RCBS PiggyBack 3

[HappyHunter]

I have a RCBS Rockchucker and load for rifle and pistol.  It sure would be nice to laad 45 acp and 44 rem mag faster.  Does anybody care to share thier experience with the PiggyBack3 conversion by RCBS?

I do have a Lee powder measure, will I need to buy the RCBS measure?  
The primers are the strip type for the PiggyBack3.  Does the kit come with the means of loading primers into the strips or must I buy primers in strips already.  (I have several thousand primers not in the strips).

I was wondering if after buying the conversion and the extra accesories required if it would be best to just buy a progressive press.  The reviews for the PiggyBack3 are not exceptional.  I need some input from you guys to make an informed decision.

Thanks for your help.

Fred  a/k/a  HappyHunter

[John Traveler]

Hi, Fred/Happy Hunter!

I've used single-station presses for over 30 years now, and except for a long trial period with the RCBS Green Machine progressive loader, all my other handloading is done with either a Rock Chucker, or CH multistation single stage press.

The "secret" of faster and more efficient loading with single station presses is to organize yourself, work cases in large batches, and plan your activities to minimize repeated hand motions.  

For example, I tumble clean pistol brass in batches of 400 or 500, and rifle cases in batches of 200 minimum.  Soap and hot water wash, air dry overnight.  Cases are sized, expanded, and primed in batches and stored.

Assembly of primed cases/powder charging/bullet seating is done in batches of 100, 250, or 500 to match the number of bullets in a box.

It's no trick to turn out 500 or a 1000 loaded pistol cartridges in one evening if you plan and do the preparation first.  After all, its a HOBBY, and not a business!

A progressive machine like the Dillons will triple or quadruple your final assembly rate, but you still have to prepare cases, load primer tubes, bullet tubes, etc.

[jterrio]

I have a Piggyback 1 that I've used for a while now with my Rockchucker. One of my buddies gave it to me because he was fed up with it. I started out by cleaning it and have had no problems with it unless it gets dirty. I've loaded up to 400 rounds in an hour but 300 is more the norm. The II and III are supposed to be improved versions over what I have. My primers are fed through a tube and the tube needs to be loaded first. The newer ones are supposed to check for the presence of a case before dispensing powder. Mine doesn't which can provide the major source for the afore mentioned dirt.    I load 357 and 45 with it. When I load for my rifles, the Piggyback comes off in a couple of minutes and I'm back to a single stage press.

[TexasMac]

HappyHunter, I had a Piggyback-1 for several years and it was OK.  It offered both autoindexing or manual indexing.  I did have problems with spilled powder and did not like the old primer insertion design.  But overall it did the job.  I've only heard good reports on the Piggyback-3. Apparently BCBS fixed all the shortcoming of the earlier models. From what I've seen the newer versions certainly does a much better job at checking for the presence of a case before dropping powder and I'd have to believe the new strip primer has to be a much better setup than the old design, which hung up when spilled powder got into the mechanism. In addition the Piggyback-3 is only manual indexing, which eliminates some of the complications the older design had.  I believe you will have to have an RCBS powder measure but check with RCBS. You are likely trying to save some money and be able to use your Rockchucker press but I found in the long run it is much easier to leave the powder measure mounted on the Piggyback and use another measure when loading rifle bullets.  I assume you are aware the Piggyback is only good for pistol and small rifle bullets up to .223.  RCBS also makes a tool to reload the primer strips but I understand you can also load them by hand.  Give RCBS a call and ask them the same questions.  They are great guys and will give you the straight scoop.  I hope this helps.
Wayne