Texan Progressive Shotshell Reloader

[skeettx]

Great looking forward to pictures
What part of the country?
Mike

[bds]

Central California.

[bigretic]

Can anyone help me find a primer tube and feeder setup for a M11a Texan?

[Cactus Mike]

bds,

Hello, I am new to this forum but not new to Texans. Am interested in yours and would like for you to PM me (I sent you one already!).
Thank you.

I am asking $160 each or $290 for the set.
I will also consider 5000 45ACP 200 gr SWC sized .452" and lubed (wheel weight alloy OK).

I am not familiar with the Texan presses and out of town on work til Friday. I can check the presses and report back/post more close up pics.

[db@100]

Wow, I'm glad I found this site. I've had a Texas reloader since the mid to late 60's. I haven't loaded lately. My dad bought the loader when I was in 7th grade. We did a lot of bird hunting so he had me load shells for the whole family. After he passes away I didn't hunt as much so I would just load a few cases of shells and that would hold me for a while. It has been so long since I loaded anything that the powder I used to use isn't even made any more, Alcan 5. Would someone please tell me what powder you use and what charge bushing it is?

[Cactus Mike]

The prices sound pretty good, but I would like to get a little more information ans see some pictures please. Could you do that for me?

DO WE NEED TO BE IN A DIFFERENT THREAD TO DISCUSS BUYING AND SELLING?
Maybe i ought to check for a "for sale / WTB" thread.

[widmeyer]

Hello all, I read this thread and found it very informative. I have a couple questions and am hoping that I can get some expert opinions/advice!

-I found a guy selling two texan shotshell reloaders 12 ga. (one appears to be the MK II, and one is the older red painted version) He is asking $250 for both (they are missing the primer feeder, but otherwise function perfectly) is that a good deal?

-Is there anyone who knows where I can look to find spare parts for these loaders (ie. the primer feeder)?
-I'm also wondering if/how I can convert the current 12 ga setup to 20 ga? If it's possible does anyone know where to get the dies/parts?

-I guess my biggest question is whether or not getting 2 of these for $250 is a steal, or I should not be excited...

thanks for any and all help you guys are able to provide!!!

thanks,

AJ

[skeettx]

Primer feeds are RARE
Might find one on Ebay, perhaps, possibly, but expect to pay money
I have bushings at $6 each and shipping
Gauge conversions sets also sometimes show up on Ebay
Good luck
Mike

[bpratl]

Hello all, I read this thread and found it very informative. I have a couple questions and am hoping that I can get some expert opinions/advice!
-I found a guy selling two texan shotshell reloaders 12 ga. (one appears to be the MK II, and one is the older red painted version) He is asking $250 for both (they are missing the primer feeder, but otherwise function perfectly) is that a good deal?
-Is there anyone who knows where I can look to find spare parts for these loaders (ie. the primer feeder)?
-I'm also wondering if/how I can convert the current 12 ga setup to 20 ga? If it's possible does anyone know where to get the dies/parts?
-I guess my biggest question is whether or not getting 2 of these for $250 is a steal, or I should not be excited...
thanks for any and all help you guys are able to provide!!!
thanks,
AJ

If you purchased the Texans, PM me as I may have some of the parts you need. I presently have three Texans and use the 12 gauge one all the time (100 reloads/week). The 20 gauge is a source of parts and yes the 12 gauge press can be easily converted to 20 gauge with the correct parts.

[beeser]

After finding this excellent thread on Texan MKs I thought it might be better to add to it than start another one with my question. I have a few of these fine machines and just started loading some 12 gauge shells with one of them. I was having problems with the wads hanging up on the hulls but just now realized that the wad holder has to be pushed down for the fingers to do its job. Duh! I read elsewhere here there is a modification or a feature on a model I apparently don't have that automatically lowers the wad holder. If anyone can provide a picture of the setup it would be appreciated.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Actually you should NOT have to push the wad guide manually?

If you have to then either the wad guide holder is not sliding freely like it should OR your wad guide fingers are worn out and not holding the wad when the post pushes on it to move the whole assembly down.

When that happens the wad will push through the fingers prematurly and get hung up on the mouth of the shotshell!

Hope you can understand my crummy explanation?

The wad guide fingers HAVE to be stiff enough to keep the wad from starting to go through the fingers UNTIL the whole assembly is pushed down and stopped by the shotshell case mouth THEN the post pushes the wad into the hull!!!

[beeser]

The wad guide holder (silver part in your picture) on the machine I'm using now slides freely but I don't see any mechanism that pushes it down. Can you elaborate a little more on its workings?

[seagiant]

The wad guide holder (silver part in your picture) on the machine I'm using now slides freely but I don't see any mechanism that pushes it down. Can you elaborate a little more on its workings?

Hi,
The post or rod that seats the wad into the hull will push the assembly down till it is stopped by the mouth of the hull.

THEN it will go further and seat the wad inside the hull.

You need to get the machine in front of you and study what is going on and what is happening and what is SUPPOSE to happen, and see what the problem is, ie troubleshoot!

I saw on another site that people bought the Texan Progressives and could not run them and switched to MEC's!

They are more involved than others, and not for everyone.

There are a lot of things happening at once and everything has to work together. (timing)

Some people want a plug and play (today) and don't have the basic patiance to figure something out like they did in the 60's (my theory)

[beeser]

Hi,
The post or rod that seats the wad into the hull will push the assembly down till it is stopped by the mouth of the hull.

THEN it will go further and seat the wad inside the hull.

You need to get the machine in front of you and study what is going on and what is happening and what is SUPPOSE to happen, and see what the problem is, ie troubleshoot!

I saw on another site that people bought the Texan Progressives and could not run them and switched to MEC's!

They are more involved than others, and not for everyone.

There are a lot of things happening at once and everything has to work together. (timing)

Some people want a plug and play (today) and don't have the basic patiance to figure something out like they did in the 60's (my theory)

The wad fingers on my setup do not seem stiff enough to hold onto the wad and lower the wad guide body. It slips shortly after engagement with the wad plunger. I have another Texan with a plastic wad guide body and different wad fingers, which may be a MKIV setup. I may give that one a try and see if it works better. I have about 4 original manuals and I'm just noticing that they all have differences. After finding the section on wad insertion in one of the manuals it seems that some of the machines at least were meant to have the wad guide body lowered manually, not a problem since it's done with the opposite hand that does the indexing.

[seagiant]

Hi,
To each their own.

If you use modern Hornady wad guides you should be ok.

If the wad guide is a little "big" just cut it down the middle then cut a small sliver off (top to bottom)

That will allow a slightly smaller dia. to fit.

The cap when it goes back together in the holder will hold it together and it will work fine.

The plastic wad guide fingers only work so long!

[beeser]

I tried holding the wad guide body down on the hull until the wad engaged part way and that seemed to work OK. Another one of my factory manuals suggests using a .410 plunger and .410 wad fingers appropriately cut down for all gauges. I may give that a try.

I also applied a light coat of powdered graphite between the metering body and upper hopper plate. That made the press function smoother but now I'm a little concerned about the graphite doing harm to the aluminum. Is there a better dry lubricant for this application?

These Texans seem to be good solid machines and built for a lifetime. I don't have a lot of experience with shotshell reloaders but here is a list of improvements I would like to see.

Case activated powder/'shot dispensers. Spills take some fun out loading with these machines.
Way to stabilize the hulls as the shellplate indexes. I've crushed a few hulls in the process.
Improve the primer dispensing mechanism. Primers occasionally get jammed.
Smooth the indexing mechanism. It seems a little rough to me even after lubrication.

[seagiant]

Hi,
With the Texans I actually like the manual primer arm that does not use the auto set up!!!

More reliable and really just as fast!

I'm actually converting mine to the manual but have to make the parts on my lathe.

No big deal cause thats why I bought it!

Problem is lately I started a new job out of town and have no time to play very much!

Here is another shotshell loader that I like a DL/Pacific-300 with a few mods!

[beeser]

The manual primer feed sounds interesting. I have one on my Texan metallic loader and may give it a try on the shotshell loader. Removal and reassembly is a simple one bolt installation. Nice looking DL/Pacific-300. Is that the predecessor to their 366?

[seagiant]

The manual primer feed sounds interesting. I have one on my Texan metallic loader and may give it a try on the shotshell loader. Removal and reassembly is a simple one bolt installation. Nice looking DL/Pacific-300. Is that the predecessor to their 366?

Hi,
Yes it is!

Actually I think it was Dietmeyers first progressive press and it is built like a Russian T-34 Tank!

Funny how most of my preferred loaders ,shotshell or metallic are built SOLID!

One thing you might want to do is get a Lachmiller resizer nd decap and resize your hulls before you load in a seperate operation.

It smooths up the reloading process and gives you a chance to inspect the hulls before use!

Here is a pic of one, Randy Buchanan rebuilt, and did his usual excellent job on!!!

[beeser]

Hi,
Yes it is!

Actually I think it was Dietmeyers first progressive press and it is built like a Russian T-34 Tank!

Funny how most of my preferred loaders ,shotshell or metallic are built SOLID!

One thing you might want to do is get a Lachmiller resizer nd decap and resize your hulls before you load in a seperate operation.

It smooths up the reloading process and gives you a chance to inspect the hulls before use!

Here is a pic of one, Randy Buchanan rebuilt, and did his usual excellent job on!!!

As mentioned before I'm new to shotshell reloading. What's the purpose or advantage of resizing/decapping the hulls beforehand?

That Lachmiller is some beefy tool. Nice! I like that thick plate underneath. Aluminum?