quandary
Well-Known Member
The most consistent presses in our testing ended up like this...
Hood press...super consistent and the click die adjuster is nice. Big cartridges could be an issue with leverage.
SAC Nexus....super consistent (as consistent as the Hood IMO) handle has a lot of leverage. Nice press.
RCBS Rock Chucker....great do it all press, been around for years and proven. Doesn't do anything great doesn't do anything terrible.
Redding T7...nice press especially with the Creedmoor Sports head upgrade.
Area419...not designed to cam over....IMO this leads to inconsistencies in shoulder bump. Very nice well machined piece of kit as you would expect from Area419. Overpriced IMO
Keep in mind these were pretty much one off tests with one off presses. The exception would be the Hood and SAC presses. Multiples of those were tested. YMMV.
Actually the Area 419 does have what is effectively a cam over. The most effective way to use the Area 419 is to set the sizing die up deep enough to get the "cam over" and use the Redding Competition shellholders (or Area 419 equivalent) to adjust from there. It works great and is incredibly consistent with essentially no measurable difference case to case.