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Area 419 ZERO Press (Black Edition 1 of 25)

First rounds loaded on it… Continuing development on the MPR 6mm ARC with the Nosler 115 RDF’s & CFE-223.

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Good starter press? Sorry, not meaning to derail. That 419 looks like a fine piece of machinery!
 
If you have the scratch to start at the top, absolutely. It's a "buy once, cry once" type of deal. They offer lots of cool add-ons for it already, too.
@Oakleys This ^^^^ if it is within your means then absolutely. You will never have to upgrade Unless you want progressive. I say this from a standpoint of decades of reloading as well. I have shelves of presses dating all the way back to Star's and Hollywood presses that overtime were replaced with something else. I am an early adopter of the Zero and have loaded 17,650 rds on it to date and have never been more pleased with a press in overall terms. Does it make ammo thats faster, more accurate, more resilient, more precise....no, but it does all the things the other presses do with arguably more thought put into the process by people who have pulled a handle many many times... and imo simplifies a-lot of the minutia you deal with during the reloading process. YMMV

ETA- and if like me you commandeered a room in the main house for reloading, its not an eyesore, more like art....:cool:
 
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@Oakleys This ^^^^ if it is within your means then absolutely. You will never have to upgrade Unless you want progressive. I say this from a standpoint of decades of reloading as well. I have shelves of presses dating all the way back to Star's and Hollywood presses that overtime were replaced with something else. I am an early adopter of the Zero and have loaded 17,650 rds on it to date and have never been more pleased with a press in overall terms. Does it make ammo thats faster, more accurate, more resilient, more precise....no, but it does all the things the other presses do with arguably more thought put into the process by people who have pulled a handle many many times... and imo simplifies a-lot of the minutia you deal with during the reloading process. YMMV

ETA- and if like me you commandeered a room in the main house for reloading, its not an eyesore, more like art....:cool:
The technology and thought they put into this press is insane. The collet tension system to lock-in the turret is the same style they use on high-end machining equipment. The fact you torque it to the same specs every time is supremely consistent. The turret spins with zero wobble or flex. It's just an incredibly solid and well-thought-out machine.

Also, like you were saying, the turret press with 9 holes on top sure makes things ALOT faster than constantly removing and reinstalling dies. Just a quick loosen with the torque wrench, and spin, and then re-torque. BOOM! Ready go from sizing to seating in like 15 seconds. Just the convenience factor of a good turret press is exceptional compared to a regular single-stage, but to add this much precision and design into it, it really is the Mona Lisa of single-stage/Turret presses.

My reloading bench is setup in a spare room upstairs (having AC & Heat, and climate control is invaluable), which is why all the crap is in the background that's laying on the bed, and stacked against the walls, etc... 😂 And I put one of my old 47" TV's in there for when I'm reloading to have some background noise. And because my reloading bench also doubles as my computer desk, I spend a lot of time up here. So, might as well make it comfortable. 👍🏼
 
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My new Area 419 ZERO Black Edition 1 of 25 for the Special Forces Charitable Trust came in yesterday. Man this thing is a work of art! The tolerances are ridiculously tight! Can’t wait to load some ammo on it one night this week.

The only issue, was it came standard with a Hybrid turret, and I need a turret that’s all for 7/8” dies. So I’m waiting on that to arrive from Midway. Should be here tomorrow.

Anyone else running a ZERO press?

I started this thread for anyone/everyone to post up their thoughts and opinions, and tips and tricks, questions, and for updates for when new products are available for them. So, this is an open thread. 👍🏼

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Here’s a tip. If you’re running a lab balance with granite slab, the zero foam packing cushion with “zero” cut out makes a very good vibration damper under the scale.
 

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There are threads on it. Guys go to the granite countertop suppliers and ask for a scrap piece to be cut.

Seems like nonsense to me
 
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There are threads on it. Guys go to the granite countertop suppliers and ask for a scrap piece to be cut.

Seems like nonsense to me
Personally, I agree that it's probably snake oil, but I can understand them wanting it because it's as close to perfectly flat as you can get. But you can achieve the same with a 1/2" thick piece of granite tile, instead of a 75 lbs. chunk of granite sitting on your bench. 👍🏼
 
I didn't think a granite slab would make much difference. My wife works in a pill factory and they use the same scales as I do. She swears buy the slab thing so I spent $90 on one from woodcraft. It was a good investment. My bench is a solid 2 1/2" thick glued and screwed bench. It doesn't move. So I thought. The 26# granite made a big difference. Here is a pic of the granite from woodcraft and a pic of my reloading bench when I first got it done. It doesnt look this clean and pretty now.
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Nice bench and reloading space! I wish I had a much larger area than I currently do. I guess in my next house I'll have to build to fit, and design it how I want it to have a spare room just for reloading. 👍🏼
 
It's small but I step through the door and sit down. Don't have to get up until it's time to go back to the chaos. Or I drop something. This is a pic of what it looks like 2 years later. Way more stuff. Better stuff then the Hornady reloading package I started with.
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It's small but I step through the door and sit down. Don't have to get up until it's time to go back to the chaos. Or I drop something. This is a pic of what it looks like 2 years later. Way more stuff. Better stuff than the Hornady reloading package I started with.View attachment 8132484
M&M’s for the win! You have some nice equipment 👍🏼
 
M&M’s for the win! You have some nice equipment 👍🏼
Thanks. Still learning. I'd love a zero press but I just can't justify another press especially with that price tag. I pretty much only use my chucker for full length sizing. My hornady I decap and pull bullets. I did run into an issue when m amp press didn't seat bullets fully. That's why the forster bullet seater is laying there. Hoping I can get out for some testing this weekend. See if I've screwed anything up. Let's hope I come home with my face. Lol
 
Thanks. Still learning. I'd love a zero press but I just can't justify another press especially with that price tag. I pretty much only use my chucker for full length sizing. My hornady I decap and pull bullets. I did run into an issue when m amp press didn't seat bullets fully. That's why the forster bullet seater is laying there. Hoping I can get out for some testing this weekend. See if I've screwed anything up. Let's hope I come home with my face. Lol
I’d like a zero as well but there’s a few other things I need worse. Maybe I should say want worse 🤣.

I’ve been reloading for a while and I’m still learning, you’ll get there as well. You certainly have the equipment to turn out some great ammo. I enjoy reloading, I can go to my man cave and escape the world for a while, it’s therapy for me.

Hope you have a successful outing this weekend. Let us know how things go.
 
It's small but I step through the door and sit down. Don't have to get up until it's time to go back to the chaos. Or I drop something. This is a pic of what it looks like 2 years later. Way more stuff. Better stuff then the Hornady reloading package I started with.View attachment 8132484
I like that Dremel tool trimmer setup. What trimmer head is that?
 
I have a Little Crow Gunworks WFT2, but it doesn't keep the shavings inside of it, which kind of sucks. Other than that, great tool.
 
I have a Little Crow Gunworks WFT2, but it doesn't keep the shavings inside of it, which kind of sucks. Other than that, great tool.
Yes it's a Giraud triway trimmer. Cheap porter cable drill with lock on button. It's hooked to a variable speed dial so I can slow it down. 2500 rpm with it locked in on position. It's still in specs for the trimmer. 1000 to 3500 rpm but it's a bit fast. Works better a little slower. Also quieter. The drill holder I found on Amazon. Works fantastic. I originally had it mounted to the front of the bench. It was a little easier to adjust trimmer but with all the room I have in there I kinda needed to take it off when I wasn't using it. Being up attached to the shelf it's out of the way and the power button on variable speed box is right under neath it. Simple twist of the chuck to remove tool to adjust if needed. I also have the WFT but the shavings all over suck. Plus the tri way chamfer and deburrs at the same time. Really like it so far.
 
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Yes it's a Giraud triway trimmer. Cheap porter cable drill with lock on button. It's hooked to a variable speed dial so I can slow it down. 2500 rpm with it locked in on position. It's still in specs for the trimmer. 1000 to 3500 rpm but it's a bit fast. Works better a little slower. Also quieter. The drill holder I found on Amazon. Works fantastic. I originally had it mounted to the front of the bench. It was a little easier to adjust trimmer but with all the room I have in there I kinda needed to take it off when I wasn't using it. Being up attached to the shelf it's out of the way and the power button on variable speed box is right under neath it. Simple twist of the chuck to remove tool to adjust if needed. I also have the WFT but the shavings all over suck. Plus the tri way chamfer and deburrs at the same time. Really like it so far.
If it chamfers & deburrs at the same time, I might have to order one. That would save my hands from cramping (arthritis due to injuries over the years), when using my small handheld RCBS steel “bullet” style tool when running through 100+ cases at once.

 
Got some new Area 419 billet goodies…

.223/.300 BLK tray
.308 size tray
Large Bullet tray
ZERO cover (not pictured)

All have rubber feet for non-slip and non-marking on surfaces. Very nice machine work, too.
 

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It looks like you’re using the anvil to seat your bullets. I’ve bought one for mine but haven’t used it. What’s your thoughts on it?

I may do 10 each way and check run out. With the RCBS shell holder and Redding dies I’m getting .001-.002”.

I also have my 7-08, .260, and Needmoor seaters set perfectly already as is. That’s one of my favorite things about this press.
 
Also the granite blocks are available at leather supply places at a reasonable price. You’re not doing much leather work without one.
 
It looks like you’re using the anvil to seat your bullets. I’ve bought one for mine but haven’t used it. What’s your thoughts on it?

I may do 10 each way and check run out. With the RCBS shell holder and Redding dies I’m getting .001-.002”.

I also have my 7-08, .260, and Needmoor seaters set perfectly already as is. That’s one of my favorite things about this press.
It works great with the Hornady style dies that only takes the neck & shoulder up into the seater die, but it does NOT work with the spring-loaded sleeved Redding Competition seater dies, or you will end up with a stuck case…Don’t ask me how I found that one out. Luckily, I didn’t seat it very hard, so I was able to just pop it right back out. But if I pressed it in full, I’d have been taking the die apart to knock the round out of the sleeve from the top. So, just a heads-up on that.

Last night I just used my regular shell holder for some 6mm ARC, and runout was within 0.0005”, but that had more to do with me adjusting the seater micrometer with each bullet, to ensure concentricity. My average runout is 0.0005-0.001”. So, honestly, I make good ammo either way. But just for ease of use, I’ll probably just use shell holders most of the time.
 
The more I use this press, the more I love it. Decapped a bunch of Lapua .308 and Hornady 6mm ARC this evening after my day at the range.
 
Get the zero shellholder system if you haven’t already (didn’t read through this whole thread). This press with the shellholder system is absolutely incredible.
 
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did your groups shrink with this press?
No, why would they? Using this new press feels so much smoother and better than my old worn-out & loose Rock Chucker Supreme. It’s not so much about improving accuracy, as that was never an issue before, for me it was more about improving my reloading experience.
 
Got home and did my normal post-range ritual of decapping and cleaning brass... I had some already drying overnight that I needed to resize before polishing, so I did that. This press is just impressive how smooth, straight, and precise the operation is now. And swapping around between calibers is so much faster and more convenient. I decapped a few hundred cases, and sized about 75 6mm ARC, 80 .300 BLK, and 50 .308 Win all in about an hour taking my time, and doing other crap in between sets. Normally that would have taken 2 hours taking my time, having to put up dies, and swap out more dies, etc... Not to mention how out-of-whack the alignment on my RockChucker Supreme was... I used to have to keep my finger in place holding each piece of brass up against the shell holder flush to ensure a smooth and straight run into the die. I don't have to do that with the ZERO. It's straight up and down, smooth as glass. I can do it as a one-handed op if I needed to. I've been battling with that RCS for so many years, it become second-nature to accept mediocrity. It made good ammo, just had TONS of slop in it from all the years I've used it. I could probably send it to RCBS and get the ram polished, and get some new bushings and washers for the arms installed to tighten up the run. And I might still do that.
 
Be on the lookout for a new turret holder for the ZERO press soon. I came up with an idea for those like me with limited benchtop space, and mentioned it to Area 419, and they said they liked the idea, and would look into making it! I hope they do, I think it would be a popular item.
 
I'll chip in with my tuppence worth. I use a lee cast iron press. Get low single digit SDS and low double digit es over five shot groups. The groups are 1/3 MOA. Have been for the life of me 7mm SAUM barell.

I would love a nice press but the lee was all I could afford at the time. Still use it for a variety of cartridges. With same results. I would love a press lower clearance etc. But money is tight if it works it works. There are so many variables in this process. Oh I also get very low runout. Measured using a dial indicator. Needle barely moves.

I have shot out to a mile with the saum and it blats plates consistently..thus for now I'm happy with me lee press. If I should win the lottery I'd defo get me a decent press the see what the crack is. Until then I'll look on from the sideline
 
They just released 20 more today. I just confirmed my order. Price is $1500 with $1000 going to the charity.
 
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They did an hour long live stream where they released some new products, then they announced another 25 units for the SF Charity. YouTube shut down their live stream a few minutes in so you had to jump on FB.
Why did they use the same 1-20? Why not 26-50? I guess so much for the “There will only be “xx number” ever made…🥴”. Now there’s 2 of each from 1-20… 🤦🏼🤦🏼🤦🏼
 
Speculating, but this year they're supporting SFA Chapter 38 whereas last year it was the SF Charitable Trust?

ETA - Still comes with the hybrid turret. Had to order another as I'm not using M series dies.
 
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Speculating, but this year they're supporting SFA Chapter 38 whereas last year it was the SF Charitable Trust?
I see that now, but still, they should have done them in a batch of 25, but continuous from 26-50 as the “Black Edition” being the main noticeable factor of this edition, even though the charity is different. But that’s just my opinion.
 
I see that now, but still, they should have done them in a batch of 25, but continuous from 26-50 as the “Black Edition” being the main noticeable factor of this edition, even though the charity is different. But that’s just my opinion.
Queue the Big Lebowski...
 
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I see they got smart and started putting regular 7/8” turrets on there now… I had to buy mine at an extra $225, because they included some stupid hybrid turret that like 1% of people use… 🙄
 
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I see they got smart and started putting regular 7/8” turrets on there now… I had to buy mine at an extra $225, because they included some stupid hybrid turret that like 1% of people use… 🙄
Negative Ghostrider, it's still a hybrid turret and I did buy an extra.
 
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