load all

[Illhunter]

i was looking through the cabela's catalog and saw this it is for loading shotgun shells and wondered what you all thought about it i am new to reloading and thought this would be a good place to start do any of you know much about this peice of equipment it is $40 and was thinking about going in on it with a few friends  any help would be appreciated

Terry

[jgalar]

Since there isn't any adjustments to speak of on the loader you have to go by feel. You will ruin a few hulls while getting the hang of using the Lee tool, but once you get the right combination of wad and hull it works fairly well.

I do not regret buying mine. If I were shooting a couple hundred rounds a couple of times a week I would get something different.

[Illhunter]

well i don't shoot to much so that wouldn't be a big deal and the friend who wants to go in on it is wanting it mostly to load the blank shotgun shells he uses for his haunted farm or would you recommend a better  press for this like the mec reloaders thanks


Terry

[jgalar]

Like I said I have no regrets buying mine. Some people bad mouth anything with the Lee name, but I found the load-all works fine and does exactly what its supposed to do. In my oppinion its very easy to use.

[.45 COLT]

The LoadAll does fine for low volume reloading. I've got a couple of them, and they do what they're supposed to do. Nothing else to buy, they come with a full set of bushings.

I also have quite a few MECs. I just never pass one up if the price is right and the mood strikes me. With a little looking around, you can find a used MEC for the price of the LEE unit. I shop craigslist.com, just picked up a MEC Sizemaster for $50, a 600jr for $40 and another 600jr for $35, all in top condition. As pointed out, there are a lot more adjusting involved with a MEC, but they are a better press.

The LoadAll will probably do what you need, but I'd look around for a deal on a MEC. Just a thought.

DC

[gooser]

  I have been using my load all's for many years now,with absolutely no complaints. I have a 12 gauge and a 16 gauge load all. I like it.

[Illhunter]

just came upon a deal on craigslist it is a mec 600 jr and the guy wants $30 for it and has some extra stuff to go with it I am thinking about getting it. He says it is 12 ga can you change to different ga or is it simply a 12 ga reloader I know nothing about reloading but am considering this cause one of my future guns will be a mossberg persauder for home protection and fun shooting.


Terry

[Graybeard]

You can buy die sets to convert MEC presses to other gauges. For the most part all their loaders can be converted in such a manner but a conversion die set costs more than what you're talking about paying by a good deal. If it's not the gauge you're looking for don't buy it with conversion in mind.

I picked up a MEC Sizemaster 77 from a GBO member some while back (perhaps one or two years ago) for a really good cheap price. At the time I had no particular use for it but the price was too good to pass up I felt. I've recently converted it to a 28 gauge as the one I was using was set up for Remington hulls and I just didn't want the hassle of setting it up back and forth between Remington and Winchester hulls as in 28 gauge that seems to take some delicate adjustments. Other gauges generally aren't such a problem. I think I paid about $80 for the conversion die set. Dies for a 600 JR should be some cheaper but likely not a great deal cheaper.

Used MEC press don't have a great deal of resale value even tho they are great presses. There is a fellow at our skeet club who had a set of four of the MEC 9000G presses which sell for well over $400 in nearly new condition he was asking only $150 each for. I came close to buying one but I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough to use a progressive. I've been using the single stage presses for close to 40 years and just don't wanna mess with a progressive so I passed on them.

[Illhunter]

ok well I plan on buying a 12 ga soon but that also depends on wherther i buy the handi so my next question would be since i know nothing  about reloading i guess you are better to buy seperate presses for shotgun and rifles  ammo. would the mec be a good press to start off with or should i keep looking for something different 

Terry

[Graybeard]

There is no better beginners press than the MEC for shotshell loading. You really want a different press for each gauge as change over is time consuming and a real PITA. You also want different presses for shotshells and centerfire. Some centerfire presses have conversion set ups but it's far better to have a dedicated shotshell set up. Depending on the volume you plan to shoot the MEC 600 JR is a fine press to use. It's what I use to load my .410s and I've run probably 3000-4000 across mine this year.

[Illhunter]

thanks GB i may try and get hold of the guy today if possible and get it he has some manuals and that to go with it hasn't used it for awhile and decided to get rid of it. sounds like this will be good place to start for reloading and have good press to start off with and for $30 I will hopefully be getting the shotgun before long when money works it self around.

Terry

[jh45gun]

I just picked up two Mec Jr's for 40 bucks both 12 guage. After seeing what a conversion kit cost I also picked up a Load All II for 20 bucks for the 20 guage. It works fine either press will do the job. While the Mec is made better and not mostly all Plastic the Load All does the job it does not take much to load a shotgun shell. I am happy with both.

[John020769]

Got Lee load all 2 in 20 ga few weeks ago from ebay for Cheap. I still new at this but was very easy to learn on made first shells yesterday and came out great very easy to do and pattered very while better then most factory stuff I hooked on this now. I will be looking for a 12ga next hope this helps ...........

[Will52100]

If I ran up on a Mec for about the same price as the load-all I'd get the Mec.  That said I've been using my load-all for several years with good results.  I load black powder and roll crimp so all I use it for anymore is to size and re-cap the hull and I use the funnel to push the fiber wads in and dump the shot charge.  I have enough machine skills I could probaly turn out a hand loader fairly easily, but not for the price or convienance that the loadall provides.