Hey guys-

I am new to the world of shot gun reloading, and i want to get into it. I want to be able to reload both steel and lead for my 12 gauge. I was wondering what would be the best press for me to start on. I am interested in one that is effecient, but does quality work. Any suggestions??? Thanks for any advice.

Chip

Do you want the best press? It is the Spolar gold and is priced accordingly, over $1200. Ponsness Warren makes a very good one and several models ranging in price for around $300 to about $700 and they are located in Rathdrum Idaho, just north of Coeur d'Alene. If you want to just get started you would be probably more economically served with a MEC. I am not up on steel shot but I do know the Ponsness Warren L/S 1000 will load both at $849 for 12 gauge.

Mec makes great beginner presses.

In my opinion, if you want a great progressive, buy an RCBS Grand.

For thos that have not seen it, it is the mother of all shotgun presses, at least of those I have seen, and is 100% foolproof.

For a beginner single stage, I would recommend a MEC 600 JR or a Sizemaster.

-Spencer

If by steel and lead you mean 2 3/4" and 3" and 3 1/2" shells I believe you should rethink the issue.

If one wishes to reload trap shells the RCBS grand is superb. I have both a RCBS grand and a MEC 9000G and consider them roughly equivalent as far as productivity and quality of reloads. The MEC is substantially less costly.

If I wished to also reload a 3" steel load I'd buy a 600 JR from MEC just for that purpose.

If cost is no object to you, then you can buy one of the expensive presses, as they do offer some advantages of speed and/or of slickness of the equipment. If cost is an object, then I recommend MEC equipment, either single-stage or progressive. I think MEC equipment gives the best cost/benefit ratio in shotshell loading tools. You cannot load better shotgun ammo on any tool than what you can load on a MEC.

Hey live to kill. Good to see you here.
These guys seem to like the MEC 600 jr.
So you're from Kamiah. I knew a guy up
there that had 5 sons, all killers.
Good Luck

MEC is a great press, they will last several lifetimes.

Good Luck!

Reloader

Live to Kill,

I think you want a MEC. As Chick pointed out, the Spolar and Ponseness Warren are great, but very expensive. With the MEC, you won't feel later like you got a piece of junk. Most of the competitive trap and skeet shooters I know have used their MEC's for years and years.

They've got several models. If you're going to do low volume, get a single stage (like the SizeMaster, Steelmaster, or 600Jr). If you're going to do lots and lots of lead, with a little bit of steel, maybe think about a progressive like the 9000G or the Grabber. Some you can convert from 2 3/4" to 3" shells. Or, I believe 3" to 3.5". It's a pain to reconfig them, though.

I started with a progressive because I was starting to shoot a lot of targets with lead.

If I was you, I'd probably start with a Steelmaster or Sizemaster. These are both single stage presses and both resize the brass bottom of the shotgun hulls, which is important for functioning through autoloaders and, if I remember right, for steel. The Steelmaster comes setup for steel and the Sizemaster for lead. Both can be converted fairly easily. Look at the Ballistic Products site and maybe give them a call.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com

Steve

If you shoot less than 300 per week, the MEC 650. If you shoot more than 300 per week, the MEC 9000G.

I have 2 mec sizemasters 12 and 20ga
The 12 has loaded over 100,000 rounds.
I picked up a size bar for it years ago and go rid of the bushings.