The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 23, 2001, 10:09 AM   #1
Matt VDW
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 27, 1999
Posts: 1,315
I've never reloaded any shotgun shells, but I have collected quite a few empties over the years. Are they all created equal in terms of suitability for reloading? If not, which ones should I discard?
Matt VDW is offline  
Old March 23, 2001, 10:58 AM   #2
bedlamite
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 10, 2000
Location: WI
Posts: 1,395
Paper or Plastic?

No, you're not at the grocery store, I'm talking about the base wad. Take a flashlight and look down into a couple different shells. The cheap Fedral hulls (not Gold Medal) have a paper base wad around the flash hole, and will burn away after a few loads. When I first started reloading shotgun shells, I used Fedral just because I could get a fresh supply every time I went shooting.

The better hulls like Winchester AA have the base and sides molded as one piece, and can last a dozen loads. AA hulls will eventually split at the crimp, usually short splits less than 3/16" won't hurt, but if they start to burn away at the top or won't crimp right, it's time to toss them.
__________________
A plan is just a list of things that doesn't happen.
bedlamite is offline  
Old March 23, 2001, 11:22 AM   #3
Poodleshooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 7, 2000
Location: Floating down the James River in VA
Posts: 2,599
Make sure you get the thicker Winchester AA hulls, not the cheap light ones they're cranking out nowadays. I find that I almost get more loads out of the Federals, since Winchester's frequently fray and split at the tops faster than the Federals lose their basewad.
Poodleshooter is offline  
Old March 23, 2001, 11:32 AM   #4
TEXAS LAWMAN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 27, 1999
Posts: 304
Most any hull CAN be reloaded. Some are not WORTH reloading. I, too, like the W-W AA hulls. I've also had success loading R-P, Federals, S&W, Fiochi, etc.

You might try to get a law enforcement person to collect 12ga slug & 00Buck empties from the police range. These can also be reloaded.

WATCH THOSE PAPER BASEWADS.
TEXAS LAWMAN is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.06038 seconds with 10 queries