I'm thinking of reloading 20 bore shotgun cartridges using a MEC reloader. A most uncommon thing here in the Scotland compared to the US etc

Either a sizemaster or a 9000g is what I'm looking for (at US prices hopefully)as each return the brass to factory size.

As usual there are the doubting Thomas' who tell you that reloaded shells are poor quality compared to factory loads etcetc. There will be too much difference between home loads and factory and this will have a bad effect on the shooter when it comes to competitions.

Your thought would be appreciated.

I say Load Away!

I reload practically all of my shotgun shells, and see no difference in quality.

Any of my misses are certainly not the result of any inferior reloads...

I shoot several vintage British guns and without handloads both rarely would leave the vault. The handload is only as good as the loader and the components available are equal to what factories use. Load away and enjoy yourself.

Mine all go bang.

When I hit...I hit

When I miss...I miss

same as a factory load.

I actually had one go "poop" last week. First one in about 10 flats so far. Somehow, in getting a load setup, I check weighed a charge, and left it on the scale.

I also had to resize 4 flats because I used to tall a payload stack, and the crimps were coming undone. So don't load to far ahead until you are sure everything works.

So, yes, if you screw up, your loads won't be good. But, once you are set on a load, and have tested it, they will be as good as any out there. When chronographing mine, I get as good or better consistency as the premium factory loads. At a cost of less than the cheapies.

When it comes to hunting loads, I build buffered, plated loads that pattern 90% at 40 yards, as well as low velocity, low charge weight grouse loads that I couldn't buy, at any price. FWIW, Dutch.

I reload all my shells and shoot approx 300-350 rounds/week. If care is taken, quality is generally good. However, there is no reloader I know that doesn't get the occasional light load or a blooper where you didnt get powder in the hull. Hence, all those guys you see with a cilindrical weight in their shell bags for the extractiuon of stick wads in their barrells....

As a suggestion....I started with the "grabber" and then went up to the 9000G. I believe the only difference is the indexing mechanism of the 9000g which, in my case proved to be a major pain in the neck! I ended up going back to the "grabber" as it is easier to operate and more foolproof.

By all means...as suggested by a prior poster: Load away

thanks for the help folks.

I'm definately going to give it a go so I just need to make my mind up about which MEC to go for.

Cheers

Only way to tell is to disassemble loaded rounds or, as on the 9000G, pull them from the machine and check them. That's what I do. With the adjustable charge bar and the powder baffle, the loads are amazingly uniform, every time I test them.

The ballistic uniformity of a given load is another matter. Almost nobody, except the loading companies, chronographs loads. Fewer and fewer people bother to pattern their gun and load combination. So the conclusion is that most people really do not know.

As far as ballistic uniformity goes, there is a little written about it. The new Lyman manual comments on individual loads if they are good. Trouble is, that the book was almost out of date when it was printed. Lots of stuff in the book that is no longer avaiable and the book hasn't been out that long. As I look at the possibilities in the powder manufacturer's loading tables, it struck me that many times other combinations were possible, but were not listed. It may be that careful powder companies try not to publish loads that are ballistically poor, even of the combination is possible. If that were true, then listed loads would be better than unlisted, but possible, combinations.

Best bets: calibrate your charge bar for both powder and shot uniformity and check them frequently. Use a powder baffle on most, but not all powders, checking the loads both with and with out the baffle. Find a chronograph and use it. Get yourself a patterning board and resolve to do the job. If needed, hire a teenager to do the shot counting, so as to alleviate the boredom.

Loading Shotshells can be a gas. For my model 12 which is used for defence in the bush I load 72 cal round ball and a 9 ball buck load that goes crack instead of boom. derf

Well folks I went for the MEC 9000G so I'll let you know how I get on.

Any tips from 9000G reloaders out there.

I've got a few bed sheets to put on the floor as I expect a few spillages to begin with.

Thanks again fot your help and advice

Suggestions for using a 9000G? Hmm....

1-Buy a shop vac that will suck an elephant through a keyhole. That is the best way to clean up spills, using the sheets to limit their range in which they spread stuff.

2-One of the most common screw-ups is that the primer tends not to drop sometimes and it is worse at first when the primer mechanism is being adjusted. That dumps powder all over the stage. Suck it out with a vac. The lesson here is to watch the primer drop, checking mostly by watching the little hole that carries the primer. You can easily remove an unloaded case and manually place a primer until the thing gets adjusted properly.

3-Did you get an adjustable charge bar? If not, go get one and the powder baffle, too.

4-Cleanliness counts bigtime, even better than lube. Excess lube is just a mess.

5-Practice making complete pulls of the handle, for the full length of its travel. It'll save you grief.

6-Everything has to happen in a certain sequence on these machines or there's gonna be trouble. No screw-ups allowed. Better go slow at first and learn the sequence. No kidding. Your reload rate will catch up later.

7-These machines come reasonably well adjusted right from the factory. This is great because you can largely forget learning the adjustments at the beginning and concentrate on getting the loading sequence and cadence correct.

8-Buy an oversize shot bottle.

9-It is difficult to raise and lower the shot and powder bottles when they are full. Be careful and support the shot bottle all the way with your hand.

10-Take a couple of plastic 1 Liter pop bottles and cut off the tops and make funnels out of them. They usually screw or pop into the holes in the top of the shot and powder bottles. They make sturdy, easy to use funnels that are much easier to use with a 25 lb shot bag in your hands. The powder side is also helped by this. Just how bbig you make the funnels is your business, but don't cut them too short.

11-Send all onlookers away for a week or two. Make your mistakes in private. Extraneous conversations do not help.

12-By all means bolt the reloader down tightly. They make some portable benchtop rigs that I just can't imagine using. No to mention that a flimsy mount may affect uniformity of shot and powder drop. I mounted mine on an oak board, using the little nuts on the bottom that are made for countersinking into the board and they lie even with the surface. The oak board is a full 8" by a full 2 inches thick. The lengtn is calculated to cross my loading bench enough so that I can use C-clamps to clamp the machine down. One C-clamp on each end. When I'm through, I can unclamp it and use something else.

Hope that helps. Geo.

As Geo. said. May I add that you should check the charge bar latch before you load the powder and shot bottles. Run a couple of empties through stations 2 and 3, and make sure it unlatches with a shell in station 2, then advance both shells to stations 2 and 3. It should stay unlatched when you pull the handle. Now tip the shell out of station 3 (so you don't crimp it) and advance the shell in 2 to 3 and pull the handle. It must latch when there's no shell in station 2.

Keep a finger in the shot bottle plug as you unscrew the tipped bottle. If you don't, it will come out sooner or later and dump the entire contents. These plugs are the same ones they use to protect hydraulic hose ends. If you need one, check at a farm or industrial equipment shop.

Bye
Jack

[ 07-09-2003, 09:30: Message edited by: JackM ]

thanks for the advice guys.

I intend getting a large/heavy desk to bolt the machine onto.

Will invest in a universal charge bar, seems more logical.

Have found a friend!!!(or enemy to be as he suggested reloading) to come and help get set up.

I'll introduce him to the forum at the same time.

thanks again.

By the way it was sunny here today. It happens occasionally here in Scotland!!

If you've never been then you should.

Some pretty good advise on this thread. While I'v never used the 9000 Mec seriees--I've had a 650 for 15 years, and, obviously have been very satisfied.

One note--once you get going you will tend to get in a hurry--resist the urge. Every 10 shells or so, stop and say to yourself "Slow down". The MEC reloaders operate so smoothly, there seems to be a tnedency to go, go, go. Don't, don't, don't. Like your wife says--slow down!

Many years ago I lived in Ayr and went to school at the 'Campus Doon' on the Doon River in Robert Burns country. Your right, unless you been there onc simply cannot appreciate the sun. Beautifull county though. Good luck.