Interested in reloading but have never done so. Would like to reload non-toxic shot, particularly bismuth.
Would appreciate recommendations/feedback on the best equipment to buy to begin the process. Also, any other resources like reloading manuals would be helpful.
Thanks.

Welcome to the forum. The Lyman Shotshell manual is a good start.

I've used MEC and Hornady reloaders, and even a little on my dad's old Pacific.

They all work if you follow the instructions and pay attention.

Good luck on your quest. I have not loaded bismuth or anything other than lead.

Right now is a good time to get into shotshell reloading. There's a lot of good used MECs (and others) on the market, I'm guessing because of the high cost of lead shot. I've picked up 6 presses in the last six months myself. Didn't really need about 4 of them but the price was right.

Like Mike says, Lyman's 5th Edition is a good manual.

For a press, I would suggest you get a single stage to start with. A MEC 600jr or (preferably) a MEC Sizemaster. I'm sure other makes work fine, I'm just familiar with MECs and really like them. If you find a good used one without the manual, the books are available online at the MEC website. Progressives are nice but can be frustrating for a beginner to set up. Add a Steel & Large Shot Adaptor if you're going to load anything larger than #6 shot. You don't absolutely have to have it but it sure makes life easier.

DC

If your going non toxic your in for a rude waking!! Prices for non tox shot are very high!! Good luck!

Sorry to say it is true...it is just about as cheap to buy the loaded ammo as it is to load non-tox right now. I wouldn't even bother loading lead except my costs for shot is just about zero. I make my own shot and have owned the shotmaker and linotype for about 20 years so they have more than paid for themselves.

The Lyman manual is about the best, MEC Loaders are the way to go. I don't know what gauge you are interested in but I assume it is 12 gauge. The MEC 600 Jr is a good basic press, and much easier to learn on than a progressive. I prefer the progressives but I have been loading for many years.

Wish I could make my own shot...its up to $45.00 a 25 pound bag at the local club now....

Im looking for a 3/8 ounce load for 12 gauge...lol!

bobshouse
Yea even those cheap bulk loads aren't cheap anymore! Went and bought 3 bags of shoot before the price hike and they have to last a while!

dwbpa1,

If you are wanting to load for waterfowl hunting, stick with the steel shot. It is many times cheaper than bismuth and you can still run a full 60 yard kill range with it...

I have been paying $16.00 for 10 pound bags of steel shot, which isn't too bad. I load 12 ga. 2 3/4" shells with 7/8 oz. of steel shot for ducks and geese and have no problem limiting out on birds...

The biggest key to success with steel shot loads though is - HIGH VELOCITY! My 7/8 oz loads run up to 1,700 fps. from a Hastings Wad Lock barrel. I have been loading steel shot for over 20 years and have taken hundreds upon hundreds of birds and to date, I have never recovered a single pellet from any bird. Complete penetration is the norm with high velocity steel shot loads....

A

Here's what I use for 20 and 12 gauge. I loaded with one of these little Lee 35 buck presses for a year or so then a friend talked me into a Mec 600 Jr. What a mistake it was a far harder machine to load with and it soon went down the road.

These are mounted on a small round piece of plywood so I can just loosen a wingnut and swivel the one I want to use around to the front. With the 600 you go back and forth with the shell til it's loaded. With the Lee you start on one side and go across and finish up on the other in a straight line. Works much easier for me anyway. You can also get an auto primer feed for them that works great.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/shotgunloaderturntable.jpg

Forgot to mention press type but, I use the MEC SizeMaster for all my shotshell loading. I prefer this one because of the way it sizes the brass or steel head and because unlike other resizers, this one uses a collet with "fingers" that grip and squeeze the head back down to minimal dimensions. Most all other presses will "scrape" brass off the heads as it slides through the sizing ring on the press. Another plus for the these heavier duty presses is in the final crimp. It is nice and tight and tapered for easy feeding in even the most finicky shotguns out there....

A

I've got an RCBS Mini-Grand, it was under $100 new from Natchezss.com I've only been reloading for about a year now, but I've loaded over 2500 shells without a problem (got my finger once though, that hurt a bit)

Lead is about $1 a pound here... so I'll have to suffer, its still much cheaper than buying already loaded stuff.

How would the RCBS Mini-Grand compare to the MEC 600 Jr?

A

I've got a MEC 600 jr also, that I don't use, but the Mini Grand is pretty similar, it uses seperate powder and shot drop tubes, and has a 7th station for taper crimping for feeding in semi auto and pump guns (although I don't use this feature and have had no feeding problems in my Rem 11-87)

Its a bigger unit than the MEC, and the hoppers are fixed but have wide tops for easy filling, the shot holds 12.5 lbs, the powder holds .5 lb.

It doesn't use MEC bushings, but it does use everybody elses bushings, of these Hornady shares the same numbering and they are easiest for me to find.

Thank you for taking the time to offer this information, I appreciate it...

A

No problem. I got the Mini Grand as a gift, then my dad told me he had a Mec from a long time ago. The Mec was pretty dirty but it cleaned up well. I would use it if it was in 20 gauge, but I didn't want to be buying parts for two loaders that do the same thing. The Mini Grand was new and except for the wad fingers always trying to pop out of place its got no problems.

I had a look at the Mini Grand manual on the RCBS site. Unfortunately some of the pictures are one big blur, so I'm guessing here.

http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/instructions/Mini_Grand_Instruction_Manual.pdf

It appears that the Mini Grand has one crimp adjustment. That's half way between Lee's none and MEC's two. You get a good crimp with the Lee or you don't. A MEC lets you sort out just about any crimp problem. The 600 Jr. has an optional automatic primer feed, the Mini-Grand doesn't.

I have a Sizemaster and a Grabber. The MEC Steelmaster is a Sizemaster modified for large shot.

Bye
Jack

That pdf sucks...

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa115/mattsbox99/IMG_0065.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa115/mattsbox99/IMG_0064.jpg

All in all though, if you had both presses NEW and in the box, which one would you prefer?

I have owned and used all of the MEC presses at one time or another and now just use the MEC Sizemaster beecause I loads LOTS of steel shot loads. I was looking for something a little smaller but will always keep my Sizemaster....

A

p.s. I just now saw your posted pictures of the RCBS. Do you think that it is built as solid as the MEC Jr?

I'd still take the RCBS... its a flawless unit and the only complaint is no auto primer feed. The crimp is completely adjustable, I have no experience with any other machines, and I only set the MEC up, I never used it... I did set up and use a friends MEC, and had to smack him when he told me he was using black powder in it, and that he just bought whatever powder he wanted and never got the right bushings... I'm amazed... he got really lucky that modern shotguns are significantly overbuilt for the low pressures they were originally designed for.

Great pics. Now I can see how the Mini-Grand is set up. You should send them to RCBS. :D

Bye
Jack

The only plastic is the wad guide fingers and the hoppers, so its at least as sturdy as the MEC. My MEC is an older machine, 1970s production, so I would imagine things have only gotten more plastic on newer machines... although the ones that I have seen set up don't have any plastic that the RCBS unit doesn't also have.

my main thing is that I'm not trying to say that one machine is much better than the other. I like the features of the RCBS, mainly the bushings, and the 7th station, even though I don't use it.

Thank's for all the information...

That 7th. station would really come in handy with it's "taper crimp", even though I shoot nothing but pump guns....

A

I imagine a finicky auto like a Browning or Beretta would notice the taper crimp, my shooting buddy has a winchester 1300 speed pump that rarely has feeding problems with my reloads, but it has happened a few times... mine has had zero problems with any loads...