Ponsness/Warren 800B

When I was a kid shooting skeet and trap in the 70’s, the Ponsness/Warren “Size-O-Matic” was the reloader to have. Boy, I wanted one but earning minimum wage at the local grocery store put me in the effective and affordable MEC reloader instead. Thirty five plus years later the PW is still in production and now that I am earning a notch above minimum wage I was able to put one in my reloading room. Here is a quick look at this workhorse of a machine.

7 operations with each pull of the handle and a freshly reloaded shell is ejected each time.

This is a serious piece of machinery. Well thought out, time-tested and rivaled only by the impressive Spolar.

The PW 800B has a very mechanical operation. There is a marvelous and robust clankety-clank as you crank shells out and at the end of each stroke there is a solid click signaling a complete cycle. There is nothing elegant about working this loader. It is a man’s machine requiring force and aggression to operate and it spits out perfect reloaded shot shells with authority. I love this thing. My testosterone levels have risen 7% since I got it.  Tim Taylor would grunt in ecstasy if he had one. With minimal experience on the machine and setting my own wads and hulls I am able to reload 100 rounds in 12 to 15 minutes.

To avoid drilling holes in a nice table I mounted the loader on a 1/4″ steel plate on top of a 2″ pine board on top of a couple of pieces of wool felt. This set up is heavy which adds to the stability.

Welded to the back of the plate is a 6″ flange that hangs below the table. This is a picture of the underside of the table showing the flange bolted to a  1×3 piece of red oak that is lag bolted into studs in the wall. The result is a rock solid mount.

I shoot about 1,500 clay targets a year so this machine is way more than I need, but excess in capability can’t be a bad thing.

The Ponsness/Warren 800B is approved by Tex.