20g shot shell reloading, questions

[SARuger]

I'm shooting my shotguns enough now to reload for them.

Mainly I use them for trap/skeet and deer

So I will be reloading the following;

7.5 for skeet/trap
#3 buck for deer
Sabot slugs for my rifled barrel
Rifled slugs for my smooth bore barrel

I know I can buy 7.5 cheap at walmart but at the volume I use it, I could still see some savings
#3 buck is hard to find locally, I normally pay too much and mail order it
Sabot slugs are stupid expensive
Rifled slugs, might not be much savings there

Which press, MEC or Lee Load All 2

Then guide me from there!

 

[Grumulkin]

If you don't already have it, get the Lyman shotshell reloading manual.

If I hadn't gotten a Ponsness Warren press at a good price I would have gone with a MEC.

Some shotgun slugs are designed to be loaded with the usual crimp but a lot of them require a special technique. I don't shoot enough slugs to make reloading them worth it. If I were going to reload slugs, I'd only reload rifled slugs meant to be used with the usual crimp and would use them in both rifled and smooth barrels. You would load buck shot in a similar fashion to the smaller shot sizes.

 

[jmorris]

If you are shooting a bunch the "single stage" presses like the load all and 600jr are going to take forever but they might be fine for the small runs of "special" stuff, like your slugs or buckshot.

Price everything out and figure out what your per shell/box cost is going to be before you spend money.

I have a few 366's that are much more enjoyable to load with than my MEC and LMC (older much better version of the thing Lee sells) presses.

 

[Curator]

Not much money is saved reloading 20 gauge trap and skeet loads when you consider what WalMart sells them for. I have several MEC loaders and have had a couple of the Lees as well. I prefer the MEC. +1 on Grumulkin's suggestion to get the Lyman shotshell reloading book. A good source for supplies is Precision Reloading; https://www.precisionreloading.com/ Start off with good hulls, not assorted range pick-ups. I personally prefer the Winchester AA hulls.

I load 12 gauge, 20 gauge and .410 shot shells but only "specialized" loads I can't buy cheaply. The real money is saved on non-toxic, buckshot, round ball, and slug loads.There is a bit of a learning curve to all of this. Don't make up hundreds of loads until you have tried a few to be sure they perform as expected. Most beginning reloaders start off on a progressive machine and make lots of lousy loads. Using the MEC as a single stage loader make 5 or 10 of each potential load and go and shoot them to compare results/patterns/accuracy. Once you have a good load, then make up a bunch.

Oh---, when you go to mount your press on your loading bench, get a large "cookie pan" and mount the press in it. This will catch spilled powder and shot of which there will be plenty at first. You will be thankful for this!

 

[jmorris]

Not much money is saved reloading 20 gauge trap and skeet loads when you consider what WalMart sells them for.

That is why I suggested to price everything first. You, generally make better rounds than el cheapo stuff but even they are better now than the cardboard wad loads from a few decades ago.

 

[rg1]

Go to Ballistic Product Inc. and check out their products and prices. They sell various slugs, shot, and buckshot. Plus they have some very good slug and buck manuals. Only thing is most of their manuals uses products they sell. Figure out if you can save much money. You'd have to shoot a lot to recoup the costs of equipment and components. I've heard calling them with questions you might have will help getting started and what components they recommend. I suggest a Mec Sizemaster press. I like the collet sizer which resizes the brass head. Lyman's Shotshell handbook is another good manual.
https://www.ballisticproducts.com/

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

There are some great used shotshell reloaders out there. There was a old Pacific 266 in 20 gauge on e bay this morning with a buy it now price of $200.00 plus freight. I have one that I have used for around 40 years that still works great.

 

[SARuger]

I'm still doing some calculations. It may not be worth it but not all of my other reloading ventures have saved me money either, just lots of satisfaction!

Thanks for all of the replies!

 

[FROGO207]

I also reload shot shell for accuracy and some savings. As mentioned the cheap promo loads in 12 and 20 GA are not worth it at this time. The game and specialty loads are where the money is saved these days. When reloading 16 and 28 GA as well as anything 410 the savings can be substantial. Get a good manual specific for shot shell, (good ones already mentioned) and find a used MEC 600. One should be found in the $75 range with minimal searching. Then if you want to go into this wholesale after you try your hand in it look for a different press in the future. FWIW I have taken the time to work up good loads for every GA I shoot in case we should have another shortage hit the shelves. I even spent time stripping some 12 GA promo ammo to use to make some 410 71/2 loads this last drought.

 

[Blue68f100]

I still load 20 ga but they are the heavy field loads. I still have 1000's of primers and wads from decades ago. Don't need to reload what I have since it last me several years. I sure wish Win still made the F1 wadding (1oz).

 

[thomas15]

I suggest a Mec Sizemaster press.

Good advice. If you read the Lyman 5th then you will want to start loading shot shells even knowing that it will not save you money.

I've had a Lee Load-All for over 20 years. It works but has it's limits, is cumbersome and is a pain to empty the hoppers. It is not impossible but rather difficult to get consistant crimps on your shells.

I wanted to get something better and after much handwringing I settled on the Sizemaster. It's a single stage but has a collet sizing feature and a functional auto primer feeder. You get what you pay for.

 

[Wis-Harpo]

The reason that Walmart sells 20 ga. cheap is because they are cheap loads. They use soft shot, with little antimony, which deforms easily when it goes down the barrel. Shotguns can be like any firearm, they prefer certain loads. Years ago I patterned my 870, and there was a world of difference in reloads and factory loads. By the way I heard that the Win AA shells are not as reloadable as they were years ago. Rem STS are supposed to give more reloads before they wear out.

 

[sbwaters]

I heard that the Win AA shells are not as reloadable as they were years ago. Rem STS are supposed to give more reloads before they wear out.

This may sound funny but since I shoot skeet with a semi-auto Remington 1100, I prefer the red Win AA over the green STS because they are easily seen in the grass. I get enough reloads out of them.

+1 on the 2" high small baking pan under the press. Oh, and I got an Inline Fabrication quick change setup to change presses from pistol/rifle to shotgun. Perfect.

Question: Why the MEC Sizemaster instead of the MEC Grabber? I’m looking to upgrade my MEC 600 Junior Mark V that I learned on.

 

[kudu]

Yes you can buy cheap shells from Walmart, but my reloads for skeet are as good as the premium shells from Walmart that are $8-$10 a box, and I figure they are costing me about $3-$4 at most. I have used MEC Grabbers for 25 years or longer, but they would be hard to make your specialty slug and buckshot loads. A press that you take each shell out individually would probably make sense until you want to make a few hundred skeet/trap shells then you want a more progressive press. You will need to weigh your options on what your priority will be.

I can set up and load about 250 shells an hour at a leisurely rate or maybe up to 300 if I push it on my MEC Grabbers. Grabber has a turrent that you manually rotate with 6 stations for each action of shell. One finished shell pops out for each pull of the handle. If you mess up on any reloader it's a mess, at least with the manual indexing on the Grabber I can back things up if need be.

I have made small runs of lead slugs that look like a giant pellet that drop in a standard plastic shot wad. I don't recall who made the slug mold, but they shot decent through both a smooth bore barrel and a rifled slug barrel, they were a 7/8oz. I think they were made by Lyman.

 

[Shootshellz]

I had a Lee Load All and quickly replaced it with a MEC product. The 600 Jr is a fine press if you don't shoot many shells per month. If you shoot a fair amount, the MEC Grabber is the ticket, IMHO. I would stay away from used no longer in production presses on e-bay. Replacement parts can be difficult to obtain.

 

[Bbear]

Started out with a 600 jr loading 16 gauge back in college. Definitely a money-saver when compared to those $5.99 16 gauge shells. No telling how many thousands of rounds that loader did. Got out in the world and just didn't shoot that much, so, I sold it.
I then bought a Sizemaster and started on 12 gauge. Moved on to the 9000 as it loaded more shells in shorter time once I got humming along.
If you're going to get into the trap,skeet, sporting clays with any frequency, I'd suggest either the 8567 Grabber or go whole hog and get the 9000. You can find them on ebay or some of the shotgun sites around the interweb. The idea of mounting it on a pan is a good one.
Buy in bulk! 5000 - 15000 primers at a time, 8 lb jugs of powder, etc. I prefer the Rem. hulls to the current production AA's but that's just a personal preference.
I picked up enough STS hulls in both 12 and 20 to last me a life-time. And, before I moved back to Texas from Indiana, as I covered my territory, I bought a 25 lb bag of shot any time a dealer was running it for under $20 / bag. I still have about 500 lbs of that plus another 500 lbs of reclaimed shot. Last time I checked, I could load a box of 20 gauge for about $3.00 per box.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Started out with a 600 jr loading 16 gauge back in college. Definitely a money-saver when compared to those $5.99 16 gauge shells. No telling how many thousands of rounds that loader did. Got out in the world and just didn't shoot that much, so, I sold it.
I then bought a Sizemaster and started on 12 gauge. Moved on to the 9000 as it loaded more shells in shorter time once I got humming along.
If you're going to get into the trap,skeet, sporting clays with any frequency, I'd suggest either the 8567 Grabber or go whole hog and get the 9000. You can find them on ebay or some of the shotgun sites around the interweb. The idea of mounting it on a pan is a good one.
Buy in bulk! 5000 - 15000 primers at a time, 8 lb jugs of powder, etc. I prefer the Rem. hulls to the current production AA's but that's just a personal preference.
I picked up enough STS hulls in both 12 and 20 to last me a life-time. And, before I moved back to Texas from Indiana, as I covered my territory, I bought a 25 lb bag of shot any time a dealer was running it for under $20 / bag. I still have about 500 lbs of that plus another 500 lbs of reclaimed shot. Last time I checked, I could load a box of 20 gauge for about $3.00 per box.

 

[SARuger]

I'm still waiting on my press........

I will post up when I get it.

I'm also looking into reloading slug and I see that I will need some extra equipment for that.

 

[midland man]

the lee load all 2 is a cheap starter press if you want to see about getting into reloading before going bigger I had a friend who used this press and worked very well for him! he used it for years and then bought the mec 600 jr and used both presses until he passed away!

 

[harleyjeepster]

I started on a load all II just to load specialty stuff that cost alot. Happened on a MEC 600 jr for a great price and glad I got it. However, I , don't shot trap and don't think I would want to load that volume on either. Though I still use my Lee of the two you mentioned I think you would be happier with the MEC.