In our final installment of our Mark 7 Apex 10 sensor series, John Vleiger joins us to discuss the Mark 7 BulletSense! 

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In the Series

We’ve covered do’s and don’ts, priming adjustments, powder measure adjustments, caliber conversions, machine maintenance, the DecapSense, the SWAGESense and the PowderCheck.

About the Mark 7 BulletSense Evolution Revolution

BulletSense ensures your bullet is properly positioned prior to seating, preventing crushed bullets, missing bullets and sideways/upside down bullets. 

From Mark 7:

Bullets are placed on top of your case through the Mr. BulletFeeder® bullet feeder dropper. Then the shell plate indexes. If your case is not flared or belled properly your bullet may fall off, go sideways, or otherwise not be properly aligned for bullet seating. 

BulletSense® is the first electronic detection system that can stop your machine before any of the above situations impact your loading process – and it also acts as a brass sensor.

We’ve created a laser-mounted system on a user-adjustable slider that allows you to point the laser right where you want it – at the tip of the bullet or directly on the brass. If the laser beam is interrupted every time your machine makes a stroke, the machine continues (e.g., if a bullet head or brass is present). If the laser is bounced back from the mirror and the circuit completes, the machine stops at the top of the stroke and shows you a message on your tablet. You determine the height of the laser; you now have more control of the operation of your machine. The user-adjustable slider is operated through a traditional thumb screw.

Feature highlights:

• • Constructed from anodized aluminum – Mark 7® Reloading Red
  • Precision laser with easy adjustments for different grain bullets and calibers
    • Important to note that the precision of a laser is unmatched in this use – it can even determine the difference between an upside-down bullet from a hollow point bullet
  • Can stop the machine if no bullet is present, if upside down bullet, if sideways bullet, if no brass present, and alerts you through the tablet
  • Supports all Revolution®, Evolution™ and APEX 10™ calibers
  • On-the-fly enable/disable through the tablet

This unit installs in moments with the included hardware – no modifications to your machine necessary. A must-have for people who want full protection from running out of bullets which can ruin your whole reloading session. 

Installing the BulletSense

In short, this sensor consists of a laser emitter, a mirror to bounce it back and a photo sensor to check for laser light. When the sensor detects laser light, it stops the machine. A properly positioned bullet blocks the laser. 

The BulletSense comes with brackets for both the mirror and laser emitter. Initial installation is easy; so is plugging it in. The tricky part is properly adjusting the brackets for the laser to hit the mirror then bounce and hit the photo sensor.

Then it’s time to adjust the laser height. The laser should hit the top of the bullet, marking the minimum required to block the sensor and stop the machine.

With a prepped case inserted, drop a bullet from the machine into the case. Do not drop it by hand as it will be different from what the machine would do. Adjust the height of the laser so the tip of the bullet creates a shadow.

To check the sensor, select it and hit run. With no bullet inserted, or improperly positioned, the machine will not run.

Conclusion

Like Mark 7’s other sensors, the BulletSense helps keep everything running smoothly! 

Get the Gear

The Mark 7 Apex 10 is available directly from Mark 7 as well as from the Double Alpha Academy! 

Find the Mark 7 BulletSense at markviiloading.com!

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Thanks,
Gavin Gear