UPDATE: I have put about sixty pounds of meat thru this stuffer and can report my findings and some of the problems I have encountered with this stuffer.
Yes, when you get to the bottom, there is enough left in the curved horn that leads to the stuffing tube to fill another link. It's a pain to extract and get into the casing. The plunger does clear out all of the sausage at the bottom of the filling chamber, just the curved horn problem.
When you are stuffing a dryish meat mix it does get difficult to turn the crank. I think there is quite a bit of friction between the vertical threaded rod and the threaded insert it turns on to lower it. It moves quite easily without any resistance against it, but if there is some stiff meat behind the plunger it can be a chore to turn. I have resolved to make sure my mixtures are more fluid next time.
In the above circumstance, I don't completely trust the cast aluminum handle to NOT break.
Also in the above circumstance, you will need to clamp the base down. Not only are you struggling to turn the handle, you will have to hold the thing down with the other hand as you are using quite a bit of force to turn the crank. Clamping the base resolved this.
I think the stuffer operates fine unless you do as I do and mix up 30 pounds of hard, dry Venison Summer Sausage mix. It taxes the stuffer. The Italian and breakfast sausage I put thru it went easily, well for me it did anyway, my wife is still in recovery.