Tokarev Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 In an effort to answer my own question I have ordered both the Mini Bullet Feeder and the Socal adapter for Lee tubes and Hornady feed die. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 3 hours ago, Tokarev said: In an effort to answer my own question I have ordered both the Mini Bullet Feeder and the Socal adapter for Lee tubes and Hornady feed die. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk The Hornady bullet feed die is $25 on Amazon and the SoCal MagP is $62. Any reason why you went with the Bully Adapter and the Lee tubes instead? The MagP is way more sturdy than the Lee tube arrangement (personal experience). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 The Hornady bullet feed die is $25 on Amazon and the SoCal MagP is $62. Any reason why you went with the Bully Adapter and the Lee tubes instead? The MagP is way more sturdy than the Lee tube arrangement (personal experience). Just curious about both systems. If the Lee tube affair works okay I can buy extra sets for way less than a Mag P tube set. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 22 hours ago, Tokarev said: Just curious about both systems. If the Lee tube affair works okay I can buy extra sets for way less than a Mag P tube set. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Sounds like a good plan. Keep us posted on how it works out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Okay. I have received everything but the actual Bully Adapter. I ordered the Mini Mr Bullet Feeder from the man himself. The Lee bullet tubes and Hornady die came from Midway. The Hornady die took only a minute to adjust and install. Filling the die with different bullet weights seems to show that it is adjusted correctly. I haven't loaded with it yet since I'm still waiting for the adapter piece. The Mr Bullet Feeder die is quite a bit simpler. It doesn't have the two internal collets like the Hornady but rather uses ball bearings to stop the bullet. The Mini itself is a plastic tube assembly that is friction fit on top of the feeder die. I did load a few hundred rounds with the Mini and it doesn't seem to be working well. I have tried putting the ball bearing and clip in both the top and bottom positions and still the feeder will fail to feed a bullet probably five or six times every 100 or so bullets. The issue seems to be somewhat worse as the tube(s) get empty but that isn't the only time the system fails to feed. I tried a couple different lengths/weights and it occasionally failed to feed regardless. I'll fiddle with it some more today but, so far, I'm not overly impressed. I'm adjusting the feed die as shown on the Mr Bullet website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorfish Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 One of the keys to hand loading good ammo is consistency. When using the MBF powder funnel, the MBF die drops bullets perfectly straight and at the same depth time after time. Yes, there are many other areas of loading that yield to consistency (including your stroke on the handle) but the more processes you can make constant, the better. Your results show up in the Standard Deviation of your hand loads. I can’t recreate the consistency of the MBR bullet dropper with my fingers. So, however you get the bullets to the bullet dropper is less important to me than the idea that the dropper drops each bullet the same way every time. (Note that I consider the MBF powder funnel is an important part of the equation as it creates a pocket for the bullet as well as adding flare)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 I loaded about 450 rounds using the Mini today. It worked just fine after I switched the BBs out. I'm not sure what was going on but, being how simple the mechanism is, wondered if an undersized BB might actually be getting stuck in the hole in the die body. Whatever the reason, switching BBs seems to have fixed it. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 (edited) The lower clip position and bearing holes are meant for lighter bullet weights. When I first set my Mini up, I set it up per the instructions and it fed bullets fine without the tubes installed. Once I put the mag tubes on and filled them up with bullets, I was getting failures to drop bullets. I ended up having to put another half turn down on the die body to fix the problem. I think the weight of the loaded tubes had something to do with it. Edited April 8, 2018 by Hooked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 I've now loaded close to 800 rounds over the last two days and the Mini seems to work most excellent. Yes, it is a little slow to fill the magazine tubes but once they're full the press purrs along. Being able to keep one hand on the handle is where the advantage is. That and the fact that the MBF sets the bullet more or less perfectly every time. I say more or less because the bullets are sort of stamped down into the case when the tube above is full. As the mass is reduced, the stack doesn't deposit the bullet with as much force. I had a couple instances where a bullet would fall sideways with the motion of the shell plate. Adding a bit more flare to the case mouth would be an obvious solution. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 I just timed myself to load 100 rounds. With the press ready to go but feed tubes empty it took me 12 minutes to fill tubes and load. Is that a time saver? Probably not much for a hundred but I bet it would be with another couple magazines. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 Alright. I have now used the Bully Adapter and the Mini. The Mini wins. Not as a problem or fault with SoCal's skills or craftsmanship but based solely on the two bullet feeder dies. The Mr die is working fine now and I've loaded close to 2,000 rounds with it. As mentioned, the die works on gravity with the bullet stack pushing down on the bullet to be seated. This sort of pre-seats the bullet in the case. The only instance where I've tipped a bullet sideways as the press indexes is when the tubes are nearly empty. The Hornady die has a series of collets that controls the feed. This means there is no mass to pre-seat the bullet. The case mouth must be flared aggressively in order to get the bullet to set on top of the case. The Lee bullet tubes are cheap but work alright. I think an ideal solution (from a cost point) would be an adapter piece that allows the Mini feed die to be used with Lee tubes. The feed die is $50. The adapter would probably be $45. Lee tubes are $20. That would allow a person to buy the feeder parts and half a dozen tubes for about $200. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 Another thing that would make a mr. Bullet feeder and Lee tube assembly the price point winner would be the ability to use the same tubes on multiple feed dies.The Lee tubes are supposed to work with 9mm, 40 and 45 by inserting or removing a set of inner tubes. These are included with the set. So the half a dozen tubes and die adapter, if it existed, would work with other calibers soley by buying a new drop die.Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangerbob Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 I have a Lee Classic Turret Press and reload 9mm and .45. Will the Mini Mr Bullet Feeder come with all of the necessary pieces to drop into a spare hole in the turret, or are there additional attachments needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Service Desk Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 I use both the MBF with colator and the MBF mini. Both work great, I have a couple of spare magazines for the mini that I use to maintain the production rate on one of my 650's.I can load 300 rounds of Super or 9mm in about 15 minutes if I start with them full and the Press full of primers. Filling them up is easy...I use the other MBF to fill the tubes ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 Probably the best case scenario for for Mini is where one press is used to load multiple calibers. An example might be something like 300 Blackout subsonic. Something that's loaded progressively but not in huge quantities where the use of a full-on feeder might not be warranted. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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