested (small vs. large), the smaller version has yielded reduced Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation. This pays dividends in 1000-yard shooting. Also, some testers believe that small primers are more consistent and require less sorting — and that there are more varieties of small primers that seem to work really well in the .308 case. Moreover, the small primer types are more uniform, from lot to lot, than are large primers, according to some testers. More info will follow later today.
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September 16th, 2009
Readers often ask: “What priming tool should I use?” There is no simple, clear-cut answer. Different tools have different advantages and disadvantages. Many short-range benchresters like the Sinclair one-at-a-time priming tool. They believe this unit has the best “feel” for seating primers.
 Others prefer the K&M tool, another “single-loader”, because it can be fitted with a seating depth gauge, for the ultimate in precision. On the other hand, one top shooter with a couple National Championships under his belt favors the modest $19.00 Lee Autoprime tool: “It’s simple, efficient and has served me well for years–I’m not convinced the fancy, expensive tools do a better job.”
This editor has tried all of these tools, and personally I favor the RCBS APS hand priming tool. It has two important advantages. Number one, primers are held in color-coded plastic strips so you never have to touch the primers. If you buy the pre-loaded strips, there is no chance of getting an upside-down primer, and you never have to fool with flipping primers in a tray. Second, the APS tool has a “universal” shell-holder. This employs spring-loaded jaws so it can fit any size cartridge, from a 17 Fireball to large magnums. The unit has a comfortable grip and plenty of leverage. Each time you seat a primer, the strip automatically advances. (NOTE: If you like the universal shell holder but don’t like strips, RCBS offers a new m90201 Universal Hand Priming Tool with a universal shell-holder that uses a conventional primer tray.)
 
Currently, only CCI primers can be purchased pre-loaded into strips. But there is an inexpensive tool that allows you to load Federal, Winchester, or Wolf primers into the strips. The strips come in a variety of colors (Red, White, Blue, Orange, Yellow, and Black), so you can sort your primers by color.
The RCBS APS hand primer is ideal when doing primer comparison testing. You can slide one strip of 25 primers in the tool, seat 5 or 10, then easily remove the strip with the remaining primers, and slide in a second strip with another primer type. You can slip the first strip back in a storage box and the primers remain ready to use.
As contained in the strips, primers can also be used in an RCBS 2000 progressive press, a bench-mounted priming unit, and a special device that fits into the top of a Rockchucker or similar press. I have loaded over 20,000 pistol rounds with an RCBS progressive press and I have had not a single flipped primer. Not one. The strip-priming system also makes it easy to switch from small to large primers on the progressive–this can literally be done in under 20 seconds.
The bench-mounted unit is ideal for priming large quantities of cases. The long handle provides plenty of leverage, and you can work fast, as the primers automatically feed through the system. When I load large quantities of varmint rounds, I use the bench-mounted APS system. The only gripe I have concerns the small plastic bushing that guides the primer seating rod. This bushing breaks easily and is easy to lose.
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August 11th, 2009
Grafs.com is currently offering Prvi Partisan .223 Remington brass at very attractive prices. 100 cases cost just $22.99, and that includes shipping (but not the $4.50/order handling charge). Bulk orders of 500 or 1000 cases are even less. This is boxer brass, fully reloadable. The PRVI brass is very good brass for the price. We have tried it in the Prvi Partison loaded ammo as well as in reloads. The brass holds pressure well and is more weight-consistent than some brands of domestic .223 brass. This is a good choice for large-quantity varmint loads.
NOTE: Some lots of Prvi Partisan milsurp 5.56×45 loaded ammo have arrived in the US with crimped primer pockets. When reloaded, those cases may require prep with a primer pocket swager to ease primer seating. The unloaded, new .223 Rem brass sold by Graf & Sons is UNPRIMED and has not been crimped, so you should have no difficulty seating primers.
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August 6th, 2009
Sinclair Int’l has introduced two important new reloading products. Both are items that reloaders have requested for quite some time. Sinclair listened and now offers: 1) a precision large (.081″) flash hole reamer; and 2) a neck-turning tool for large cartridges such as the 50 BMG.
Large Flash-Hole Reamer
Sinclair has released a new, .081″-spec “outside-in” Flash Hole Reamer (item 07-3081) designed to designed to uniform standard flash holes to exactly .081 inch. This 3-piece tool features all stainless steel construction, a double-ended reamer guide for both large and small primer pockets, a knurled handle for easy turning, and a straight-fluted .081 inch reamer. With this tool you can remove burrs or obstructions in the flash hole and ensure that all your flash holes are the same size. NOTE — this tool works for both small primer pockets AND large primer pockets, for cartridges with .080″ nominal diameter flash holes. The new 07-3081 tool costs $37.50.
For quite some time, Sinclair Int’l has sold a similar device for small (PPC and BR-size) flash holes. Like the new 07-3081 unit for large flash holes, the 07-3000 Reamer for small flash holes works from the outside, so it can index off the primer pocket. It reams to .0625″, and also costs $37.50. The standard dimension for Lapua 220 Russian and 6mmBR flash holes is 1.5mm or .0590″. This tool will permit standard-size decapping rods with .0625″ tips to work without binding. However, note that both Forster and Redding normally supply .057″ decapping pins with their PPC and BR dies. So, it is NOT necessary to ream your Lapua BR/PPC flashholes, unless you prefer to do so for uniformity. It IS, however, a good idea to check BR/PPC flash holes for burrs before loading the first time.
NOTE: If you purchase either the 07-3081 or 07-3000 Sinclair Flash Hole Reamer tools, we recommend you mic the cutter tip before you process a bunch of cases. Sometimes a tip comes through that is oversize. This will ream the flash holes larger than you may intend.
Large Caliber (35-50) Neck Turning Tool
Jumbo rifle cartridges, such as the 408 Chey Tac and 50 BMG, are becoming more popular with precision shooters, and Sinclair’s customers have asked for a neck-turning tool which will handle the large calibers. Sinclair’s new NT-5000 Neck Turning Tool will work for cartridges from 35 caliber all the way up to 50 cal, including the 50 BMG. This new tool uses the same smooth, cutter adjustment system as Sinclair’s NT-1000 Neck Turner, but a special oversize case-holder is furnished with each NT-5000 tool. Special large-caliber Expander Dies, and large-caliber turning and expander mandrels are available individually or as part of a Large Caliber Neck Turning Tool Kit.
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February 7th, 2009
READ THIS!! 4/1/2009 UPDATE: Bruno’s Wolf primers are sold out. Call for current availability of any primers.
Amy at Bruno Shooters Supply let us know that she just received 250,000 Wolf Small Rifle Magnum primers (i.e. 250 1K boxes). These are the Russian-made primers that work well in the 6BR and 6-6.5×47 cases. Note, the magnum version of the Wolf small rifle primer is much preferrable to the standard Wolf small rifle primer which has a fairly soft cup. Price is $23.50 per 1000-ct box.
Bruno Shooters Supply: Wolf Small Rifle Magnum primers (250 1K boxes in stock) as of 2/7/2009. Ask Amy or Lester — You won’t find these on the website yet.
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