Lord Geordie Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 A few year back, I bought a load of cheap gear from a chap in Southampton. On the way home I stopped off in Rugby iirc to pick up some reloading gear. Last night I set too using once fires fiocchi TT carts and made up a batch of 30 gram carts! The shot is home made and is nit uniform, being tear shaped and not round. But should do the job ok I guess. 22gr of the old powder per 1 1/16oz and made these up Made a straight run of 100, there is enough powder to do about 3000 or more! I look forward to trying them out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksopener Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 What reloader did you go with out of interest? I'm interested in giving reloading a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Used an old MEC super 600. The same as the newer MEC 650. I think its from about the 60s? As the primer holes in the carriage are too small for modern primers and i had to adapt the primer station to accept the modern primers. It's a good machine and all the crimp dies are metal and not plastic! I got it for £25 so am chuffed as heck with it! The shot and powder was from a chap in Southampton, it was listed as Vectan A1 and I was thinking it was the modern powder! 4 and a half tins of it! When I drove there it was old metal tins circa 70s, 80s. But they were still sealed so I took them regardless. For an extra tenner I picked up a tin of shot, and a load of old magnum rounds too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hakapiken Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Vectan A1 is a good powder for 32-34g loads. Classic load is 1,65g x 32-34g ( 25,5gr of powder), close at 58mm. Sg22 or z2m21 wad. V1 around 400-415 ms. It is a shame I can't get A1in Norway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksopener Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Great deal, I'm thinking of bringing a loaded back from the states. Prices seem more competitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matone Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Nice even crimps ! Look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Did you pick them primers i gave you up on Tuesday when you were down scoffing all my venison sausages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10gaugewannabee Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 they look excellent, crimps nice and tight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazb1967 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 They looks really good, the wife is buying me MEC 600r for Xmas, going to start reloading myself, it's all very daunting but after months of research on here I think I'm ready to take the plunge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus1988 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Them crimps look spot on, did you spin them down at all or do they come straight off the press like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 They looks really good, the wife is buying me MEC 600r for Xmas, going to start reloading myself, it's all very daunting but after months of research on here I think I'm ready to take the plunge. Dude. Keep her. No let go. If you are buying a 12gauge mec, buy a "long crimp punch" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Did you pick them primers i gave you up on Tuesday when you were down scoffing all my venison sausages No I forgot them, I was too busy nursing an expanded stomach back to the car :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Them crimps look spot on, did you spin them down at all or do they come straight off the press like that? Straight out if the press, that's the beauty of MEC " sounds like an old gas advert" The final station puts a good radius on the cartridge! I had some great loads out of the LEE, but they were hopeless in a semi auto as they wouldn't feed well. The MEC put pay to that though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Vectan A1 is a good powder for 32-34g loads. Classic load is 1,65g x 32-34g ( 25,5gr of powder), close at 58mm. Sg22 or z2m21 wad. V1 around 400-415 ms. It is a shame I can't get A1in Norway. Hakapiken! This is OLD A1 from the dawn of the planet possibly The tin has the load data on it! 25 grain for 1oz or 22-23 grain for 30 gram. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hakapiken Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Ok Lord Geordie. My data was with new A1.... Not dinosaur powder Be safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Ok Lord Geordie. My data was with new A1.... Not dinosaur powder Be safe! SAFE is my middle name it comes right after iznott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenholland Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 the 12gauge lee loader tool kit on you tube looked easy can you get them in this country. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 the 12gauge lee loader tool kit on you tube looked easy can you get them in this country. ? Lee loadall2 From uncle John at Folkestone engineering. They are on offer at the mo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenholland Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 thanks cookoff, i'll get in touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenholland Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 give them a bell in the morning cookoff thank's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Hakapiken, After some research this powder was imported by Gamebore and is simply called A1 Chaps listing it had it marked up as Vectan which I would hazard a guess is wrong! Still the load data is actually printed onto the tin, so I Have no problem with a recipie! It will do 1oz 1 and 1/16 oz and 1 and 1/8oz so 28g 30g and 32g loads. I will stick with the 30g though with the size 4 shot I am using they should have a fairly good stopping power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neutron619 Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Purely out of interest, can you get crimps that good off a Lee press? I just got a load all 2 and was playing about with some old shells stuffed with tissue paper and shot yesterday, just to practice. Was starting to get the hang of it and get some reasonable crimps, but to put it bluntly - is this why people pay £100's for the MEC rather than £10's for the Lee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus1988 Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Purely out of interest, can you get crimps that good off a Lee press? I just got a load all 2 and was playing about with some old shells stuffed with tissue paper and shot yesterday, just to practice. Was starting to get the hang of it and get some reasonable crimps, but to put it bluntly - is this why people pay £100's for the MEC rather than £10's for the Lee? Personally, I can't. I started off with a Lee and it was only when I got a GAEP spinner from John at FES that I got crimps that were decent. The Lee does do a good job on the crimp but you may struggle to cycle the cartridges properly if using a semi/pump. It just doesn't really put a nice rounded edge on them, my ones seemed to flare out a bit before getting the spinner on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted December 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 Purely out of interest, can you get crimps that good off a Lee press? I just got a load all 2 and was playing about with some old shells stuffed with tissue paper and shot yesterday, just to practice. Was starting to get the hang of it and get some reasonable crimps, but to put it bluntly - is this why people pay £100's for the MEC rather than £10's for the Lee? From stock, NO you can not get crimps from a load all to be anywhere as good as the MEC, The mecs final stage puts a radius, Rounded finish, on the crimp edge. This helps with feeding on semi auto shotguns! The lee tends to crease at the fold points and the end of the cart is not rounded! It can cause jams in semi autos. Now please don't misunderstand me! The Lee is "for its money" a very fine loader! For over and unders etc the carts are fine! I found by placing a euro cent on the final crimp and bringing the handle down once more, helps with the crimp. It tends to tidy it and add more depth. Like I say, I was lucky to find this MEC for £25 and am very happy with it! But I also have a Lee. When I want a quick few boxes of 28gram carts made, I use the lee! If I am wanting more than a few boxes, the MEC is used! If you don't have a semi auto, i would recommend the Lee as a good starting press! Perhaps in future you may wish to move up to a MEC or similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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