Best reloader for shotguns?

[wacki]

What is the best reloader for shotgun shells. Also, I heard from one guy that hornady is crap and from another that hornady is really good. your opinions on hornady 366?

[lizziedog1]

A friend of mine is an avid shotshell reloader. He reloads thousands and thousands of rounds a year. He reloads for several gauges. He has the manuals and keeps very detailed records. He has tried just about every reloader on the market. Currently he is using a Dillon shotshell reloader. He swears up and down by it.

[OneInTheChamber]

The best for a beginner?? I'd go with something from MEC. Not single stage, but not progressive. A progressive can get complicated when you are just starting out. Look at midwayusa.com They have tons of reloaders and reviews on them.

[Hairtrigger]

The best??

Spolar

I use a Posness Warren but have heard good things of the RCBS Grand.
Prior to my P/W I used a MEC and still believe that MEC makes a good press for the money

[cobra81]

MEC is a good value for the money. Made in the US, and good quality. I have the 9000 and have been very satisfied with it.

[Rico567]

I have used a MEC Grabber for over 25 years. I agree with the previous post that the MEC products cannot be beat for the price. I think my machine (which can be described as a semi-progressive) will make anyone happy, as long as they don't shoot any more than 1-2 thousand shells per year. What will make you content with a reloading press depends on how much time you want to spend pulling that handle, which varies from one person to the next.

[ClarkEMyers]

I use a Ponsness Warren. I'd say the Ponsness has an edge for hunting loads and multiple gauge competition setups. There are equally nice or nicer at the top end machines for production loading for claybirds with a selected hull.

On the whole and at the less expensive side I'd say MEC is the only one that might give a little more production capacity than you pay for but may trade life span or ease of making major changes.

I'd say the Hornady in 12 gauge is fine for reasonable production for claybirds with selected hulls and not too much demand for speed or insistance on getting just one more load from a hull that really should have been discarded. If you have a local stocking dealer or other reason to buy one I wouldn't hesitate.

On the other hand if you have several brands to choose from as from a big box - Sportsman's Warehouse or Gander or whatever - or mail order then I'd certainly expect a MEC to give a higher production rate for the same effort and price but maybe to be a little lighter built.

[1911 Shooter]

+ 1 on the mec for a begineer.

[Ammo Junky]

Anyone have expereince with the RCBS mini- grand? How does it compare to the Mec singel stages for the same money? Midway once had it on sale for $85 or something similar. I wish I had gotten it. How important is hull sorting? Are there only 3 or 4 types that have to be sorted into groups or does every brand and type leave the loader needing 50 different wads and powder charges for mixed pick ups?

[cobra81]

I wouldn't recommend mixing hull types during a single loading session for a couple reasons. First, what is a safe recipe in one hull might be pushing the limits in another. Definitely get a loading manual and follow the recipes exactly.
Second, most presses will give the best results if set up with the correct wad pressure, crimp start, etc. for a given hull and recipe. Your finished shells will look and perform the best if you stick to one hull type and powder/wad/shot recipe for that particular loading session.
I load almost exclusively Win AA shells, but will occasionally load Remington Premiers, and then I have to make a few tweaks to the press settings.
Hope this helps.

[khuengo]

what about lee load-all 2. It is dirty cheap, 40 bucks or something. Has anyone tried it? Is that good for new reloader?
Thanks

[MADISON]

Best reloader for shotguns
MEC
Hornady

[skeeter1]

I loaded thousands of 12 gauge rounds for trapshooting with a MEC 600 Jr. 1 Oz. #8 shot and 3 dram-equivalent Red Dot powder. It's great for a beginner, won't cost you a lot, and might be all you need. I mounted mine on an old scrap of 3/4" plywood so I could move it around. Once you get the hang of it, you can easily crank out 200 rounds/hr.

[.499 BigBore]

Wacki..., how interesting !!! once had a Poodle by that name.....

if you are looking for a good shotshell loader i have a Pacific DL-366 progressive i want to sell..., along with 3,000 AA wads, 500 AA once fired shells, (i was once a competitive trap and skeet shooter) 1,000+ Winchester primers, one keg of WW452 powder, 5 shot bushings, and 6 powder bushings, if interested drop me a IM.

[Ruger4570]

The very best loader for shotgun shells- Spolar. The next best is probably Ponsness Warren. If money is no object, I recommend those 2 in that order. Otherwise, you are going to have a hard time beating the MEC presses, any of them work as advertised. I have severl MEC presses and I am happy with them.

[dogfood]

khuengo:

Re: Lee Load-All II - It was the first press of any type I owned (a gift from my Grandfather), and it still works today. Probably gave me the reloading bug. I load about 300 rounds per year.

However, it has several nagging problems. It is slow (although probably not any slower than some other single stages). The availability of powder bushings is somewhat limited. The optional auto primer feed doesn't.

And I could get by all of those, but my biggest gripe is that there is no way to conveniently empty the powder and shot hoppers. It is a royal pain to have to cycle between shot and powder catch pans to run everything dry.

It works well if you only want to work with a single load and you don't need quantity. Otherwise, I would step up to MEC.

dogfood