28 gauge MEC 9000 loading problem

[Frank Srebro]

Brand new MEC 9000 progressive press in 28 gauge. I'm loading once fired Remington STS hulls with 3/4 ounce of West Coast #8 shot that's bright and not oxidized nor tarnished. Alliant 20/28 powder and Claybuster 5034-HS wads.

I'm having trouble with shot bridging in the shot/ram tube on station #3. Probably 1 of 4 shells, the shot will hang up in the tube ..... some shot drops into the wad but the rest will hang up and falls later when the shell indexes to station #4. The shot tube is clear, no obstructions. A friend suggested putting a teaspoon of talcum powder in the shot canister and shaking to coat all the pellets, but that didn't help. :banghead:

I'd appreciate any ideas.

[Tom Pellegrini]

Frank, I have a new MEC 9000 in 12 ga. I had a similar problem with the drop tube for the wads. Took the tube off the machine and looked inside and there was paint build up inside the tube. I guess they dip the parts for painting. I used a small round file and cleaned the paint drops out and that corrected the issue.

[bob lyons]

I had the problem with a new 410 650 mec
Very frustrating, I cleaned the tube out with cleaning rods and patches. Also took it apart. Seems to be some hope of coating on it. Worked good for awhile, but starts again after about 4 boxes.
The 410 takes me 2 times as long to reload a box, they are very fussy.
Waiting for the responses to this.
Frank the browning and model 42 have been getting a through work out. Thanks they are both are great guns, and they are very addictive.
Bob

[Kevin McCormack]

Frank I had the exact same problem with the exact same press and loading dynamics. Mine were with both powder and shot. I used 800X powder and had continuing issues with powder bridging in the drop tube which I eventually partially solved by running a very fine thin copper wire up to a water pipe in my gun room overhead to dissipate static electricity, which all the reloading gurus diagnosed as the problem.

So far as shot bridging, it occured much less frequently, but became most annoying. I solved that by "washing" my shot (Lawrence brand #8 Magnum (high antimony) with powdered graphite I bought cheaply from the local locksmith. I would pour the whole 25 lb. bag of shot into a plastic bucket and churn it around thoroughly with a plastic spatula then sieve it and load it. I eventually found that the automotive engine reassembly product "Motor Mica" worked just as well. During my reloading career loading 12, 20, and 28 guage the latter was the only gauge that continually gave me problems. All my presses were MEC progressives, which proved to be very good machines.

[Jerry Harlow]

Heck, the 9000s are a pain in the butt for they always screw up (really it is the nut behind the handle). Knowing that the shot hangs up, while the shot drop tube is still inside the hull, whack it with a wrench, stick, screwdriver, or whatever is handy to make the rest of the shot fall. Works for me.

[JAMES HALL]

Had same problem. Someone at Mec suggested baby powder. It works just as Kevin's remedy.

[Chuck Bishop]

Wack the shot tube like Jerry does before the tube leaves the hull. Graphite or mica may help. Sure makes a mess!

[Mike Koneski]

I'll lift the handle to just keep the tube in the top of the hull before I push the bar over on my 600, Jr. Makes it easy to see if all the shot dropped. That may not work on your 9000G but it works on the 600, especially the .410.

[Andrew Sacco]

I hear that using a cling free dryer sheet run through the tube will help for static for the powder. I have used that for handgun on the funnels etc so powder doesn't stick. As far as Kevin's idea about static, I saw a forum somewhere once where the poster used a vinyl record anti static gun to zap his tube periodically which kept the powder dropping. Seems an expensive fix, but if you have one laying around or see one a flea market it's an idea

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Milty-Zerostat-3-Anti-Static-Gun-Blue/50157360?adid=22222222264451844549&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=b&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=75110542769878&wl4=dat-2326910202059233:loc-190&wl5=102619&wl6=&wl7=&wl14=milty%20zerostat&veh=sem&&msclkid=1c9a8ba0afb2112eb81fef908c074346&gclid=1c9a8ba0afb2112eb81fef908c074346&gclsrc=3p.ds

[Chris Pope]

Same problem with shot hanging up in my Mec Jr 600 28 ga. Remedy for me is to rattle the handle back and forth after dropping the shot. It's a pain in the butt, but it works. I appreciate the other tips above and will try some of them also.
I must say static electricity is another issue and has always concerned me. Why we don't have more explosions reloading shotgun shells and pumping gas is beyond me...easy to become complacent.

[Mike Koneski]

Same problem with shot hanging up in my Mec Jr 600 28 ga. Remedy for me is to rattle the handle back and forth after dropping the shot. It's a pain in the butt, but it works. I appreciate the other tips above and will try some of them also.
I must say static electricity is another issue and has always concerned me. Why we don't have more explosions reloading shotgun shells and pumping gas is beyond me...easy to become complacent.

The pumping gas issue is over rated. Have you ever actually seen a news story about someone blowing up while pumping gas? I never have. Urban legends don't count. Same for using a cell phone while pumping gas, totally BS. As for static electricity sparking powder while reloading, wouldn't be too concerned about that either. Static might cause some powder to cling in a press, but out of all the shells I've reloaded and all the shells all my buddies have reloaded, we've never had an explosion, and if there was one, Big Bro and their lap-dog media would be all over it.

[Frank Srebro]

Thanks gents with positive replies. I haven't had a chance to get to the reloading bench since posting. I'll get this figured out and without having to change hands 100 times to hold the 9000's handle and use my right hand to whack the press for 100 shells. As a high school professor used to say: "every problem has its solution". :)

[Chris Pope]

The pumping gas issue is over rated. Have you ever actually seen a news story about someone blowing up while pumping gas? I never have. Urban legends don't count. Same for using a cell phone while pumping gas, totally BS. As for static electricity sparking powder while reloading, wouldn't be too concerned about that either. Static might cause some powder to cling in a press, but out of all the shells I've reloaded and all the shells all my buddies have reloaded, we've never had an explosion, and if there was one, Big Bro and their lap-dog media would be all over it.

Well Mike I agree with some of that…such as starting a fire with a cell phone while pumping gas (really rare); and yes the media will certainly be all over us if one of use causes a fire or explosion at the loading bench. But I will respectfully disagree with some of your other observations. After 30 years in the fire service, yes I’ve seen fires at gas pumps and they too are very rare. Fires from fueling lawnmowers, snow blowers, boats, soaking motorcycle parts in a pan of gasoline in your apartment all can have nasty consequences. Again, all relatively “rare”. But spending a few weeks in a burn unit I’m thinking is not fun.
It's the old risk assessment measuring probability against consequence. I had a career because of low probability/high consequence catastrophes. Not all of them caused by dumb people. Just something someone had done a thousand times but something changed the equation on that fateful day such as having an ignition source too near the flammable liquid.
There are small things we can all build into our habits to reduce the risk. As an example, after reading the incredibly helpful thread on this forum about a burst barrel on a Parker injuring one of our members last year, I now always, always check to make sure the bore is clear before firing a round at the skeet range or in the field. A simple new habit even though a burst barrel is a really low likelihood. And I’m still grateful to the member for sharing that story and all of the really helpful thoughts on the matter from other members on the forum.

[Bill Murphy]

Frank, the only cure for shot bridging I have used is a well buffed coat of Johnson's paste wax on the inside of the tube. I guess it should be renewed occasionally, but I have never done that. I am still on my mother's last can of Johnson's wax. She died in November of 1960 and the can is still in good shape, a good skim over the bottom edges of the can. Clue for making it last, leave the rag in the can and never throw it away. I once saw a loader with a hammer mounted permanently to whack the tube at the right time. I don't remember how it was mounted or the brand of loader.

[edgarspencer]

I have never experienced bridging in my 28ga 9000. That said, the press came with cadmium plated drop tubes, but one of my 600 presses, a newer version than all my others, has a black plastic drop tube. Comparing that tube to the cad plated tubes in the 9000, they appear to be the same dimensions. Im sure you have a 600 in your stable, so if you have one with the plastic drop tube, try switching it out with the shot drop tube in the 9000 and see if you still have the bridging issue.

[Paul Harm]

Mec does not recommend using 800X in their progressive presses for the smaller gauges like 28 or 410. It's too big of a flake powder to meter well with such small bushings. It's all I had at one time for my 28ga so I would rap the side of the powder bottle when the bushing was under it.

[Frank Srebro]

This guy isn't going to be whacking the press for each shell to get it to work reliably. I concluded the shot bridging was in the "bottleneck" at the bottom of the wad seating tube (not the shot drop tube) and modified mine this morning by cutting off the bottleneck part on the lathe, turning the OD very slightly and silver brazing a steel extension that's now the same ID and OD as the bottom end of the wad seating tube. In other words the wad seating tube no longer has a bottleneck at its bottom end. Also, I added an extra 1/16" to its length so I can deep seat wads if necessary. Afterwards I loaded (50) Remington STS hulls without any shot bridging/hangup problems. :)

First pic shows the wad seating tube with bottleneck as supplied by MEC

Second pic - rough turning the attached extension on the lathe

Third and fourth are supermacros of the extension, see the yellowish silver braze lines

Two reloaded shells in the fifth one

.

[scott kittredge]

i brought mine to work and opened it up .005 to .007 with a reamer. i think i did another one the same way for a buddy. that help the problem with larger bismuth shot.
scott