The MEC Marksman Single Stage metallic reloading press - a short review of the ###y "New for 2017" jet black machine!
My first impression upon receiving the package was "Wow this is heavy" and once I got it home and started pulling out the two smaller boxes I could tell these where solid and heavily built equipment.
Once I opened the press and lifted it onto the table for my initial examination the sheer solidness of the unit was apparent. Nothing flopped around, and the ram didn't swing freely. For someone used to the other presses on the market this was a new experience for me. This feels like a solid unit. You can tell a lot of thought and engineering went into this press -
Hell they even included the bolts to mount the press to the bench!
The stand (a excellent addition) was equally heavy and constructed of heavy gauge folded & welded steel. On both sides of the stand there are brackets to hold two dies - a bonus if you're doing runs of ammo for tomorrow's range day. Again MEC even includes all mounting hardware and also a little catch tray for spent primers.
Once all mounted and assembled I again picked up on the engineering involved in this design and you can immediately see that the designers involved know what they are doing! The ram travelled smoothly and cleanly and you know exactly (by feel) what's happening. When dies are mounted there is no "cam over" feeling at the end of travel and there is zero wobble. It feels like quality... I don't know how else to put it...
The free floating feature for the shell holder is a pretty cool feature too. By allowing a slight amount of movement this will help center the casing for the important functions like resizing & seating. Push down the front of the spring and insert/remove shellholder... easy peasy!
Now - the one thing I didn't see was a method for seating a new primer. To me this isn't a big deal - I actually prefer this. On my single stage press I've long removed that functionality and do it by hand with my priming tool.
I'm going to leave this open at this point and wait for the group member who I've since given this press to to write a more detailed review... but will finish with a single comment - this press is strong, solid and is a quality product! It would be an amazing investment for any reloaders workbench!
