Any shotgun shell reloaders here?

[The Edge Lab]

Any shotgun shell re-loaders here?

I'm looking at some shotgun presses. Dillon makes a nice one but way too much $$ for me. Lee makes an inexpensive one, about $100 but its plastic and kinda cheap looking. The one in particular that I like is the MEC 600 JR MK V. Its pretty affordable at about $300. Its a single stage but that should be fine for me.

So anyone have any experience shot shell reloading here?

600 Jr Mark V

The 600 Jr. Mark V reloader is adjustable for 3" shells, available in 10, 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge and .410 bore. Die sets are available in all gauges.

www.mecoutdoors.com

 

[edmxz2002]

I used a 600 Jr for many years and it was super reliable.

 

[Nick Leduc]

MEC are great. Check craigslist before you buy new. Before the panic, they used to sell for 60 all day long.

 

[The Edge Lab]

Great news... thanks!

 

[EddieZoom]

yep, buy a used Mec 600. They haven't changed in decades so an older one still probably good to go.

 

[EMTDAD]

I got an older used MEC Jr last fall.. super easy..

 

[Sparkey]

Years ago I scored a Mec 9000 hydraulic for $450 from CL came with a bunch of other stuff easily a couple of grand worth of components gun vise cleaning stuff. Poor guy died and kids sold everything off for next to nothing. Score for me
Single stage gets old fast if you are planning on loading a case of shells a week.
Also what gauge are you going to reload. Not a ton of savings in 12 sub gauges 28 410 it is cost saving

MEC 650 - sporting goods - by owner - sale

MEC 650 - 12. Old but moves very smoothly.

hartford.craigslist.org

 

[grizquad]

You can't go wrong with a MEC. Their support is great and I loaded many a shell on a MEC 9000.

 

[Nick Leduc]

To follow up on MEC, I personally would upgrade to a universal charge bar. They are worth the money.

 

[The Edge Lab]

To follow up on MEC, I personally would upgrade to a universal charge bar. They are worth the money.

Yeah I’ve been reading about them. Looks good.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I bought a MEC 650 back in the mid-1970s. Works like a champ and I can crank out lots of 12 ga shells/hour.

It's the only loader I kept, as I hope to get back to shooting skeet and trap again for fun. I sold off all my metallic cartridge loaders and supplies (well, most were sold, some still listed for sale).

 

[p..]

I picked up an old Pacific DL266 with 12 gauge and 20 gauge dies and a selection of shot and powder bushings, and really like it, but it's the only press I've used other than my Dillon 550, so I don't have any other shot shell presses to compare it to. I just load 50 or 100 shells at a time, am not a competitive trap or skeet shooter, so pretty low volume. It seems like a very nicely built tool.

You probably want to pick up a copy of this:
The Lyman Shotshell Reloading Handbook | Lyman Publications

 

[nutsym16]

Just about every trap shooter I know started with 600 jr. As far as I know I have tossed two adjustable charge bars out in the trash over the years. Not worth the effort. Just use a bushing and be done with it. Your not loading rifle for 1000 yard shots.

 

[Koolmoose]

I got a MEC 590 SizeMaster in 20 ga from Mrs. KM for Christmas. I chose this model after observing my next door neighbor use his. After setting it up following easy directions I started making perfect reloads with no adjustments to the machine.

The one recommendation my neighbor made was to build a tray to mount the press on to keep “mistakes” from rolling all over the Bench. I’ve already successfully loaded and shot about 700 rounds. IMHO shot shell reloading is much simpler than metallic cartridge reloading.

The MEC is built like a tank and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a used one in 12 ga to up capacity.

I bought mine from BallisticProducts.com. Good folks to deal with.

 

[Sparkey]

Just about every trap shooter I know started with 600 jr. As far as I know I have tossed two adjustable charge bars out in the trash over the years. Not worth the effort. Just use a bushing and be done with it. Your not loading rifle for 1000 yard shots.

I would 2nd this I have a universal on a 20 gauge 600 I thought it was a PIA to setup I like the conventional bars with bushings

 

[mac1911]

I picked up an old Pacific DL266 with 12 gauge and 20 gauge dies and a selection of shot and powder bushings, and really like it, but it's the only press I've used other than my Dillon 550, so I don't have any other shot shell presses to compare it to. I just load 50 or 100 shells at a time, am not a competitive trap or skeet shooter, so pretty low volume. It seems like a very nicely built tool.

You probably want to pick up a copy of this:
The Lyman Shotshell Reloading Handbook | Lyman Publications

View attachment 456908

nice old heavy duty!

 

[mac1911]

To follow up on MEC, I personally would upgrade to a universal charge bar. They are worth the money.

Are they still making the universal charge bar? Did Mec come out with their own?
I used to buy and rehab Mec in the early 2000s to support my trap habbit.
Check your local trap ranges, when some of these old timers get out of the game they darn near give the stuff away

 

[Deleted member 67409]

The MEC 600 JR is the gateway drug of shotgun loading.

 

[icyclefar]

Personally, I’d step up to the the Sizemaster at a minimum it’s definitely worth a few extra bucks to have a collet resizer.

I have 5 Mec 9000E’s in all gauges and they run on a single Mec Automate drive unit. The Automate can crank out 500-600 shells per hour.

I reload about 15k shells a year, a single stage is not an option for me.

 

[p..]

nice old heavy duty!

I like how it is all in a line, too. It's just a nice looking piece of equipment.

The old DL200s look even cooler, I think. But I gather the shot and powder measurement bits are harder to come by now than the bushings for the 155/266/366. Also it looks like it's kind of a hassle to empty the hoppers. But they sure look cool! This is from an old online classified ad that's still up.

If I were looking for a low cost way to start loading shot shells, in addition to the MECs, I'd seriously consider the Pacific DL155. They usually seem to go for less than $100 on ebay.

 

[falcon123]

Any shotgun shell re-loaders here?

I'm looking at some shotgun presses. Dillon makes a nice one but way too much $$ for me. Lee makes an inexpensive one, about $100 but its plastic and kinda cheap looking. The one in particular that I like is the MEC 600 JR MK V. Its pretty affordable at about $300. Its a single stage but that should be fine for me.

So anyone have any experience shot shell reloading here?

600 Jr Mark V

The 600 Jr. Mark V reloader is adjustable for 3" shells, available in 10, 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge and .410 bore. Die sets are available in all gauges.

www.mecoutdoors.com

I have one from 40 yrs ago. Still going strong.

 

[MaduroBU]

Every time I looked into this, I wound up finding that I can buy shells that are 1) cheaper or 2) better. I cannot beat $5/box for target loads, and I cannot beat 1.5 oz BB at 1500 FPS from a 3.5" 12 ga.

 

[mac1911]

Every time I looked into this, I wound up finding that I can buy shells that are 1) cheaper or 2) better. I cannot beat $5/box for target loads, and I cannot beat 1.5 oz BB at 1500 FPS from a 3.5" 12 ga.

Yeah thats usually the case with 12g
Only good thing is you can load whatvyou want when tou want.
I run a ultra lite 7/8 load at around 950fps for 16 yd fun. My slug loads are fun also.
My shot maker paid for itself in one season of trap back in 2004
So for me the only real cost is wad, primers and my time. My lead is darn near free