Shotgun Reloading?

[entropy]

Well I'm doing some reading, and the consensus is that the Lee is a used trojan compared to the MEC. I found a MEC600 Jr Mk5 for $220 at Scheels, is that a good price and is that the Mec you are currently using/recommend?

I might bring it up next time I shoot trap, maybe Thursday. Who knows, maybe one of those guys has something good for sale....

That's a fair retail value (read; no gouging) these days. Mine is the older 600 Jr., basically the same, some small parts differences. Yes, I definitely recommend the 600 Jr. Mk5. I just loaded my first box with the 650, and there's a bit of a learning curve; dropped some powder in the primer cup, dropped some shot into a couple primed hulls, but forgot to put wads in.....and just to make it fun, the cycle around the machine is opposite of the 600 Jr. !
I did manage to get 25 useable shells, though for some odd reason it crushed the crimp on the last shell. I taped over the top...

Ask around; one of the guys at the club might just have a 600 Jr. sitting collecting dust.

Good plan on waiting a bit on the gun; when you are ready, asking some of the guys you shoot with to try their guns will help you find out what you like and don't like about various types.

I'll throw my .02 in: you can't go wrong with a Ljutic.

 

[Saluki91]

How much economical sense does it make to reload for shotshells. I am having trouble finding shotshells at the moment and the loads I think I like are generally not available even when I can find ammo. I generally see HV #7.5 @1250+ and I would like #8.5-#9 @1150-1175. I was able to shoot a few boxes a member loaded and really took a shine to them.

I would make do with anything between #7.5-#8 but one more reason to reload would be to tailor loads to my liking but the primary reason is I would like to just have a simple setup that would enable me to load what I would need for weekly shoots. How much would it cost to get set up, rough estimate? Any tips or advice on what to look for, one system better than the other? Is it even recommended right now with the status quo on ammo and reloading supplies or does shotshell reloading fly under the radar enough that it would be a worthwhile endeavor?

Just rapping, any thoughts?

I got into shot shell reloading this summer with the following:

PRESSES - I bought a new MEC Sizemaster for 12ga (LOVE it!). That was around $340 - Happy birthday to me. I probably spent another $120 on charge bars, bushings, and a mount for the press. The mount wasn't a must have, but it allows me to easily remove it from my bench if I need the room for something else.

A guy at my club sold me an old but functional Hornady progressive press for 20ga... $40! Those kind of deals are out there, and will make this process a lot easier to justify.

COMPONENTS - I found 5K Cheddites at a reasonable price on-line, and wrote off the shipping/haz-mat fees as the price of doing business in the current climate. I have since found a LGS with a predictable supply of the same primers. I know they aren't the first choice of many, but in these times, you load what you have, not what you want to have. The same LGS is a good source for powder, shot, and wads. Like the primers, his selection of powder is acceptable, but not necessarily ideal. A bird in hand...

My club does a group buy of reclaimed shot that is surprisingly nice. Shop around... If it is good stuff, reclaimed shot could save you quite a bit.

As for hulls, I bought 1K of grey AA once fired for trap, 1K red AA once fired for skeet (different colors to make keeping track of different loads easy), and 1K Remington STS once fired for 20ga. These were expensive, but I'll get at least 10 loads from each hull, so I look at it as a good value for my dollar. You could use the hulls you find at your range, but you won't get many loads out of them (perhaps only one), and you have no way of knowing what was done to them before you picked them up. Finding appropriate wads may be an issue as well.

I figured the following cost per round for my loads:
Primer - $.04
Powder - $.06
Wad - $.05
Shot - $.11 (reclaimed will be less)
Hull - $.02
Total - $.28 per round, or $7.00 per box

So... is it economical to load vs. lurking at Wal-Mart and buying factory loads by the flat when you can find them? No. But I love doing it, and I can tailor each load to my specific need and gun.

Good luck!

 

[drmajor]

The real value is in quality!
Go to a tanga nd shoot shells from 4-5 different factories. Be sure to “clean” the target after each factory. I found 3 out of 5 had terrible patterns- big holes.
My sons gun liked some that mine didn’t.
Bought MEC press. Don’t remember the wad name. Loaded same weight as factory ones/. Mine had a better full pattern than my bought shell.!

 

[mingo]

Reloading is fun and rewarding. I also have the mec 600 that I bought new back in the early 70's....still going strong. The charging bar guides have changed over the years, but the best 20ga load for birds is a 16ga trap load loaded for a 20ga game load.....I still it, but it is no longer on the current charts.... I will admit that the load was hard on casings....but super fast to target.... gotta love the good old days!