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#8 BBs and red "stoppery thingys"


Krazy Kajun

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So I got this "new to me" MEC 9000 loader yesterday and thought how nice it will be to get it all set up and load 8 boxes of shotgun shells. I got it bolted down to a nice piece of board and clamped it on my reloading table. Took me longer than I'd care to admit to; to get it all set up and working smooth. But finally it was all adjusted and the MEC 9000 lived up to its legend, you can make a lot of rounds in a little bit of time.

 

So after I loaded my 200 rounds for my 8 boxes of shells I was feeling really good about myself...got a good deal on the loader....got it set up and working well without having to look at the manual....engineers do that ya know!

 

So I tipped over the charging bar that had the powder and shot bottle so I could empty the residual contents there into my powder can and shot jug. Ya know the TALL shot bottle, the one that holds a LOT of shot....it's got one of those red "stoppery thingys" in the top of it. Well, they are supposed to have the "stoppery thingys" in it before you tip it over.....I FORGOT TO PUT IN THE STOPPER AFTER LOADING THE SHOT. When I tipped the charging bar over I had #8 shot leaking out of the shot bottle running all over the reloading bench, the shelves and the floor. And them things roll a long time.

 

It was then and there that I had a physics lesson in how not to herd up #8 shot. Ya know how when you try and vacuum stuff up that sucking sound would indicate that the BB's are headin' your way right on into the vacuum. Well, not this #8 shot....it must have been negatively charged lead. Oh some of it would go into the vacuum but other BBs would just wiz on by...guess I got them into "turbulent flow" instead of "laminar flow." Long and short of this is that I spend about 45 minutes with my shop vac trying to herd up a bunch of "BB cats." Man I had to pull my reloading bench away from the wall and vacuum from the top down. Pull stuff off the shelves, vacuum out plastic bins...just a real mess.

 

Sooooo... learn from me. Use those red "stoppery thingys" on your shot and powder bottles when you load shot shells.

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Two suggestions: (1) Press a finger aganst the red stoppery thing when tipping it back to prevent the weight of the shot from pushing it out (don't ask how I know this); (2) get a large cookie sheet and mount it between the press and board by drilling holes through it for the mounting bolts (ditto).

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Another helpful thing is to be sure there is enough distance between the place press is mounted and the wall or other limiting factor that you can tip the long bottles back.

But sounds like you had that covered. :D

 

Adventures with a MEC 9000 , continued , Rex :D

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And, don't just hold the "red stoppery thingy" with your finger, use your hand to support the weight of the lead shot in the long bottles... or after awhile you might find that the soldered connection for that screw-cap end will suffer from "fatigue!" Somewhat less messy than losin' the stopper! :lol:

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You will never do that again.Don't ask me how I know.

 

Yeah you will. (don't ask me how I know that either)

 

This 'trick' also works with presses that have a dump feature. Can you believe it runs out the bottom faster than it goes in the top? :blink:

 

Shopvacs are your friend. The blade attachment seems to get the BB's better. I just heard that, don't know from personal experience..... :lol:

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So I got this "new to me" MEC 9000 loader yesterday and thought how nice it will be to get it all set up and load 8 boxes of shotgun shells. I got it bolted down to a nice piece of board and clamped it on my reloading table. Took me longer than I'd care to admit to; to get it all set up and working smooth. But finally it was all adjusted and the MEC 9000 lived up to its legend, you can make a lot of rounds in a little bit of time.

 

So after I loaded my 200 rounds for my 8 boxes of shells I was feeling really good about myself...got a good deal on the loader....got it set up and working well without having to look at the manual....engineers do that ya know!

 

So I tipped over the charging bar that had the powder and shot bottle so I could empty the residual contents there into my powder can and shot jug. Ya know the TALL shot bottle, the one that holds a LOT of shot....it's got one of those red "stoppery thingys" in the top of it. Well, they are supposed to have the "stoppery thingys" in it before you tip it over.....I FORGOT TO PUT IN THE STOPPER AFTER LOADING THE SHOT. When I tipped the charging bar over I had #8 shot leaking out of the shot bottle running all over the reloading bench, the shelves and the floor. And them things roll a long time.

 

It was then and there that I had a physics lesson in how not to herd up #8 shot. Ya know how when you try and vacuum stuff up that sucking sound would indicate that the BB's are headin' your way right on into the vacuum. Well, not this #8 shot....it must have been negatively charged lead. Oh some of it would go into the vacuum but other BBs would just wiz on by...guess I got them into "turbulent flow" instead of "laminar flow." Long and short of this is that I spend about 45 minutes with my shop vac trying to herd up a bunch of "BB cats." Man I had to pull my reloading bench away from the wall and vacuum from the top down. Pull stuff off the shelves, vacuum out plastic bins...just a real mess.

 

Sooooo... learn from me. Use those red "stoppery thingys" on your shot and powder bottles when you load shot shells.

 

 

+1 For don't ask me how i know!! I have learned on my "Jr." to put 1000 mile an hour tape across them red things, then tip the bottles over. I then unscrew them and empty. Little more time, but sure has saved alot of cleanup. Just saying!!

 

Always room for mistakes to happen though. B)

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I can't believe anybody would forget to put in the stopper! :lol:

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I can't believe anybody would forget to put in the stopper! :lol:

It's only a matter of time before you, too, will learn this lesson!

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I was wondering what this post was about when I saw the title. As soon as I opened it and read "Mec", I knew where this one was going :).

 

I installed mine with a safety feature against doing this. Actually, where I installed my press, there isn't room to tilt the top back all the way. I discovered this the first time I went to change the charge bushing.

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:lol: Oh , yes , Grasshopper , and occasionally cyle the bar with no hulls underneath. One or the other or both. :lol:

Neww cuss words invented , Rex :D

 

Roger that! I did not include how many times I dropped powder and shot when something went wrong in the process of loading and it was in full progression loading sequence.

 

Other things I've learned using a MEC progressive reloader.

 

1. Have 5 hulls primed and 5 hulls deprimed setting beside the reloader so that I can just insert one of these little jewels into the progression at the correct station with the great MEC reloading gods have dumped on me.

 

2. Leave the little red "stoppery thingys" off while I am reloading. Sometimes the a hull does not open enough for the wad to be properly inserted and it jams. You've got to be able to dump the powder or shot back into the hoppers when things ain't right.

 

What I did not learn was to put the little red "stoppery thingy" back into the top of the shot bottle before tipping it over. I hope I've learned that now.

 

The idea about putting a little piece of trim around the board I have the MEC bolted too is a great idea....kind of like a BB dam, to keep those damn BBs in a smaller place when I dump more BBs.

 

Yep, ain't reloadin' and shootin' fun! The learning and fun just don't stop.

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2. Leave the little red "stoppery thingys" off while I am reloading.... You've got to be able to dump the powder or shot back into the hoppers when things ain't right.

 

What I did not learn was to put the little red "stoppery thingy" back into the top of the shot bottle before tipping it over. I hope I've learned that now.

I take the "stoppery thingy" off with one hand and dump with the other. Then the "stoppery thingy" goes back on right away. That way I don't have to remember to put it back on before tipping the bottles. Learned that the hard way. :lol:

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Well Grasshopper,

 

I have a LeeLosdAll, so it is easy to NOT spill, but, there are the times when you knock over a loaded hull, or spill a bottle of lead......

 

so, suffice to say I have been there, done that, got the tshirt........twice.

 

 

curley

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Well I have not forgotten the red stopper thingie..........But have forgotten to insert a wad before dropping the shot so had the powder and shot together.But has anyone taken out the tube the shot and powder goes down.Try that trick sometime makes for an interesting little mess.I am using a MEC jr.Always fun to find new ways to make a mess.

 

 

 

 

 

Sgt H :FlagAm:

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Well I have not forgotten the red stopper thingie..........But have forgotten to insert a wad before dropping the shot so had the powder and shot together.But has anyone taken out the tube the shot and powder goes down.Try that trick sometime makes for an interesting little mess.I am using a MEC jr.Always fun to find new ways to make a mess.

Sgt H :FlagAm:

 

Kind of brings up a question. I've forgotten to insert a wad and ended up with a hull with powder and shot all mixed in together. What do you do with the hull? Is there some way to separate it out to reuse the contents? If not what do you do with the hull with that mixture.

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KK,

Lots of good advice here. I put some close knap carpet under my 9000. That way when an occasional shot spill happens it doesn't run all over.

 

Oh, you WILL do it again, trust me. :blush:

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KK,

Lots of good advice here. I put some close knap carpet under my 9000. That way when an occasional shot spill happens it doesn't run all over.

 

Oh, you WILL do it again, trust me. :blush:

 

+1 on the carpet under the press...a good idea...then all I have to do is house w*rk to clean up. Looks like I'll be hunting up a piece of carpet and some trim to put on the mounting board. 'Preciate all this sage advice.

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...I'm still finding b-bs.... but don't ask me how they got outa that bottle...

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Mount the press on the largest cookie sheet you can find then onto bench. Gathers a lot of spilled lead.

 

+1

 

You will forget sometime in the future. And more than that, the MEC 9000 loves to dump shot and powder all over the floor if you screw up anything in the loading sequence.

 

Trust me on this.

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Kind of brings up a question. I've forgotten to insert a wad and ended up with a hull with powder and shot all mixed in together. What do you do with the hull? Is there some way to separate it out to reuse the contents? If not what do you do with the hull with that mixture.

Actually , seperating shot and powder isn't all that difficult. One could use yet another cookie sheet , or large pan of some sort. Dump the mixed hull onto one end of the pan , and tilt it to let the shot run to lower end. Prop the thing up while you scoop out the shot , or pick it out with fingers. No use to waste costly components.

I have done all these things discussed here , some more than once , and tend to be very careful nowdays. But the one aggravation that still plagues me is the primer system. Almost every time that I forget to watch and make sure a primer fed , one doesn't , then powder is leaking all over. The people that build the MEC loaders could surely come up with something better than this system. My only real gripe with MECs.

Load on , Rex :D

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I use the carpet ,a piece about 15" X 18" cut out to fit tight around the base of the press.Save on clean up,not 100 percent but helps

Any one that loads shot shells enough will spill ( Its how you contain the mess )

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...

Ya know, you don't have to have a 9000 to have those kind of fun adventures, the Jr works just as well. You don't really need to ask do you??????? :lol:

...

 

Wouldn't be laughin' so hard if'n I didn't know exactly what you were talking about!!

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...I'm still finding b-bs.... but don't ask me how they got outa that bottle...

 

The one you REALLY have to watch out for is the one shot pellet that goes in the primer seating cup........lol. The ones that get in the reizer are a pain as well.....yes I have my Mec Grabber stories as well and I thought it was just me.

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There is no way to avoid the dreaded MEC bb shower. I once tipped the shot bottle back on a 600 Jr and had a (ver old) bottle just decide to splinter in my hands. One whole large bottle of shot dumped in about 1.5 seconds.

 

Just be glad that most of you have a desgnated reloading area and that shag carpet is a thing of the past.

 

As always, "Don't ask me how I know" about that one.

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