MEC 761R Grabber - Anybody Use One?

[Scorpion8]

Got a can't-pass-up deal to pick up tomorrow a MEC 761R Grabber. I currently use a combination of MEC 600 Jr and Pacific DL-155, both single stage presses. The Grabber being a progressive should get me out of used-hull-overabundance in my garage.

Anybody out there use one?

[Scorpion8]

Well got this Grabber all set up, a few parts needed to be replaced and some adjustments made, but I expect to start cranking out shells this weekend. Will post up some pics then.

[Vitaly]

It would be interesting if you share the price of the shotshell made with this press and how many rounds you can produce per hour.

[Scorpion8]

He, he....yea, with the price of lead shot in my area approximately $47/25lb sack at Sportsman's Warehouse, I doubt I'm significantly below retail on budget stuff like Federal Top Gun Target or Estate Target loads at $6.49/box. Probably break even if you buy case lots and get discounts.

I reloaded my first full-session last night and pumped out 5 boxes (125 shells) in an hour. My best pace with a MEC 600 Jr was a box in 25 minutes with zero distractions, and in this case there were numerous feed issues with the Grabber. It is a lot quicker, and will be even more so when I have all the feed bugs worked out. But right now it also produces more "waste" than the 600 Jr because you can't watch all 6 stations at once with each pull of the lever, so a canted hull that has a BB under it will get crushed and destroyed far too easily. In the end I spent as much time vacuuming the floor for spilled powder and shot as I did actually reloading.

I am still in the baby steps of my cyclic-hull-wad-feed-repetitive habit, so my 125/hr rate should increase more to the stated possible rates. With time.

Oh, and of course it CONSUMES powder and shot as fast as you can pull the operating lever. Watching those levels decrease noticeably as I worked was somewhat satisfying. Except to my wallet.....

A detailed cost analysis and some pics will come soon.

[Scorpion8]

Just got it all cleaned up and put away. As long as I take it careful, I can crank out some rounds. Watching carefully, I did a box of shells in 7-10 minutes. You need to watch many points at a single time, because messing up costs you 20-minutes cleaning shot and powder out of the machine. An consistent rhythm helps as well as a single load. Changing anything (e.g. wads) means several adjustments have to be made and those slow you down.