Cylinder Loading Press

[Tight_Wad]

Bought this from Thunder Ridge last year for use with my Ruger Old Army and Rogers & Spencer revolvers. Didn't have much luck using it initially as the brass ram didn't line up very well with the chambers of the cylinder. Finally got around to filing the slot that the brass ram slides in and it now lines up much better. I think it was primarily intended for Colts. Anyway, going to give it another try at my local club on Monday night. Both the Ruger and Rogers cylinders pop out easily enough and my thinking is that it might make the loading process quicker/easier, especially when using reduced loads with filler - maybe!

Anyone tried using one of these? How did you get on?

Tight Wad :shocked2:

 

[FireMaker]

Thunderidge - Bob's a good guy to deal with. I purchased one from track and use it with my Remington. Gun came with 4 cylinders to I usually load up all four when I am at the range and just shoot that. Prevents a lot of wear and tear on the gun.

I limit my shooting and organize it just like I would when I train others at the range. Better to shoot a little that is quality than just shoot to shoot.

 

[RedFeather]

That looks like the loading ram sold by Cabela's for their Colt Peacemaker which has a percussion cylinder. Guess it's for those who can't buy a centerfire?

RedFeather

 

[Tight_Wad]

Tried it, now it's in my junk drawer.

Trouble with it is, if you look at your Colt, Remy, Ruger etc, you'll see that the ram runs through a guide hole in the revolver's frame. The press doesn't have a guideway, so as you lower the lever to seat the ball, the brass ram goes at an angle (even though you start it straight), gets scuffed by the chamber mouth and makes a mess of the ball.

Nice idea but IMO it doesn't work and it's not worth the bother.

Tight Wad

 

[Don]

Tightwad,

Can the grip next to the brass ram be cut away a bit? It looks like it is interferring with the pivot of the ram. If the ram doesn't pivot any further then you have a useless product. I have one that is designed a little differently and works well.

Don

 

[Tight_Wad]

Don

The grip is only a light rubber sleeve and it slides easily on and off the steel bar. The picture is a bit misleading - the real problem is a lack of anything to keep the brass ram in a straight line.

Anyway, it was worth a try.

Tight Wad :hmm:

 

[marmot]

These can be very successfully used in competition, where a buffer is placed over the powder charge to keep the ball at the very end of the chamber - the rammer doesn't drop far enough to appreciably change the angle, and it insures that each ball is loaded to the same depth at the same pressure. Very common along the N-SSA pistol line... especially with the high-scoring folks (nope, that wouldn't be me... will take more than mere equipment to improve my pistol scores... practice, maybe? :rotf: ) I use one for my Remington, but don't bother with the Colt... I like shooting pistol but I'm not that serious!

M

One note... some folks find it helpful to recut the hole for the lever either up or down on the main post to better fit the height of the cylinder of the specific gun they shoot...

 

[JIMinPHX]

I got one of those from Traditions. It didn’t line up with the cylinder from my Traditions pistol, so I had to retap the base plate & move the post. After that it worked well with an 1858 Remington when I used it at the range. It is about worthless with the Colt navy that I used to play with. It’s also about worthless out in the field. If I was still messing around with that 1858, I would probably build myself a better version of that thing with a toggle link & a guide sleeve to keep the ram straight. That thing was useful at the range as it was, but it would have been much nicer if there was a little more to it.

 

[thehorn]

Here's a more substantial cylinder press that I located on the web:
Cap & Ball Cylinder Loader

Anyone ever try this one? (I haven't but it interests me)

 

[dwarvenchef]

Where did you find that one? I've been looking for something like it for my walker.

 

[thehorn]

Dwarven,
Here's the site I found it on:
Cap & Ball Cylinder Loader
If you should buy one, give us a review of it.