The Joys of Reloading

[J.B. Books]

I am not sure how much I spilled at one time definitely not a whole bag but like Scott says over the years about a ton. I had a female black lab who used to like to lay down near me while I reloaded. As soon as she heard the first sound of a spill she would run upstairs because she thought the expletives were directed at her

PS. Welcome to the club Larry, we have all been there, just not as soon as you got there. Reloading is the way to go for vintage guns allowing for control of pressure, shot weight and recoil.

PPS. A MEC 650 is a progressive reloader and if you have a problem you really have to stop and think about where each shell is in the process. It's easier to learn on a single stage loader. Also the 650 does not resize the brass so you may encounter hulls you have picked up not fitting or sticking in the chambers of your gun. You will need to get a MEC Super Sizer or Shell Conditioner to perform that function.

[jimcaron]

Originally Posted by Pete Lester

I am not sure how much I spilled at one time definitely not a whole bag but like Scott says over the years about a ton. I had a female black lab who used to like to lay down near me while I reloaded. As soon as she heard the first sound of a spill she would run upstairs because she thought the expletives were directed at her

PS. Welcome to the club Larry, we have all been there, just not as soon as you got there. Reloading is the way to go for vintage guns allowing for control of pressure, shot weight and recoil.

PPS. A MEC 650 is a progressive reloader and if you have a problem you really have to stop and think about where each shell is in the process. It's easier to learn on a single stage loader. Also the 650 does not resize the brass so you may encounter hulls you have picked up not fitting or sticking in the chambers of your gun. You will need to get a MEC Super Sizer or Shell Conditioner to perform that function.

You're dog and my dog must be related! Everytime I start with the salty talk, she flies out of the room! I think those ears of her must really be wings!

That reminds me when somebody new to reloading asked me how to not spill any shot. My reply "don't reload"

[Pa SxS]

Larry, here is some more advice for a beginner MEC user. I know from experience!

Pay close attention when you are filling the bottles with shot and powder. Don' fill the powder bottle with shot and don't fill the shot bottle with powder. Heck of a hard time separating the shot and powder when their mixed together.

You'll have screw ups where you forget to put the wad in or the machine malfunctions. A good trick to separate powder and shot is to use the wife's kitchen strainer. It's usually a round basket with screen door mesh. Hold the strainer over a container, pour the powder shot mixture in the strainer and agitate it over the container. The powder will fall through the holes and the shot says in the strainer. You can separate most of the powder from the shot this way. Any powder remaining with the shot won't matter. Poor the shot back in the shot bottle. Bin there done that many times

Also, any shells that don't look right, cut the shells open with a knife, separate the components and reuse them. You can punch out the new primer, just take it slow.

If you don't have a scale, you need one. Don't rely on MEC's bushing chart for powder drop. You can file out the powder bushings to get more accurate drops if you don't have a bushing for the correct amount of powder or buy an adjustable charge bar. The adjustable charge bar is great.