I'm just starting out with reloading both cartridges and shotgun shells, and for the latter, I acquired a used Mec 9000 progressive loader. The other day I got it cleaned up, oiled and greased properly, adjusted according to the manual, and set up on my bench. I looked up load recipes for cowboy action shooting, and found one for 12 gauge that called for a maximum of 19.7 grains of Hodgdon Clays with 7/8 oz shot. I decided to download the powder charge by 15%, which was approximately 16.7 grains, and checked the Mec bushing chart for the appropriate sized bushing. That was No. 30, so I installed that in the charge bar, loaded the bottles with powder on left and shot on right, and tried a few powder drops to weigh them. I weighed an empty hull before the drop, and again afterward, to get the approximate weight of the powder.
I was mystified to find that ten powder drops resulted in an average weight of 17.3 grains with a range of 17.2 to 17.4 grains, not at all what I was aiming for. Scratching my head, I checked the bushing chart again, and realized that the actual weights were what was listed for the next up bushing, No. 31. So I swapped out the No. 30 bushing for the No. 29 bushing, and weighed another five powder drops.
They were all the same, 16.7 grains - what the chart said the next larger bushing should drop.
Has anyone run into this before?? I figure if it's consistent, I'll go with the No. 29 bushing despite what the Mec chart says, and just weigh every fifth or tenth drop "to make sure."
ETA: yes, I double-checked to make sure the correct bushing was installed the first time!
I was mystified to find that ten powder drops resulted in an average weight of 17.3 grains with a range of 17.2 to 17.4 grains, not at all what I was aiming for. Scratching my head, I checked the bushing chart again, and realized that the actual weights were what was listed for the next up bushing, No. 31. So I swapped out the No. 30 bushing for the No. 29 bushing, and weighed another five powder drops.
They were all the same, 16.7 grains - what the chart said the next larger bushing should drop.
Has anyone run into this before?? I figure if it's consistent, I'll go with the No. 29 bushing despite what the Mec chart says, and just weigh every fifth or tenth drop "to make sure."
ETA: yes, I double-checked to make sure the correct bushing was installed the first time!
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