Free posness warren 800c press

[newcastter]

I was just given a free possen warren shotshell reloading press along with 2 bags of shot and 2 8lb jugs of promo powder and 8 boxes of emptys, I always told myself I would never reload for shotgun but it appears I will, I also want to reload slugs that I will start casting this summer and maybe if I can buy some to reload as well, I dont know a thing about reloading shotgun but I do reload cast and swage for centerfire. I figure I need a good manual but am looking for all the advice I can get from all you at the cast boolits family.
Thanks in advance

[smoked turkey]

I'm not a shotgun guru either. I do think that brand is very good so I'd say that considering all the extra stuff that you scored big time. Enjoy it and let us know how you get along. There are plenty of shotgun buffs here if you get stumped just ask. I do recommend the Lyman shotshell handbook. It has lots and lots of info.

[Reload3006]

Ponsness Warren are some of the best Shot Shell loaders out there still in business and you were giving a very expensive gift be grateful. I strongly suggest you go get a couple manuals Lyman being the first. then read. Great Score and Congrats.

[newcastter]

Thanks I am extremly gratefull, the gentlemen that gave it to me is 74 and traveled the country shooting trap in competions and his buddy who is 82 traveled with him and thats where the press was where I picked it up they had four more presses like it, these guys were into it big time and I am sure alot of knowledge will be gained by them my wife is prepared to make alot of dinners with these two guest....

[meak99]

Does that Lyman shotshell manual cover slugs in detail? I'm interested in getting to slug reloading, particularly in brass, and need some reading to start with.

[scrapcan]

newcastter,

The 800c is a good press, a couple of quirks though depending on how it is set up. If it does not have the updated final taper type shellholder and final taper crimper you may not be able to reliably cycle through auto loader and pump with some types of hulls.

You will have to search online or maybe some here can scan you a manual. You will have to buy it from P-W. The current powder and shot bushings still fit the 800C.

I have had one for about 10 years and it is a great press especially for loading mass quantities of one loading. Not the best if you want to continually change components and loadings.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well as they used to say in Georgia on the farm when I was a kid,"You done good!" I'm 56 and the old geezers here don't give nothing away so you are blessed. Actually the "C" in 800C stands for crimp and it should taper crimp with what you have. The PW 800B is the one that needs to be refitted.

I had an 800 at one time and the timing was off and it was a pain but if it is set up right is a fantastic loader. If you know or are around the guys that gave it to you I would take advantage of their knowledge and get them to show you how to time it correctly and any other info I could get!

After selling my Spolar Gold because I had no need for it as I'm only loading for myself now,my favorite shotshell loader is an old Pacific 300 from the 60's!

[newcastter]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/195124f048d7c859ba.jpg

Here it is

[txbirdman]

Used to load on a friend's Duo-Matic P-W press. It's the best shotgun press I've used.

[376Steyr]

Here is a good site with some info. http://www.swsupply.com/
Be aware that loading for shotshells can be challenging, as getting all the components selected to properly fit into the hull and crimp correctly can be difficult. Ask your friend what his recipe was, that the machine is adjusted for, and don't think about changing it until you get some more experience. Been there, done that.

[MBTcustom]

Idnt it cute?
Its just so purdy!
I grew up on a Posness/Warren that dwarfed that one you have there. Its true that once you get one set up its so easy to crank out an ammo-can full of shells that its almost as much fun as shooting them!
I dont know much about reloading shells, because all I had to do was stick in wads and hulls and listen to that magical sound: click, clock, crunch! click, click, cachung! over and over. I never had to set anything up cause we only had dies for #8 shot and unique powder but dang you could crank out some ammo!
I remember that I had a lot of trouble with the primer feed system, sometimes bending the aluminum feed strip just a hair helps some.

[6pt-sika]

I'm only 50 and I've owned two of the PW 800B's and 4 of the PW 800C's !


Also had a PW 375 to load the 16 and 10 gauge .

I started loading shotgun shells when I was 23 and used those presses only until recently when I got into the 10 gauge 2 7/8" shells and bought a MEC 600JR .

As far as I'm concerned PW presses are the ONLY WAY TO GO for a seriouse shotgun shooter !

Heck my main rifle loader is a PW Metallic II !

[midnight]

I use a PW 800B. PW is simply the finest shot shell reloader out there. They are still in business out there in Idaho and can get you instruction manuals and any parts you may want, like more bushings and bushing charts. The Lyman shotshell handbook is a good place to start getting load data.

Bob

[6pt-sika]

Idnt it cute?

I grew up on a Posness/Warren that dwarfed that one you have there.

I dont know much about reloading shells, because all I had to do was stick in wads and hulls
. I never had to set anything up cause we only had dies for #8 shot and unique powder .

I don't really see how the model you had could've dwarfed this one as all the 800 , 900 and 1000's were the same basic machine .

As to the powder and shot dies as you called them . Those are actually referred to as "bushings" not dies .

[scrapcan]

the press in post #8 is definitely an 800C and has the short shell holders and the final taper crimp.

The troublesome part to get if you have trouble is the star wheel and pad for advancement.

I must have an early 800C. My press is marked as an 800C but is exactly the same as an 800B or the first owner changed it over to an 800B by changing out the parts. I got all of the paperwork, manuals, spare parts, etc from the original owner and what I have is an 800B marked 800C. It also has an early factory installed hydraulic operation link. I did not buy the hydraulic power unit as it was unnecessary for my needs.


It is a great press and I would not get rid of it even with the current lack of final crimp. The old Citori does not need it anyway. Someday I will spend the cash for the upgrade, maybe.

[scrapcan]

Sitka,

I would like to have the PW II cartridge loader. The PW375 is no slouch for loading shotgun shells either. what great pieces of equipment.

[newcastter]

I have the original manual and all the different bushings, It is mounted just not in use yet, I am still trying to make room in the attic to store most of the 3000 hulls he gave me.
Then he is coming over for dinner and to show me around this machine.
I would like to know if one can load 3" on this press as well and if so is it really difficult to adjust?

[MBTcustom]

I don't really see how the model you had could've dwarfed this one as all the 800 , 900 and 1000's were the same basic machine .

As to the powder and shot dies as you called them . Those are actually referred to as "bushings" not dies .
Hmmm, maybe its just the picture, but the one I used seemed a lot bigger. Its been a long time. It's still a sweet looking machine and I was not meaning any offense to the OP.
Thanks for correcting everything I said. I'll just be more careful to look up my definitions next time.:drinks:

[6pt-sika]

I have the original manual and all the different bushings, It is mounted just not in use yet, I am still trying to make room in the attic to store most of the 3000 hulls he gave me.
Then he is coming over for dinner and to show me around this machine.
I would like to know if one can load 3" on this press as well and if so is it really difficult to adjust?

I could very well be wrong , but if my memory serves you need a different machine or complete die set to load 3" . The original 800B's and to the best of my knowledge 800C's were not 3" compatible .

I think and again I could be wrong . But I think you can only load the 3" 12 gauge on a 1000 . Seems to me you could or cans till get the 1000 set up for 12 gauge 3" or 12 gauge 3 1/2" or 10 gauge 3 1/2" .

It pretty easy to swap out a PW 375 from 12 gauge 2 3/4" to 3" to 3 1/2" . Matter of fact when I had the PW 375 it took me maybe 5 minutes to change the tooling from 2 3/4" 16 gauge to 10 gauge 3 1/2" . But then I had totally seperate heads for each gauge and pretty much the only other thing to swap was the single sizing die !

Not being one that liked changing alot of things was my reasoning for owning four of the 800C's at the same time !
Then I was set up for 12 , 20 , 28 and 410 all at the same time .

[6pt-sika]

the press in post #8 is definitely an 800C and has the short shell holders and the final taper crimp.

The troublesome part to get if you have trouble is the star wheel and pad for advancement.

I must have an early 800C. My press is marked as an 800C but is exactly the same as an 800B or the first owner changed it over to an 800B by changing out the parts. I got all of the paperwork, manuals, spare parts, etc from the original owner and what I have is an 800B marked 800C. It also has an early factory installed hydraulic operation link. I did not buy the hydraulic power unit as it was unnecessary for my needs.


It is a great press and I would not get rid of it even with the current lack of final crimp. The old Citori does not need it anyway. Someday I will spend the cash for the upgrade, maybe.

I started with a pair of used 800B's in 12 and 28 . Think I had $500 in the pair maybe 25 years ago . Later I added a pair of new 800C's in 20 and 410 (that was maybe 6 months later) , and they cost me about $1000 for the pair . I used these four presses enough in the first year I had them to pay for themselves . And I only loaded for myself [smilie=1:

Maybe 2 years later I decided to sell the pair of 800B's and got my $500 back plus a little extra . Took that money and added a bit more and got another pair of 800C's in 12 and 28 that set me back about $1100 . I think when you just take the extra I had to add after selling the 800B's it took me maybe 4 months to pay for the remainder of the last new 800C's I bought .

Later I got the 375 in 16 gauge with a 10 gauge extra head . I think the cost on that total was like $450 .

My PW Metallic II was a birthday present from one of my old GF's about 25 years ago as well !

[LUBEDUDE]

Newcastter - I think 6 pt is correct. Even if not, I still would not change adjustments froms 2 3/4 to 3" or 3 1/2". That would be a whole lot of work, especially trying to get your original adjustments back. In my head, that would not be worth the hassle.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

[newcastter]

I was at a gun show this weekend and got to talking to a vendor selling alot of shotgun reloading supplies and I mentioned I also wanted to reload slugs with this press and he told me I would have to get a whole new press for that. Now I would think all I would have to do is keep the shot drop off and hand feed the slug. Seems simple enough does anyone have experience with this? I realize it will get crimped like a regular shell but I am ok with that.
That is why I was interested in doing 3". Does anyone know if I can get close to the same velocity/energy using 2-3/4 hulls?

[Uncle R.]

I would suggest that you use the 800 for trap or skeet loads in large quantities. They are excellent machines and give great results but they don't lend themselves to constant adjustments and short-run experimental reloading. I'd buy a MEC press or something similar for my 3" loading - and leave it set up for 3" shells. If I wanted to load small batches of experimental stuff in 2-3/4" I'd buy another MEC press and leave it set for 2-3/4" loading. If I wanted to load some other gauge, like 16 or 20 - I'd buy another MEC press and...
<
Well- you get the idea. That 800 is a premier trap load press. The single stage MECS are cheap and they work pretty well - fine for a few boxes of hunting loads.
Switching back-and-forth and readjusting everything to make a different load or gauge is the most incredible pain-in-the-whoosis and gets old really fast.
<
Just my .02 worth...
Uncle R.

[StratsMan]

Caster...

For loading slugs I bought an old, non-progressive press (Herters) for $25 on FleaBay. I just don't fill the shot column at all. It's slow, but since I have to load the slugs one at a time anyway, I figured it's not a big deal... Then you can keep the PW set up for trap/skeet/bird loads...

[6pt-sika]

I was at a gun show this weekend and got to talking to a vendor selling alot of shotgun reloading supplies and I mentioned I also wanted to reload slugs with this press and he told me I would have to get a whole new press for that. Now I would think all I would have to do is keep the shot drop off and hand feed the slug. Seems simple enough does anyone have experience with this? I realize it will get crimped like a regular shell but I am ok with that.
That is why I was interested in doing 3". Does anyone know if I can get close to the same velocity/energy using 2-3/4 hulls?

First I only shoot 2 3/4" slugs in my 12 and 20 gauge Savage bolt action rifled guns and they work great on deer .

As to the loading of slugs I've not tried . I did hopwever use a friends 800C recently to load buckshot in a 16 gauge . With that I left the powder dump and the shot dump turned off and put both in by hand . The powder was done because I wanted a charge of Unique he didn't have the correct bushing for . That would be simple enough to rememdy if I loaded more then 25 at a time . After putting the wad in I would remove the entire shell and sizing die and place the buckshot , I was getting three layers of 3 per layer in these 16 gauge hulls with #1 Buck and they crimped okay . If I had the press at home where I could use it more regularly I expect I would come up with something a little better . While my friends 800C 16 gauge worked fine it would have been easier with the correct powder bushing or with a PW 375 or MEC 600JR .

[6pt-sika]

Hi,
Actually the "C" in 800C stands for crimp and it should taper crimp with what you have. The PW 800B is the one that needs to be refitted.


You may be correct about what the "C" stands for but when I got my first two 800C's the guy selling them went around from skeet shoot to skeet shoot and PW was about all he sold . Anyway he told my the "C" stood for convertible . With the original 800B's they were not convertible or thats what I was told by him and several people before I got an 800C .

Convertible or crimp made no difference to me . I wanted a different machine for each of the four gauges so I didn't need to worry with changing them out all the time .

[Gunfixer]

6pt
You are correct, the "C" is for convertible, Some what easy change from gauge to gauge. I was a "factory certified dealer and service center". For this thread, have tried to load slugs and buck but it is too mush of a hassle. What these machines do best is load a 5 gallon bucket of bird loads in 45 minutes.

[newcastter]

http://youtu.be/Cwspyx3eS8Q

This is what I am talking about.

[wildphilhickup]

PW's are the BEST!

[LUBEDUDE]

I load slugs on my Spolar, I just shut off the shot. It is similar in operation to the PW 800, which I have as well.

[LUBEDUDE]

The PW 800 CVT is the convertible model.

[6pt-sika]

The PW 800 CVT is the convertible model.

All of the 800C's I owned were convertible . The fact that I chose not to change them and just have 4 machines for skeet has nothing to do with it LOL's !

When I bought the 800C 20 and 410 the dealer I was buying them from said the 800C was called "C" because it was convertible and he tried to talk me into buying tooling after the first machine but that wasn't what I wanted at the time .