A few questions about reloading Remington 12guage

[clone]

First of all I'm new to shotshell reloading, but I recently lucked into a BUNCH of Remington 12ga hulls. Mostly STS and Sport Loads, but also quite a few Nitro Gold, Premier, ShurShot, Gun Club, and the black hulls. I would guesstimate around 2000 to 3000 overall.

My first question is, which of these are interchangeable? In my Lyman (5th Edition) load book it only lists "Remington Plastic Hunting Cases" and "STS". I have been told that "ALL" Remington and even Win AA are interchangeable.

Second, which of these are the most durable? What should I be looking for in terms of hull failures? I am loading light 7/8 oz loads but from what I have read/heard, the crimping is really what stresses the hulls not really the load. Is this true?

 

[rcmodel]

the crimping is really what stresses the hulls not really the load. Is this true?

No.
Shooting them is what stresses the hull crimp.

They will eventually split at the folds during firing.

When I used to load a lot of mixed hulls?

I cut one of every brand I came across in half lengthwise, and mounted them on a piece of peg board over the press.

Pretty simple matter from then on to hold a wad up there and see which wad would work the same with what hull.

rc

 

[USSR]

Use the STS load data for all the hulls you listed. The "Remington Plastic Hunting Cases" are the old Remington high base Express hulls that are rarely seen now days. The ShurShot, Gun Club, and black hulls may not last as long as the others, but are still good hulls. As rcmodel said, you will get splits where the crimp is and will know when to retire them.

Don

 

[JO JO]

+1 split at the crimps sts and nitros are the best thing right now IMO, I load sts,nitros,
rem. black hulls,and green ribed the same. all good

 

[Hootus]

I reload almost every WW or Remmy low brass hull I shoot (AA hulls reload the best and are by far the most durable) and then dump/store all my reloads into a .50 ammo box.

I've used most Remmy and WW hulls interchangably as long as they are all low brass and similar design. rcmodel gives a good idea to easily figure out the hulls that are comparable.

Once a hull hits its limit the crimp will give way and open up before you get the chance to fire it. Shake the lead out the hull, pouring the shot back into the shot container of the reloader. Take the old hull and pull the wad out (to reinsert into a good hull) then pour the powder back into the powder container of the reloader. Use the reloader to CAREFULLY pop the primer out for the next shell before throwing the old hull away (I've never had a primer blow during removal since I started reloading shotshells in 1975, so I don't think it's much of a safety issue as long as you are careful about it).

In short: reload 'em till they quit, save the components out of the weak hull, then throw it away.

Unless you plan on shooting a LOT the hulls you have should last you a lifetime - 3,000 Remmy hulls times an average of just seven or so reloads each should outlive you and stock your grandsons' dove season (unless you plan on taking up professional skeet or trap shooting). Some of the Remmy hulls are/were very good for reloading, but not quite to AA specs - even today I have still some late 1970's Remmy RXP green hulls that held their crimp, but I fear it's their last reload. If you get ahold of AA hulls they are gold... I've reloaded some of them 20 times before their crimp opens up.

 

[gamestalker]

I load them until they won't hold a crimp long enough to make it to the range or field, and then I use wax to hold the crimp for another round of loading. So far as interchangable, RC pretty much hit it on the nose with matching the wad collum to the hull. If the crimp goes inverted on you you'll need to use a longer wad, and if it won't crimp completely your wad is too long.

 

[clone]

Thanks for the information. I just got done loading 50 of the STS. Shotshell reloading is a lot easier than rifle or pistol. Once the press was setup I would guess it took around 30min to load 50rds, but that included weighing out the first 10 or so. This MEC 600 Jr is a breeze.

I also learned that I should probably dump the first couple charges as the RedDot doesn't seem to settle until then.

I think I'm hooked.

 

[gamestalker]

Watch your powder for funneling, especially when it gets down low. I always give the charge bar a tap before I drop each charge, this is to make sure it took the whole bushing full.