Shotshell reloading

[Na-vah-duh]

Looking to start realoading for 12 gauge (for reduced recoil) & .410. Are there presses that you can change calibers on? I am completely in the dark on where to start and where to purchase hulls etc and which press to choose.

Is it even cost effective compared to pistol / rifle savings?

Currently run 2 xl-650's and love the progressive efficiency and would like the same if possible.

Thanks.

[eightmd]

I have a MEC JR that I've used for 20 years. It has multiple stages but you only do one shell at a time (through all the stages). I do 12 and 20 ga on it. You have to buy different plates and dies (or whatever they call them for the different stages) for different gauges. It says it can be adjusted to do 3" shells so I assume you can do 410 on it also.

There are also different bushings you buy for the charge bar which changes your charges and the amount of shot you put in. I'm just learning about pistol and rifle reloading and shotgun reloading isn't nearly as exact and has fewer stages. Like resizing the shell casings is really easy. You never worry about cleaning out the primer hole. If the shell is a little squashed, well as long as you can cram it into the chamber, its going to shoot.

At any rate that's what I know. I'm pretty sure you can find a press to do what you want. MEC has worked well for me although its not a real high output thing like a progressive.

Of course it is a lot cheaper to reload just like anything.

[sargenv]

It can be cost effective for the 410.. the only issue is that loading .410's can test your patience.. I've been reloading 12 and 20 for over 20 years.. and I thought that the 410 would be easy.. not true... I finally gave up on loading for 410, sold the press, wads, and hulls and now I just simply buy 410 shells and sell the hulls once fired to finance more shells later.. I can load the 12 and 20 without getting too excited.. the 410 was a challenge that pretty much turned me off to reloading that tiny shell...

[mjsweims]

Loading 12 ga is break even cost with economy packs. If you are looking for something special reloading is less expensive.
Reloading 410 is very cost efective. The crimping can be a bit tricky and I would advise roll crimping rather than doing it on the press. Use the press to fill the hull and batch as many as you want, then add OS cards and roll crimp them all.
For a great variety on some of the tools/components go to ballisticproducts.com . For the press and powder try gamaliel.com grafs.com etc. For shot recobstarget.com .

[Revoman]

I have and use MEC 650's, they load 12, 20, 16, 28 gauge and 410 bore with ease. There is little to no adjustments straight from the factory if you buy new. I have bought some used ones in 12, 20 and 28 without issue.

Can you change the gauge/bore, sure. Is it a hassle, you bet. I have five gauges in the 650, all different machines, one for each gauge/bore.

The 650's are semi progressive and do six different operations by one stroke of the handle. They are manual enough to not be a burden while are progressive enough to be fast and good. Are there better presses out there, a matter of opinion, but probably yes. In my opinion, no. The MEC's are really good machines for a decent price and load a shell as good as factory.

The real problem with the 410 is that there is little room inside the hull for any kind of error. 12 and 20 both have room for slop. Not so with the smaller gauges. Yet I have had few, if any , problems with either 28 or 410.

When reloading your own in any gauge, you can do what ever it is that you want. Low recoil in 12, no problem. Ounce and one-eighth in 20 gauge, no sweat. The only real issue with the lighter gauges is if you try to use large diameter shot. it gets jammed in the drop tube because they are very narrow. Loading 9 & 8's is easy, 7-1/2's in 28, easy. 6's in either, you start to get some problems.

Savings are huge in 28 and 410. Wally-World sells both for about $11 - 12 bucks a box, plus tax. You can usually load them for less than $4 buying in bulk especially. 12 and 20 not so much but still there are savings to be had there too.

I recommend the MEC line of 650's not because I use and like them, but because I believe that they produce a good shell with little to no issues and fast. A box of 25 is easily loaded in about 25-30 minutes.

Shotshell loading is easy as long as you stick with the recipes until you are experienced enough to start branching out. Don't use cheap hulls either.