Shotgun Shell Reloading

[CorbLand]

I was recently offered a Mec Jr. shotgun shell reloader for dirt cheap. Hopefully the deal goes through.

I would like to start reloading waterfowl loads. Not really interested in saving money more just for fun.

Has anyone ever done this? I know there are books that have loads of information, any that you suggest? I am new to reloading and know nothing so any advice or information is appreciated.

 

[Superkodiak38]

I had one in high school. It's pretty straight forward as I recall. One bubble of shot and one with powder, there is a charge bar that you slide back and forth( you can adjust or exchange the bars) buy a bunch of hulls, primers and wads and go to town. It was fun once you get everything adjusted and your crimper set up right.

 

[mtswampfox]

Do some studying first. Yes it is easy once you have the concept down. Everything must match up. Wad column,type of powder,type of shot, brand of hull. Ie: you dont want to use a AA hullfor trap shooting and turn it into a high flying goose load. A wad column for duck hunting and use it for a trap load. Or a fast burning trap powder for a slow burning heavyweight powder.

 

[brn2hnt]

If you don't already know, there is a huge difference between steel and lead reloading. I wouldn't advise using a charge bar for steel loading at all. Treat it like rifle reloading. Weigh each shot and powder charge individually. If you are reloading steel, there is pretty much only one powder you need to know about, Alliant STEEL. Super light and fluffly, does not measure well in a charge bar. Sinceit's waterfowl you're after, I cannot recommend the lightning steel manual enough. For the last two year all I have used is their 7/8 oz recipe in a federal gold medal hull. Lots of ducks and specks behind that round, but I did go through about 5 chokes to find one that liked it. I now load several cases per year on my mec 600 Jr. I know 7/8 oz doesn't sound like a lot of shot, but at almost 1700 fps the shot string is super short and I have noticed a huge improvement in my shells/bird ratio. Recoil is also very similar to a stiff trap load. Good luck and have fun!

 

[CorbLand]

I figured I would have to most of the measuring and weighing by hand. I plan to mostly play with layered loads anyways.

I plan to check and see how accurate the bars are and then go from there.

 

[husky390]

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[N2TRKYS]

I load my shotgun shells with a drillpress.

 

[elkbowkevin]

RSI #69 and 103.
I reloaded ALOT of steel in the past and liked the AA hull, 31.2gr steel 1oz #3 with the BP12 steel wad W209 primer or CCi 209. It paterned great out if my guns and was a fast smackdown on ducks and killed a few geese with em too. W209 was a bit hotter load, faster.
Also the #1 steel in the 3" 1.25oz in federal and winchester hulls 32.5gr Steel powder and W209 primer. It was murder on cacklers and other geese over decoys with a mod choke.
I used the 600jr. You will need the "steel" kit for it as the shot will bind in the regular bottles and you will need to get an adjustable charge bar or hand weigh each powder charge. Steel powder is VERY susceptible to handle shock on the re-loader. It can vary as much as 1/2 a grain or more.
When crimping 3" federal hulls do it SLOW so the hull does not bulge out above the brass. The steel wads (most anyway) do not have a cushion like the lead wads do and you need to tamp down the shot a bit with the ram tube before moving shell to the crimp start and final crimp. I tamped all loads down with 3-4 little pumps of the handle before crimping. Made for a better easier crimp on 3" hulls.