FORSTER PRODUCTS, INC. CO-AX PRESS WITH "S" JAWS, MODEL B5

I have been using my Bonanza (Forster) Press since the mid 1970's and have no desire to switch.

The set up and changing shell holders isn't very hard if you watch to make sure the springs don't jump.

I don't use it for priming as I find a bench mounted unit works better for me.

Day to day reloading is a breeze and I'd highly recommend it.

Bought mine in the 70's and have been completely satisfied. Have loaded several 10's of thousands of rifle rounds. Bearing and pivot surfaces do not exhibit any play or wear that I can detect. As someone else commented, the primer tube can plug with LR spent primers. This is about the only negative and it is not a big deal to clear. The Bonanza primer collection system is the best I have seen, otherwise. No dirt or grit gets into the press ram or other places you do not want dirt. I am left handed with fairly large hands. This press is the most ambidextrous of which I am aware and has plenty of room to move cases in and out of the shellholder. I have never used it for priming so cannot comment on that aspect. Overall, I am very happy with it and have never seen anything which better meets my needs.

To the one guys point that your stuck ONLY using one bullet puller... I use a Hornady cam lock collet puller in mine and it works great. Handles barely pass over/under but you could also trim the puller handle easily.. or compound it easily as well.



I have a RCBS comp die set for .223/5.56 amd threaded the raised shell holder, cut the bottom head off a steel 54R round drilled the flash hole out, then countersunk it for #10-32 i think it was. Drop down the jaw plate screw and presto! Man this thing is versitile!



The plastic primer cup did break on mine, its cheesy brittle thin plastic. But i just took a fender washer and soldered it to a "spice islands" skinny glass jar and works great now. I may have also drilled out my primer tube slightly already can't remember lol. Its basic seam welded pipe, and the seam is what clogs the primers. Again very simple fixes.



Yeah it would be nice and easy for the factory to do this, and use like a little nalgene bottle for primer catcher but its still the best press on the market by far! it would also be nice if they made the yoke slightly taller for more versatility/ clearance and included the second set of plates for slightly raised cost. It would be worth it. Or keep the price and watch these fly off the shelves!

In a nut shell... great overall design... in need of some manufacturing improvements. In the year and a half in which I've been using this press for both pistol and rifle reloading, I have had no major issues, but have taken note of some particular details. The Co-Axial design is highly regarded by the highly regarded, or, at least, that's what I've read in Mic McPherson's "In Pursuit of the Perfect Cartridge". Norma's Ballistics Lab, for example, uses them for load development. That, if nothing else, should be a ringing endorsement. However, there are some details about the Forster's manufacture that I've found to be mildly disappointing. For instance, the grinding wheel marks from removing the casting flash are very apparent and negatively impact the visual quality of the press. Off Course, this has no real bearing on the actual functionality of the press, but appearance is important for just about any product. Likewise, the shell holder jaws could have been machined more precisely and evenly. They certainly work well considering their versatility. I have found it helpful to slightly loosen the allen head screws, which hold the jaws in place, when loading 30-40 Krag. The spent primer drop tube needs to be slightly larger in I.D., owing to the fact that large rifle primers have a tendency to get stuck and stack up, thereby slowing the de-capping process. Obviously, like everything else, there are advantages and disadvantages to a particular design, and its more a question of degree. In the case of the Co-Axial, the benefits far outweigh the faults. So, just as an example, if you want to break down live ammunition, you pretty much have to use Forster's Universal Bullet Puller Die with the appropriate collet(sold separately, of course), owing to the design and position of the yoke/handle. If this is rarely needed, then its not a big deal, but with a small mountain of surplus live ammo, it could be a different story. As for the issue/debate concerning which die lock ring to use, I use Forster's aluminum cross bolt style, as the press's instruction manual specifically advises. The fit in the press's die slot is better, and it will be the aluminum lock ring, and not the $300+ cast iron press that experiences wear. Although the primer system does require a little time to adjust properly when changing from one cartidge and/or primer size to another, it does a great job and has decent feel for a press-mounted primer seater. Still, despite the above-mentioned issues, I think it is the best single stage press on the market given the various design features for its price point. Will Forster come out with a new and improved B5 model???

Most accurate, precise and smoothest working press made, this press and good competition dies will hand-load more precise ammo than most rifles or riflemen can shoot. Best priming system I've ever used. I'm 63yrs.old and learned to load at 13. The few that down play this press didn't do their research. I load .223 6.5X53R, 6X54MS .308 7.5X55, 30-06, 8X57, 50-90 Sharps, 32 S&W, 9mm, 38 special, 357, 44Mag. I had to slightly modify the LS jaws and jaw actuator screw to fit the 50-90 (minor hand grinding),, Add to this all the other Good points and bragging others gave in reviews,,, don't believe anything bad about this press, nothing is perfect and the minor Oop's I had with using the CO-AX were fixed with a quick call to Forester. it will not prime my 50-90 yet-- Rim diameter .660" rim thickness .067" just a little file work will soon fix that. if you can read instructions on the bottom and pour water out of a boot this press will make you happy, those not happy with a CO-AX press need to practice pouring not complain

Mason

This is an "o.k" press, but it isn't what I expected it to be. It comes pretty dirty . . . mine (ordered from Sinclair in early January, 2016, was covered in a sawdust-like material (box had not been opened and was factory-sealed). Fit and finish is more in line with the lower-end RCBS/Lee stuff than Dillon. Admittedly, I've only done a few .308 operations on this . . . I mainly purchased it for my .308 and .338 long-range needs (my Dillon gets the responsibility for the high-output stuff). There was nothing in the description (here on Sinclair/Brownells) or anywhere else that I looked that says that you need to spend an extra $30.00 for the larger jaws to accommodate the .338 Lapua round. Maybe it's just in my mind, but I think the .338 Lapua round has pretty well achieved mainstream status, and many folks buying the Co-Ax will be purchasing it to load the .338 round. Forster should include the larger jaws with the press, and Sinclair/Brownells (and everyone else) should make it very obvious that it will not accommodate the .338 round until Forster decides to take that step. I'm giving it the two stars because, from a design standpoint, it should work better than the others . . . and it is compact . . . much more so than I expected. It loses one star for the filth that it came in (and I'm not just talking about the typical machine oils/greases that are necessary for preservation), and two stars because it doesn't accommodate the .338 round (and that isn't made clear).

Purchased this to size and reload some precision big boy cartridges (300WM, 338Lapua, etc). I am happy enough with most of the functionality but Forster ran out of engineering budget before they finished the primer seater and cartridge jaws. The primer seater is an abomination. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time with it. I have ruined a couple rims trying to get it setup right.



The jaws that hold the cartridge are great until you have to change them out. If you know what changing out drum brakes are like on a 80's VW, then you will enjoy trying to keep the springs in place while you fiddle with the jaw holder.



As for ring holder, you will see lots of people tell you that you can use any rings with this press. In fact, even Lee die rings work. However, only thick rings (like Forsters) can be locked in by the silly allen screw that holds the ring/die in place. Even the Redding rings spin free.



I can honestly say that I am unimpressed with my experience with this overpriced press. I was thinking the press would take me to the next level in reloading precision.. However, I am thinking I am pretty happy with the results of my old single stage presses that have served me just as well.



No press is going to make your shooting abilities any better.

i truly love this press. i have had mine for 10 years as well as several other older presses hollywoods,texans and ch. i like those as well but the forster beats them all hands down in ease of use, set up, quality reloads. the only 2 minor nit picks is several brands of micrometer seater dies are too tall and wont fit between the handle. the other is the primer function,set up is a bit tedious and i really dont like feeding the primers one at a time and the need to wear latex gloves so i dont contaminate the primers while handling them.it does do a very nice job with the seating though, it wont leave a primer hanging out of the case or over seat them. the speed of depriming is amazing when doing several cartridge head size all mixed together and never a stray primer on the floor. i also prefer the small handle to the long one. this thing has tremendous leverage for sizing magnum size rifle brass. once you use one you will have to have one. if i could only have one press, this is the one.

Even if the other companies were giving away their single stage presses I would still buy this press....

Another person mentioned a drawback of priming cases... To me this press is the most consistent, safe and easy-to-use for priming there is... no worries about over or under pressure in seating and a short 1/2" stroke from dropping in the primer and sliding in the case to done....

It always helps to prep the pockets right...

Die changes are literally a 3 second job from taking the current one out and replacing with another... no fussing around because they are set and self centering.,,,

Out of 5 stars I'd give it a 10 and a half.....

The Co-Ax press is without question the absolute best single-stage press ever made!

My Co-Ax press is at least 40 years old (it's pre-Forster, has the Bonanza name cast into it and the old dark grey/black wrinkle finish coating); I bought it used 35 years ago, and have loaded many thousands of rounds through it since. Most likely, one of my grandchildren will be using it into retirement years - lube the linkage and guide rods once every few years, and it'll never wear out.

The design makes loading operations almost effortless; dies are quickly swapped and once set, you'll almost never need to readjust them (if you change bullets, you'll need to tweak the bullet seating die to suit).

There's a reason the armed services rifle teams load their match ammo on Co-Ax presses - they produce consistent precision-assembled ammunition.

In truth, I'd have to give it a 4.9 - one minor nit-pick is that if you have to switch the case holder jaws to accomodate a different thickness case rim, you have to be very careful lest the springs in the case holder assembly decide to leap out & hide themselves from you... (I've never lost a spring since the first time I spent a half hour searching for one.) Since the ratings won't permit a 1/10 star, I have to round up to 5!

Don't let the price put you off - the Co-Ax is more than worth every penny, and you'll always be glad you bought it.

I have owned this press sense 1978 and have never regretted the purchase. It has loaded 10,000 pluse rounds without a hitch every thing from 222 to 375H&H. My hunting rounds all group around 1/2 inch and my 6BR 1/4 and under. So quick and easy to jump from one cartrage to another just pop out the die and slide another in and your ready to go.

This is hands down the best press ever. In single stage, turret or anything else. I shoot long distances with my 300 Win (1200+ yds) and this bad boy makes my groups less than 10". With my 700 SPS I'm grouping .554-.714 at 200 yds. All these are consistent with every bullet from the Forster. My father taught me reloading 30 years ago on his Forster (Bonanza) press and I only wish I would've broke down and picked one up sooner. I was using an RCBS for years cause I picked up a whole set for $100 at a yard sale. It wasn't till an old Military BUD came to visit me and reminded me of what I was missing out on that I finally broke down. The best purchase I ever made.

I have been reloading / hand loading for over 22 years, and this is the best single stage press I have ever used. The compound linkage provides so much leverage that re-sizing is incredibly easy. One can also "neck down" or "neck up" cases with amazing results. The price seems high, until you use this press; then it seems like this is a bargain. You do not need to purchase shell holders, and changing dies is the fastest (and easiest) in the market. The fit, finish, and quality of this press is second to none. The only drawback is one can not use it for cast bullet sizing, because of the design of the handle. One would need an O-frame, or C type press to have room for a collection bin mounted on top of the sizing die. The ammunition produced on this press is extremely accurate due to the elimination of bullet run-out. I have been told that the US Army's Marksmanship Team uses this press for their match grade ammo. I have used a variety of dies, from different manufacturers, and I have not had any problems. I load all of my crucial target, and hunting, ammunition on this press. It doesn't get better than this. If you buy a Co Ax, you will glad you did! If you try a Co Ax, you will want to buy one! I can't begin to describe how good it feels to load on this press! You will just have to try one to understand what all of these folks, writing these reviews, are talking about. I wish I had bought one of these 20 years ago.

The worst thing I hate about thid press is I did not purchase one 30 years ago. I have had all makes and nothing even comes close to this press. I have never been able to seat bullets as accurate with other presses. Nearly zero run out. Switching dies is simple and fast. Especially with the Hornady Lock Rings which I would recommend. I also like the optional shorty handle. Everytime I use this press I am more amazed at how much more I like it. Try one and you will be glad you did. They are worth every penny and then some.

I have been reloading for 40+ years and this press is the best I have ever used. Can't be beat for accuracy and ease of use. An engineering marvel but simple. By design the press will consistently produce rounds with perfect concentrity and therefor accurate to the utmost degree provided you do your part. I use the Foster dies but other quality dies should work equally as well. I reload for accuracy and this is the best in my opinion. This press is durable enough that it will be passed on to my son then grandson as it is built that well.

I have been reloading for 25+years and I have had 2 Rock Chuckers and a Hornady/Pacific. I am very impressed with the Co-Ax for its ingenious design and quality. I live in an apartment so my space is limited. My bench is not the heaviest or sturdiest. I was a little worried that the bench would be a problem. When doing some research on this press prior to buying it all the comments were very positive but, what no one stated is that the compound leverage and unique configuration of the Co-Ax actually makes the sturdiness of the bench less important. If I had mounted a regular "C" or "O" frame press it would cause much more disruption and shaking during a sizing stroke. I think this is due to the lesser leverage and just the direction of your force when the press is doing the most work (top of the ram motion and when the expander button pulls back through).
Fit and finish is excellent and this is a piece that anyone could be proud to own. Money is tough to come by these days but I feel like there are some areas where you can actually justify the added investment. This is a great machine!

I had one of these for years and in a weak moment spurred on by a divorce attorney, sold it along with all my equipment. I am shopping to replace it now, though it seems everyone else is too. This is an amazingly strong press, smooth to work and accurate. Easy to change dies and the priming system is the best I have used. The only negative I can even begin to think of is the long handle throw, but that is also why it is so strong and smooth.

Excellent press! Very fast die changes.
I have owned this press for years and never regretted paying extra for it.
The priming setup is the ONLY draw back to it.
No extra shellholders needed unless you are working on extremely large or extremely small cases, then you will need the LS shellholder jaws.

Although I do not own one (YET) a member of our club has one and it is a true work of art.
It is hard to appreciate its excellence from just a picture and further to wonder how it could be better than other presses...
Its self centering abilities is 2nd to none...and when combined with dies of the same make your ammunition will shoot as straight as you release them.
The heavy freight from the States to Australia is pricey..but purchase a heap of other Sinclair gear at the same time and you will be on a winner...