OT - any shotshell reloaders here?

[AJMD429]

Anyone here reload shotgun shells?

I've loaded .410 and 12 gauge YEARS ago (shortly after they invented shotguns, I think...) with a hand tool but now have a couple grocery sacks of Remington, Winchester, and Federal hulls, mostly 12 gauge, some 20 gauge, and a few .410 - when I looked on Midway for wads and such, there are SO MANY kinds it really was intimidating. When I was a kid and reloaded, I probably just grabbed a bag of stuff off the shelf and didn't worry about what was 'right'.

I'd be interested in 'tips for beginners' - I have a small shotshell press, but I have no idea how to figure out what loads I can assemble, if I have to use certain type of wads in certain case types, etc.

I'm not interested in high-performance loads, but it is fun to bust clay birds, and with the current 'climate change' it might be better to have two grocery bags of live shotshells vs. two brocery bags of empty hulls, regardless of the 'quality' of the loads.

Besides, if I have to dispatch a treed possum in the chicken pen, I can use a reload and save one more factory shell...

[Andrew]

I have the same feelings as you. My plan is/was to get Winchester AA stuff to keep it as simple as possible. KISS. Since shot came down to $40 a bag it might be time to give it a go as well. I think there are some shotgun forums that have good stuff but I have never done a whole lot of looking.

[Tycer]

What powders do you have?

[Chuck 100 yd]

Pick up a load manual that gives the shell casing as the starting point. Shot shell loading is easy once the formula is figured out The proper wad for each casing is the thing that is important to get right if you want good loads. I have loaded many cases of shot shells and shot trap for many years.

WWAA and Federal Champion paper cases are what I loaded most 12 and 20 ga.

Load books give the data you need.

[Lefty Dude]

Buy the new Lyman Shot shell reloading Manual. This will give you every thing you will need as far as info for reloading. This manual has the latest receipes for the latest powders & etc.

The manual also has a section on using the MEC reloaders.

I reload 12's & 16's for CAS/SASS and also hunting.

I also reload those neat looking 16 ga. Brass shells.

The Powders I use are Alliant American Select for 12 ga. & Alliant Unique for the 16's both brass & plastic.
Wads will vary with the type of Mfg. of hulls.
All my loads I use Winchester Primers.

Do not reload Shotgun Shells with out a published proven receipe load. And do not Wildcat loads.

[morgan in nm]

I load a lot of 12's but I have never leaded any other size. My advise would be the same as the others with a manual. I use the Lyman shotshell manual as it has a large variety of different powders to choose from. What kind of press do you have? The best press for beginners and experienced that I have personnally used is the Mec 600jr. They will run you about $100 on fleabay(I really don't know what they cost new.) The reason I like the mec is that it is easier to set up and operate than most. For hulls, I use 2 different types; older AA's without the inner seperate base wad, and remington premiers. These hulls are very forgiving with different types of wads. The new AA's have a seperate plastic base wad that limits the shot wad to specific types. An example is, lets say you have some new model AA's and they have super-lite stamped on the side, you have to use Winchester WAA12-SL or equivalent which limits the amount of shot that you can use. I learned the hard way on this because if you use a standard 12 guage wad, it will crease the hull right where the seperate inner wad is. They will still shoot but it makes it weak=undesirable and possibly dangerous. For powder, it depends on what your going to do with it. I use a lot of Red Dot, Green Dot, and Unique for heavy trap but those are my preferences.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend the lyman book as it gives details for all the different questions you could possibly have such as hulls, primers, wads, powders, wad pressure, etc., and shows you how to adjust the machine depending on manufacture.

[major]

for a long time I shot skeet in competition in 12,20,28, and 410 I loaded all my shotshells with the MEC 9000G progressive machines... I was able to load a full box of any of the gauges listed in about 7 to 8 minutes but the 410ga takes a little more care....28ga was always my favorite to load due to the cost is alot cheaper to load being you use less powder and shot to load.....quick note it is worth the investment to buy a adjustable charge bar for your reloaders so you don't have to worry with changing bushing all the time........in general I used Universal Clays powder for most all my loads and clay buster wads for the most part but it is worth the extra cost to buy Winchester AA wads for 410ga and maybe 28ga you will end up having less distortion with the wads on the smaller gauges....... I started out loading with the MEC Jr. presses and they worked great until you get to the point of shooting roughly 4 cases of shotshells on a weeked...... All in All it is a lot of fun to get into loading shotshell .......I wish you all the luck and don't hesitate if you need any help by all means ask would be glad to help in any way I can.......

[6pt-sika]

When I shot skeet and trap in competition I used Ponsness Warren 800C loaders . Had a seperate one for each of the 4 skeet gauges !

I also bird hunted and turkey hunted quite a bit then and had a Ponsness Warren 375 with a 16 gauge head and another head for 3.5" 10 gauge .

I used all Winchester components in the 16 , 20 , 28 and 410 . Meaning hulls , wads , powder and primers !

In the 12 I used all Winchester wads , powder and primers . But was able to use three different hulls with equal results .

When I started I used Winchester 452AA for the 12 gauge , 473AA for the 20 gauge , 540 for the 28 and 296 for the 410 . When they did away with 452AA I went to Super Lite and Super Target and if I'm not mistaken they have done away with both of those as well . When they did away with 473AA I went to Superfield for the 20 and also started using it in the 16 ! For the 28 I used 540 which they also have stopped making and Winchester no longer makes a powder they claim for use in the 28 !

Thw wads have changed from what i used as all the AA hulls have changed . And for the 16 gauge Winchester made an EXCELLENT AA wad that they have not made available to the reloading public for a number of years !

For the 10 gauge I think the only decent wad then and now was the Remington SP10 . Also I ahve found the Federal shells hard to beat in the 10 gauge .

I sold off all my shotgun loaders when I stopped competing and now am thinking of buying a MEC 10 gauge with the adapter to load 2 7/8" shells for my grandfathers old W.C.Scott SxS . I have a very decent load for the old gun using SR4756 and 1 1/4 once of shot .

[Ysabel Kid]

I have the makings but haven't started reloading shot shells yet. Will do so when I pick up a .410. 12 and 20's, for the volume of them I shoot, are still realitively cheap. Now I'm just worried about them being available!

AJ, this was not OT. Winchester and Marlin both have .410 leverguns. And I have the 1897 12-gauge levergun. Makes it on-topic to me!!!

[Tycer]

+1 on the new Lyman manual. That's what I'll go look in for you if I have an idea of what powders you have.

[AJMD429]

All my existing powder is 'assigned' to rifle and pistol I need to reload, so I'll have to get powder for shotgun. Sounds like I need the Lyman shotshell manual, and I'm sure I will have a better feel for powders after that, but I'd definitely like to use a powder which would also be useable in rifle and pistol.

Is 'good old Unique' good enough for most of what I'd need?

How about Hodgdon's Lil'Gun? I can even use that for my muzzleloader!

[Jason_W]

I'm going to be giving it a try as soon as I can afford the setup. I'm especially interested in loading my own sabot slugs now that these are available: http://www.ballisticproducts.com/products.asp?dept=71

I'm also thinking about making some "cheater loads" for grouse hunting. Maybe a 3.5" shell loaded with #8 shot will finally enable me to hit one of hose little buggers

[Tycer]

All my existing powder is 'assigned' to rifle and pistol I need to reload, so I'll have to get powder for shotgun. Sounds like I need the Lyman shotshell manual, and I'm sure I will have a better feel for powders after that, but I'd definitely like to use a powder which would also be useable in rifle and pistol.

Is 'good old Unique' good enough for most of what I'd need?

How about Hodgdon's Lil'Gun? I can even use that for my muzzleloader!

If you are going to load 12, 20 and 410 you'll need two powders. Unique would do the 12 and 20 and Lil'gun would do the 410 perfectly.

[otteray]

I'm still waiting for the shot prices to drop.
Way to expensive at $50 / 25 lbs.
You may consider purchasing a Littleton Shot Maker!

[marlinman93]

For years my favorite clay pigeon and quail load was 1 ounce of 7 1/2 shot, and 18 grs. of either Red Dot or Green Dot. I haven't bought wads in a long time, but Versalite were the perfect wad, and nothing but Win. AA Trap casings. I can get a dozen reloads out of Win AA's and all perfect crimps.
I've got an old Pacific (Hornady now) 366 auto press, and that baby cranks out the shotshells like crazy!

[6pt-sika]

I'm still waiting for the shot prices to drop.
Way to expensive at $50 / 25 lbs.
You may consider purchasing a Littleton Shot Maker!

I think shot here in central Virginia is down around $30 a bag .

But one of my shooting buddies has TWO Littleton Shot Makers . I've shot quite a few rounds of skeet in the last year or so shooting his shot and it works quite well !

It does however bother me that all those wheelweights get wasted down a shotgun barrel instead of being fired as bullets in one of my Marlin's !