Frankford Arsenal M-Press Reloading Press

The Frankford Arsenal M-Press has been specifically designed for the reloader who is looking to produce the most accurate ammunition possible. It is a massively ‘over-engineered’ item that is so heavily built that the weight comes as something of a surprise when you unpack it. As well it has a few other great features too.

The build

The M-press weighs in at almost 10kg and the castings that form the main parts seem hugely oversized, but it is that weight and strength that makes this a very strong design with absolutely no flex or ‘give’. The two parallel guide rods are about 1” in diameter and they ensure that it moves up and down precisely and smoothly, so that the whole reloading process remains totally stable. The operating handle is situated centrally at the top, making it ambidextrous, which is very handy. However, you do have to be careful to fully raise it to the top, otherwise, it can fall forward and the shell carrier slams down hard, potentially catching your fingers.

Shell holder

The M-press does not use interchangeable shell holders and instead has a universal shell plate system that can accommodate calibres from .17 Remington to .338 Lapua Magnum. There are two jaws, one on either side of where the case stands, and each one can be rotated to a different setting depending on the calibre. Once the jaws are set, you simply stand the case between them and as you raise the ram, the jaws close around the base and hold it securely as it enters the die. When you lower the ram, the jaws open and release it. This is a clever system and saves you from having to buy a set of shell holders and keep changing them over.

During testing, the shell plate system held lubricated .308 cases securely and gripped them sufficiently to ensure that they pulled out of the fulllength resizing die OK.

Floating dies

Getting the bullet to line up precisely with the case mouth when you are seating is vital for accurate ammunition. To optimise this alignment, the M-Press has a floating die system that allows the bullet seating die to move and align perfectly with the case mouth. The system achieves this by using removable die blocks, which each hold a single die and slip into the body, where they are held in place with an adjustable ball-lock. The press is supplied with three die blocks and they make switching dies a quick and simple operation.

Let there be light

One of the best features of this press is the LED lighting system. The highintensity lights provide a perfect amount of light exactly where all the action is happening and they are built-in, out of the way, so they do not obstruct your reloading. Powered via the supplied USB cable, they are a really useful feature. While you can add this sort of task lighting to a press yourself, having it builtin and set at the perfect angle is a great idea.

Spent primer tray

The press has an in-built tray to catch spent primers so that they do not fall into the mechanism or onto the floor, and although it’s the only bit of plastic, it works very well. The tray is positioned under the shell plate and slides out like a drawer for emptying, and while this can be a bit awkward to do, the tray catches every single primer, along with any dirt.

Conclusion

This is an extremely strong and heavy press. It’s far sturdier than most and the smoothness of the operation is very impressive. Once you have the M-Press bolted down, there is absolutely no movement in the frame and you know it is going to cycle accurately and consistently. The floating die blocks can be changed in seconds and the way they allow the die to line up with the case mouth is very clever. Yes, it’s an expensive single-stage machine, but it works extremely well and engineering of this quality is going to cost. Is it worth the investment? Yes. It will help to optimise the quality of the ammunition that you make, so it’s a good choice