I AM BAFFLED
 

First time loading 28 Gauge. Bought a new Mec Sizemaster press. Searched the Hodgdon reloading data center for loads and looked over the comments that are on this thread. Picked out a low pressure 3/4 Oz load as follows:

Winchester AA HSS red hulls
Remington 209 Primers
CB 5034-28 HS 28 Ga wads, Optimum load 3/4/Oz
12.7 Grs Winchester 572 Powder
8500 PSI
1150 FPS

The shot will not fill up the hull enough to get a good crimp, and when you do crimp them the pellets rattle in the hull. I am using #8 shot. It is not much off from filling it as I added just a few pellets and got a great crimp and no rattle. I even weighed my pellet drop and it was just over the 3/4 Oz weight. Can anyone speculate what is going wrong with this or how I can solve it without going to a felt filler? Thanks, Steve

Make yourself a slightly larger capacity shot bushing that will fill the case. End of story.

Add in a Cheerio and if that is too much split it in half.

If you using a bar with bushings you will have to weigh the charge to verify again.. The recipe for that load that you posted should be fine. I'll bet the shot drop is light. Those bushings suck. I'm a huge fan of the adjustable charge bars.

Check the wad pressure by watching the ram that puts it in. If it shows on the indicator that it moves up adjust it so it just puts it in firmly the indicator moving a small amount. I had the same problem and the wad was being crushed just enough to leave a gap.

Great point that I considered. I loosened the wad ram and even with the set screw that holds it removed, it is still so tight that I had to rap on it with a rubber mallet to make it move, but it never loosened up. I finally set it at what I guessed was just touching the bottom of the wad.

Daryl, I am using a standard 3/4 oz Mec charge bar so their is no bushing to play with other than the powder bushing. I agree that the issue may be a light drop by the bar.

Weigh 10 shot charges and average them out. Wouldn’t surprise me if they are light charges. You can drop in a 1/8” .410 fiber wad before you drop in the shot if nothing else works.

Have some loose shot in a container close by and add a few pellets with a small dipper like a powder dipper, when it is still at the shot drop station. It usually only takes a few. In .410 and 28 they are hard to get the correct amount so I am always adding a few or removing by pouring out a few. These two gauges unless you shoot them a lot are slow to load for me. But at $25 a box for .410 in 3" I am saving lots of money. Twenty-eight also.

All this adding cheerios, fiber wads or extra shot to achieve a good crimp with each shell will get old after a while if you shoot them in any volume. Try bumping up the powder to 13.5-13.7gr. and if need be ream the shot cavity to get a full 3/4oz. drop. Make sure you are not crushing the wad. Fine tuning your machine and this load is all part of your new adventure with the 28.

I load 28 ga with Win 572 in AAHS with a yield 9000psi @ 1155 fps and add a 0.125 .410 maxi / nitro card or 1/8" .410 felt spacer wad in the wad under the shot for a satisfactory crimp.

If one is loading with a MEC Jr, it takes no time to drop in a .410 NC or felt wad into the shot cup. Even using a progressive press is easy peasy.

Heck, using my Spolar I can still make quick work of a few boxes of spreaders using the BP X-Stream Spreader insert. All depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.

I dop the shot then drop a small pinto bean into the wad spreader thingy and then crimp and they look great. If I miss a target I'm planting beans too I guess.

You probably use cannellini beans. Just sayin

That's racist man.:eek:

That’s not racist, Eye-Talian isn’t a race. 🤣😂

Why not take a fired hull, weigh and insert the powder into the hull, hand insert a wad and push it down until it touches the powder, weigh your shot and pour into the shell, then put this shell in the crimping station of your reloader. Finish the shell in the reloader then see how your crimp looks. Is your crimp nice?

Pardon moi.. It's the master race.:bowdown:

I’ve read about putting cheerios and beans in the mix as filler. I’ve never done this yet-do you put these objects on top of the shot and what keeps things from getting crushed especially Cheerios ?

I will give that a shot (no pun intended) tomorrow.

B I N G O

Nicht!!!

It's only because we have the superior cuisine.:)

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

Put whatever in the shot cup before the shot .

Pizza was stolen from the Greeks, pasta from China and ravioli/tortellini from the Poles!! Need I go on? :rotf:

Beans
 

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

We all know the most influential civilizations were the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greek, Roman, Myan...etc. The Dutch are widely recognized and associated for their progressive left wing culture in Amsterdam and open prostitution and use of weed, so you can have that Mike : )

Me, I'll stick to my prosciutto and calamari!!

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.

That may very well be but who perfected them and made them sysnonymous with their culture? When was the last time, other than at a Koneski family reunion/brawl, you heard a group of friends say "hey let's do weinersnitchel and some bitter beer for dinner"? Need I go on?:)

Wrong Dutch mein bruder! PA Dutch which is German. Nanner nanner nanner!! :rotf:

Seems like you’ve been at more of my family gatherings than I have!! 😂🤣🤪

Trust me they are not any different than an Italian get together.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Except one party is a hell of a lot better lookin' and they're all from the boot

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.

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! :eek::rotf:

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

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.

Nein, das ist Deutsch (translation: German) Pennsylvania Deutsch.:whistle:

Mein Vater war einer.





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