I just recently started shooting a bit of trap again, and in an effort to keep it "fun", I opted to take out multiple versions of my 28 ga guns. The hulls are really starting to pile up, and the thought of tackling that pile with my single stage MEC is rather depressing!
What is the best recommended progressive loader for 28 ga?
Secondly, should I be researching the press alone, and worry about the proper dies after the fact? Are most of these presses adjustable for various gauges and shell lengths?

I have a set of four Hornady 366.
Most of the guys i shoot with have Mec 9000

What ever you get used to will be fine.

Some presses can be easily changed for various gauges, others not so much. Mecs (9000 or 8567) are decent pressses, but are not convertible.

I load on a Ponsness Warren 800+. Its more expensive than the mecs, but is gauge convertible. Ponsness, Dillon, Spolar, and Hornady presses are all convertible. The Dillon won't convert to .410 fwiw. I can't really comment on the rcbs grand. Its never really gained much of a following and I don't know much about it. I have a few friends with the Dillon unit, all have either gone on to something else or are trying to.

I like my pw and would not go back to the mecs. A pw with 3 gauge changes is about a push over 3 mec 9000 units. The mec 9000 series are auto indexing, the 8567 is manual index. Ponsness has a case feeder option (12 ga. Only) and electric drive available. Mec has electric or hydraulic but no case feeder. Spolar has hydraulic drive and no case feeder, Dillon has a small case feeder, but no hydraulic or electric drive.

If money is no object and you need the best, Spolar. Hands down.

Eta: Stick with one hull. AAHS hulls are about the best for hull life, Remington are fair. So far as I know most of the euro hulls are a load once and toss. They all load a bit different and use different components. Mixing hulls and adjusting the press for different hulls is a pita.

I know of a PW for sale that has the 28 ga dies with. Are they fairly easy to change over, or should a guy just get a Mec and stick with it?
Also, I shoot a lot of 12 ga 2 1/2". Do you know if PW has an adaptor for that as well?
Most of my hulls are the HS variety, with a few hundred Fiochi that I load seperately as needed. I dont track how often I have reloaded them, but I rarely ever have to dispose of the HS, they just keep going!

It depends on which PW you are looking at. The 800 series machines are easy - basically pull the top tool head off and put on the next gauge. Swap out the shell holders, change the seating post, change the guts in the wad carrier. Takes about 15 minutes.

The 900 or 2000 series machines index differently and you can't just pull the head. On these machines you have to pull the tooling from each station. It's not difficult, but you have to take some measurements to minimize setup and adjusting.

The only way to load 2-1/2 on the PW is to have the shellholders machined to accommodate the shorter hulls. I've never looked into it.

Your question is getting more complicated, especially when you throw in 12ga 2 1/2"...

Generally the main reason for reloading is cost consideration for high volume 410 and 28ga shooting. You can usually find deals on 20ga and 12ga shells that leave little incentive to reload those. I load both 410s and 28s with an old 800c and newer 800plus respectively. No way would I consider trying to routinely switch between gauges - it takes (me at least) quite some time to make adjustments and work out quirks even within a single gauge... I've tried others, but now stick to HS hulls in both gauges. I don't try keeping accurate counts on number of reloads per shell but guess it's in the range of 4-5 for the 410s and 6-8 for 28s. I only use doubles so the cases probably last longer than if used for an autoloader.

If you've found a good deal on a PW in 28ga that is not worn out I suspect it will serve very well. I'd also make high recommendations for MEC 9000s. I have a 9000 I use for loading lighter 20ga target loads for my wife and it is just as fast and easy to use as one of my PWs.

Good shooting,

I also have 4 Pacific/Hornady 366 loaders. I've used my 12 ga 366 loader for about 40 years, the smaller ga loaders for about 30 years when I started shooting registered Skeet.

I no longer do registered shoots, and have been loading 3/4 oz loads for my 12 ga, so my smaller gauges don't get much use.

I've loaded somewhere between 250-300,000 shells on these loaders, and they still reload like they did when they were new.

I have 2 Mec 9000g models, one in 2 3/4 12ga and the other in 2 3/4 20ga.
Bothe work very well for me and have had a whole bunch of shot thru them.

You do have to keep them clean and lubes or you can have problems with them. If you start having a problem with them first thing to do is give it a real good cleaning and relube it.
Been there and have the T shirt.

Al

Some pretty good endorsements here for the 366 and the mecs!
Even at used pricing, the PW I am looking at is worth about a years supply of shells. I dont plan on giving up on the 28 ga guns anytime soon (I own and shoot 6 different 28's)so I am sure over time it will easily be justified.
Right now, the Canadian market seems to be restricted to availability of all the options. Special order only on all of these.

I have a MEC 9000 G that is in 28 ga, as well as a bunch of other loaders, but the MEC is the only 28 I have.

MEC will work fine for one load, but for me, if I change anything I have a heck of a time as the MEC crimp adjustment is not at all intuitive.

PW is probably much better if you are going to use different hulls all the time, or if you want to make a bunch of hunting loads, but as you say that you are using Win AA HS pretty much exclusively, and you have a 28 ga single stage, the MEC will churn out target ammo as fast as anything. It's a lot cheaper, and as long as you keep it clean and lubed, it is relatively low maintenance.

Mec 9000g for 410 and 28 ga recquires more care than I appreciate. Same for rifle reloading I guess. There is a level of satisfaction that comes from reloading that is hard to quantify. Especially when you shoot a great animal. Not quite the same for shot shell reloading where your shooting at targets and the gain is mostly economic.

Started out with Mec presses and liked them until........I bought my first autoloader. Tried a P&W and never looked back. Have replaced all my Mecs with P&W presses except one. Still have one old Mec set up for 10 ga 2 7/8 shells to feed an old LC Smith double.

jimmy j I just found your post. I, too, am a diehard 28 gauge shooter. I used a PW 2000 Platinum for a good while (still have it) and it works great. Decided to try to reload 410 a while back and I sprung for a Spolar. Best advice I ever got when I started reloading was to get one press set up for one gauge and preferably one hull, then only change powder/shot bushings and wads. Trying to tweak the press with gauge changes will just try your soul, IMHO. I did have to modify the shot drop tube on the PW in order to load 7&1/2 shot without a lot of bridging. I can now load #7 shot with it without bridging. I still have the press-it is in excellent condition. If you are interested in it PM me and I can send you some pics and you can make me an offer. If you ever get to the major shoots at the NSC in San Antonio, Texas I live within walking distance of it.

We have 4 PW 800 machines, one for each gage.

They work great.

I modified a table on which I mount them by making a cut out at the back where the finished shells Shute is. And put a large platinum container underneath. The finished shells just fall into that.