Why is the Forster CO-AX press so sought after?

[odoylerules]

Like the title says, I'm wondering what the deal is with these. What is so great about them? I have never used or seen one. Please let me know what I'm missing out on,
Thanks

 

[KyCarl]

Alignment.. easy die changes.. universal shell holder..sturdy..sometimes hard to find new ones?
In the running for best single stage available..

 

[Mark M.]

I have used one for about 20+ years, quick die change with no shell holder is a great convenience, recently I switched to the Redding t7 press, personally, I believe the T7 more precise.

 

[User4302021]

There is no real possibility for misalignment. The die itself floats side to side and the pressure bearing surface is on the top of the die ring. This means that the die ring bottom is not being tightened against a surface that may or mat not be perpendicular to the ram and the threads.

 

[Mark M.]

Its the up and play in the die slot I don't care for, also I like the Redding competition shell holders that are available that make setting the shoulder back very easy, Obviously this is something the forster can't do except by adjusting the die

 

[J E Custom]

In my opinion, It is only slightly better than other presses because everything has to be right to see an improvement in ammo quality.

When I bought mine it was to improve my load quality, with usual loading practices it made little difference. when I started to properly prep my brass and use quality dies I saw an improvement in the consistency of the ammo run out, now I check my brass for concentricity before I load it Now, and It appears to improve ammo concentricity from an occasional .004 to .005 thousandths run out. to a .002 to .003 worst case. With many that don't have any run out.

So in my opinion, if you take great care and attention to your reloading it is almost a must. If you just size and load unprepared brass/cases, I don't see the need in spending the $300.00 + dollars.

The press can only do as well as you can, it can't automatically solve every problem you might have.

Speed is not important to me, only quality.

J E CUSTOM

 

[J E Custom]

Its the up and play in the die slot I don't care for, also I like the Redding competition shell holders that are available that make setting the shoulder back very easy, Obviously this is something the forster can't do except by adjusting the die

This is another thing I found out when placing dies with the die makers lock ring in the forester. The foster rings are thicker than most die makers rings and should be used. I made spacer rings that can be added to the die set to add thickness the the existing rings. Caution:
the total thickness must be less than the slot to prevent binding and preventing the die from moving (Defeating the process).

J E CUSTOM

 

[imyourhuckleberry]

Alignment.. easy die changes.. universal shell

^^^^^ This, I've had one for several years, I waited more than a year for mine, when I put myself on the waiting list at Brownell's.

 

[Hawk in WY]

A few other things.

Worst customer service in the industry.

Make the customer pay to return a failed part and then blame the customer.

Badly annealed seater stems which cracked or mushroomed. Blame the customer.

Our of spec seater stem length. Blame the customer.

Faulty primer drop tube on early versions of the press. Blame the customer.

I've had enough. There are better options.

 

[FURMAN]

I have seen no loss in quality in ammo my Coax is putting out. It is much faster to swap dies. I do not need comp shell holders I just adjust the die to the bump I need. It puts almost zero stress on my bench. I have yet to see a down side and wish I would have ponied up much sooner.

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

I just picked one up a couple months ago. I like the primer catching system for sure compared to my old RCBS Turret press, very fast die changes, very precise but slow priming. I do use it for my large rifle primer rounds that I don't shoot a lot of but I'm still priming 223 on the RCBS. I can't really say I think runout is any less. I sized around 400 .223 rounds in 30min the other day never dropped a single primer. If you set it up in a way to flip sized cases out of the way into a container below it can be very fast to resize. After using it for a couple months I've ran around 2500 rounds thru it in preparation for a upcoming prairie dog hunt. I do like it quite a bit. I wouldn't say it's the be all end all press but if you don't mind spending the money it's got some nice features. I would buy it again. I may pick up a second one just so I don't have to swap the shell holding clamp jaws around from 223 to 308 sizes not that it's that big of deal only takes a minute or two but I'm lazy.

 

[Jerryrva]

I bought one back in 2012 when there was a long wait for them. Previously I was using a Redding Big Boss. It looked cool on the bench and impressed my friends when they dropped by. But it was overkill and didn't have the feel I was looking for especially when seating bullets. So I decided to upgrade to the Co-ax for the floating aspect it offered and the prospect of it lasting my lifetime of reloading.

Going on 7 years now the Co-Ax and it still looks and feels as tight as new. I don't prime with it as I find a hand tray primer is quicker and I can watch tv and prime instead of seating at the reloading bench.

I think I would put my money into the best dies I could afford and go with any name brand single stage press currently available if you wanted to save some money. Otherwise buy with confidence and it would be an easy resale if you ever tired of it.

 

[Aldon]

I have not had need to use the customer service but with a piece of relatively robust equipment even knowing that, I would buy again.

JE Custom voices my exact thoughts. And I too like rfurman24 love how little it torques the bench compared to my other presses.

 

[Lasiter]

A few other things.

Worst customer service in the industry.

Make the customer pay to return a failed part and then blame the customer.

Badly annealed seater stems which cracked or mushroomed. Blame the customer.

Our of spec seater stem length. Blame the customer.

Faulty primer drop tube on early versions of the press. Blame the customer.

I've had enough. There are better options.

"Blame the customer" is a serious issue for me. I have/had products from most of the common sources (RCBS, Forster, etc.). Currently have dies from Redding, CH, & Lee; presses from CH (old single-stage for de-capping pistol cases), upgraded Dillon 450 for pistol, & two Lee presses for other pistol. I'd like to buy a Redding turret for rifle.
When I complained to Lee that the new single-stage I bought from them for de-priming was jamming because it wasn't shedding used primers consistently, and their de-priming die kept bending its center stem (non-military cases), a "friendly" Lee "customer service" rep told me it was all my fault. I sold the press on eBay and junked the die (replaced with Redding).
I've also had a Hornady .45 ACP shell holder that wouldn't accept most .45 ACP cases. Threw that away. It's a jungle out there.
Fun thing: searching eBay for old presses. The variety and history is amazing.