A standard single stage reloading press is great for pistol and rifle rounds, but it’s worthless for shotgun shells. If you are a competitive skeet or trap shooter you can go through a lot of ammo in a day. If you are shooting 12 or 20 gauge ammo costs remain relatively cheap. Shooting trap with a 12 gauge or 20 gauge shotgun may be fun but it eventually doesn’t offer up the same challenge. That’s where the .410 shotgun shell comes in. Shooting trap with the narrow spread of a .410 shell can get a little more competitive. The cost of .410 can quickly get out of control. Buying a few boxes of .410 every time you want to shoot can get very expensive. If you shoot frequently you really need to get a reloading press. I can guarantee you will save you a lot of money over the long haul.
Why Buy a .410 Reloading Press?
The simple answer is that shooting a full box of .410 shells every round can get very expensive. Where a box of 12 gauge ammo can be bout for around 4 dollars, .410 shells sell for about 7-12 dollars. It can also get hard to find .410 shells. Most of the time you can’t even find a box at Wal-Mart so you have to go to a specialty store or local gun store. You will also get higher quality shells than if you were to buy the cheapest available box at the store. You will be able to load extremely consistent ammo that will shoot the same pattern every time.
Which is The Best .410 Reloading Press?
1. Mec 600 Jr Mark V .410
The Mec 600 Jr Mark V .410 press is a single stage shotshell press. This single stage shotshell press is simple and easy to learn on. This Mec press can be adjusted to be used with either 2.5 inch or 3 inch shells. The adjustment is easy and offers a lot of versatility in your loads. There are die sets available for other shells, but they are expensive and you might be better off with a cheap Lee Shotshell Reloading press. The Lee press is not available in 410.
This unit is a little on the expensive side, but you will have a significant savings over standard boxes of .410 shells. This unit is faster than some of the hand loading setups and an experienced loader can do about 6-8 boxes per hour. The setup of this unit is quick and easy, so it shouldn’t take long to figure out.
If you are looking for a reloading press to load a few boxes of shotgun shells this is the press for you. A regular trap or skeet shooter may be better off with the progressive .410 reloading press listed below.
2. MEC 650N 410GA Progressive Shotgun Loader
The Mec 650N .410Ga Reloading press is Mecs consumer grade progressive press. The Mec 650N press is built for competitive shooters that reload a lot of shotgun shells. Like on a traditional progressive press a new bullet is finished with every pull of the handle. This progressive shotgun reloading press is designed for reloaders who inspect and resize their hulls in a separate operation. I would suggest the purchase of a MEC super sizer which can be purchased separately.
The best part about this press is the three included crimping stations. This will ensure consistent feeding and should make for quality bullets. MEC is known for making high quality presses that will last a lifetime. So if you learn how to properly use this press you’ll never be without high quality .410 shotshells.
Additional die sets are not available for this press. So If you want an all in one press that can work well with all your shotguns this press isn’t for you.
3. Mec Mayville 9000G Progressive .410 Gauge Shotshell Reloader
The MEC Mayville 9000g progressive shotshell reloader is the best reloading press on the market. You can’t beat the smooth indexing and speed that this .410 reloading press offers. This is an all in one solution to reloading bulk 410 shotgun shells. This press has a uniform movement throughout every stage regardless of the operators actions or reloading skill. This 9000g requires very minimal adjustment going from low to high brass shells.
With every pull of the handle a new shell is finished. What separates this unit from the above 650N is the automatic ejection and indexing found on this unit. Both of these features significantly speed up the reloading process. With every pull of the handle a new bullet is made and ejected to a factory specified location. You will have no more wasted time fumbling with shells and indexing your press. Like the above progressive press additional die sets are not available to change gauges. This press is recommended for the serious competitive shooter, or anyone with more cash than time to reload.
Difference between Shotgun Shells and Other Ammo?
If you are new to reloading shotgun shells you might not know what exactly goes into them. The main savings that you get by reloading traditional bullets is in the brass cases. It is exactly the same with shotgun shells, except that the brass makes up much less of the actual shell. Instead of the brass most of the shell is made up of a plastic casing. Most of the time shotshell hulls can be reused multiple times before they need to be thrown away. In these cases you’ll need a .410 reloading press.
Choosing a Press
In the past they used to sell kits that allowed you to reload .410 shotshells using a standard single stage press. These kits may still be on the market but I haven’t seen them in a long time. The only other options that you have for reloading shotgun shells is to buy a dedicated press. Unlike with the more common gauges there’s not a lot of options available for reloading .410 shotgun shells. There are really only two presses that are currently available. One of them is a single stage press and the other is a progressive. You’re decision will most likely come down to the price and volume you want to reload. Below I will review the 2 best .410 reloading press available.
Which is The Best 410 Reloading Press?
Any of these MEC presses will be an excellent addition to your reloading bench. So why did I only review MEC shotgun presses. One of the reasons is that they make a quality product, but the main reason is because they’re the only ones that currently make a .410 reloading press. If you want to save a lot of money on your .410 shotshells these are the best presses that I can currently find.