shotshell reloading
 

So I am trying to get into this shotshell reloading thing.

I am having trouble understanding the need to by high brass or 16mm brass.

I can shoot the same charge out of a low brass hull, if a recipie calls for it that is? Correct?

Some of the very best magnum loads (2 3/4" 12 Ga) I've ever made was using AA hulls. These were 1 3/8 Oz baby magnums....

I've also used Federal gold medals the same way.

You are absolutely correct.....you don't need hi-brass cases to make great hunting loads.

Just follow the recipe and don't substitute primers.....some you can substitute and some you shouldn't if you're making 11,000 PSI loads

So is there ever any use for high brass hulls?

I've never reloaded a high-base shotshell in my life,....not for lead and not for steel.....IMO....NO

I sure loaded a lot of AA and gold medals however..../\

...... bc.. I've loaded tens of thousands of rounds of 12 ga. trap loads in AA hulls. I've also loaded some pretty hefty field loads in those same brand hulls. The brass height thing is, as I understand it, a carry-over from the "old days" when it was felt additional support was needed with a heavier powder charge in the old paper hulls. It therefore meant if it was a "high-brass" shell, it was a more potent round than a "low-brass", which was loaded to a lower pressure level. I think the ammo companies continue to perpetuate the myth and realize the old adage about the brass height is a selling point even yet.

As a footnote.....

The only 12 Ga hulls I've found useful in reloading are the low base trap loads from the big three manufacturers......and as attested they make marvelous hunting loads as well as target loads and dove and quail loads.

However there is one more hull I've had good success with and that's the new Fiocci hull in both 2 3/4" as well as 3" from Ballistic products. Darn things load and function great and star crimp or roll crimp nicely.

They aren't very economical but make great ammo and I sorta like the custom look of the roll crimped rounds with the clear plastic overshot wads.

The 3" Fiocci hulls also make great steel loads but if you go this route break down and buy the manual from BP.....

I wouldn't give a dime for a truckload of high brass 12 Ga hulls as they get stuck in my MEC 600 and are a PITA

High base means nothing. Only the internal dimensions matter.

It may have meant something in the past, or it may have been a marketing ploy that people bought.

Incidentally, what are you reloading for?

Right now, only hammerhead slugs.

OK, never reloaded slugs.

I reload mostly steel shot. It can be a real pain. I am currently able to buy shells at $5.50 per box after rebate, so reloading doesn't pay at that rate. I haven't loaded shotshells much for a few years.

Given the price jumps on ammo lately, I think the old stock that I'm buying will run out soon, and I'll be back to rolling my own.

Good luck.

High brass is OK but low brass is better for both hunting and target loads.At least that's what I read in one of my manuals.They said high brass was just for looks.

Interesting read,

I also load for my 12s, 20s, and now my 28. I realy like the Fiocchi hulls I bought from BPI and they sure take a beating.

JW

I can sure relate to that.....even steel isn't worth the time as one has a lot invested in components and most of us only shoot a couple boxes a year.....Winchester Expert steel is a great shell and about the same as I can load in cost.

It's still a good pasttime and to a degree therapeutic but economical isn't what it once was.

My cost to reload steel compared to factory:

2-3/4 1 oz loads $6.49 Factory 1-1/16 $10
3" 1-1/8 oz loads $9.71 Factory 1-1/4 $12
3.5" 1-3/8 oz loads $12.70 Factory 1-3/8 $16

In most cases I can't duplicate factory performance.

Possibly you have a way to save hulls.....I'm always buying new hulls from BPI.....and I roll crimp them and they don't want to be reused after roll crimping.....I also don't like picking them out of the muck where I hunt ducks.....I do but not to reload....to clean the environment as the plastic will be there for years.

BTW....Check prices on Win X-pert 3" steel.....about $10/box here and it's good stuff.

I ordered some shotgun slug reloading componants from BPI. Gonna try the 12ga x 50cal sabots with 350gr & 500gr Hornady bullets.

I mostly pass shoot,so I'm not in the muck very much. My problem instead is finding them in the tall grass. I fold crimp.

When I buy hulls I buy once fired, and mostly Federal gold medals. I don't think I've bought any since Ebay went communist.

What really amazes me about shotshell loadin is the vast differences in data for various hulls/wads. And I feel kinda powerless. I just have to trust the load data provided.

But another hobby.

When reloading trap/skeet/quail/dove loads I allow myself some latitude in substitution. I fill a hull with water and pour it into a different hull and if it appears to have the same internal volume I will substitute it.....but we're talking 8500 PSI loads here.

Also some primers can be substituted....(sorry but I don't have the list right now but at least one Federal and one Fiocci primer is extremely hot and not to be substituted) but one needs to know this.

When I load serious hunting loads it's religiously to the recipe. Frankly it's nonsense to me but I trust it and so far it has worked quite well. IMO rifle reloading is a lot more understandable and I'm far more comfortable doing it.

For loading lead shot for pheasants I use just about anyone's data....Hodgdon's primarily but also Alliant as longshot and blue dot are my "go to" powders for hunting loads. However when it comes to steel, buckshot, slugs, and the unusual stuff it's BPI all the way....they have done the testing and have the good data and products. I never use data from internet posters as the chance of typo errors just is too great.

Fully agree.....shotshell loading is totally a different field.....

Now if I can muster the ambition to understand black powder....

I agree. I don't hotrod these loads at all and substitutions are made very carefully, and very rarely.

The thing with loading shells is there's little to no room for error experimenting with different components other than whats listed in the manuals because of pressure issues.

Bernie....you're right but there's more to the story.....every combination of powder, wad, and shot must fill the hull to the correct height or it won't crimp well. Once the reloader has the bushings and powder he is pretty much relegated to a specifit hull and wad.....and yes there are similar hulls....but substitution has more drawbacks than pressure.....often it just isn't practical for reasons of "fit".

I think the reason so many folks stick to the recipes and don't do much (if any) fudging is simply that it gets quite complicated in a hurry.

That said....it's really relaxing to sit at the old reloading press and hammer out a case of shells in a short evening.....and have every confidence that they are all safe and worthy of your shooting.

I can't imagine the number of trap loads I've loaded with a MEC 9000-G and other MEC loaders. Fudging the recipe has never been of interest to me as I could never find a real good reason.

Well, I am up and running. First load is AA hulls, WAA12 wads, and 21gr of Unique with 1 1/8 #5. Well see if she goes bang.

.......bc... How did it crimp up for you? Always a sign of proper components.......

I played with the final crimp and it seems to have started crimping deep. But seems fine now.

Ok, so I got a big ole bag of CB 1118-12 given to me. I have poured over hodgdon's data, and it appears all loads min and max for WAA-12 are within 0.5gr of CB 1118 wad loads.

Is it safe to say with other mfg like Unique, I can substitute WAA-12 wad loads with CB 1118-12?

Reason I ask is I want to use these wads, and have 8lbs of unique. But alliant doesn't list too many CB 1118 wad loads. Get the picture?

Holy cow, I feel like a newbie like when I started reloading 2 decades ago. But difference is, I didn't have the internet.

...... I'm gonna have to admit it's been over 30 yrs. since I did much shotshell reloading, and guidelines back in those days were sketchy at best... and you think it's bad now?... Anyhow, I switched wads lots of times in AA hulls. I was shooting 17.5 gr. 700X in AA hulls with Win. 209 primers and generally Rem. RXP wads. I would, on occasion, switch to AA wads if the RXP's were unavailable. I also used a wad called a "yellow wad" sometimes. The powder charge remained the same weight and producer and the oz. shot held by the wads was constant... same as original load. The only thing that changed was the wad itself. They all crimped up exactly the same. I never had one bit of a problem changing wad components if the wads were all of the same measureable charactaristics..i.e. shot cup at 1 1/8 oz, distance from base of shot cup to powder, overall length. Never had any problems with performance or noticed any radical signs of problems.
... Don't know if this helped or not.... Been a long time for me, and a lot of info and terminology has changed and evolved.

I just happen to have a bag of CB 1118-12 wads here and it says right on the bag..."WAA12 Replacement Wad"

Go ahead and make the substitution....it's a safe sub any time!

Thanks all.