Resizing Shotshell Hulls with a MEC Super-Sizer

Resizing Shotshell Hulls with a MEC Super-Sizer

Spend any kind of time reloading high-brass shotgun shells using a ring-style resizing die, and you’re bound to stumble upon the all-too-common, and much-lamented issue of binding.  Binding hulls can quickly bring an otherwise productive reloading session to a screeching halt, as the reloader is now forced to disassemble the sizing station, and extract the jammed hull.  Likewise if you’re the owner of one of the half dozen shotshell presses that just doesn’t include a sizing die, you’re no doubt equally well acquainted with the misery that is manual sizing using hand tools.  If you just read the last few sentences while thinking “Amen, brother”, you’re not alone–  For these reasons (and a few more) MEC took it upon themselves to develop a simple, yet innovative solution in the form of the Super-Sizer.

If you’re new to reloading shotshells, you may be wondering why we resize hulls at all.  Whenever a shotshell is discharged, the explosive forces of the rapidly expanding gasses cause the hull’s metal base to stretch, and expand.  Although the increase in diameter is very small, a change of even a couple thousandths of an inch can render a hull impossible to chamber.  By resizing our hulls, we can effectively squeeze the base back down to the original factory specs, and return it to service.

So what does the Super-Sizer bring to the table?  The first thing you’re likely to notice about it is that like all MEC products, it’s made of metal– Steel, to be specific.  The Super-Sizer is one of the most rugged reloading tools you’re ever likely to encounter, with every part precision-machined to exacting tolerances, and built to withstand decades of heavy use.  Aside from build quality, the Super-Sizer also benefits from the engineering skills of the company that designed the world’s most popular shotshell reloading press.  The rigid base has a large footprint that fastens securely to just about any surface, while the operating handle provides an excellent degree of leverage to help simplify an otherwise challenging task.  Where the Super-Sizer really shines though, is the sizing collet.  This eight-finger die works to easily and accurately squeeze hulls back to factory specs horizontally, rather than the more common vertical method employed with ring-type sizers.  This not only dramatically reduces the amount of pressure (not to mention friction) needed to complete the operation, but it completely eliminates the possibility of hull binding, even with problematic high-brass hulls.

Another great feature of the Super-Sizer’s design is it’s simplicity.  The entire system is made up of just a few components.  With no indexing, power sources or complex sequences of operations to monitor and fiddle with, you can focus on what you’re doing– Resizing hulls.  For parents of young children curious about reloading, the Super-Sizer can also be a fun way to introduce the next generation to the hobby without exposing them to powder, primers or other more hazardous components.

While it’s not for everyone, if you’re a serious shotshell reloader looking to treat yourself to the very best, you’ll love MEC’s Super-Sizer.

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Tactical Advantage TV is focused on delivering short, to-the-point content on a host of subjects related to firearms, casting, reloading, optics and accessories.  In addition to theoretical discussion, I will be performing a number of practical demonstrations on processes and products, including my own designs.