Question regarding MEC 600 versus Lee Loadall

[Recluse]

Getting ready to begin the journey into shotshell reloading. Am pretty sure I've settled on the MEC 600 Jr. Have no plans nor need to load and shoot hundreds of rounds per month, so a simple single stage press will be more than sufficient.

Question about the Lee Loadall--How do you empty the powder and shot from the bins? I saw on the MEC where you can tilt the bottles over per something on or near the chargebar. But I have no idea how you would empty the Lee press without unbolting it from the bench.

Other question, I've heard the Lee leaks powder like a sieve. I've read of all kinds of "fixes" for that, but I'm not too interested in buying a brand new press in which I'll have to do "fixes" on right out of the box.

Be interested in opinions and experience with both presses.

Thanks.

[lead Foot]

I don't have a MEC 600 but i have a LOAD-ALL. To unload you have to pray the handle away and lift up. It is spring loaded. To empty place a card on one side and empty. It dose leek a little in use but not bad. I load slugs on it and find it dose'nt compress the powder to well. It's hard to work this problem out cause one in ten rounds fails. Apart from that I am happy with it for the price.
lead Foot.

[shotman]

If you are not going to load alot and what to change loads offen get the 600 or better the 650. Get the universal charge bar and you are set . The lee dont have ajustable bar/s Also the die change is not too much on MEC for those 2 presses. Another thing, If you get INTO reloading then the mec 9000 will be you next step and you will have some experience with mec

[cajun shooter]

The 650 is a good press to start. If you have funds the Mec Sizemaster can be purchased new for $222. I think it's the best single stage press made. One sold on flea-bay yesterday for $130. The Mec with the adjustable bar which sells for $42 is something you can use for ever. They are easy to adjust and will load a bunch of shells if the need is there. I use mine to load my Bp shells for CAS. I drop powder from BP measure thou.

[HeavyMetal]

I have had a bunch of shot shell press's over the years.

For a first timer get the MEC sizemaster! I still have my first one, something I can't say about the load all or the loadfast! The sizemaster has the collet sizer that makes sure your brass section of the shell is resized, something real important if your running a semi auto shotgun!

Like the universal charge bar but it has gotten pricey. Do some checking on the load you want to use and see if you can hit the powder bushing, I 'd use the stock bar if I could get the load I wanted to come out of the machine.

One more thing: the manufacturers of every shotshell machine figure the shot bars using 9 shot! Because thier base customer usually is a trap or skeet shooter!

As soon as you change shot size you'll find your ounce bar ain't!

[jameslovesjammie]

I have used the MEC 600 jr and Lee Loadall, both in .20 gauge. The 600 is mine, and is the only shotgun press I have ever owned. The Loadall was a friends. I pulled the handle down on the loadall once, and that was enough for me. It seemed clunky and plasticy. It did its job of loading a shell, but lacked the smoothness of the MEC.

The 600 jr is the entry level offering from MEC, and the loadall isn't even in the same class. I purchased mine used, and have loaded literally 10's of thousands of rounds on it. When I lived back home, I made it a habit of shooting a box of shells a day, every weekday, all year long. This is a quality press that will last a long time.

[JeffinNZ]

I have a Loadall only as I load but a few rounds per year, mostly BP. It works but it's a bit 'agricultural'. Hey, it cost me $25 second hand. Can't complain.

[Heavy lead]

Got two 600's, one for target loads, one for hunting loads. I do have a Lee LoadAll, very utilitarian, does the job only use it for slugs. Probably would wear one out or wear yourself out if you shot a lot of clays, but it works. Biggest problem I see with it is there is no way to set wad pressure.

[Gun-adian]

I've got 2 MEC 600's. One I've had for about 16 years and still works great. I bought the second one last year so I could keep it set up for the 3 inch 12Ga. and use the first one for 2 3/4.

[Recluse]

Appreciate the replies and advice. Hadn't considered the Sizemaster too seriously, but someone made a really good point about the collet sizing on the brass to eliminate problems with a semi-auto. I don't own a semi-shotgun, but have a buddy who does. Be nice to have a machine that will load for any type of shotgun.

Again, thank you for the advice.

[1hole]

Both are good presses but each is designed for a different set of needs, different set of users. I like Lee tools fine but understand what they are built for. That's not high volume users! The Lee shotshell press is for those who only load a few boxes a year, mostly for birds. MEC has long been the best mid-range line available, plenty durable enough for a moderatly large scale user and more ajustable for versatility too.

A 650 or Sizemaster will be a great press, you will enjoy using either. For a long time!

[9.3X62AL]

I have 4 MEC 600 Jrs here, and all have been great loaders for me. There was a time not long ago that I ran through 1,000-1,200 shotshells in 12 and 28 gauge each per year, and the MECs had zero issues throughout that span of time (15 years). Shot prices have slowed me down considerably the last 2-3 years.

I cast a lustful glance at one of the Ponsness-Warren fully-progressive units for a time, but that won't happen unless shot gets more affordable--and I'm not holding my breath on that. The MEC 600 isn't really a "single-stage" as we think of an RCBS Rockchucker, it is a turret press that the operator moves the shell from station to station upon. Once you become accustomed to and comfortable with the MEC processing gig, you can crank out high-quality shells at a pretty decent clip.

[smkummer]

I still have the MEC if that means anything. I have a sizemaster and even with my son shooting on a SCTP team that requires 100 shells a week for about 2000 per season, it is fine. 100 loaded in less than 1 hour with primer feed. You will want to treat yourself with the primer feed. I have found used mec juniors for my shooting buddies and they are fine for low brass shells such as AA's. You may find one on ebay with the primer feed and get it for a good price. The early models can be upgrade to newer if needed. Shot prices are coming down (I proudly belong to the shotmaking group now!) and at my range the owner stated the next batch of shot will be priced at about $24. Maybe it is like gas prices and it is only a matter of time for it to get around $15 a bag with world market prices for lead a .30 per pound.

[August]

I started with a MEC 650. The last time (one of many) I spilled shot and powder all over the kitchen floor, I threw the damned thing in the trash. The progressive nature of the 650 might marginally speed up loading over the 600, but the amount of time one must spend recovering from a mistake is ten times the amount saved by the progressive feature.

After I threw my 650 in the trash -- accompanied by a world record series of expletives -- I went to Sportsmans' Warehouse and bought a 600 Jr. Within half an hour, I was making perfect shotshells and didn't spill one flake of powder or one piece of shot. Before a couple of hours went by, I had 400 black powder shotshells made up.

I think the MEC 600 is a WONDERFUL way to produce shotshells, and, as I said, I don't think it limits production. The shells go into and fly out of the gun fast, fast, fast. Hell, it even makes Winchester AAs work in my cowboy gun, and they don't always work when they come from the factory.

I've heard lots of guys like the Lee, but there's no way it could produce a better shell than the 600. They might be as good -- I don't know -- but they cannot be better.