Do you reload?

[Bazerkly]

I have 3 MEC 600 Jr's for 12 ga, 20 ga & .410. They are excellent, easy to use and a lot of them out there!

[Dattebayo]

I personally use a Lee Load All 2. Works great for me and produces great shot shells.

[Simply115]

Funny you mention that. I just bought a MEC 600 Jr. in 12 gauge with the autoprime thingy. Since I've never reloaded shotshells before, this oughta be interesting.

[yoitsbruce]

how much have you invested into shotgun reloading? can you get the cost of say slugs & buckshot under .40 a shot?

[Dattebayo]

how much have you invested into shotgun reloading? can you get the cost of say slugs & buckshot under .40 a shot?

Well to make slugs, cheapest way is remaking bulk packs from Walmart. Open then up pour out the lead and refill with equal weight slug.

Cheapest way is with the Lee Slug mold and depending on if you know where you can get wheel weights or not.

At that, it shouldn't be more than 26 cents odd a shot.

[yoitsbruce]

interesting. i may looking into that. which shells are reloadable. i hear that the aa are good and most high brass are good to go?

[Dattebayo]

interesting. i may looking into that. which shells are reloadable. i hear that the aa are good and most high brass are good to go?

It isn't so much the high brass that makes a shell good reloading, but more about basewad composition and hull type.

I wasn't so much talking about reloading the bulk shells, but more taking out their load and replacing the load with a slug of equal weight. Bulk shells are horrible reloading because of their fiber base-wad design. All though in a pinch, you could probably reload them once, twice at most with good hull inspection technique.

Winchester AA hulls are now in two forms nows. The older original design was a single hull design with a plastic bottom wad which was made out of the hull. This was a great design and allowed for many reloads. I have found some buck shot and slugs still use this older design - Like Winchester Super X shells I have found at my local range.

The newer Winchester AA shells, designated HS (High Strength), use a manufacturing method called the Riefenhauser design, which is a three piece hull design comprised of a plastic tube, a metal-base head, and an interior base wad, which is plastic in these new designs. This design is considered inferior by many, but companies like Cheddite, Fiocchi, Rio, NobelSport, and Winchester have made pretty decent shells this way. At the same time, Remington still universally uses the older single from design for all their shotshells - often considered superior.

[Jet Setter]

+1 for MEC. Just looking for Alliant Extra Lite so I can reload. Big fan of the universal charge bars. Beats spending a lot of money on bars and bushings.

[frdman]

I reload on a MEC Sizemaster. I like mine. I was in the reloading section of the CGN marketplace and making offers on reloading presses when someone reached out and invited me to his house to teach me how to reload. I was skeptical at first about meeting internet people, but it turned out to be a fantastic experience. I've stayed in contact with that person over the years and he has gone on to host reloading classes for CGN. What a great community CGN is!

[yoitsbruce]

this is good info, the growing pains of reloading... now i can start to grab old shotgun shells now. still curious on how to repurpose the bulk shells into slugs. i was going to fill them up with melted crayons wax but need some time ro convert the ammo

[NapalmCheese]

Start reloading 16 gauge, you'll quickly learn that what 12 gauge people consider clapped out crap is SOP.

[epic1856]

Yes I reload

12g= MEC Grabber
20g= MEC 9000
28g= MEC 9000
410= MEC 9000

[Dattebayo]

this is good info, the growing pains of reloading... now i can start to grab old shotgun shells now. still curious on how to repurpose the bulk shells into slugs. i was going to fill them up with melted crayons wax but need some time ro convert the ammo

Check out the posts here about that.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=772383

[donnrcp]

Well to make slugs, cheapest way is remaking bulk packs from Walmart. Open then up pour out the lead and refill with equal weight slug.

Cheapest way is with the Lee Slug mold and depending on if you know where you can get wheel weights or not.

At that, it shouldn't be more than 26 cents odd a shot.

Check the Yellow pages under recycling, Pure lead can go for 65-85 cents per pound. Providing you have the gear, melt and mold your own! I sell slugs for reloading on this forum! Go CALGUNS

[SunsetIE]

Spent the last few hours loading 12g shells with my mec jr 600. Its a decent press but i wish i could afford a progressive with the hydraulic cylinder!