Need help with shotgun loads

[Muddydogs]

boneandbass and Morrey
You guys do realize that the die you are talking about has 2 adjustments right? There is a stem inside the die that adjusts the depth of crimp and the adjustment you guys are talking about that just adjusts how much the end of the hull is squeezed together which closes the hole in the crimp.
From looking at bullethead's pics he has no crimp depth so the first thing he needs to do is adjust the center stem down to get some depth then he can adjust the cam to close the hole.

 

[Muddydogs]

Here is a video that shows adjusting the crimp die. Towards the end they show adjusting the crimp depth punch. This is basically how all Mec reloaders work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd5NiYk1TLU

 

[boneandbass]

Also, check out MEC trouble shooting video. It is on their web site and is very helpful. Play it a number of times until you feel confident to make the necessary changes. It works!

 

[Morrey]

Excellent point, Muddydogs. I have stayed with my old familiar component setup for so long, that I glossed over the important depth adjustment. You are refreshing my adjustment memory that the cam only adjusts the "swirl" on the crimp closure. You share good points.

Experimentation is part of learning, so bullethead is in the learning curve now. He asks questions which make good sense so his reloading experiences will be meaningful.

 

[Muddydogs]

It helps that I load a ton of shells every year on 3 Mec 650's and 2 Mec 9000's plus a few steel and upland loads on a couple 600 jr's. I'm kind of a press junkie as you can probably tell, all my presses except the first 600 jr I got as a gift 35 years ago have been used presses that I cleaned up and rebuilt.
My best score was the 2 9000's, a guy at the trap club sold me one 9000 for $100 and through in the other press as a parts press since it didn't work anymore. Well a little cleaning and a couple replaced bolts and the junk 9000 works better than the supposed good 9000.
A guy used to be able to find good used presses on ebay for a decent price but the last time I looked most ebay sellers want a mint for a pile. I try not to look at ebay or my local classifieds for presses anymore since I don't need to drag anymore home but I couldn't resist a 600 jr with full shot bottle for $30 a few months ago.

 

[bullethead]

Muddydogs, I don't shoot for money. I'm poor enough as is! I sent you a PM on your Excel spreadsheet.
My shot, using the components described above, comes just over the top of the wad. I haven't tried changing any components yet or changing over to 1oz loads(I'll need a different charge bar). One step at a time. Unfortunately, until I can get some shot at a reasonable price, I am loading at about the same cost as factory loads. I have loaded metallic cartridges for many years, so I started loading shotgun just because I like to load. Like Morrey did, I picked up small quantities of miscellaneous hulls at the range, but have tossed them. The hulls I am loading are from factory rounds that I have shot. I will load them once and toss them. If I end up shooting enough, I will get some good hulls to play with.
That is a good video. I went on and watch a few others on the press. Good info.
All of this reminds me of when I started loading for handgun and rifle, then when I started casting bullets. There is a learning curve, and always something to learn, but it is fun stuff. I'm not sure if I load to shoot or shoot to load.

 

[Muddydogs]

Shot just over the top of the wad is ok. Try and find some reclaimed shot in your area. Most trap type clubs harvest the shot every 5+ years and I'm willing to be that someone in the club purchased a few ton's to resell.

Out of the 30,000 hulls I have I probably only purchased 5000 of them, the rest I picked up off the fields. Get involved in your local trap club and you will find you have access to more hulls then you need.

Playing for money is how I keep my trap costs down, see a round of trap around here is $5.50 plus 25 shells and the Annie's and pond games are $3 plus a couple shells if I get shot out early or a few more if I can hang. Every once in a while I might make it into the money and pay for my night. Any way you slice it trap shooting isn't a cheap game.

What part of Washington are you from? I grew up in Palouse.

 

[Steve C]

Since 90% of your shells retained their crimp position its logical that there was something done a bit differently on the ones that did not.

As others have suggested its most likely you didn't crimp those cases as deeply as the others that held the crimp. This can happen if the crimp depth is marginal and one gets a bit sloppy in setting the crimp, often when one gets in a hurry and doesn't operate the handle to full extension.

Try adjusting the final crimp stage down a bid and test. That should end the problem.

 

[Muddydogs]

Muddydogs, I sent you a PM on your Excel spreadsheet.

I didn't get a PM and when I tried to send you one it said you are not recieving PM's.