Question for You MEC Experts

C

Cary

New member
I have a question concerning the sizing dies on the different MEC loaders. I notice the 600 Jr. Mark 5 and the Sizemaster have different dies for sizing. The Sizemaster is equipped with the collet resizer. I assume this is better for sizing but how so? Can you give me some insight on this? Thanks for your input.

Cary
 
Collets can be adjusted, ring/collar dies can't. Another advantage of the collet over a ring/collar sizing die is removal: Shells don't usually get stuck in collets, but they can in ring/collar dies. Also, a collet doesn't require a full length stroke as a ring/collar die does.
 
Adjustment - on the collet sizer - is a big thing / especially if you're shooting reloads in a semi-auto or a pump gun ....where you have to cycle the reloads thru the action vs putting them into an Over Under...( not that you shouldn't size shells going thru an O/U ..) but they are more forgiving - and don't jam...if you get a shell that wasn't quite sized properly.

and like Zippy said - you can't adjust the dies used on the 600 jr....
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My hunch is - the collet resizer is a little more expensive also...so they're trying to keep the cost down on the 600 jr a little...
........................

But you're question is interesting - can't say I've ever thought about why they were different ...
 
I use collet neck sizing dies for my bottle neck rifle cartridges and love them in that application as they work the brass less enabling longer brass life. Another advantage is you are not required to use case lube when using them. I am familiar in that application but was curious as to their application in shotshell reloading. I do like to have things adjustable in case an adjustment is needed. Thanks for the info guys.:)

Cary
 
My hunch is - the collet resizer is a little more expensive also...so they're trying to keep the cost down on the 600 jr a little...​
Also, MEC had the ring sizer long before they developed the collet sizer.
 
And all of my shells sized with a sizing ring on MEC Jr's have NEVER failed to load in any semi auto gun - even the steel base hulls

To me, it is a non-issue - 6 of one, half dozen of the other
 
At my club - the guys that reload / that have feeding issues ...are the same guys with shell problems all the time ...and while most of them are using some of the older single stage MEC loaders ...it may be more of an operator issue vs a machine issue ....and they're the same guys that pick up any stray hull off the ground - and try to reload 19 different kinds of hulls .....
 
Jim, my friend, I'm often amused to see a high-roller type picking through the club's bin of ground harvested hulls. These are the guys who should be using PWs or other $$$$$ units. When they design the fancy fool-proof machines, these are the fools they have in mind.

I've always had good luck with MECs, and my friends are happy with theirs, too. I do know a few shooters with higher end machines, but they are typically one press re-loaders. Four PWs take up a lot of real estate on your bench.
 
I agree Zippy - it is pretty funny when those guys are going thru the garbage cans...

MEC is a relatively simple machine to maintain and repair if necessary ...and they give you a lot of machine for the money.

I think the higher end MEC's - the 9000-HN compares very well to PW, etc .../ or at least the 9000-HN's have done everything I need them to do.
 
Now that I am getting used to my MEC Sizemaster I like it and for me it loads quickly enough. If you shoot a lot and time is more of a premium, then I suppose you need a faster machine. One reason I got the Sizemaster was all the MEC's being exhibited at a local shooting fair had the collet, but I don't know if it is any better than the resizer that comes on the Jr.
 
BigJim. I was thinking about what you said about the guys going through the trash cans. The guy who routinely scours the range dumpster for hulls probably has a gun collection worth more than my house.
 
There's nothing like seeing toilet paper confetti coming out of the barrel of a $100,000 H&H because the owner/reloader uses any hull and toilet paper as filler........something to see..............
 
I realized early on ...that I wanted to keep my hulls.../ but a 20 gallon garbage can full of 12ga hulls ( and one for 20ga, one for 28ga / and a 10gallon one for .410 hulls ) is really enough. !!

What was really funny - at the state sporting clays shoot here recently - there were a number of guys shooting new factory shells ( mostly Rio / but there were some shooting Remington ) ....and a week after the shoot ...10 guys sitting in the clubhouse were still talking about all the hulls they picked up off the sporting course... ( and most of them are driving $ 50,000 SUVS ..and have some pretty nice guns ) ...
 
One of my team members would take his RV to distant tournaments while many of us of flew. We'd buy premium WW/R-Ps at the host club, and our buddy was good enough to haul our bagged hulls home. Anything we left on the ground you wouldn't wanna reload.
 
Reloading 101 or back in the day

Years ago the weak link in the Mecs were the arms. The ring collar dies were tight enough tolerance that after a given time of reloading the arms would fatigue and bend. Mec's answer to this was the collet type resizer. They came out with a stand alone collet resizer where you would resize the hull, knock the primer out with a punch, and then skip these two steps when reloading. If your loading alot of steel hulls, the collet type probably would be the more forgiving of the two types.
CB
 
Now your saying I actually own shoes also, I thought we were buddies. You know its tough trying to remember all this ancient stuff from 50 years ago.
 
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