Akula69
Member
WARNING: The information in this thread departs from published load manual standards for shot shell reloading. Consider and/or use the information at your own risk.
In a previous thread on shot shell reloading I mentioned sending off 36 shells to Tom Armbrust for pressure testing. The reason I did this was to test the pressures using standard published data for certain component combinations, but to change certain components in the mix (i.e.: primer and hull). For those interested, this testing costs $5.00 per shell, and his contact information is listed at the end of this post.
Generally, in conversations I have had with Ballistic Products I have been told the following:
1) Swapping regular primers (NOT Federal 209A) will produce similar pressure and FPS results.
2) Swapping hulls is OK as long as you understand the difference between straight and tapered hulls (this is dependent on (3) below).
3) Swapping wads is OK as long as you use a DIRECT clone of the original wad matched to hull it belongs to (this is dependent on (2) above).
In my tests, I used once-fired Federal LE hulls (low base with a ribbed plastic hull and rolled plastic base insert). The load data used was based upon Federal Gold Medal plastic hulls and published load data from various sources including Ballistic Products, Hodgdon, Alliant, and Western Powders manuals. While the original load data was published using several different primers, the test loads were created with Rio 1000 209 primers and Remington STS 209 primers.
All hulls were measured before loading and matched by crimp type (either rolled crimp for slugs and buckshot or 6 petal star crimp for 1 1/8 oz hard lead shot). There were 3 identical loads created for each component combination, both shot and powder weight measured on a scale rather then 'dropped' from the shot shell loading machine. Shot cards were cut from 1/32 soft cardboard utilizing a stainless punch and press, and all were matched for diameter.
For ID purposes, shells were marked with a series of paint dots in different colors.
Tom used a D&H tooling 12 gauge 3" chamber receiver with a 30 inch skeet barrel in a fixed mount, and an Oehler M-35P chronograph and Skyscreen III shade. The weather was 55F; barometer was 29.82 at 1433 hours. He reported results for all shells submitted, but on my spreadsheet I publish the mean average. (If any of you want to actual per shell data let me know).
The data:
Conclusion:
Obviously, results can vary based upon a number of factors. For my tests, the 1 1/8 shot was at or slightly above the published manual results and that seems to support the Ballistic Products conclusions. For the Lee Key Drive 1 oz slug and 9 pellet 00 buckshot, the results were less then promising. In discussions with Tom, he suggested a faster powder recipe and re-submittal of test shells (which I will be doing) for the slugs and buck.
All-in-all, I am comfortable with the pressures of the shells loaded as described here. As I will alternately be using an 18 inch and a 24 inch barrel, I suspect my FPS and pressures will be slightly lower, as Tom states the general rule-of-thumb is you lose 7 FPS for every inch of barrel you lose. As always, your results may vary and you use this information at your own risk.
In all of the test load cases, Tom was very comfortable in stating none of the loads would have overstressed a barrel in good condition. Tom's contact information is:
Tom Armbrust
Ballistic Research
1108 W May Avenue
McHenry, IL 60050-8918
815-451-6649
In a previous thread on shot shell reloading I mentioned sending off 36 shells to Tom Armbrust for pressure testing. The reason I did this was to test the pressures using standard published data for certain component combinations, but to change certain components in the mix (i.e.: primer and hull). For those interested, this testing costs $5.00 per shell, and his contact information is listed at the end of this post.
Generally, in conversations I have had with Ballistic Products I have been told the following:
1) Swapping regular primers (NOT Federal 209A) will produce similar pressure and FPS results.
2) Swapping hulls is OK as long as you understand the difference between straight and tapered hulls (this is dependent on (3) below).
3) Swapping wads is OK as long as you use a DIRECT clone of the original wad matched to hull it belongs to (this is dependent on (2) above).
In my tests, I used once-fired Federal LE hulls (low base with a ribbed plastic hull and rolled plastic base insert). The load data used was based upon Federal Gold Medal plastic hulls and published load data from various sources including Ballistic Products, Hodgdon, Alliant, and Western Powders manuals. While the original load data was published using several different primers, the test loads were created with Rio 1000 209 primers and Remington STS 209 primers.
All hulls were measured before loading and matched by crimp type (either rolled crimp for slugs and buckshot or 6 petal star crimp for 1 1/8 oz hard lead shot). There were 3 identical loads created for each component combination, both shot and powder weight measured on a scale rather then 'dropped' from the shot shell loading machine. Shot cards were cut from 1/32 soft cardboard utilizing a stainless punch and press, and all were matched for diameter.
For ID purposes, shells were marked with a series of paint dots in different colors.
Tom used a D&H tooling 12 gauge 3" chamber receiver with a 30 inch skeet barrel in a fixed mount, and an Oehler M-35P chronograph and Skyscreen III shade. The weather was 55F; barometer was 29.82 at 1433 hours. He reported results for all shells submitted, but on my spreadsheet I publish the mean average. (If any of you want to actual per shell data let me know).
The data:
Conclusion:
Obviously, results can vary based upon a number of factors. For my tests, the 1 1/8 shot was at or slightly above the published manual results and that seems to support the Ballistic Products conclusions. For the Lee Key Drive 1 oz slug and 9 pellet 00 buckshot, the results were less then promising. In discussions with Tom, he suggested a faster powder recipe and re-submittal of test shells (which I will be doing) for the slugs and buck.
All-in-all, I am comfortable with the pressures of the shells loaded as described here. As I will alternately be using an 18 inch and a 24 inch barrel, I suspect my FPS and pressures will be slightly lower, as Tom states the general rule-of-thumb is you lose 7 FPS for every inch of barrel you lose. As always, your results may vary and you use this information at your own risk.
In all of the test load cases, Tom was very comfortable in stating none of the loads would have overstressed a barrel in good condition. Tom's contact information is:
Tom Armbrust
Ballistic Research
1108 W May Avenue
McHenry, IL 60050-8918
815-451-6649
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