I AM BAFFLED

[Mike of the Mountain]

Cheerios, beans, filler wads, all in the shot cup under the shot.

[Clark McCombe]

I've put the beans or chick pea on top of the shot, seems easier for me. The dried Goya beans don't crush. When I use cherrios I get crumbs along with powder and shot all over the place. The shop vac is handy.
Adding a bean also is easier than adjusting the cam on the Mec loader if I'm doing a few shells. For instance the AA shells crimp fine, but if there are a few Super X mixed in, I add the chick pea.
I'm not to the point yet of testing the pattern of a chick pea/bean shell vs a normal perfectly crimped home loaded shell. For me, I can miss the targets just fine either way
Left Shell - no pea
center - crimped with pea
right - pre crimp

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Clark McCombe

I've put the beans or chick pea on top of the shot, seems easier for me. The dried Goya beans don't crush. When I use cherrios I get crumbs along with powder and shot all over the place. The shop vac is handy.
Adding a bean also is easier than adjusting the cam on the Mec loader if I'm doing a few shells. For instance the AA shells crimp fine, but if there are a few Super X mixed in, I add the chick pea.
I'm not to the point yet of testing the pattern of a chick pea/bean shell vs a normal perfectly crimped home loaded shell. For me, I can miss the targets just fine either way
Left Shell - no pea
center - crimped with pea
right - pre crimp

The cheerio's never worked for me either Clarke. I end up with a pile of cereal powder in my vest or on the bottom of my bucket of shells.

[Woodcock survey]

Mr. Hodges have you cured the problem with your 28 ga. loader?

[Steve Hodges]

Originally Posted by Daniel Carter

Mr. Hodges have you cured the problem with your 28 ga. loader?

Yes I did, thanks. It turned out to be two issues. One, I noticed that the charge bar was dragging when I moved it to the right to drop shot. It was hesitating just before the end of the stroke. This was resulting in the small pellet drop. The second issues was solved by Scott K. He suggested for me to lower my crimp starter to close the pre crimp much tighter than I had it set. When I checked the bar the paint or whatever the coating is that is on it, was already wearing on the top of the bar. I took some fine sandpaper to it and polished it. Problem solved. It now slides smooth and I am getting a full drop and the crimps look great.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Steve, glad you solved your press issues. It can be frustrating when a problem comes out of left field. I also need to apologize for taking your thread in a different direction. I’m like a raccoon with a shiny object, easily distracted!

[Double Lab]

You're not alone on that Mike. I sometimes can't help it.

It just goes to show you that 99% of problems with reloading machines are due to not tweaking the machine and fine tuning it. Glad you solved it Steve.

[Steve Hodges]

Originally Posted by Mike Koneski

Steve, glad you solved your press issues. It can be frustrating when a problem comes out of left field. I also need to apologize for taking your thread in a different direction. I’m like a raccoon with a shiny object, easily distracted!

Mike no worries. I got a kick out of all the banter 😊

[Andy]

Glad you worked it out Steve. For what it’s worth I’ve found different sized beans help. Pathetic. Pinto. Small pinto. Lentils 🤣. I don’t have patience with felt fillers and I haven’t noticed a difference in my shooting. It sucks no matter what I use. But the journey with these people are the fun part.