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Joined: 11 Nov 2013 Posts: 8 Location: Ohio

I am a younger shooter and just getting into reloading. I have read through the Lyman book but I am still hesitant to try loading. I guess I am a little nervous/ paranoid. Is there anyone near me in NE Ohio that would consider walking me through it? It would be much appreciated. I have all the components and a size master reloader and ballistics scale. I am not positive I have the correct bushing or crimps for reloading 28 ga AA;s

First of all, welcome to reloading. I hope you find it a rewarding experience. It will certainly save you money in gauges like 28, .410 and 16, plus its a lot of fun. I hope you find good help in your area. Bushings? Got a MEC bushing chart? That'll get you in the ballpark for the right bushing. Got manuals for your machine? Parts lists? Use the MEC site, they are really good with info. It's all there:

https://www.mecshootingsports.com/t-shotshellreloaders.aspx

It sounds like you're going to start loading 28's -- probably the newer Winchester AA 28 HS hulls, not the old compression-formed ones, right? It also sounds like you have researched the load you want (from the Lyman book?) and have the components. I can't emphasize enough that it is important to read your MEC manual -- especially for general procedure and adjustments -- especially for crimping. By the way, star crimps for 28's are all 6 point -- that's all MEC or anybody else supplies with their reloaders. So, if you've read the Lyman book (a current edition Lyman book is best) and the MEC manual for your machine, you're ready to give it a whirl. Most of us started out that way. Fear not. If you follow the published loads you can't hurt yourself or your gun. You might make some ugly re-loads at first because of crimp adjustments, but if you follow the MEC instructions on crimping, it will come to you. Weighing charges (both shot and powder) will enlighten you on how "under-charged" things can be with the factory charge bars and bushing recommendations. They are set up conservatively for safety. Don't deviate from the reloader manufacturer's (MEC's) recommendations unless you can accurately weigh the charges and compare them to those specified in a published loads book like Lyman. By the way, there will be variations in charges thrown by a machine. They should be within plus or minus 3% of what the load calls for. You'll never know the difference, as the shooter. A properly run MEC machine will probably throw charges with a 1% total variation, however.

Best of Luck!

Joined: 15 Jun 2010 Posts: 1358 Location: Twin Cities, MN

gg89,
Welcome to our little corner of the world. MS has given you great advice. Once you start reloading it's not so scary, but at some point you do have to start. If you have questions or issues we can certainly help. Otherwise the reloading forum at Shotgun World has some very helpful people who are MEC experts.
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=13&sid=ce5221038ba6db569f4e195e30403455
Questions: Is your Sizemaster new? If so it is set up to load AAHS 3/4 oz loads and should need very little to no adjusting. What components do you have and which recipe are you planning to use?
I load AAHS hulls, Winchester 209 primers, 20/28 powder and Remington PT28 wads. For the powder I use a MEC #16 bushing that drops 13.3 grains of powder on my 9000. This gives me a velocity of about 1220 fps. The Winchester, Claybuster and Down Range/Duster wads also work great. I load 3/4 oz of #8 shot and shoot it on skeet and sporting clays.
What kind of 28 gauge gun do you have? Pictures are always nice.
Again, welcome to this forum.
Regards,
Jeff

Joined: 11 Nov 2013 Posts: 8 Location: Ohio

I am finding that bushing chart difficult to understand. Do you know which bushing I would need to drop 11.5 hrs of unique?

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 691

where in NE Ohio. My friends reload

Grousegunner89 -- The bushing chart is a matrix -- a "column" and "row" exercise. The "columns" run vertically, and the "rows" run horizontally. The chart displays the powders by name across the top. It also has columns entitled "bushing #", which are repeated at the left side of every manufacturer's group of powders, for your convenience, as you will see. The columns below the powder names read in grains for a given bushing. Find your powder name at the top. Go down the powder "column" to the number of grains that works for you. It is unlikely you will find the exact amount you're looking for, so pick the one that lists the grains closest to your requirement. Then go left on the "row" that had the grains you picked until you get to a "column" that lists "bushing numbers". That will be the bushing number for the powder amount you selected.

I'm not going to find your bushing number for you. You'll need to do this every time you try a different load, so you need the practice. Wink

Best Wishes and Happy Reloading.

Oh what the hell, Grousegunner 89 -- here's an example free-bee for your case of 11.5 grains of Unique: It's bushing #16, which throws 11.4 grains according to the chart. Here's the 1-2-3 easy procedure so you can get the picture:

1) Find the "Unique" column at the top
2) Go down the "Unique column" till you find 11.4 grains (down 9 spaces)
3) Go left on the row that contained the box with the 11.4 grains until you hit the "Bushing #" column (left 7 spaces) to find the bushing number.

The powder manufacturers sometimes bring out more powders, and sometimes more manufacturers arise. MEC updates the bushing charts to include these additions. The "spaces" noted in the example above are for the current MEC chart. If you have an older chart it might have fewer columns, but it works the same way. Here's a link to the current chart: https://www.mecshootingsports.com/images/document/powderbushingchart.pdf

Joined: 11 Nov 2013 Posts: 8 Location: Ohio

Ahh see that is what I thought, but I wasn't sure because of the 11.4 when the charge it calls for is 11.5.

Thanks a lot for clearing that up. Hopefully I wont have to do that again as I plan on using unique powder and the lightest load in the lyman book for 28 HS hulls.