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Zymurgist
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:02 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 22 Jul 2018
Posts: 7
Location: IN

First time posting to this site. Pretty cool site. Hope you all can help.
I'm mostly a handgun shooter, but my father gave me his Winchester Model12-16GA shotgun. He wanted me to have it and be able to use it before it's willed to me. He also gave me a MEC 400 reloader and a fair amount of reloading supplies. It's been 30+ years since he shot the gun, so the reloading supplies are probably unusable. I have close to a case of used hulls. The plastic hulls look to be dried out and the paper hulls look like they should be in a museum. The filler and shot wads appear to be dried out. I tried reloading a few shells, but can't get a good crimp. I would love to get the reloader back in operation, reload several boxes and take him shooting before he is physically unable to do so. The problem I have is... I can't find information on the type of wads I need and he has no idea what he used. I searched Midway Arms, but not sure what I can use with the MEC 400. By the way, the reloader looks to be in good shape after cleaning it up a bit.
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skeettx
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:23 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 9455
Location: Amarillo, Texas

Hello
WELCOME on your first posting
Start here
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/shotgun

select 16 gauge etc

Next
https://www.mecshootingsports.com/Content/documents/400.pdf

Next
go here and buy some modern shotshells (cheap) and they will be delivered to your door
you will need to copy and paste the ENTIRE link

https://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting/ammunition/ammo-sale|/pc/104792580/c/104691780/sc/436748580/herters-reg-select-field-dove-and-quail-shotshells/1601971.uts

Get the lightest loads for ease of shooting
FAST and FREE Shipping

Mike


Last edited by skeettx on Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Zymurgist
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 6:32 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 22 Jul 2018
Posts: 7
Location: IN

Mike... thanks for the info and quick response. I’ll check the sites.
Btw... thank you for your service.
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Dave In AZ
PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 9:02 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 348

zymurgist-- Welcome!

What skeetTX said! Those Herters from Cabelas just can't be beat for a great price, and they're a great hull to reload too.

I'd like to COMMEND you on your excellent choice in callsign/name! I'll drink to that.
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Savage16
PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:39 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 30 Nov 2011
Posts: 1694
Location: Minnesota

Welcome to the site. Is your gun marked on the barrel for chamber length?

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16gaDavis
PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:28 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2062
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)

what you need to know : your M12 may or may not be marked 23/4 on the drivers side of the barrel ... would not matter to me , but if it's not , assume it's a 2 9/16 gun and use shorter ammo to play safe . usually if not marked , it ain't !!

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skeettx
PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 4:01 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
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Location: Amarillo, Texas


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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:08 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1550
Location: Minnesota and Florida

Like your name, Zymurgist. You're a yeast man - probably a beer brewer, right?

Cheers!
Tony
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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:18 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1550
Location: Minnesota and Florida

By the way, Zymurgist, I have quite a lot of experience with the MEC 400. Feel free to ask for info. Manuals are downloadable on line from the MEC site. That is MEC's second reloader (after the 300), and while it doesn't have the adjustment flexibility of the current MEC crimp system, it can produce excellent results. Complete 400's are pretty rare nowadays -- people tend to lose the crimp sleeve, and that's the end of it, as MEC has no more of those parts. I had one with 20, 28 and .410 dies, which I used way back in my high school days (mid '60's). Still used it for 28's and .410's up until I sold it probably 5 years ago.
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Zymurgist
PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 3:40 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 22 Jul 2018
Posts: 7
Location: IN

Dave In AZ wrote:
zymurgist-- Welcome!

What skeetTX said! Those Herters from Cabelas just can't be beat for a great price, and they're a great hull to reload too.

I'd like to COMMEND you on your excellent choice in callsign/name! I'll drink to that.


I've been brewing since 2005 with a couple of gold medal awards at regional competitions. IPA's are my preferred style. This hobby is incompatible with shooting. NEVER mix the two.
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Zymurgist
PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 4:00 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 22 Jul 2018
Posts: 7
Location: IN

MaximumSmoke wrote:
By the way, Zymurgist, I have quite a lot of experience with the MEC 400. Feel free to ask for info. Manuals are downloadable on line from the MEC site. That is MEC's second reloader (after the 300), and while it doesn't have the adjustment flexibility of the current MEC crimp system, it can produce excellent results. Complete 400's are pretty rare nowadays -- people tend to lose the crimp sleeve, and that's the end of it, as MEC has no more of those parts. I had one with 20, 28 and .410 dies, which I used way back in my high school days (mid '60's). Still used it for 28's and .410's up until I sold it probably 5 years ago.


I may have to tap your experience with the MEC 400 after I purchase reloading supplies. The reloader is complete, including the crimp sleeve. I found the manual online previously. I think my main issue with the crimp is due to the age of the supplies. I really want to get into reloading. It has nothing to do with cost savings. I remember helping my dad reload his shells when I was a young boy. I want to bring those memories back to life. I know my dad would get a kick out of seeing me use the reloader and better yet... him reloading a box.
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Zymurgist
PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 4:04 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 22 Jul 2018
Posts: 7
Location: IN

skeettx wrote:


There are no marking on the side of the barrel that indicate length. I have many empty boxes of shells that have 2 3/4" length listed on the box.
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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 4:19 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1550
Location: Minnesota and Florida

Zymurgist -- I won two of the 14 golds awarded at the '92 Minnesota Homebrew Competition (brewers from MN, ND, SD, IA, WI, MI, Saskatchewan and Manitoba - lots of them) - one for pils and one for porter. Also got third place in pils with another beer in the same competition. I think there is more talent and much better equipment in homebrewing now than there was then. I was a simple extract/adjunct brewer, but I still managed to kick ass against many all-grain guys at the time. So much good beer at the store now I have no time for homebrewing anymore. I'd like to try your beer. I wanted so much to make the kind of good, hoppy, lower carbonation style beers I experience in my work trips to England, but it never worked out for me. I got relatively poor hop utilization with my methods, and I didn't want to devote a stall in my garage to better equipment and go whole hog into all grain/mash techniques -- couldn't just go half-hog. Oddly, I made better lagers -- go figure -- that's supposed to be more difficult, needing better temperature control in fermentation and lagering. Maybe I was more lucky than good. I'll always be a hop-head, but I have gotten a bit fatigued of the American style IPA's flooding out of all our local breweries. In our grilling sessions after league shooting, most of the guys like light, U.S. style beers -- far from the best, but at least you can drink a few. I thought I had given those up for good years ago. Some of the guys have become conscious of beer with some flavor, though, so things are looking up.

Cheers!
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Brewster11
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 11:40 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Feb 2009
Posts: 1301
Location: Western WA

Quote:
I have gotten a bit fatigued of the American style IPA's flooding out of all our local breweries.


Exactly, same here. Many of the popular ales are the beer equivalent of a deep fried Snickers bar. Ale can be brewed in a bathtub, and I'm convinced some of the brewpubs might be doing exactly that. I wish more of them would offer a nice lager but it might be too difficult...a couple I tried lately were skunky enough to use for bait in a fox trap. But fortunately some excellent lagers can still be found on the shelf in the grocery store.

B
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Dave In AZ
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:24 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 348

X3.
Always looking for an english bitter style, so tired of IPAs.
Ive got a recirculating infusion mash system (RIMS) I built in the 90s, but havent brewed in 13 years probably.
Had some great cask ale in Duluth recently!
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