Shotshell Reloading...

IllinoisCoyoteHunter · February 5, 2009, 08:50 AM

I am thinking about taking the plunge into shotshell reloading. I understand the importance of reloading manuals ( I reload 5 other calibers). I have been surfing the web and just had a few initial questions (you may help me choose if I wanna take the plunge before going out to buy manuals). 1.) I have a bunch of various fired hulls with different headstamps. All are 2 3/4" 12 guage. Do these have to be sorted and loaded differently from eachother. Or can I work up a load, find one I like, and then load them all with that load...not worrying about the different headstamps??? 2.) I can't believe I am asking this one.... Using say a middle of the road powder charge, 1 oz #8 shot...how many reloads on a given hull??? I know questions could depend on a lot of things, but if anyone has experience with reloading this type load, I would appreciate some insight. Ladies and Gentlemen...Thank You in advance!!!!

45Marlin carbine · February 5, 2009, 09:04 AM

you beat me to asking the question. that's what I'm thinking of myself.

DiscoRacing · February 5, 2009, 09:13 AM

the different head stamps mean nothning in my opinion.. some of the brands will last longer than others... the life span depends on how long it takes before the top of the hulls crack where you crimp the shot in.... i have loaded 12 guage before for shooting skeet.... i think we used to get around five or six reloads per hull.... as stated you will notice when you use them that some brands last longer than others. ... as for the charge.... the reloader that i used was a mec 600 jr... more or less the entry level loader i believe... nothing wrong with the loader... just very basic ... tho it does work very well... the mec loaders have what they call a charge bar... the powder grains is measured by this bar.. the bar is interchangeable but NOT...changeable.. meaning you can change the bar to get a bigger load... each bar is drilled one size for one charge... you cannot change the load unless you change the bar itself.... hope this helps you.... also. since i quit reloading them i have aprox 1,000 hulls myself that i would sell.

Sevens · February 5, 2009, 09:42 AM

In most shotshell loaders there is an insert in the charge bar that you can change -- a powder bushing, which keeps you from having to replace the entire bar to make a load change. The 600 Jr, I don't know.

As for different hulls and head stamps, you are supposed to match wads with hulls and loads/charge weight/powder with the hull & wad combo. I can't help here because when I was loading shotgun (years ago), I simply took the advice of the guys at my sportsman's club, bought a new Mec-650 and set it up for Win AA and Rem Premier hulls, got many bags of Win AA wads and went to work. All of my ammo was terrific, and rather than learning what I was doing, I simply copied their plan and went with it. (in retrospect, not very smart... but I was 17 and I learned more as I went!)

One quick but important note to keep in mind -- you must either buy a shotshell reloader that includes SIZING as one of the operations, or you must buy a separate sizing tool.

If you don't, you'll end up with hulls that only reliably chamber and work in the shotgun they were originally shot with. My Mec-650, for example, is a fine progressive shotshell reloader and it worked incredibly well and made phenomenally good shotshell, BUT it did not resize the shells. So all the stuff I bought new and shot out of my Browning Citori worked great, but if I didn't buy them new and form them to my chamber, I couldn't later use them in my Citori. And the few shells we popped out of a buddy's shotgun and then reloaded on the Mec would not chamber in my Citori.

So make sure you keep SIZING in mind when you buy your equipment, especially if you have a supply of shells from who knows where.

Sevens · February 5, 2009, 09:49 AM

Since we don't get much shotshell traffic in this forum, I've got a quick question for any shotgun reloader that happens to read it:

What are you paying for 25 pound bags of shot these days, and where you do get it? (and I'm not talking about the Craigslist guy that got four bags and a chimney broom for free!!!

)

FM12 · February 5, 2009, 09:52 AM

Mec 600s are great, but I now use the Sizemaster, it has a collet type sizer that squeezes the casehead back to the original size. I love MEC equipment, really fine stuff. You can sometimes find them on ebay, where I've bought 2. Make sure you verify from the buyer first that the reloader runs correctly before you bid.

Dustin0 · February 5, 2009, 09:53 AM

Sevens is right you can get any where from 1 load to 12 out of a hull. I load remington gun club hulls and get about 6 to 8. I have got more out of Nitro 27 and AA hulls. The only thing to look out for then making your load up is to get the right wad for the hull your using. Basicly Straight wall Vs Tapered hull.
As for your loader how many rounds will you be loading. 100 a week or just for like hunting 200 a year? IF you are loading just a few 100 every now and then get a Lee load all. IF you need to turn out ton of shells MEC is good entry level progressove loader. I really want to upgrade to a PW 900.

Sevens $32 per bag at Aces Guns.

Beleive it or not I us a Lee Progressive loader.

oneounceload · February 5, 2009, 09:55 AM

As to the number of reloads - it depends. Good quality target hulls like Winchester AA or Remington STS will, on average, give you more reloads.

There are differences between hull manufacturers; therefore the same load may give increased pressures in one while not doing it with the other.

Lyman has a reloading book, as do others. You can get loading data on the web from powder companies as well. I've been reloading shotshells for over 25 years - it is easy to do, not as hard as metallic, and cheap

IllinoisCoyoteHunter · February 5, 2009, 10:32 AM

Thank You All Very Much For The Info!!!!!

45Marlin carbine · February 5, 2009, 11:21 AM

ditto coyote hunter.

WCW · February 5, 2009, 03:04 PM

Shotshell reloading is both rewarding and a great way to save yourself some money over buying most shotshells from places like walmart or other discounters that dump tons of 1 oz promo loads on the market. For the same price you can reload hulls with magnum shot (good quality shot), and get a heavier loading to boot.

Another good way to save money is to standardize. Don’t bother reloading hulls of every sort, stick with a couple and work from there. Personally I use only two hulls. AA’s and those black Remington ones that every weekend dove, rabbit, and quail hunter seems to buy. I use exactly the same powder, powder charge, primer, and even the same wad in both hulls. That way you can buy in bulk when a sale hits, and that goes for all components. The AA’s are as good a hull as you will ever find, and the Remington’s, well not as durable, will be plentiful if you just ask a few guys that use them for say dove hunting, to save them for you. I have two lifetime supplies of the Remington hulls at the moment, and doubt I can wear them all out in this lifetime.

I use a MEC 600, and it seems like it will never wear out. Buy yourself a universal charge bar for it and you will be set for any lead reloads.

Two manuals I recommend are the latest Lyman one, and The Handbook Of Shotshell Reloading. These will give you enough recipes for any hull you might come across to keep you experimenting for years if you want, and some of the best information and guidance on the subject you will ever need.

Have fun!

IllinoisCoyoteHunter · February 5, 2009, 05:17 PM

Thanks for the info!! What are the potential hazards to loading various types of hulls with the same powder charge, primer,wad, and load? Is it something I should be concerned about just for shooting clay birds??

DiscoRacing · February 5, 2009, 05:25 PM

i have loaded every hull on the market and they were no difference for shooting/vs load... just that some brands of hulls last longer.

GE-Minigun · February 5, 2009, 06:42 PM

Quote:

...What are you paying for 25 pound bags of shot these days, and where you do get it?

Couple weeks ago I picked up 1k lbs for $21.50 a bag, however the club I shoot at purchased 80,000 lbs so we got a discount. Your best bet is to get in touch with a gun club that orders in bulk, if not I would expect to pay somewhere in the upper $20 range.

oneounceload · February 5, 2009, 07:22 PM

Shjot, right now, is running 25-28/bag; however, those stores that bought when it was high are still trying to sell it for 45-65 a bag......

Buy in bulk - by the case or more with friends......

as to recipes, there ARE differences between hulls - AA have less volume than Federal, etc., etc., etc.....

You can get real good info at shotgunworld.com on specific recipes.....get the manuals, READ the manuals, FOLLOW the recipes

SL1 · February 5, 2009, 07:49 PM

Quote:

What are the potential hazards to loading various types of hulls with the same powder charge, primer,wad, and load? Is it something I should be concerned about just for shooting clay birds??

Shot shells and shotguns are designed to work at much lower pressures than modern pistols and rifles. There are basically NO pressure signs to tell you that you are getting close to the danger point. You do NOT "work-up loads" in shotshells. You CLOSLEY follow recipies that have been pressure tested. That means the SAME shell, primer, wad, powder and powder charge weight and shot charge weight as the recipie calls for.

There are MANY published recipies. You will see that they will list the same hull/wad combination with a specific shot weight and then, for each powder, there will be specific powder charge weights for each primer brand to achieve specific velocities. In the pubished recipies that include pressures, you can see how much difference there is between primers with the same powder charges. What you can't see is the difference in presssure when you use a wad that doesn't fit the hull, because those recipies are not provided. Trying to use them makes "fit" problems in stuffing the right amount of shot and powder into the hull in such a way that the crimp is tight and the stuff inside doesn't rattle.

Also, be advised that you need special wads for use of steel or other hard shot. It protects the bore from being scored. Do NOT simply put steel shot in place of lead shot in a lead-shot recipie. Proper steel shot wads have more volume in the cup and less cushion, so that the specified weight of the less-dense steel shot will fit in the hull. But, less cushion calls for slower powders. So, you need special steel recipies. Ditto for "Hevishot" and other new shot types that have different densities.

So, GET A BOOK! You will learn a lot and keep yourself out of trouble. Shotshell loading is so different from metallic cartridge loading that there is almost no carry-over in the learning process. Instead of accuracy, you are looking for shot pattern density.

SL1

1911 Shooter · February 5, 2009, 08:09 PM

get you a Lyman reloading book, 5th edition. It will give you the big picture. alliant & Hodgon both have reloading websites, & yes, use the published recipies. rule of thumb-- keep your chamber pressure at 9000 psi for clean burn & do not exceed 10,000 psi for safety & wear on the gun. alot of veteran reloaders hang out at shotgunworld.com, go there if no one here can help you.

February 5, 2009, 08:50 AM	#1
IllinoisCoyoteHunter Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2008 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 1,527	Shotshell Reloading... I am thinking about taking the plunge into shotshell reloading. I understand the importance of reloading manuals ( I reload 5 other calibers). I have been surfing the web and just had a few initial questions (you may help me choose if I wanna take the plunge before going out to buy manuals). 1.) I have a bunch of various fired hulls with different headstamps. All are 2 3/4" 12 guage. Do these have to be sorted and loaded differently from eachother. Or can I work up a load, find one I like, and then load them all with that load...not worrying about the different headstamps??? 2.) I can't believe I am asking this one.... Using say a middle of the road powder charge, 1 oz #8 shot...how many reloads on a given hull??? I know questions could depend on a lot of things, but if anyone has experience with reloading this type load, I would appreciate some insight. Ladies and Gentlemen...Thank You in advance!!!! __________________ ~~IllinoisCoyoteHunter~~ ~NRA LIFE MEMBER~ ~NRA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR~

February 5, 2009, 09:42 AM	#4
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	In most shotshell loaders there is an insert in the charge bar that you can change -- a powder bushing, which keeps you from having to replace the entire bar to make a load change. The 600 Jr, I don't know. As for different hulls and head stamps, you are supposed to match wads with hulls and loads/charge weight/powder with the hull & wad combo. I can't help here because when I was loading shotgun (years ago), I simply took the advice of the guys at my sportsman's club, bought a new Mec-650 and set it up for Win AA and Rem Premier hulls, got many bags of Win AA wads and went to work. All of my ammo was terrific, and rather than learning what I was doing, I simply copied their plan and went with it. (in retrospect, not very smart... but I was 17 and I learned more as I went!) One quick but important note to keep in mind -- you must either buy a shotshell reloader that includes SIZING as one of the operations, or you must buy a separate sizing tool. If you don't, you'll end up with hulls that only reliably chamber and work in the shotgun they were originally shot with. My Mec-650, for example, is a fine progressive shotshell reloader and it worked incredibly well and made phenomenally good shotshell, BUT it did not resize the shells. So all the stuff I bought new and shot out of my Browning Citori worked great, but if I didn't buy them new and form them to my chamber, I couldn't later use them in my Citori. And the few shells we popped out of a buddy's shotgun and then reloaded on the Mec would not chamber in my Citori. So make sure you keep SIZING in mind when you buy your equipment, especially if you have a supply of shells from who knows where. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

February 5, 2009, 09:49 AM	#5
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	Since we don't get much shotshell traffic in this forum, I've got a quick question for any shotgun reloader that happens to read it: What are you paying for 25 pound bags of shot these days, and where you do get it? (and I'm not talking about the Craigslist guy that got four bags and a chimney broom for free!!! ) __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

February 5, 2009, 10:32 AM	#9
IllinoisCoyoteHunter Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2008 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 1,527	Thank You All Very Much For The Info!!!!! __________________ ~~IllinoisCoyoteHunter~~ ~NRA LIFE MEMBER~ ~NRA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR~

February 5, 2009, 05:17 PM	#12
IllinoisCoyoteHunter Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2008 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 1,527	Thanks for the info!! What are the potential hazards to loading various types of hulls with the same powder charge, primer,wad, and load? Is it something I should be concerned about just for shooting clay birds?? __________________ ~~IllinoisCoyoteHunter~~ ~NRA LIFE MEMBER~ ~NRA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR~

February 5, 2009, 09:04 AM	#2
45Marlin carbine Junior member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: South-Western North Carolina Posts: 1,124	you beat me to asking the question. that's what I'm thinking of myself.

February 5, 2009, 09:13 AM	#3
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	the different head stamps mean nothning in my opinion.. some of the brands will last longer than others... the life span depends on how long it takes before the top of the hulls crack where you crimp the shot in.... i have loaded 12 guage before for shooting skeet.... i think we used to get around five or six reloads per hull.... as stated you will notice when you use them that some brands last longer than others. ... as for the charge.... the reloader that i used was a mec 600 jr... more or less the entry level loader i believe... nothing wrong with the loader... just very basic ... tho it does work very well... the mec loaders have what they call a charge bar... the powder grains is measured by this bar.. the bar is interchangeable but NOT...changeable.. meaning you can change the bar to get a bigger load... each bar is drilled one size for one charge... you cannot change the load unless you change the bar itself.... hope this helps you.... also. since i quit reloading them i have aprox 1,000 hulls myself that i would sell.

February 5, 2009, 09:52 AM	#6
FM12 Senior Member Join Date: February 5, 2007 Location: Monroeville, Alabama Posts: 1,683	Mec 600s are great, but I now use the Sizemaster, it has a collet type sizer that squeezes the casehead back to the original size. I love MEC equipment, really fine stuff. You can sometimes find them on ebay, where I've bought 2. Make sure you verify from the buyer first that the reloader runs correctly before you bid.

February 5, 2009, 09:53 AM	#7
Dustin0 Senior Member Join Date: May 15, 2008 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 701	Sevens is right you can get any where from 1 load to 12 out of a hull. I load remington gun club hulls and get about 6 to 8. I have got more out of Nitro 27 and AA hulls. The only thing to look out for then making your load up is to get the right wad for the hull your using. Basicly Straight wall Vs Tapered hull. As for your loader how many rounds will you be loading. 100 a week or just for like hunting 200 a year? IF you are loading just a few 100 every now and then get a Lee load all. IF you need to turn out ton of shells MEC is good entry level progressove loader. I really want to upgrade to a PW 900. Sevens $32 per bag at Aces Guns. Beleive it or not I us a Lee Progressive loader.

February 5, 2009, 09:55 AM	#8
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	As to the number of reloads - it depends. Good quality target hulls like Winchester AA or Remington STS will, on average, give you more reloads. There are differences between hull manufacturers; therefore the same load may give increased pressures in one while not doing it with the other. Lyman has a reloading book, as do others. You can get loading data on the web from powder companies as well. I've been reloading shotshells for over 25 years - it is easy to do, not as hard as metallic, and cheap

February 5, 2009, 11:21 AM	#10
45Marlin carbine Junior member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: South-Western North Carolina Posts: 1,124	ditto coyote hunter.

February 5, 2009, 03:04 PM	#11
WCW Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2007 Posts: 132	Shotshell reloading is both rewarding and a great way to save yourself some money over buying most shotshells from places like walmart or other discounters that dump tons of 1 oz promo loads on the market. For the same price you can reload hulls with magnum shot (good quality shot), and get a heavier loading to boot. Another good way to save money is to standardize. Don’t bother reloading hulls of every sort, stick with a couple and work from there. Personally I use only two hulls. AA’s and those black Remington ones that every weekend dove, rabbit, and quail hunter seems to buy. I use exactly the same powder, powder charge, primer, and even the same wad in both hulls. That way you can buy in bulk when a sale hits, and that goes for all components. The AA’s are as good a hull as you will ever find, and the Remington’s, well not as durable, will be plentiful if you just ask a few guys that use them for say dove hunting, to save them for you. I have two lifetime supplies of the Remington hulls at the moment, and doubt I can wear them all out in this lifetime. I use a MEC 600, and it seems like it will never wear out. Buy yourself a universal charge bar for it and you will be set for any lead reloads. Two manuals I recommend are the latest Lyman one, and The Handbook Of Shotshell Reloading. These will give you enough recipes for any hull you might come across to keep you experimenting for years if you want, and some of the best information and guidance on the subject you will ever need. Have fun!

February 5, 2009, 05:25 PM	#13
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	i have loaded every hull on the market and they were no difference for shooting/vs load... just that some brands of hulls last longer.

February 5, 2009, 07:22 PM	#15
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	Shjot, right now, is running 25-28/bag; however, those stores that bought when it was high are still trying to sell it for 45-65 a bag...... Buy in bulk - by the case or more with friends...... as to recipes, there ARE differences between hulls - AA have less volume than Federal, etc., etc., etc..... You can get real good info at shotgunworld.com on specific recipes.....get the manuals, READ the manuals, FOLLOW the recipes

February 5, 2009, 08:09 PM	#17
1911 Shooter Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2006 Posts: 124	get you a Lyman reloading book, 5th edition. It will give you the big picture. alliant & Hodgon both have reloading websites, & yes, use the published recipies. rule of thumb-- keep your chamber pressure at 9000 psi for clean burn & do not exceed 10,000 psi for safety & wear on the gun. alot of veteran reloaders hang out at shotgunworld.com, go there if no one here can help you.