Do I need to resize SG shells before reloding?

[Malone LaVeigh]

My neighbor picked up a used MEC 600 Jr this weekend and we're trying to get it up to speed. It needs several parts, it seems, starting with shot and powder containers. Anyway, I got it out and started depriming shells at the first station and I noticed if I pushed down all of the way onto the brass, it would sometimes catch and peel the brass down. In those cases, the brass seemed a little seperated from the plastic.

I also noticed the depriming pin seems a little out of alighment with the base. It goes through the hole in the base plate, but sometimes the primer doesn't seem to be lined up with the hole and it won't deprime.

I was at a gun show this afternoon and a guy there tried to sell me a remote sizing unit. I'm now thinking maybe I should have picked it up. Any suggestions?

 

[HSMITH]

Yes you need to size them, if you shoot some in a gun with a loose chamber and then try to shoot the reloads with unsized caseheads out of a gun with a tight chamber it won't work at all. You can segregate your hulls by gun, and that will work OK for a couple loads, but eventually you need to size them. The Mec SuperSizer works well.

 

[Malone LaVeigh]

Thanks, HSMITH.

Would the expanded brass cause feeding problems? I'm really kicking myself for not getting that sizer...

 

[HSMITH]

Yes, it certainly can cause feeding problems.

 

[Malone LaVeigh]

I guess I have an answer, then (kicks himself again).

 

[ThreadKiller]

Especially for an autoloader or a pump gun!

Doesn't the 600 Jr resize as it deprimes? My old 700 VersaMec does, but at the time I bought it, the 700 was an upgrade of the 600.

Tim

 

[Red Label]

It sounds like your old 600 jr. just needs some TLC. If you don't have an owners manual you can download one from the MEC website. www.mecreloaders.com. A very small amount of oil in the resizing die helps a lot. If there is any rust in the die it will not work well also. Make sure it is clean and then oil lightly. The manual also gives adjustments to make it work properly. I have never felt the need for a second resizing die when mine is working properly.

 

[Malone LaVeigh]

Doesn't the 600 Jr resize as it deprimes?

I don't believe so. The sizemaster seems to have a sizing sleeve on the base at the depriming station. The 600 Jr. just has a flat base there with a hole. The base seems to slant a little there, as if someone put too much pressure on it at some point.

Thanks of the link, RL, I should have thought of that. I do like making pieces of junk work...

 

[David Wile]

Hey Malone,

Tim is absolutely correct. The MEC Junior does fully resize the brass base of the shotshell just as surely as the MEC Sizemaster also resizes the base. The difference is that the Junior resizes via a sizing ring inside and at the bottom of the sizing/deprimer die at the first station, and the Sizemaster uses collet and "finger" system to size the base - also at the first station.

As best I can recall, I do not think there is any adjustment required for the Sizemaster resizing system. The Junior, however, does require the sizing die and deprimer pin to be adjusted properly to insure the shell base is fully sized and the primer removed. Once adjusted properly, I never had to make any further adjustments to the Junior sizer/deprimer die when changing from one type of shell to another.

Like Red Label said, your neighbor's press seems to require some attention. From your description of things, I would suspect the sizer/deprimer die needs to be adjusted properly or else something is wrong with the die. When the handle is fully depressed, the bottom of the die should be just touching the rim of the shell as it is flat on the station plate, and the deprimer pin should be rigid and centered in the primer hole as it punches out the old primer. The

If you are unable to download a copy of the Junior manual from the MEC website, send me an E-Mail, and I will scan my manual and send you a copy of same. You really do need a manual to understand the adjustments required for the different stations, and especially the first and last stations.

As to whether you need to resize shotshells or not, you really don't have to resize if you are shooting the shells in the same gun. As others have mentioned, however, it just seems to make more sense to re-size all your shells and be able to use them other guns as well as the one that originally shot them. Besides, as I mentioned at the beginning, the MEC Junior and the Sizemaster will both resize the shells automatically when you deprime them - as long as the Junior die is adjusted properly.

The MECs are fine presses. Have fun with it.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[Malone LaVeigh]

Thanks, David. I didn't realize that the threaded sleeve on the deprimer is a sizer. Now I'll go read the manual I downloaded like I should have in the first place.