Mark 7 Evolution Pro

[John Ross]

A video my daughter (who is a documentary filmmaker) put together about Mark 7 Reloading's new Evolution Pro reloading press, which I think will have MUCH broader appeal than their current target market of competition racegun semiauto shooters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t9RoTtJN20&feature=youtu.be

JR

[Don Purcell]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Great video! That is some nice ivory in the backround. Have the "Alley Cleaner" coming in the group buy and should be trying them out. I tried to P.M. and email you about your offer you sent me but for some reason my messages are not getting out. I will have to put it on the back burner at the moment as I have also been fighting a back problem for the past 9 months with some other expenses (when it rains it pours). I know you recommend the Ken Null cross draw but in the video it appears you have a strong side hip holster, if so who made it? If your daughter's video doesn't sell more Mark 7 presses I don't know what will. All the best, Don.

[John Ross]

Don, I got your private messages but didn't answer at the time as I still have to dig them out of the vault for pics. No rush.

My Ken Null crossdraw for the .500 was out in a locked vehicle and the weather was lousy, so I just stuck the gun in my waistband for the vid.

[Don Purcell]

Thanks John, glad to hear you got my message. If I remember correctly you once mentioned that a Krupp Mountain cannon was also in your living room. Maybe Mark 7 could...

[Wayne Smith]

Excellent, John. But tell your daughter she needs to work on her editing a little. Transitions were a little abrupt.

[Don Purcell]

John, just loaded some .500's on my Dillon 550 last week and was surprised how much effort it took to size, expand, seat and crimp everything at the same time with these heavy cases. I have never had the pleasure of using a Dillon 1050 to load anything like this so evidently the linkages must alleviate a lot of this. I imagine it will be impressive to watch the Evolution Pro auto-drive crank out the ammo. Would probably be almost mesmerizing like watching ocean waves or a peaceful campfire.

[John Ross]

I imagine it will be impressive to watch the Evolution Pro auto-drive crank out the ammo. Would probably be almost mesmerizing like watching ocean waves or a peaceful campfire.

I agree. This the Revolution, but the Evo on autodrive would be similar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhqNSItJQNs

Now just imagine the video with some REAL ammo being loaded and not 9mm...

[AndFereira]

wow, mark 7 has come a long way. I purchased one of their first units for the 1050's. That thing is pretty cool.

[Redwoode]

Enjoyed the video John. And yes, I'm still alive and staying out of prison.

[kayala]

I've watched demo of mark VII all the way to price tag, thanks I'd rather have 1050 with quite a few caliber conversions.

[John Ross]

I've watched demo of mark VII all the way to price tag, thanks I'd rather have 1050 with quite a few caliber conversions.

You do realize that in an apples-to-apples comparison of the two presses, buying each of them new and outfitted with a Mr. Bulletfeeder Pro, you will have about $200 to spend on "quite a few" caliber conversions for the 1050...?

[Don Purcell]

Just ran a few numbers and with just a comparison between the manual Evolution and the 1050 with Mr. Bulletfeeder Pro added the same that comes standard with the Evolution, the Evolution costs a little bit less ready to go. If you add the bullet feeder and power drive to the 1050 then the Evolution Pro comes out several hundred dollars ahead. True, at the present time Mark 7 doesn't have near the caliber options as the 1050 but hopefully that will change. All that being said I wouldn't cry if I came across a deal on a 1050 as John's needs on production far exceed mine.

[John Ross]

Just ran a few numbers and with just a comparison between the manual Evolution and the 1050 with Mr. Bulletfeeder Pro added the same that comes standard with the Evolution, the Evolution costs a little bit less ready to go.

Less? New 1050 @ $1810 plus $470 to $500 for the MBF from Dillon is $2280 to $2310, by my math. Is there some better deal on a manual Evolution?

[Don Purcell]

Had just been on another site and they listed a Mr Bulletfeeder for $999.00. My mistake.

[John Ross]

Just got off the phone with Dan at Mark 7. He was calling to thank me for putting out my video. I asked him some questions and told him I would be passing along his answers to the public if that was okay. Here is what he told me.

1. I will have the first Evolution tool set up in .500 S&W Magnum. Yay! Of considerably greater interest to everyone else, he also told me that

2. 60-some Revolution tools (that's the $9500 commercial press) have been shipped so far since December 2017, and they are building and shipping 6-10 of these per week at the present time.

3. There have been pre-orders from individuals for 200+ Evolution presses, and mine is in the middle of that batch. Dan didn't know how many Evolution presses had been ordered by dealers, but said it was less than the individual buyer orders. They expect to start building the Evolution presses next week, and expect to have finished filling their dealer orders around mid-May, which is when presses for individuals will start shipping.

4. Hornady powder measures are shown on the demo photos, but production Evolution presses have a measure of Mark 7's own design, that specifically addresses the particular needs of a powder delivery system that is run at high production rates, such as dwell time (to avoid powder still dropping from the measure as the toolhead and die are moving away from the case) and other factors.

5. Mark 7 holds multiple patents on its products. Dan said I was correct in my assessment that there are no patent conflicts with any existing reloading tool manufacturers.

6. Shellplates for .38/.357 exist right now, with many others to follow.

[Don Purcell]

Great news! Now we can watch some REAL handgun ammo being loaded.

[John Ross]

Just talked to the factory. Most of the crew left for the NRA Convention this morning. Evolution presses are still waiting on a few parts and they say they will start shipping this month (May.)

[John Ross]

Talked to Mark 7's owner Joel Hirshberg the other day. They are working through the backlog of Evolution press orders that started at the SHOT show, and are shipping presses every day. He looked up my spot in the queue and my .500 S&W unit is slated for completion around Labor Day, the same time as the primer collator for the Evolution is projected to be available.

JR

[Don Purcell]

Labor Day? Oh the agony, I have been looking for a video of this beauty churning out buckets of .500 S&W. Well John, I hope by that time you're healed up and going full speed. My own back problem has been traced to Spinal Stenosis and every day contains some variation of pain but the crazy thing is barbell squats and deadlifts seem to alleviate it for awhile afterward. Anyway, all the best.

[Don Purcell]

Any word on the Mark 7?

[John Ross]

Any word on the Mark 7?

Yes. They have been overwhelmed with orders and have stopped taking manual Evo orders until they get caught up. Jay told me today to send a bunch of .500 brass so they could design the shellplate.

I'm sending him fired and unfired Starline, and fired Hornady, as that's all I use. Probably 500 of each. Priority mail will go out tomorrow. Also a book I've been sitting on forever...

[Don Purcell]

Book? I dare not hope.

[John Ross]

Book? I dare not hope.

LOL! It's a book a member here sent me to sign, and I'm just now getting it back to him.

HOWEVER, recent events have given me a very strong idea for a major plot development...

[Don Purcell]

Huzzah!

[John Ross]

Lyman just bought Mark 7.

https://www.lymanproducts.com/mark7info

JR

[ReloaderFred]

Lyman just bought Mark 7.

https://www.lymanproducts.com/mark7info

JR

Yes, that's been in the works for a little while, and they just announced it.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[jmorris]

I hope it doesn’t hurt....

I am not a fan of the trend to buy business you don’t like (and a non compete clause), just to eliminate them.

[GWS]

:?:Why would Lyman not like the Mark 7? They don't make anything progressive as a competitor.......what did I miss?

[jmorris]

Must have still been on my Facebook rant last night.

This is from the email they send me a few days ago.


Mark 7 is pleased to announce that it has been acquired by Lyman Products Corporation (href: https://www.lymanproducts.com. Lyman has been in the shooting sports industry for 124 years and owns many successful brands like Pachmayr. Lyman brings to Mark 7 deep manufacturing capabilities and resources that will enable Mark 7 to grow to new heights. There will be no change to the the location of Mark 7, the brand, the employees, and the management of the organization. But you as a customer of Mark 7 will benefit in many ways as our product suite grows in breadth and depth in the near future. We thank you for your continued support as we embark on this new chapter in our development.

[daboone]

https://www.lymanproducts.com/mark7info

[Kevin Rohrer]

Has anyone bought and used one of these? I watched the video below. It looks really good, but there seem to be a lot of moving parts (more so than a 1050/1100?) and I foresee cleaning/maintenance problems down the road if I bought one. And the $3000 price tag for a basic unit gives me pause, also.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdV1o5sSV6U