Author |
Message |
< 16ga. Ammunition & Reloading ~ Anybody love their Mec 9000G? |
|
Posted:
Sat Apr 27, 2024 5:43 am
|
|
|
Joined: 09 Mar 2016
Posts: 756
Location: Mn.
|
|
8mmFan whew! Glad you figured out half of what I said was tongue in cheek, other half serious. Thought you would figure that out
Calling MEC is always a good idea and they have been great in my experience. I will usually order parts online (cheaper) than direct from them. But have called them before and had the guy say well as long as you are replacing this then you should get that, and adjust something else. They are REALLY good even on the phone troubleshooting.
Besides stamped metal they do have plastic as well I buy 3-4 crimp starters in both 6 and 8 point at a time. I use a lot of new unfired hulls and they are stiff enough that they will eventually pull off the center post after enough rounds.
It is always best to do sessions with all the same exact hulls. And even the same hulls can vary in overall length if they are from different time frames. Different length hulls throw a monkey wrench into the reduction gears. Which is never good. Sort all your hulls first. I standardize on hulls in all gauges and keep different hulls in seperate storage bins. And load a bin at a time because different length hulls require slightly different adjustments.
You will get there with experience just like anything else, at this point it is not a race. Actually it never is and is about paying attention to detail. Before long you will be doing more than a flat an hour taking your time and that counts stopping for refills. With the automate I can do 2 flats an hour easy but have the Jim Scheel 25 pound shot bottle on that press so I don't have to fill so often. And of course the tall bottles on all the presses, both sides. With 200 primer trays. Have to stop once in awhile to get up to stretch and scratch the butt anyways. |
|
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|
Posted:
Sat Apr 27, 2024 7:24 am
|
|
|
Joined: 17 Mar 2007
Posts: 209
|
|
Cold Iron, knew exactly where you were coming from--absolutely no worries. At 56, my skin has gotten pretty thick; with the friends and family I have, it had to become that way just to survive, LOL.
I am still stuck at the words: "25 pound shot bottle." Hearing that is kind of like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time.
Our reloading room is kind of like about a third of the farmers in America (I come from a farming family). My dad and uncles were pretty parsimonious, and always used to say that about 1-in-3 of farmers have bought about double the power level and amount of equipment they could ever use. Have too much money tied up in stuff they can't use. I don't know if that's true or not, but it is definitely true of our reloading room. Me and my kids simply don't shoot more than what we could ever make on our 600 Jr.s. So I am way OVER equipped with the 9000GN and the Grabbers.
That said, I do like to have neat stuff, so in addition to the 9000GN we also have a Grabber in .410 and, I think, 20 gauge. Actually bought the Grabber here long ago, from an unscrupulous seller that was not really a member here. The thing was missing half the parts. Fortunately I live within a reasonable driving distance of Mec, and I took the machines to them, and they did a bang-up job of going through them, replacing all the missing parts, and timing them to the hulls we generally use.
Sad truth is, they're still sitting there. My 7-year old daughter is now stepping into the spot of shooting the little .410 Mossberg pumps her brothers started on at skeet. The rule here is, if you want to burn powder, YOU have to put it in the hull and make the shell!
The Grabber is way beyond what young kids can handle--the Juniors are not. Hence, the Grabbers sit.
You are right. I am already getting the hang of the thing, just by walking through it one or two shells at a time, and manually helping the crimper off the hull with my fingers on the upstroke. Other than the broken crimper (MSM I did actually adjust that up before I called Mec. It still kept catching, and they said it clearly needs replacing--they're also sending a new drop tube for our 20 ga Junior because 9-shot actually "clogs" in it about every 10 or 15 shells).
I can see the potential for the 9000. Thanks again, Cold Iron, for the good advice.
8mmFan |
|
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|
Posted:
Sun Apr 28, 2024 6:21 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 452
Location: WI
|
|
I have a 9000GN that I use with 12 ga, the 600Jr was just too slow for me given the volume I was reloading at. Time is the one commodity I do not have in abundance, so a progressive machine became somewhat of a necessity when factory loads got hard to find a few years ago.
It does take a bit of a learning curve to get up to speed on and operate, I spilled a lot of stuff when I first got started, but once you get the hang of it it runs smooth and fast. |
|
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|
Posted:
Mon Apr 29, 2024 12:02 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 21 Jan 2019
Posts: 49
Location: Indiana
|
|
Builder wrote: |
Reloading started out for me as a hobby. It has become work. It has gotten me through the shortages and paid for itself with my time.
Some days are just better than others. Even with the problems, my output is about double a 600 jr. Now that most of us have switched to Chedite primers I find that they drop much better than the Winchesters I used to use. The biggest screw up on a MEC 9000 is a missed primer drop that you don't notice. I mostly use Gun club hulls and they work great with no problems related to them. The crimps are nice and close to factory. You do have to pay attention and that includes the feel of the machine during operation. My 12g 9000 probably has 30,000 rounds through it and has needed only minor adjustment to keep it running. I use it mostly for low pressure rounds for my old side by sides. I also have them in 20g and 28g. The 12g is easier to load.
When it is running well and that is not always, my output is 400 rounds per hour. At that speed, 10 minutes out of the hour is spent loading shot, powder and primers and removing the loaded shells from the box I use to catch them. I did consider a hole in the table to drop shells into a five gallon bucket underneath. I prefer to be able to see them instead.
A lot of reloaders prefer the single stage machine. The fussiness of the 9000 can be frustrating.
I have tried other machines including RCBS and older PW. I prefer the MEC products. The RCBS is way more sophisticated but constantly breaks. Sometimes after 20 shells but when it works it is a dream. Newer PW's are just too expensive.
|
Builder, the box from a 4 pac of shells from WallyWorld fit perfectly under the shell drop, once you take the "ears" off the box.
Only time I don't like my 9000's (I use 4, 2 for 1oz & 1 1/8 oz 12, 1 for 16 and 1 for 20) is when I change brands of hulls. Just takes time & patience to set it up, like Mark said.
BD |
_________________ German Guild o/u
Remington 1148 X 2
Ithaca 37 Fthrlt X 2 & Upland
LC Smith Field
Winchester 1200
Fox Sterlingworth
AYA
Parker Trojan
Model 12 X 2
I'd rather be using one of them right now. |
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|
Posted:
Mon Apr 29, 2024 4:01 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 21 Mar 2013
Posts: 115
Location: Northern New Jersey
|
|
Barnyard, I have been using a 20g. case box and I cut one of the long sides down about an inch to go under the chute in the 9000. Thanks for the suggestion.
I just did a couple of hundred without a hitch. I love Chedite 209's now. They just about never fail to drop like Winchesters and Remingtons used to do. |
_________________ So many guns, so little time! |
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|
Posted:
Mon Apr 29, 2024 9:02 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 452
Location: WI
|
|
I use one of those stackable plastic storage bins, it fits right under the chute and it will hold more than 25, so when the first one backs up the slide, I put them in the MEC stacking rack and then fill the shell boxes, I use the MTM 25 round plastic ones, they really work great. |
|
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|
Posted:
Tue May 07, 2024 8:26 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 17 Mar 2007
Posts: 209
|
|
You guys were right.
I got the hang of the 9000G, and she is a Goin' Jessie. Absolutely pumps 'em out.
I have gone through almost two bags of wads since about Thursday, and that on an Orthodox Easter weekend that we hosted, no less. One oz. of 9 shot and Clays. I'll have to check the bushing before I add more powder. Going through my tub of AA's and starting to make a dent. Although it does reload the green Remington Gun Club hulls just fine with the same load of powder, wad, and shot.
I can do a box of shells in about 3 minutes, more or less, if I don't have a stoppage.
Absolutely beautiful shells.
Thanks for all the help. I might have to order two more in 16 and 20 gauge.
8mmFan |
|
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|
Posted:
Fri May 10, 2024 6:41 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 19 Jan 2019
Posts: 289
Location: Idaho & South Dakota
|
|
I have MEC 9000's for 16ga and 28ga loadings.
I have a Spolar with hydraulics for my 12ga shell.
Smooth and easy for high volume.
I use MEC 600's for:
10g - 2 7/8"
12g - 16g - (Mainly 2 1/2")
20ga |
_________________ "A gun should be a thing of beauty, something which gives its owner pride and pleasure. For that reason, most men will buy the best gun they can afford. With a good gun on his arm, a man becomes a sporting gentleman, both on the field and off." |
|
|
|
|
![](templates/NoseBleed/images/spacer.gif) |
|