New to reloading 12 gauge

Reaper665

Reaper665

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White Water Region, Ontario
I picked up a used VERSA MEC for reloading 00 buck. Do other MEC users have a preference on which bar you would use? Can you even use the bar for the shot? I have been dropping them in by hand. One last noob question, does the hole for powder change size from bar to bar?
Thanks.
 
This site has the manual for your machine. h ttp://www.mecreloaders.com/ownermanuals/ownermanuals.asp It is important to realize that shotshell reloading is more finiky for components than is rifle reloading, changing the hull, wad or even the primer can make a safe load over pressure so follow recipes exactly. 00 buck needs to be put in by hand as the pellets will not go through the shot bar in any reasonable manner. If you read the manual and carefully duplicate tested recipes you can turn out top notch loads. Enjoy your new purchase.
 
i got a mec for buckshot loading as well and you have to unfortunately do it by hand. you could likely take a 2x4 or 2x6 and drill some holes sized so it will accept said amount of buckshot you want per shell and load them that way.

the bar is changed when you change your shot weights, eg they 1 once bar, 1 1/8" once shot bar. there are powder bushings to dial in your powder charge.
 
Is this normal that some crimp well and other brands of hull don't?

image_zpsc2effaf7.jpg


The one on the right looks good I think. While the one on the left has a hole on the crimp. They still shoot however but they look sloppy and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong.
 
Are you lining up the pre crimp to the old crimp lines, or useing a 6 fold instead of an 8 fold or vise versa, but it wont make much noticeable difference unless shot is falling out, ive messed up some and there just like the rest and go bang
 
Wheres the best place to get loads for shotguns?

I just got a lee loadall to make slug and buckshot ammo. I haven't purhcased primers or wads yet and I'd like to use blue dot as I already have it...
 
Try to get a shotshell reloading manual. It'll give you all the types of different hulls, in all the different gauges...and loads for each one. Then there's always the interweb. YOUTUBE, Powder companies...Lots of other places on here to find out about reloading shotshells.

This link should get you started with the tutorials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcEKrhxa-vo

This link will get you to the Powder Companies data
http://data.hodgdon.com/shotshell_load.asp
 
Colt .45 said:
Wheres the best place to get loads for shotguns?

I just got a lee loadall to make slug and buckshot ammo. I haven't purhcased primers or wads yet and I'd like to use blue dot as I already have it...
Click to expand...
I likewise use Bluedot and it works really well for slugs and buck. Can be a tad dirty with buckshot, leaving more carbon in the hulls, but still works great.

Are you casting Lee 1oz key drive slugs? There isn't that much data for those since they aren't much like any other slug. The Lyman 475gr foster slug is designed to fit the bore where as the Lee slug is meant for a shotcup. The Lyman 525gr sabot slug is meant for a shot cup but is significantly taller and weighs more. Most of the data I use for Lee slugs are taken from unpublished loads being discussed online. Thankfully Bluedot can provide decent muzzle velocities with heavy recoil at reasonable pressures. I believe the Lee slug mould comes with a little load sheet with some loads on it. They aren't too specific on some components though such as saying "fold crimp plastic hull" without specifying a brand or type.

I would recommend the Lyman Shotshell Reloading Handbook for buckshot data. I have the 5th edition and it has a lot of recipes for buckshot and (Lyman) slugs. There is also some data on the Hodgdon database but only for their powders (Hodgdon, Winchester, IMR, Hornady, etc.) and not Alliant.

Most people say to never swap components but I swap Ballistic Products nitro cards and over shot cards for Circle Fly Wads equivalents (in terms of diameter and thickness) and have never had any problems. I can order Circle Fly Wads products from Track of the Wolf (.com) but Ballistic Products works through a third party distributor in Canada and are more annoying to order from. A lot of the recipes in the Lyman manual call for Ballistic Products cards that I prefer not to order. I also swap harder to find Winchester wads for Claybuster clones but those are listed as being interchangeable.
 
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