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+--- Thread: shot gun shell reloading (/thread-305.html)
shot gun shell reloading - fromtheplaines - 09-02-2014
I have been told with rifle brass you don't want to mix brass from different brands even if are the same caliber. Is that the same with shotgun hulls?
RE: shot gun shell reloading - BRDM2APC - 09-03-2014
Shotshell hulls are not as critical to sort as rifle cases. I always sort them to load same brand together to better keep an eye on crimp quality, in case adjustments are needed between brands.
RE: shot gun shell reloading - fromtheplaines - 09-06-2014
Thanks for the heads, while I am at it how do you reload the paper hulls. Seems like it would blow the top off
RE: shot gun shell reloading - fromtheplaines - 10-15-2014
Since this is in the same realm. Are the cheaper shells to begin with last as long when reloading. Or the double a would last longer
RE: shot gun shell reloading - Ammo Lynn - 10-31-2014
AA will last longer than some, and all hulls fail, but they fail in different ways. Federal Target get loose primer pockets after 4 reloads making them unusable. Red AA will go 6 reloadings and the crimp will fail, but there is also the once in a while base wad separation which gives you a hint with a budged base. Gray AA split in the middle of the hull body, or split below the fold line in the crimp end. Remington STS pretty much the same as Red AA but last one or two reloadings longer. Estate load nicely until the 5th or so and then they loose rigidity at the end to stay concentric and wont feed well in anything but a hinge action. Winchester target hulls are not a good as AA but they work pretty well, for the lower cost, its not a bad deal. When you want to take the big step up, go with Fiocchi, better than AA in all aspects and you can shoot high efficiency wads in them like PT12xx series from Schoeller-Plast and the HCD wads from Baschierie & Pellagri. These wads seal the bore better and don't collapse in the hull. The result is less felt recoil for the same velocity and less powder under the wad because all the gas pushes the shot without any escaping. Ballistic Products is a good place to look all this over.
RE: shot gun shell reloading - mikereddot - 10-31-2014
To all that are reading these threads, I introduce you Mr Lynn Garnand. Lynn has been asked to be the moderator of the reloading section. When asked, his answer was "sounds like fun". Like mentioned before, he's forgot more than most of us know about reloading.
Welcome Lynn.
RE: shot gun shell reloading - fromtheplaines - 11-08-2014
Awesome thanks for all if the info! One more question about shot gun shells. I shoot 2-3 games of clays each week. I have been eyeing the Lee press since its pretty 59 dollars. Is it worth it? Or are the more expensive ones worth it?
RE: shot gun shell reloading - Ammo Lynn - 11-10-2014
Excellent question. The Lee Load All II is a great press so long as you don't want to change powder or shot bushings. What most folks do is buy one press for each load (Trap, skeet, sporting clays, slugs, bird hunting etc.) and dedicate it to that load. The issue is that in order to change a powder or shot bushing you have to get the powder and shot out of their respective hoppers above. That means things get spilled, there are teaspoons and all kinds of appliances used to dip it all out. During setup, you determine the right bushing for the powder charge you want, then add the shot so you only have to deal with the powder (much easier). The MEC 600 and 9000 units allow you to tip the shot and powder bottles back off of the charge bar and bushings and change them quite easily. Essentially its the same 6 pulls of the handle as a MEC press during loading but its not a press you want to make changes to. I use a Lee Load All II and a MEC 600 in the Shot Shell Reloading class just so students can see the difference. It makes a lot of sense when you see them side by side.
RE: shot gun shell reloading - fromtheplaines - 11-11-2014
When is your next class I don't see anything on the calendar
RE: shot gun shell reloading - Ammo Lynn - 11-11-2014
I don't have a shot shell class scheduled yet. It will be in January, probably between new years and football weekends latter in the month. I generally do them in Trevor where I already have equipment setup for my commercial operation. I'll make a posting here when it gets scheduled. On a somewhat related note, this last weekend was one of two deer sight-in weekends at the Racine County Line Rifle Club where I am a member. I spent two days there helping folks sight-in and I have to say, I have never, ever, seen so may slug guns in one place. The commercial variety of slugs was huge but they all had one thing in common.. Commercial slug ammo is way way to expensive. You can load them for less than $0.45 each and get huge accuracy improvements over what's out there. If slug ammo where cheaper, I think we would see a lot more "plinking" with it. Slugs are a great reason to dedicate a Lee Load All II to a load.
RE: shot gun shell reloading - fromtheplaines - 11-11-2014
That is good to know, gave any good book recommendations for loads?
RE: shot gun shell reloading - Ammo Lynn - 11-12-2014
The general reloading manual you use is going to be influenced by the hulls you use. If you have AA, Rem STS and Federal Gold Match then the Lyman Shotshell reloading manual will likely get you started.... but... a better source is the Ballistic Products set of manuals (12 in all) covering the general sport and target worlds as well as small bore , slugs and non-lead loading worlds. The issue with BP is they are oriented to Fiochii, Chedite, RIO and their own hulls and have much less data for AA, Fed and Rem. I have a lot of RIO (it's my goto hull for slugs) and use a lot of BP Multi Hulls because they last long and the wads from BP made for them work better than WAA or Rem or Fed wads. But its up to you in terms of preference. Once you come over to the dark side (BP) though, you wont come back...
RE: shot gun shell reloading - fromtheplaines - 11-12-2014
I have a bad case of the 16s that stared me on fiochi. Than I found out how much easier it was to clean a gas gun after buying a 12 for the heck of it. Since I am going to start reloading the few dollars will be worth it
RE: shot gun shell reloading - Ammo Lynn - 11-12-2014
Yep, exactly right. So get their main manual and then branch out from there...