Newb 10ga reloading Q's?

[gixer]

Hi fellas, I am looking to get into reloading 10ga shells with lead, and steel.

My question is whats a good press to buy? I see the MEC 600jr MKV looks to be quite popular.

will this do the 10ga 3-1/2" shells. I see on the mec site it lists it with 10ga options, but says 3" shells, does'nt mention 3-1/2" length.



Also, can anyone give me a starter list, of all the gear/stuff I'll need to start reloading 10ga shells for myself?

Thanks, so much guys. SKip.

 

[Scar270]

I've reloading 10 gauge on a Mec of some sort, can't remember the exact model now.

I've also reloaded it on a Ponsness Warren 375 which is another single stage press.

I find the Ponsness Warren to be a much smoother and easier to operate press then the MEC, however loading 10 gauge in either can be a pain compared to other gauges. The length of the wads in the 10 gauge make it so even though the presses have a long enough stroke to handle the hulls, putting in wads can be a royal pain. You'll also find that a lot of 10 gauge recipes call for multiple filler wads, overshot cards etc, which slows up the process even more.

The MEC I was using with a universal charge bar could not go big enough for an 1 7/8 of bismuth with the universal charge bar, so I had to count out 90 pellets for it. (a large rifle primer tray, with 10 holes taped off was really good for that).

I am waiting for my Ponsness Warren LS-1000 to get here, I plan to convert it to 10 gauge, as it should hopefully have the length to make loading 10 gauge much more pleasant, but it's not a cheap press.

The good news about reloading 10 gauge, is that despite the fact that it's a royal pain compared to 12 gauge, it also pays much better then reloading 12 gauge. There are some really serious savings to be made.

Go look around Ballistic Products Inc's website and you can get a good idea of whats available for wads, as well as some load data. Get their "The Mighty 10 Gauge" reloading book, as well as maybe a more generic book if you have not reloaded shotgun much before, either Lymans shotshell manual, or the BPI advantages manual, or both.

The most common load data is for the Federal Hull's which are fairly easy to come by, there is some load data for Remingtons, but they are not quite as readily available. At least in my area.

Depending on what kind of 10 gauge you are reloading for, there is also load data out there for 2 7/8" hulls, so when you wear out your crimps, they can be cut off and you can keep reloading the hulls if your gun will feed them. The downside is I cannot find any load data for fold crimps on the shorter hulls, and roll crimping is not as nice.

What sort of loads are you looking to be reloading? Heavy Lead, Steel, Bismuth or ITX maybe? Or are you looking for a lighter lead load for wacking pigeons in the off season?

What volume of shells are you looking to go through in a year?

 

[gixer]

Mostly looking to do some steel loads in #2, and #4 for waterfowl, and some #4 in lead for "problem" animals around the farm. Be it, cyotes, etc. Some good, heavy loads in the steel and lead.

Not huge volumes of shells, enough to get me through each season. I just can't seem to find any 10ga lead factory loads, or I'd simply buy them.

Reloading seems like something I'd like to try out, even if it's not gonna save me a tonne of money.

On a side note, do you know where some 10ga lead can be found?

Thanks so much for the info.

Gix.

 

[Scar270]

Bass Pro has been carrying heavy turkey loads, but they are #4's.
Quite a few of the bigger sports stores around here seem to carry heavy steel loads.

If your not planning on reloading a lot of them, probably the MEC would be your cheapest way to get into it.

 

[zZ_denis]

I have been using MEC 600 JR to reload 10 ga. I have never loaded any shotgun shells prior to buying it. It's extremly easy to use and i would highly recommend it.

I have never used any other shotshell presses, so i cant really compare it to anything, but i have absolutely nothing bad to say about it.

I can load as many as 150-175 shells per hour, which is fast enough for most 10ga shooters out there.
I've loaded all kinds of loads with it from 1 oz to 2.5 oz lead, steel... Even loaded some 15 pellet loads with 000 buck for fun. I wanted to try 18 pellets of 000 buck (which fit fine into a shell), but couldnt find any load data for it.

 

[gixer]

Thats good to hear. Thanks for the info denis. did you have to mod your 600 jr, to do the 3-1/2" length of the 10ga shells?

Once i get set up, do you mind if i bother you more newbie questions?

Thnks, gix.

 

[bigbull]

I have been using the MEC SIzemaster to load lead and steel loads for my SP10, it loads nicely and has not given me any problems, one feature I really like is the resizing station that can really take the brass down to size with little effort since some of the brass heads on the hulls are made of steel which is harder to reliably resize with a sleeve type resizing station like on the MEC Junior press.
bigbull