You can get and adaptor for your MEC it fits under the charging station, Crimp starter and Crimper. It is a 1/4" thick plate with all the right holes and cutouts, simple installation and works well.

For 7/8oz lead loads I use BP's Piston Skeet wad and PB powder. I usually buy 2.5" High Pheasant loads from B&P and reload the cases twice before they are shot. For my hunting loads I get the Rio short hulls, they are called 2.5 but they are actually 2 5/8" so I cut the 1/8" off and use BP's Short Wad, PB powder and ITX shot. I will probly just buy BP's economy hulls and cut a 1/4" off them.

None of my loads are listed anywhere but are based on given loads and I try to err on the light side. So far they are mild and effective.

 

where can i buy the adaptor you suggest? thank you

 

I found the federal gold medal hulls to work well as short shells. I use the claybuster pink wad with 15 grns of 700x with 7/8 of shot. Been a great load for nearly everything!

 

The .26 cent 2 1/2" adjuster.

 

Now THAT'S good thinking! That's the best adaptor I've seen yet!!

 

I've tried that with home made spacers and while it works for a few sample rounds, the MEC adaptor is really nice. Photo in a few min.

 

Now THAT'S good thinking! That's the best adapter I've seen yet!!

Why are there holes in the base plate and not in the home made adapter? There must be a reason for them.

 

Now THAT'S good thinking! That's the best adapter I've seen yet!!

Why are there holes in the base plate and not in the home made adapter? There must be a reason for them.

The holes are there for the live primer to center over,saftey.

Neat idea,I am just surprised the hull rim still fits into the guide.

Steve

 

I made some 12ga. 1 5/8 long also 1 7/8 long . work super .
Made on a PC 375c press .
Used in a k32 with long forcing cones .
Also made 410 1/4 oz an 28 1/2 oz oz .
Made new hull holders .

 

The shells don't HAVE to fit into the guide - just hand-position them and start them into the crimp stations.

 

The holes are there for the live primer to center over,saftey.

Exactly. That's why I don't think it's a good idea. Can you imagine one of those shells blowing up in your face? I would never use them.

 

Hey Guys,

Thanks for your help and especially AWS for the photo. I made up a spacer as per the MEC adaptor from a piece of .250 aluminium - with safety holes for the primers. I cut a quarter of an inch off some AA cases and primed them as usual with Win 209 primers. I loaded 20.5 grains of AS50 (that's Hodgdon International to you in America - it's made in Australia just in case you didn't know) and used a Winchester WAA12F114 wad with about 1/8 inch cut off the petals and an ounce of #6 shot. It crimped up beautifully and should be just the job. We're all set to hunt!

 

Steve Y and Herb S, if you're that concerned, just drill a hole in each penny. It's an ingenious fix at very little cost.

 

The 26 cent adapter works fine but it is slower and clumsier than the MEC adapter because you must center both the pre-crimp and final crimp by eye and feel.

The factory short kit is nice and is, to me, worth the extra money if you will use it much. I load about 1,000 2.5" 16 gauge shells a year on my Sizemaster so I'm glad that I spent the money on the MEC short kit.

The holes under the primers at the various stations are unnecessary - the penny is flat so how in the world can it set off a primer? The only reason that I prefer the MEC short kit is speed and convenience - pull the shell forward to a stop and it's centered for the pre-crimp - push it back to a stop and it's centered for the final crimp.

 

Precision Reloading also makes a 1/4 inch spacer, that you move with the hull on station 3, 4, and 5, (not required on stations 1, and 2), which makes reloading 2-1/2 inch shells a snap on single stage machines. Cost is $13. Also available in 20 ga.

DLM

 

I have my 12ga and 20ga set up to reload 3'' rounds and the use the factory short kit to reload
2 3/4'' rounds

 

I believe you can just adjust from 3" to 2 3/4" by changing what holes are used in the main bar. There's a bolt in the back of the machine and there's a couple of holes in the frame as well as two holes in the bar. The guide plate also helps get a shell back out of the final crimp die if it gets a bit stuck. In the past I've used a piece of 1/4' plywood to make a spacer up in place of the Mec piece. I like that more than the spare change idea for speed.

 

bladesmith
Yes I know But it is less work to move factory short kit

 

I'm retired so time is no problem. You talk about time, try reloading BP and fiber wads then roll crimping. I've also gone to 2" shells by making the final crimp plunger thicker so it will stick down in far enough to get a crimp. You can also roll crimp on a Mec if the old crimp on the shell is removed and the smooth start crimp is used. Everything has to be just right - top of shot to top of shell and just enough start crimp for the plunger to grab.