| Posted: Tue Mar 3rd, 2009 06:10 PM |
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1st Post |
gijay
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| Location: | Ft Jackson/Elgin SC, South Carolina USA |
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Hello All,
I am a new guy here and I want to learn how to reload. I use to have several guns but they were recently stolen from me.. Another story for another time.. I mainly shoot shotgun, I have a 28ga ruger redlabel I want to start reloading for. I have done a bunch of reading and it seems the more I read the more I get confused. So if one of you gents can tell me what I need to buy to load 28ga shotgun shells that would be great. I would to have a press that would be a good beginner press that I on and then maybe up grade later on thanks for your time.
Jay
P.S. Sorry I guess I posted this under the wrong forum if the admin could move it. That would be great..
Last edited on Tue Mar 3rd, 2009 06:12 PM by gijay
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| Posted: Tue Mar 3rd, 2009 11:19 PM |
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2nd Post |
dakotasin
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welcome aboard!
i think you'll find reloading to be a fantastic use of your time. unfortunately, i have never loaded a shotgun shell in my life, so no direct help from me. however, we do have some shotgun loaders on here that can point ya in the right direction. good luck!
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| Posted: Tue Mar 3rd, 2009 11:42 PM |
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3rd Post |
runfiverun
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start with 8 point crimp, quality target hulls from win,or remington.
get a mec with the adjustable powder/shot bar.
find a good manual and follow the recipe in it.
get a good scale.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 4th, 2009 12:58 AM |
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4th Post |
Rockydog
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gijay, I've been loading shot shells for about 15 years. I'd start with a used MEC 600Jr in 28 gauge as they are gauge specific. A Mec sizemaster would be even better if you can find one. (you can get kits for gauge conversion but they'll cost more than the used loader). The reason I'd start with the 600JR is that it's very hard to make a mistake. You'll learn the basics and it's still possible to load 100 shells an hour. These presses have 6 stations that you manually place each shell in. It takes 6 pulls of the handle to make a completed round. Later you can move to a MEC Grabber or 9000. These loaders have 6 rotating stations holding 6 shells at a time. Each handle pull results in one finished round and completes one more step in the other 5 shells. Quite a bit more going on than with the 600JR.
Some people will discourage the MEC as cheap, meaning junky. They are reasonably priced but very reliable and servicable. MEC gives the best customer service of any sporting goods company, bar none. They will take phone calls and have a technician personally diagnose your problem, help with adjustments etc. over the phone. They've sent me small parts for free and larger parts with an invoice. That's right, they send an invoice with the parts you send a check back.
As for loading. You can find several loading manuals out there. Lyman has a good one. The Hodgdons annual is OK too but not as detailed. There are also recipe books out there that you can get free with powder purchases. Follow reloading data exactly!!! NO substitutions of any components in the manual. Not doing so can result in destroyed guns and missing body parts. Much more so than rifle or pistol reloading. Shotguns show very few pressure signs before coming apart in your hands.
Select your hull first. My recommendation is Remington STS. Just buy a few flats of factory, shoot em up and start reloading. Pick the size of shot and the weight of shot you wish to load, find a recipe for that load. Purchase the wad, powder and primer that the recipe calls for. Have fun! RD
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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~ Thomas Jefferson ~
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| Posted: Wed Mar 4th, 2009 02:50 AM |
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5th Post |
RemMan700
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How many times can you reload a shotgun shell? Is the little Lee Load All $43 dollar shotgun reloader any good for someone just wanting to play around and load small amounts?
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| Posted: Wed Mar 4th, 2009 03:28 AM |
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Rockydog
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I would stay away from the Lee. I've never heard a good word about them. One of the few Lee products that doesn't work. Buy a used MEC 600JR on evil bay and don't look back. I loaded darn near 5000 on a Mec in one year with out one hitch. Almost forgot your question. I've gotten 5-8 loads out of a Remington STS. Just keep loading until the crimp splits.
I've got a roll crimper for my 16 gauge. I load those until the crimp splits. Then I trim off the crimp and roll crimp them for another two or three loads. That tells you I'm either cheap or that 16 ga. hulls are hard to find.  RD
Last edited on Wed Mar 4th, 2009 03:32 AM by Rockydog
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| Posted: Wed Mar 4th, 2009 12:12 PM |
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7th Post |
gijay
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Thank you for your time. I will look on ebay for a mec jr and get back to yall. Thanks again.
Jay
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| Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2009 03:05 AM |
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8th Post |
varmintcaller
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I agree with Rockydog 100%. I started out with the MEC Sizemaster over twenty years ago and i still use it.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 7th, 2009 03:51 AM |
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StretchNM
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Well, for those that haven't heard anything good about Lee's Loadall, hear this:
Alot of folks have "heard" alot of good about this, or haven't "heard" alot of good about that. My cousin's best friend's uncle's half-brother's sister-in-law once heard something too...... but it might be contrary to what you've experienced.
You WILL NOT find a better press for 3 times the cost. I can say that again if you like - or you can just read it again. I have owned a Lee Loadall since 1978 (two of them in fact - one I broke while moving) and, I'll grant you I haven;t used it in over 20 years, it's loaded literally thousands of 12 guage shells. I've used my uncle's press years ago (A MEC or something similar) and, yes, they're strong and heavy.... they're multi-stage presses.... they'll load many times faster than the Lee.... BUT! if you're not shooting in the Vandalia or elsewhere, and if you've never reloaded, the Lee is the best way to start.
For $42, the only other things you'll need are components (wads, primers, powder, and shot). With just a little practice, you'll be loading a couple of three boxes an hour, and enjoying it (with a Lee or Mec or other...you'll still enjoy it :) ). You'll learn the process and the pitfalls. Then......if you think you're so inclined.... you can "upgrade" to a faster multi-stage press.
In the face of such opposition as has already been stated in this forum, I can;t convince you to get a Lee, nor should I. I only want you to know that if you're a beginner and you want to see what reloading shot shells is all about, know that the Lee is certainly not junk or cheap....it's just low-cost. It will load thousands for you and keep working long after you've had your fill of shotshell reloading. It isn;t heavy because it doesn;t need to be (nor do the others need to be). It isn;t bulky because it doesn;t need to be (nor should they be). It isn;t expensive because it doesn;t need to be (nor should they be).
My Lee Loadall (back before they had the primer feed) is boxed up somewhere in storage. If I can find it and bring it home, I'll start reloading shotgun again too. There's a reason Lee sells so many reloading components, both shotgun and metallic cartridge, and it just might be the same reason they get so much grief from people who don;t own their stuff.
If I were travelling around shooting in trap and skeet competitions around the State or country, I'd get a MEC or something similar, but still I'd have my Lee mounted on one end of the bench.
Last edited on Sat Mar 7th, 2009 04:02 AM by StretchNM
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.45 COLT
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I have a dozen or so MECs - can't seem to leave any homeless - but I still use a LEE for 16 Gauge. It's not fancy or fast but it does the job fine. Some day I'll come across a MEC in 16 Gauge and buy it, but I'm in no hurry. LEE makes a good product at a very reasonable price and they stand behind their equipment. Only problem here, the OP can't use a LOAD-ALL because they don't make them in 28 Gauge.
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redirish
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I had a Lee Load-All in 20 guage that I used for years, finally gave it away. I never had any kind of problem with it. Not one. It did exactly what it was supposed to do with whatever brand of hull I ran through it. I wish they made it in 410, I would have one.
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ohiococonut
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Hearing about bad experiencs and actually having them are two different things. I have to admit I started out on a Lee Load All and didn't have any problems. You just have to take your time at each station. I've got a 12ga Lee Load All II in a box somewhere and the only reason is because I started shooting much more and different gauges and wanted something faster since I was shooting almost a case at a time. Now I'm using two MEC's and production is much smoother and faster. I've got conversion kits for 10ga, 12ga, 16ga & 20ga but leave them set up for 12ga and 20 ga.
I do agree that Lymans sells a very good manual and DO NOT substitute components. With the price of 28ga shells reloading is almost a must.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 11th, 2009 04:02 AM |
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miestro_jerry
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I agree on the MEC 600jr, I have one, just got it. I ordered the extras from MEC and Midway. I did some horse trading with Rockydog and have some fine hulls to work with.
For me I couldn't make the Lee Load-All work for me. So it went out on the table at a gunshow and some one bought pretty quickly.
28ga ammo is hard to find these days, I had a really nice one side by side made in Germany back in the 1930s. Traded it off, like many others, I wished had kept that one.
Welcome to the group, keep asking questions and maybe you can find some to trade around with.
Take care,
Jerry
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