Shotgun Presses

[Arisaka99]

Which press would be better for someone who has never loaded shotshells, the Load All 2 or the MEC 600Jr. I was also looking at the RCBS Mini Grand single stage, and I like it and may consider it too, but they only sell the Lee's and maybe the MEC's at BPS. I would be loading 2 3/4 as well as 3in 20ga shells. Buckshot and reg shot and maybe slugs. Thanks guys!!

[atom73]

I can only comment on the Lee Load All, its very easy to use and pretty idiot proof. It isnt as sturdy as MEC presses are but for the price you can hardly beat them. I know a few guys that poo-poo them but that is usually to make them feel better about themselves for paying a lot more for a different press. Now, if you decide that you like loading shotgun shells and want to move a little quicker, sell your Lee after you have gotten some use out of it an move into a more premium press. I havent gotten to that point yet and am still on my Lee that I got on Craigslist for $50 (for two presses one in 12g and one in 20g), a buttload of hulls and some wads. Look on C-list, ebay, and the for sale section here, there are occasional Lees for sale.
Mike

[WildmanJack]

Ariska,
I have a MEC 9000 Grabber, it is the best thing since sliced bread, the only thing better would be a Ponsness Warren. Saw a couple of them at the last gun show for around $650.00. Probably not a bad price for them as they were like brand new and they are made to last forever!! But the MEC serves me well and i can't complain..
Jack

[Mumblypeg]

The MEC 600jr. is hard to beat for a basic single stage press. There are a lot of used ones around that can be had for the right price if you're in the right place at the right time. I'm 57 and have one that we have been loading on since we were teenagers. All I ever load is 2 3/4 in. shells and you can load them pretty hot with blue dot so I never shoot 3in. but it does those too.

[Harter66]

I like the MECs myself. I had a couple of LEEs and I can't fault them. Bonus points go to the MECs for the available vernier/micometer adjustable charge bars and the swapable crimp starters that are full floating,also the adjustable finish crimp.

[BBA]

I would go with a gently used MEC. Also, after reading your other post, if you go looking for shotgun hulls, don't pick-up any that may have been out in the rain or the base wad may have damaged.

[Throckmorton]

between the two,I'd go Mec...next time.
My Lee has served me well,but it's very hard to change bushings,you have to empty the hoppers,and the bushings always are 'light' compared to what they are supposed to throw.
the mec also has an aftermarket adj. charge bar that I'd think is the cats meow.
Get one kind of hull and use the recipe for it,alll hulls are not alike. I actually like the cheaper 'gun club' hulls,they crimp great and can be had for next to nothing.

[cajun shooter]

The 600 JR is probably the best single stage made. It does come with a few problems such as it does not size the brass head of the hull. I have never met a reloader that does not use hulls they find or buy and that is your problem. You end up having to purchase a sizer also. Your best bet if you are going to shoot more than 12 boxes a year is to purchase a Mec Sizemaster. They sell for around $275 new but I purchased mine about 4 yrs ago off flea bay for $75. It has served me well loading my hulls for SASS. If you purchase any Mec don't use the stock bars and bushings unless you only want to shoot one load. The after market has a adjustable bar for $40 that works for all loads. You can find hulls for less than a nickel a piece. Lots of fun.

[Shooter6br]

i have a Mec 600 ( Before it was a junior LOL) from my Dad,Simple as stone axe and as rugged. All the newer parts (charge bars etc) fit it. Get a used one cheap.

[P.K.]

I let this go a few days to see where it went. Bottom line start with a manual press and good to great data. when you get there. Start with good data and move to a progressive like the MEC. It's a great press, but it has a bite. If you have the wrong data it hurts.......

[P.K.]

Bottom line you are young.......Start where most did......The bottom! Do it right and go from there! We all started out and progressed, but we all knew nothing and learned from there. Good luck and learn from others. I don't have a clue, and I'm learning as we speak......

[Three44s]

The Mec 600 Jr. or older 600 would be a good "first" press.

I like my Pacific 366 ...... now Hornady 366 progressive.

Three 44s

[BudRow]

Unless your MEC 600 Jr. is missing the sizing ring, it does resize the metal case head. Just be sure you don't crush the rim. About a nickel's width from bottoming out on the decapper/ resizer station is the recommended adjustment. It is the MEC 650 model that has no sizer. Best Wishes, Bud

[FLDad]

I paid forty bucks for the Lee and it has produced thousands of shells for me without a problem. Yes, you have to read the instructions, but I have no complaints. Check your powder and shot drops: you can even go with a larger bushing, then line the bushing with painter's tape to adjust the drop. Not as easy as micrometer adjustment, but perfect if you load the same thing over and over. Also good for slugs, etc. Fast enough to load a couple of boxes without killing the whole evening. I would whine about it if it gave me reason but it hasn't.

[Moonie]

When I first started reloading shotshells many years ago I got a MEC, loved the machine, ran great and made great shells.

I got out of shooting sports for about a decade or a little more due to financial issues and sold off all of my equipment and firearms.

When I got back into it I purchased the Lee to load skeet shells for my wife's shotgun, we do not go skeet shooting often so the press is good enough for my needs. I also load slugs and other loads for family.

If you are shooting shotguns alot get a MEC, if you are shooting low volumes of shells the Lee will do, and you can always move up if you feel the need.

[crappiejig]

I just got a Load All 2 in 12 guage for Christmas with the conversion kit for 20 guage.I can't wait to learn on it.I figure I can always upgrade if I start to load alot.I would honestly love to learn to make an accurate slug load for my sluggun so I won't have to keep paying $3 a piece for SST's! It's killing me!

[Heavy lead]

I've got two MEC 600's, one set up for target loads, one set up for heavy field loads. I also use a Lee Loadall for the slug loads, it is very handy for that for both the Lyman and the Lee moulds, also I use it to drop powder on the sabot loads in 3" hulls, before I set the sabot and .50 caliber boolit and roll crimp on a drill press. They are handy to have around. They are not the machine the MEC is though for loading a lot of rounds and holding up.

[shotman]

you said you load several loads and different shells go with the 600 and get the adjustable bar that way you can do any load

[Big Dave]

My vote is for the 600 jr for volumn loading. If you load more than one gauge think really hard about separate presses, they are a royal PITA to convert and adjust and a complete press in a new gauge isn't that much more than than a conversion kit. I have three of them, 12, 20, and 410, and the floating crimp head is great and comes with both 6 and 8 fold starters which change out in seconds. And as BudRow said they DO size the brass head if set right.

[heathydee]

There is a thread in Casting For Shotguns entitled "Want to start shotshell reloading". I read the title and thought "I want to stop shotshell reloading"
Sadly financial constraints mean I will have to continue . I bought a 12 gauge MEC 600 Junior Mk2 in 1987 and it has been in continuous use ever since . I don't shoot as much as I used to , but still need about 500 a month . I conservatively estimate this press has loaded around 200,000 rounds with no repairs needed other than a new powder bottle . I say new but mean replacement. A plastic turpentine bottle was found to have the same thread so I used it instead of buying a new one . Cut a hole in the bottom to take the plug .
A few years ago I bought another one in 20 gauge plus a conversion kit to do the few 410s I use.
MEC gets my vote .

[Smoke-um if you got-um]

I only load slugs and rabbit loads. I also load a few hundred to try and bust clay pigeons at the club every once in while. Total output per year maybe 500-600 total. If I were doing any more than that I would choose a MEC. As it is I have used the Lee Load-all for more than 20 yrs w/o complaint. I use the shot hopper to place shot in hull but I use a Lee dipper to charge the hull. The shells it makes look almost brand new with very little effort. I have mine bolted to a double thickness of shelving board and simply clamp it to the table when I load.

[NV Guide]

I started on a Lee Load all... don't do it ... it will lead to ever more expensive machines and hoarding of supplies. Quit now!!!

Now have two Lees two Hornady 366's a PW 375, an old Pacific and am drooling over a new Spolar. There are bags and boxes of empty hulls all over the shop but I still cant help picking up empties off the ground. Some days its not how well I shot but how many empties I picked up at the range that makes my day.

We Need a RELOADERS ANONYMOUS around here. You know help for the afflicted.

[Duckiller]

Recommend the MEC 600 JR. with the adjustable charge bar. Make sure the charge bar is for single stage press. Progressive charge bar loads in reverse. Shot many rounds of trap and skeet with shells reloaded on my 600.
NV Guide this is Reloaders Anonymous only problem is all of the members are enablers.

[*Paladin*]

I only load 12 ga. I got an old single stage Pacific Dl-150 for $25 on Craigslist and I was off an running. Easy stuff, just follow the load data explicitly, because brand of primers, wads and hulls are not like centerfire rifle/pistol where you can mix and match components. Mixing and matching components in shotshell loading can cause dangerous pressures.

[warf73]

Get the jr. and your grandson will be able to use it when he gets old enough. Not saying the Lee wont do the same but I know the Mec will. The pic below is the press that got my dad got in 1966.

28220

I taught my son how to reload on that press like my dad did me. I couldn't imagine how rounds have been loaded on that jr. over the years.

[Tom R]

I love the lee load all. I have 1 I use all the time and one I used to use to keep the boy-scouts shooting. They are both 12 gauge. One thing That should be mentioned is the lee comes with all the bushings. That is HUGE. I will never go with out a lee load all if I upgrade. I will use it for load development. I am looking to trade one of my load all's in 12 gauge if any ones interested.

[scar270]

Have a look at the Ponsness Warren 375. Might be a bit more money, but a far more pleasant to use single stage then the MEC's IMHO. That said I don't think the quality of the ammo produced is any better, except the PW does size the brass, not all the MEC single stages do.

[davydtune]

I have a Load All in 12 ga and 20 ga and they work very well for me. I'd think if you were doing a large number of shells though that a good progressive would be a little better. Not that the Load All does a bad job because it does very well, it's just a little slow going is all.

[Lloyd Smale]

Im almost in the same boat. I have a pacific 105 that i load 12 guage on. Lately ive been getting into the shotgun loading a bit heavier and wanted a new 12 and 20 guage press. Ive got a slug of powder and shot bushings for the pacific allready so i opted for a lil grand in 12 and 20 because they use the same bushings. Another part of my decision was the fact that ive been treated like gold by the rcbs customer service over the years. I will have them set up by the end of the week and can give you some kind of an ideal how they work. Problem is i havent loaded that much shotgun and the only thing i ever loaded on was the pacific so i dont know how id go about comparing it to a mec jr. One other thing i liked was the ability to add a taper crimp on the 5th stage.

[Lloyd Smale]

well i got the two rcbs lil grands set up. To be honest im not that impressed. Yes they seem to make good ammo but the press has a cheap feel to it. Not typical rcbs quality.

[liljohnnie]

I have a Lee Load All in 16 ga.The plastic base is not all that sturdy but it loads decent ammo and the price was right. I'm not a big shotgunner and really don't know a whole lot about other shotgun loaders on the market but if i had it to do over again i think i would spring for a good used MEC loader.

[Bullshop Junior]

I had a lee loader in 12ga. Realy simple, easy to use press. I am thinking about getting another for 16ga.

[Lloyd Smale]

Well i loaded a couple hundred rounds on the 20guage lil grand press today. I have to say it did make good ammo and i had no issues with it. Might not be a bad setup. I do like the taper crimp in the 6th station