Gonna be lazy here and ask the pros:

I ordered a MEC 600 JR single stage to reload my 28 gauge. I don’t want to experiment with powders or mess around. Can someone recommend me the powder/shot/wad combo for dove/skeet? What’s the standard formula here?

I’m not a pro shooter, just don’t like paying $13-$18 a box for the shells. So I bought this reloader hoping to save a few bucks. Can anyone help me out please?

If you are wanting very good quality ammo something like Winchester AA do not use soft lead shto but get the hard chilled shot to start with. For the load selection that starts with the hull you will be loading. On sights like Hodgdon reloading data sight select your gauge/hull then powder company or just starting out look at all there. They have Hodgdon/IMR/Winchester data. There are other sights with it and the Lyman Shotshell reloading manual has more data and good instructions.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/shotgun

That link has a lot of data, My favorite shotgun powders are the Hodgdon Clays series of which there are 3: Clays, International and Universal. For the 28Ga Universal is where I would start. It is a very clean burning powder that I use in several handguns as well.

Again start with your guage/hull then look for the data for that and select the components by the listed data.

Agreed on the previous comment. Go to the Hodgdon site. No change of components, use the recipe as is. I have loaded Win AA shells, win 209 primers, universal, and WAA28 wads. I recall my MEC threw very close to the recommended charge weight with one of the powder bar bushings.

The expert loaders get down and dirty into which hulls are tapered and not and which wads were designed for tapered hulls vs straight walled hulls etc and they understand which components can be changed. I have loaded thousands of shells and never strayed from a recipe for full power loads. There really is no reason to.

Thank you fellas!

Alliant Powder Company has an online reloading guide as well. I reload 12 gauge and have had good service out of some of Alliant's powders.

Sometimes your local gun store may be out of a powder you want. Having 2-3 options of powders in mind gives you a lot more flexibility when shopping.

If you are lucky you may find that one of your shotgun powders also work very well as a pistol powder that is if you happen to reload pistol rounds.

18 grains HS-6, 28 gauge AAHS hulls with w209 primer, CB 5034-28 wad and 3/4 oz hard shot. Closely duplicates AA 28 gauge factory loads. Advertised Hodgdon data lists the load at 10,600 psi. Good stack height but leaves a little soot with high volume shooting. Cleans up easy.


Longshot, Universal, and 20/28 powders work fine for 28 ga as well.

Always use a scale to check your powder charges.

The Winchester AA-HS is the only hull to use, if you don't have any go buy a case or two of loaded AAs, they have a $2/box rebate going on now.

The brown truck arrived today and brought me my new (to me) 600 jr. Yay!

Great reading the manuals. However my last question lies in the bushing to be used.

I went with: Universal powder, Rem 209 primers, PT28 wads, ballistic products #7 shot nickel plated lead (All that was available)

I hope I did this right. What bushing do I install in the loader?

Comments? Concerns? Give it to me straight, I’m a little nervous

There are MEC charts for which bushing t use for different powders and charges, here is one from the Grafs websight.

https://www.grafs.com/catalog/tech-resource/technicalResourceId/16

Which shells are you using?

Using shot shells, mix of Winchester, Remington, and another brand academy sells.

Switching from Winchester hulls to Remington hulls can change your powder requirements by a bushing size or more.

So when you setup to load the Winchester hulls load all of them then get ready for the next type shell. It is in part about case/hull volume and load stack of powder/wad and shot being right and within pressure limits. Just looking at Hodgdons data that can be .6 gains of powder difference between Remington and Winchester hulls.

Sounds crazy but not that hard. Sending you a PM

This is great advice. A couple of years ago upon changing lot numbers of powder in the same powder brand and type type the bushing needed to throw the same load was two sizes smaller.

The bushing charts just provide a starting point on where to start checking.

After you find a powder that you like I suggest purchasing it in larger sizes containers. This normally reduces the cost per pound.

If you are going to order powder online try to work with a friend to help defray the shipping and hazmat charges. Sometimes the online powder sources will have free hazmat or shipping charges with qualifying orders. Just watch the sales.

Just wanted to say thank you for the responses and especially THANK YOU to kmon1 for walking me through the process.

I now have a nice used MEC 600 jr cranking out rounds for my 28 gauge.

Since I've now made about 200 shells, I find myself to be an expert on the matter and can answer any question related to reloading.

Be very careful. Mec 600's seem to multiply also. Next you'll see a 12 gauge reloader, 20 gauge reloader, and perhaps a .410 reloader on your bench.

I can definitely see that! My son just asked "dad, do they make these for my .410?"

Ive done my best NOT to buy a .410. I know if I did Id have another mec 600 on my desk.

Congrats. Loading 28 and 410 saves considerable $, even with today’s high price of shot.