Reloader Suggestion

[TomADC]

Started in the 70's with a couple of MEC 600 JR's a 12 & 20 ga then when the 9000G first came out I bought two a 12 & 20 ga version, was still using a 600 for 28 ga but maybe 15 years ago upgraded the 28.
I set one up and load until the empties are gone then switch Gage's and do it again. I used to buy shot by the ton and for practice one of the ranges had reclaimed shot worked fine. I like AA haven't bought any in ages loaded up when I was in the Navy, use Claybuster wads & primers 5000 at a time. Bottom line you won't go wrong with a 600 JR.

 

[BigJimP]

I'm still under $ 4 a box for 12ga with 1 oz loads... and I think the cost of shot is probably going to come down.

Retail shells ...for decent shells are around $6 a box in my area...so you can still save money by reloading...but the biggest reason to reload is to produce the shell that you want....( 1 oz at 1150 fps / 1 oz at 1200 fps / 1 oz of 8's or 9's or whatever ...).
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The Grabber is a good basic machine - and its a smart choice.
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I like the 9000 series better than the Grabber model - because it auto indexes but its more money ( in either the G which is the manual model / or the H which is the hydraulic machine ). But my youngest son is now using a 12ga Grabber that I bought new sometime in the 1980's ..when he was a kid...and we loaded thousands of shells on it / I reconditioned it and gave it to him last summer and now he's using it .

 

[Ricklin]

Excellent Choice

Great choice on the MEC. A manually indexed progressive is the way to go IMHO. That's if you need volume.

Can't imagine a single stage if you are shooting target games.

I had never reloaded a shotshell, but had done a little metallic reloading, but very much a newbie at that also.

Shotshells are much simpler, it's strictly a cookbook approach. Just follow the recipe, and understand your machine.

I have reloaded thousands of rounds with my old grabber, purchased cheap on Ebay. I've never made a bad shotshell. Really....shotshells are LOTS easier.

If you need any kind of volume, you made an excellent choice.

 

[Technosavant]

I've never made a bad shotshell.

Oh, it'll happen. There was the one I forgot to insert a wad in. Then there was the one after something had gone awry and turned out it had no powder... I realized something was amiss when I just heard a "tunk" and a few pieces of shot rolled out the end of the barrel. Oops.

Honestly, I think straight walled pistol is probably the easiest to reload... not as many parts to things as with shotshell, fewer steps on the press, it's just less trouble. Shotshell is easy- no working up of loads, but that can come back to bite you if you're trying to find recipes for hulls that aren't that common or in times like now, when you have to use the powder you can find instead of just taking your pick of whatever you want.

 

[eastbank]

i just checked the prices a few friends paid last month, red dot-25.00 a pound, shot-36.00-25lbs, wads 9.00-500, primers-28.00 a 1000. they load 18grs red dot(me too),1-1/8 oz shot, clay busters wads. it comes out to close to .22 cents a shell at those prices. thats why i have been buying wally world federal 100 round packs for 19.94 and saving the supplies i bought cheap. when the bulk federal packs go back up to 28-30 dollars a hundred i,ll start to load. i think you could shave that .22 cents a round some if you can get your supplies cheaper by banding together and buying in bulk and load less shot. with the supplies i have hoarded i think i can load for 14-16 cents a round. i would like to see all the supplies needed to load shotgun,rifle and pistol come down 25-30 percent or more(maybe wishfull thinking). eastbank.

 

[BigJimP]

Its not just about the economics of reloading....for many of us, reloading is part of the hobby. I'd reload even if the cost was a push...
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My 9000 HN hydraulic Mec presses will easily load 20 boxes an hour...so it isn't time consuming.../ and I've enjoyed passing the hobby onto my adult kids and now some of the grandkids that are from 9 to 23 yrs old..../ maybe some of them will keep reloading long term... maybe not / but they will at least remember the experience and the time we spent in the shop and at the range...( for shotshells and handgun ammo ).

 

[A400 Fan]

Damn, Jim - how are you loading and boxing 20 boxes per hour? without reloading the primer feed, your wads, etc? I have had a 9000 and a Grabber and can't come close

 

[BigJimP]

I'm talking about just loading - in terms of the speed of the loader...( not boxing )..../ on the 9000 HN, its easy to get 500 shells an hour off the press ( I have large - oversized bottles on both sides for shot and powder ) ...and the new primer system holds 250 primers at one time. The 900 HN will actually do more than 500 shells an hour...

Even if you get down on shot or power or both / and primers...it will only take 4 or 5 min to reload all three ....( that area of my shop is dedicated to shotshell loaders)...so its no big deal to grab the funnel - and the bag of shot, or the powder container ..or rotate the primer system out of position and drop a couple of containers of primers onto the plate...( one 25 lb bag of shot gives you about 400 1 oz 12ga shells )....if you only load 3/4 oz of shot, like in a 28ga...you get about 525 shells to a 25 lb bag of shot...( but you know that ! )...

On the 9000 HN (hydraulic) --- put a new hull on station 1 with your left hand - a new wad in station 3 with your right hand ...and your foot operates the pedal on the floor...( and repeat !! )...
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as far as going to the range.../ I either let them drop them loose into an 8 gallon storage container or I'll bag them up - by dropping 30 finished shells into a Quart sized zip lock bag...and drop 10 bags into a storage container.
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The 9000 GN is slower ...because you have to activate the handle with your right hand / vs just using your foot leaving your hands free to grab the next hull and wad... ?? The Grabber of course is way slower...because you have to rotate the base - there is no auto indexing...but I seem to remember I was getting at least 8 boxes off a Grabber an hour pretty easily....

What do you think you get for # of shells ...just loading ..not boxing...off the 9000 GN ??
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For entertainment purposes only....on the 9000 HN hydraulic this morning it took me right at 2 minutes to get 25 shells off the press ( press was setup, components loaded, empty hulls at hand, wads at hand...( and all 6 stations in the press were full - but I didn't count the first 6 shells that came off the press ). My son tells me it takes him 6 - 7 minutes to get a box off of the Grabber. So the 9000 GN should be in between maybe 4 minutes per box...