Shotgun Dies

[dkf]

Is there a die set available for 12ga that would work in my Lee Classic Cast single stage press? I got that MP 525 mold coming. I have a MEC 12ga loader but don't really have room for it on my bench.(haven't loaded shotgun shells in almost 15 years) Not like I'll be loading a large amount of slugs.

[r1kk1]

RCBS and ch4d make them

take care

r1kk1

[smoked turkey]

The RCBS work very well. I warn you...they are slow. However I do a small volume of slug handling and I enjoy the process.

[dkf]

Do you use the RCBS Cowboy Shotshell die set or do they have another set available? I want to use plastic and paper hulls.

[jsizemore]

Both my Mec's are mounted to a 12"x18" piece of birch plywood so I can set either on the bench or counter.

[jmorris]

I have a MEC 12ga loader but don't really have room for it on my bench.

Mount it to a board, they don't require the same "up" force a metallic reloader does, so you don't even have to clamp them down.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/stmounts.jpg

Get it out and set it on a flat surface to use it, then put it away.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Just use your MEC. You can load all the way up to the Payload with the machine and get better loads then insert the slug and then use the machine to crimp the hull.

I use my Pacific DL266 like this and my Pumpkin Ball Loads come out looking so good I have to mark them as slugs or I couldn't tell them from shot loads.

The idea of mounting the machine on a board or piece of plywood like Morris did is the way to go for shotshell loaders because if you inadvertently drop shot and miss the hull it is contained on top of the board (as long as you included the fence around the edges)

You'll make much better ammo this way and whereas C&H and RCBS do make dies, they don't sell a lot of them because they are more expensive than a MEC loader to begin with.

Randy

[jmorris]

if you inadvertently drop shot and miss the hull it is contained on top of the board (as long as you included the fence around the edges)

That sounds like it comes from experience.

[Iowa Fox]

The MEC is easier to use than others. As mentioned above a board will work to use them.

[dkf]

I don't have room for a MEC with a board on the reloading bench either. I could always clear off some of my workbench though, just would have been nice to do everything on the reloading bench. It looks like I'll be stuck with the MEC. It looks like the RCBS and CH4d dies are for full brass shot shell hulls.(only ones I saw)

[smoked turkey]

I agree totally with the above posts regarding the MEC press as opposed to the RCBS metallic dies for the Rockchucker press. My RCBS are old stock and will load plastic hulls just fine. They will do a very good job of reloading but not any better than a well adjusted MEC. You can occasionally find a set on places like ebay and GunBroker. As stated they are pretty expensive and you must use a press that has the removable bushing such as the RC because the shotshell dies are 1.25" diameter and the bushing must be totally removed for their use. I enjoy the process of using them but really they are slow and require some set up in order to get totally satisfactory results. You will be happy with MEC.

[Shawlerbrook]

Go with the MEC.

[jmorris]

I don't have room for a MEC with a board on the reloading bench either.

The photo I posted was one of mine sitting on a coffee table.

You don't need a big bench, just a flat surface.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/650/IMG_20150620_083448_810_zpsmlbtxirh.jpg

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/650/IMG_20150620_083643_329_zpsiqljdyae.jpg

Or just something solid to mount it to.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/gn/3533895716_0a7f11a958.jpg

What is your bench made out of?

I reloaded for a number of years on an old desk that didn't have enough room to mount everything. Just kept a cordless drill handy and held everything down with deck screws. 3 or 4 screws to swap out a press is a lot faster than doing a caliber conversion.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/DSC02298.jpg


If you just want to spend money on something, I understand that too.

[jmort]

You don't need a press. If you have a drill press, just roll crimp. Use a piece of wooden dowel for the "press" and the drill press to roll crimp. The BPI shell holder is very useful if you don't want to mount a press. The old Lee Loaders for shotgun shells works well and do not require a press and will crimp. I have couple MECs, a couple Lee Load-Alls and a couple of these Lane Reloading "kits" with the resizing "die" and it will crimp just fine and no reloading press is needed.
http://www.lanesreloading.com/12Gauge.html#

[mdi]

Hmmm. A feller asks a question about dies, and gets lectured on how to clamp a press to a bench/table. Maybe he doesn't want to clamp his MEC to the bench and just want to know about dies.

I'd like to know about shotgun dies for a metallic loading press. I don't want to clamp a shotshell reloader onto my bench. I'd like to hear some information on shotshell dies used in a metallic reloading press. Any useful information?

[jmort]

Not sure RCBS still makes the plastic shell reloading dies and the CH4Ds are $200 +
I doubt there are many people who have experience with them, but I believe you need a press with with a 1-1/4" bushing to remove and accommodate the dies. Assuming you have a press with a removable die bushing, why not try it I suppose.

[gpidaho]

^^^^^^ What mdi said

[jmort]

I find this thread to be most interesting and don't get posts 15 and 17 as both add zero to the thread except taking up server space. If the O/P is offended by the time and effort,which is apparent in the responses, I suppose he could state his displeasure.

[W.R.Buchanan]

All we are saying is that using a real shotshell press is a far better way to go than trying to use just the dies that are expensive and don't works as well as the press would.

The hardest thing about reloading a Shotshell is getting the crimp to close right. up to that point you can do everything with a piece of wooden dowel and a nail.

The BPI Roll Crimp tools work well if you have a drill press to run them in, but none of them work better than a dedicated Shotshell Press,,, and especially if you already have one.

Finding a place to temporarily mount the thing doesn't sound like a real big challenge to me, and if you are serious about actually loading these hulls right then we've already answered all the questions.

The Dies are expensive and not many people have them for that reason, and they don't work as well anyway so we aren't really going to here much more about using them.

There are better ways to do this, and he already has them.

Randy

[dkf]

I have one of those little MEC sizer/decapper presses too. I could do a bunch of hulls ahead of time. Since I only want to use slugs I could probably get the roll crimper and put in my mill or drill pressfor crimping the loads. I have made a stuffer for stuffing .44 cal shotshells for my single stage. I suppose I could make a shotshell stuffer the same way and just get a RCBS shotgun shellholder and use the single stage to stuff the wad in. Then roll crimp it in place. If there was currently a die set available it would just have been easier, that is why I asked. I do have a press with a removable bushing. My reloading area is upstairs and my shop is on the ground floor. So trying to avoid too much running up and down and always setting stuff up and tearing it down.

If I put the MEC pro on a board then I have to take the board off to store it every time as it will not fit in the storage cabinet it is kept in with the board.

[jmorris]

Since I only want to use slugs I could probably get the roll crimper and put in my mill or drill pressfor crimping the loads.

If I put the MEC pro on a board then I have to take the board off to store it every time as it will not fit in the storage cabinet it is kept in with the board.

Or you could mount it to a small board and clamp it in the vise on your mill or drill press.

I understand it's not what you are wanting to hear but you already told us you have a shotshell press.

Thats is kind of like going to a boating forum and telling folks you have a boat already but you really want to know how to turn your car into a sailboat.

[jmort]

Have you considered an Inline Fabrication Ultramount and the Quick-change plates? I have three Ultra Mounts and a bunch of presses mounted on the quick-change plates. Very happy with this system. Put your MEC on a plate and you other press/presses on plates and swap them out. They even have a plate for the MEC sizer which I have as well. Also have a vise on one, RCBS Auto Prime, etc. Quick-change plates are cool.

[mdi]

I find this thread to be most interesting and don't get posts 15 and 17 as both add zero to the thread except taking up server space. If the O/P is offended by the time and effort,which is apparent in the responses, I suppose he could state his displeasure.
Actually, I was interested in the OP's original question, and the thread drift went 17.5 miles in the opposite direction, explaining temporary press mounting methods. Post 18 just added zero to the thread...

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The thread is being read by lots of people who are interested in various aspects of reloading. It is true that RCBS and CH4D dies, although good, are expensive for what they do, and perhaps only really worthwhile for people doing some unusual development work - slugs with brass cases, say, where the product isn't needed in volume.

So the use of a cheap shotgun press as an alternative, and temporary ways of operating one you will only use occasionally, seem perfectly relevant. Lots of people do the things that have been advocated here, but hardly anyone turns a car into a sailboat.

I once tried to unscrew the threaded bush in my Rockchucker, just out of curiosity, but I found it defied all the pressure I dared to put on a large adjustable wrench. Does anybody know if it is a left-hand thread or loctited?

[jmorris]

I once tried to unscrew the threaded bush in my Rockchucker, just out of curiosity, but I found it defied all the pressure I dared to put on a large adjustable wrench. Does anybody know if it is a left-hand thread or loctited?

Nothing to see in there except another set of threads, both are right hand threads BTW.

If your trying to get it out to convert to the Hornady style bushings, use an impact and/or hex socket. An adjustable or open face wrench is not the best idea on such thin flats.

[thehouseproduct]

Just be careful not to get any of the OLD Lachmiller 12G dies, they don't fit the classic cast or other modern 50bmg presses.

[abunaitoo]

As an alternative to the RCBS or CH4D, a Lee loader would do the same thing and cost less.
I would think an arbor press would work in place of the hammer.

[Youngtimer]

There is a set of the old RCBS 12ga dies for plastic hulls on Ebay now. Auction starting price $99. There was another set on a few weeks ago and they were asking for $89. The listing ended with no bid, then they were on again for $79 and again no bids.

[bradley.moss72]

You could always get a Lee Load-all II they are cheap enough, light, small and I know people who have loaded shells with one in their lap setting on a couch.

BW

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