CH Auto-Champion Progressive Press

[fishteach]

Someone gave me a CH Auto-Champion Progressive Press. A bit dirty but seems to work just fine. It came with CH 38/357 Tung. dies. I did a little research on the CH website and only learned that very few parts are available for this model. I know nothing about CH presses and would love to learn more about this press. In respect to its quality, also wondering if I should keep & use it or farm it out for CH users, to generate funds for something else. Any expertise or insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks, FT

[LDBennett]

C H is still in business, apparently, as they have a web site:

http://www.ch4d.com/

They list your press as a current product (????) but if yours is old they may have evolved a bit. The WebPage is dated 2002.

Hey, if the press still works why not use it? Have you a pistol cartridge that you load a lot of ammo for? Why not set it up for the C H press. You may have to contact them to figure out how to use it and to see if standard dies fit it.

The first press I reloaded on was a C H nealry 50 years ago. It was a friend's press and I waited for 30 years to buy my first press.

LDBennett

[Bindernut]

Is your Auto-Champ the one that CH4D now markets as the "444X Pistol Champ"?
If it is, then most of the main press pieces are still available...look under the 444 H-press parts section. As for the accessories (primer feeder, powder dispenser) I don't think they're available anymore.

I've got an old C-H 3-station H-press that is identical to the 4 station except doesn't have the center front station. It's a very nice press and has been bulletproof (even if the main castings are aluminum instead of cast iron). Mine was old & neglected when I got it, but I've still done close to 10,000 rounds of assorted pistol ammo through it since I acquired it.
It doesn't quite have the leverage to resize bottleneck rifle cartridges though...it's geared mainly towards pistol reloading.

I was going to order a new slide & head to convert mine to a 4-station setup but realized that I wasn't real keen on going progressive with it so I didn't really need to mount my powder measure on the press through a charging die.
(I use it as a single-stage press...one action at a time except I can set all three dies up once and not have to swap em when switching steps. I dislike having to load primer tubes so I do my priming off of the press using a RCBS or Lee hand priming tool. I also charge the cases off the press since my measure is mounted on it's own stand.)

It uses standard shellholders and 7/8"-14 dies so you should be able to do a caliber conversion using any brand dies.

[wd4ity]

In reply to "Fishteach", the C&H Auto Champ loader is no longer made. They still have a few parts for them however. The most delicate part of the entire machine is the primer collet. One has to be cautious of this part as it's made of brass and anything that goes wrong in this area will result in the destruction of the part.

The C&H Auto Champ Mark V-a is a four station in-line progressive reloader. I have one that is set up for .45ACP and it has loaded many, many, rounds of ammo over the years. I home-built a case collimator to relieve me of having to load the case tubes one case at a time. I think one could adapt one of Dillon's case collimators to work with the C&H by designing a suitable support mechanism.

I have an owner's manual if you need to know anything about the press. It's a good press as long as all the parts are there. If you decide you don't want to keep it, contact me. I may be interested in it.

[wd4ity]

The C&H Auto-Champ MKV-a is NOT the same and any of the presses shown on the
CH4D site. It is totally different in that it is an inline type loader instead of a "merry go round" type like the old Star loader and the current Dillons. As far as I know, it was the only "inline" loader. With this loader, all stations were right in front of you at all times. And just like any other progressive, all you have to do is put the bullet on top of the case at the third station. It's uses "standard" size dies such as the RCBS and others. When you ordered the presser, you had to specify the caliber just as with any other progressive. It is a very good machine although it does have a single bad drawback. If you try to go too fast with the machine, it will throw flakes of powder out of short cases like the 45ACP, 9MM, and 40 cal. Taller cases like 38 spl, and 357mag are not a problem. The amount of powder thrown out is minimal however and probably not enough to effect accuracy. I just slow down a bit and still I can load 400 rounds an hour with the home made case collimator that I have.

[LDBennett]

For awhile about 20 years ago I think RCBS made an in-line press (??).

LDBennett

[mncarpenter]

Originally Posted by wd4ity

The C&H Auto-Champ MKV-a is NOT the same and any of the presses shown on the
CH4D site. It is totally different in that it is an inline type loader instead of a "merry go round" type like the old Star loader and the current Dillons. As far as I know, it was the only "inline" loader. With this loader, all stations were right in front of you at all times. And just like any other progressive, all you have to do is put the bullet on top of the case at the third station. It's uses "standard" size dies such as the RCBS and others. When you ordered the presser, you had to specify the caliber just as with any other progressive. It is a very good machine although it does have a single bad drawback. If you try to go too fast with the machine, it will throw flakes of powder out of short cases like the 45ACP, 9MM, and 40 cal. Taller cases like 38 spl, and 357mag are not a problem. The amount of powder thrown out is minimal however and probably not enough to effect accuracy. I just slow down a bit and still I can load 400 rounds an hour with the home made case collimator that I have.

There were quite a few "inlines" built, RCBS , Ransom, Schell, Shockley, CH, all made inline progressives. The main problem with their exsitence was cost to build the things, and the inline advance system tended to be problematic.Primer feeds also tended to be problematic, and it was just plain easier to develop a rotary progressive than a linear, Aka the Star,the Pacifics, Dilllon, etc.

I understand that CH has a few parts for these things , and if you call them may be able to come up with what ya need, if anything. If you're interested in getting rid of it it, I'll trade you a Lee cast iron turret, primer feed and a set of Lee or Hornady dies in your choice of caliber.