16 gauge 2 1/2” reloading issue

[Mike of the Mountain]

You're not alone with having hulls buckle under pressure in your press. I had to adjust my crimp-starter and final crimp dies up and used less pressure on the handle while crimping to keep the hulls intact. I don't load many 2 1/2" hulls anymore so I don't have that problem now. If the hulls would be supported by a die such as Spolar or PW, that issue would most likely be solved. I'd have the same issue, though rarely, loading 8g hulls on the MEC, but never on the PW.