Got a re-loading setup

Wrong, Klaw. I don't reload Estates. I do have a quantity of "Old" Estate R/R 00. That's probably what threw you off.

Right now, I reload STS, Nitro, and Gun Clubs. The last are for Son's 870. I also have some AAs that were given to me. Son gets those also.
 
Estates are Federal, which means straight-walled hulls
Clays is Hodgdon.
So, going to the Hodgdon website, we find:


Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Ched. 209 WAA12 16.3 7,700 PSI 1090
Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Ched. 209 WAA12 17.3 8,500 PSI 1145
Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Ched. 209 WAA12 18.5 10,000 PSI 1200
Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Ched. 209 WAA12 20.5 11,500 PSI 1255

That's using the data for Cheddite hulls

Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Win. 209 WAA12 16.5 7,300 PSI 1090
Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Win. 209 WAA12 17.3 8,300 PSI 1145
Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Win. 209 WAA12 18.6 9,700 PSI 1200
Lead Shot 12 1 1/8 oz. Clays Win. 209 WAA12 19.9 11,000 PSI 1255

That's using Federal Gold Medal hulls

You can see the infamous 17.3 load happens in both, and that 18.5 and 18.6 occur as well. Those are decent mid-range loads with low pressure and would be decent loads for 1-1/8.

After a while, you will realize that 1oz, and even 7/8 oz will break most trap and skeet targets while saving you money on lead and your shoulder from recoil

Good luck
 
Many "gas guns" will not operate reliably with shells that have a velocity under 1200 fps...( which is roughly a 3 Dram Equivalent shell )....and whether the payload is 1 oz or 1 1/8 oz won't matter.

You need to do a lot more reading / understanding before you just jump into this press....but if you have a WAA 12 wad - then its for 1 1/8 oz shells / if you drop down to a 1 oz load you'll need a WAA 12SL wad.

Hodgdon Clays is a good 12ga powder...

WIN 209 primers are fine ...
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I suggest you dump the Estate hulls ....and start with some Remington STS or Remington Nitro ...or Remington Gun Club hulls.../ and stay with one of those hulls - get the loader set up properly, cleaned, lubed - and adjusted so its giving you good crimps with those hulls.

Most of us just stay with one hull.

Many shooters reload Remington 12ga hulls...and if you ask around at your club ...a number of guys might just donate 250 hulls to you ( from their inventory ) to get you started. Most of us have more 12ga hulls - that we'll use up in 3 lifetimes....

(and welcome to this side of the hobby ! ).
 
Check with these guys about etiquette for picking up hulls at the range. I may not have the best but. . .

Of course, you would check to make sure that the shooter doesn't want his fired hulls. (Most reloaders catch them as they are ejected but some might be waiting to pick their hulls up at the end of the round.)

I have heard that some ranges have a rule that if the hull hits the ground it belongs to the range. That is what I have heard the rule is at a place called Triple B out by me. I catch mine as they are ejected but a couple I will miss and I do pick them up. I think they want to avoid delaying squads.

Do not pick hulls up until shooters are switching stations so as not to delay shooting.

I have also had the range staff tell me if a lot of premium hulls have been left on some of the fields. One of the staff guys even brings them to me. (Methinks they take pity on me for my poor shooting ability.)

Just use common sense and courtesy.
 
MEC manuals will tell you .......but on a lot ( if not all ) of the single stage presses....MEC's will have shot on the left - and powder on the right.../ but on the progressive MEC's ....powder will be on the left and shot on the right...

MEC's site has manuals for current models ...and discontinued models...so make sure you are looking at the right model !!
 
I dunno about the model you have, but all the MEC 600 and Sizemaster models appear to have what is called a "Pro Check" that is fastened to the charge bar with a screw and the hole that the screw threads into in on the front side of the charge bar on all models as far as I know. At least that is true of the Sizemaster. So if you have a pro check on yours I cannot understand how it could be assembled with the shot drop beneath the powder bottle.
 
I for got that it might not cycle lighter loads.

Wonder if a 1,100 fps load would work. Or if I should just bump it up to 1,200 fps.
 
The 1,100s might work. Just load a few and test them. At worst, you'll just have to shoot a few shells single-shot.
 
Testing loads at 1100 fps won't hurt anything - if the fired hull will not cycle the action / just cycle it by hand to remove the empty shell ( so you can shoot those shells for games like Trap singles ).

Some gas guns - if they're clean and well lubed --- ( even the old Remington 1100's will cycle loads at 1150 fps ) at least part of the time...but every gun on the market seems to be a little different in terms of how they're setup. Sometimes you can modify the gas system so it operates more reliably on lower velocity loads ...maybe 1100 fps or 1150 fps....but a load at 1200 fps is not considered a "heavy load" by any means. A 1200 fps load ...is a common and "standard" shell ...for a lot of gagues.

Some of the new gas guns - like Browning/Winchester with their Activ Valve system I think they call it ...will supposedly cycle shells at 1150 fps...but I don't know if I'd trust it in a tournament situation ??

My Benelli super sport ( an inertia gun ) will not reliably cycle loads less than 1200 fps ....even if its clean and well lubed / but 1200 fps is just fine ..even though the Benelli manual says the gun will not operate reliably with loads under 1250 fps.....
 
I cycle 1145 fps regularly through my Beretta 390 12 and 20 gauges. Cole gun also sells a "spring set" which can quickly be swapped out for even lower fps (and frankly for the really fast 3 inch shells as well.

I have cycled 3/4 ounce shells on my 12 gauge with the standard spring. I have maybe 3-4k rounds through that gun, so it is just broken in :)
 
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