Forster Co-Ax for Pistol Cartridges?

[JWinAZ]

I'm considering a Forster Co-Ax press. Is it ok for small pistol cartridges, such as .32 H&R? The larges cartridge I load is .30-'06.

 

[Bret4207]

I use mine for everything, down to 32 S+W, the 32 short as some call it. Case is like half an inch long. That's with the standard CoAx automatic shell holder. You can also use an adapter for a standard type shell holder. The only downside to CoAx I've seen is if you load the real long magnum cartridges with long bullets, then sometime there just isn't enough frame room.

 

[BudHyett]

I annually load a minimum of two thousand rounds of .32-20 on mine. The secret is to set the shell holder just far enough to open that it easily takes the case head.

I also load over one thousand rounds each of .30-'06 and .308. With the coming year, 2024, I hope to get back to prairie dog shooting which means many more rounds.

Note: When disassembling the shell holder to switch, the springs that close the shell holder love to fly away to some hidden crack in the floor. Get your hand under the assemblage and turn over slowly. Be sure the press comes with both shell holders. These shell holders are reversible.

• .30-'06 and .32-20
• .45-70 and .22 Hornet

 

[JWinAZ]

Thank you! Sounds like a good choice for me.

 

[JWinAZ]

I'm liking the Co-ax very much. I made a short handle, works really well for pistol cartridges. I like having the handle travel above the bench. Depositing the spent primers and debris into a closed container is wonderful. The special die rings are another investment, but not having to thread the dies in and out, four times for pistol, is very nice. I tried the priming and was surprised at how well it worked. Time will tell how well going to a dead stop rather than the primer bottoming out will work. I've loaded 32 H&R and .357 so far and am very happy with it.

Don't mind the bench chaos.