Reloading with universal charge bar

R

rob_g

Active member
I have a Mec sizemaster.

Im wondering if anyone has ever used the 'universal charge bar' in their reloader. Does it work well. Im not a serious reloader, i just want to speed up my operation instead of weighing everything out. It says you can range as little as like 12grains to 55 grains. and 7/8s to 1 1/2 oz's of shot for steel.

I mostly reload #1's and #BB steel

just want to know if this is a gimmick or it really works

rob
 
I bought one years ago because I didn't want to buy a lot of bushings. I use to reload everything (trap and field ,2.75" and 3") and had no trouble adjusting the bar. I did weight everything to dial in the adjustment. Now ,I never change it because all I ever reload are my trap loads which stay the same. I have never used it for steel, so I can't comment in that regard. Otherwise I've been happy with mine.
 
I have never reloaded but did stay in a.... never mind.
Anyway, a buddy of mine used one years ago to reload. He said, like Dave, once you get it adjusted for a certian size shot & load, it worked fine. But you may have to fiddle with it at first.
 
If thats the case then i'll have to pick one up because i primarily have 1 recipe i use and thats it so thanks. What does the powder baffle do though?
 
They work as well as other charge bars for powder, any of which should be calibrated initially by weighing charges. They may prove difficult with any non-lead shot, as are most charge bars which tend to stick with steel or other non toxics. In general, I think it's worth the money when compared to other currently available MEC bars.
 
Rob,
In the past I reloaded a fair amount with MEC 9000G's (have 12-20-28 and .410), and tried universal bars for both lead and steel. They work ok, but it does take some time and fiddling to get them set up. I was always worried the set screw had come loose or something moved, so I weighed powder and shot more often, and finally settled on using standard fixed bars for everything. Also, unless something has changed in the last few years, the large flake powders used to reload steel tend to meter poorly (and thus have large variations in weight), so you may end up weighing everything anyhow.

-Bill
 
For powder i use Alliant Blue dot and Alliant Green dot. I use them because thats what i got when i bought the reloader and haven't had to buy anything new because i have so much of it. I really don't reload that much. I might make 250 to 300 shells a year. I don't know enough about these things for becoming more efficient so i've been weighings my powder charges(which i hate doing). I can only sit and make 25 shells at a time before i start going insane.

thanks
 
I have a very similar set up.... I use a 3 1/2 in. MEC Steel Master that I have a variable plate for so that I can reload 3 1/2 to 2 3/4 all without modifying the press at all. I have been using the universal charge bar for quite some time now. With the powder baffel on the bar I can meter Alliant Steel Powder to with in +/- .02 grains . I check my powder drops every 5-10 shells. The smaller Steel shot meters OK through the bar but anything larger than #3's and you have to weigh out each load but I just hand weigh every shell. I bought a digital scale and what I do is charge all my shells with the powder on the press and as I pull each one out I place the wad in, then after I have them all completed I place the shell on the scale and tare it out and then just add the shot then I crimp and box. It seems like alot of work but once you get the process going I can load a box of shells in about 10 minutes for Steel shot this is pretty fast.

For lead I wouldn't imagine using anything but the universal bar.

It only takes about 3-4 minutes to get the bar set up and running shells, I leave the powder keg open at the top so I can just dump it back in and I throw 6 powder runs weigh and then adjust, thorw 6 more then weigh and adjust. If your going to do both powder and shot you have to get the process down so your doing exactly what you'll do when loading so that the bar is adjusted properly for your load; meaning anything you do on the press will effect the powder amount so that is why I do what I do.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Do yourself a favor though and buy the Lighting Steel reloading manual, absolutely killer 2 3/4 duck loads in the book !!!
 
Rob,
I took mine off my 9000 because it was one of the things that was on the suspect list for a hanging charge bar when the progressive shell tray of the machine moved. I am back to using factory bars for the trap and sporting loads I make with bushings for powder.
For Steel I load on a single stage but it is a ponness warren so I use the scale and lee powder measure. I dont trust the Alliant Steel Powder to meter but some do.
The adjustable bar is nice to tweak the powder, but is over kill for the shot drop. I would have no problem using one in the sizemaster.
 
what is it that makes the charge bar stick or get stuck when reloading steel compared to lead? Why don't they like loading anything bigger then #3?

thanks
 
Rob,
I dont charge steel with a bar. There are numerous guys who charge steel with bars.
MEC has the black Steel Bars. I dont know if they are just anodized a diff color or are a diff. grade.

The powder baffle is supposed to help with uniformity of the powder drop. I didnt like the spring loaded wiper it used to contact the bar. It was less effective than the brass washer that came with the mec originally at keeping flakes of powder from getting out of the press.
 
I use it all the time, just make sure you listen for the shot to fall, sometimes you get bridging of the shot in the drop tube with larger shot.If so just a little tap on the tube with a wrench or screwdriver will let it fall in the shell.
 
Rob the prob. when using a bar for steel is when the bar shifts not all pellets fit exactly either in the bar or above still in the bottle, with smaller shot sizes the pellets will shift up or down , larger sizes can jam at the cutoff sheer point, with lead the pellet is cut off- with steel the pellet can jam into the alum. bar & damage it. I use an old primer tray, the style that have holes for each primer, count the number of pellets & tape off the holes that aren't needed for large pellet sizes.
Powder baffles support the weight of a full bott. of powder so there is the same weight pushimg the powder into the bushing with a full & nearly empty bott. I hopes this helps.
Dennis
 
Another good way to measure shot I have used is to weigh a shot charge and then drop it into a shotgun hull. Mark the hight of the shot in the hull and cut it off at that mark.
Use the hull to scoop a shot drop out of a container (cup) of shot. Weigh a few and get the feel for it. I don't weigh every one now after starting out with the scale since I get good results just with the visual feedback.
A small handle can be glued to the hull to make the dipper a bit more fancy.
 
alright, went to cabelas today and picked one up as well as returned some leaking waders(best policy ever). Just getting home now and starting to mess with it. Surprisingly enough they didn't have any wads for steel shot only lead...Im going to play with it alittle bit and see if i can get it working correctly...seems easy enough to set the powder charge after going over the directions with the chart....hopefully i can find some steel wads out of that pile of reloading supplies and make a few....

thanks again...i'll probably have some more questions anyways...

rob
 
just tried it out...i set it up to what the chart called for it....and they consistently came out .7 grains then what i set it to so some tweaking and i should have it dialed in....thanks for the help....Bob thats a good idea with the hull as a gauge for loading shot...i haven't tried the shot in the loader yet so we'll see how that goes.....

thanks again
 
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