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Anyone have any idea what kind of charge you get out of MEC powder bushings using steel powder. I can't find a chart anywhere. I am mainly wanting the 32 grain range.
Thnaks.
I use Steel and Alliant dose not recommend using it with a powder bushing. Because of the nature of steel shot and the fact that most of the loads are at or near max load they recommend that you weigh every charge on a scale.
( This is why you won't find Steel on a bushing chart)
If you are loading steel shot, and not weighing every powder charge and not weighing every shot charge, I believe you are asking for trouble.
Handloading steel shot I've been able to get up to 1850fps using 800X and Alliant Steel powders, but these are really difficult to volumetrically measure accurately. Handloading with steel shot is far less forgiving than Lead. The margins of safety are much smaller. The pressures are higher with steel shot than I like to go with Lead shot.
In addition to all this, that which necessitates a progressive press for Lead shot loads is not there for steel shot loads. Every few years I load up a few hundred rounds using Sam1 wads, 3/4 oz of #2 galvanized steel shot and 800X, and I'm set for 3 or 4 years. With Lead shot, I'll sometimes shoot up that many in a week.
At the price they are charging, they may well have machinery weighing every charge. But in addition, the commercial loaders load at much lower pressures. The fastest commercial steel shot loads I have seen were 1550 fps. Most are about 1400 fps. Until they had a lot of experience they loaded them down around 1300 fps.
Even at the 1850 fps I load them at, they don't kill as well as Lead did. If you're going to load down, use at least a foot more lead, so you hit the head & neck.
You're NOT going to have much luck loading steel shot on any progressive shotshell loader. As said, STEEL powder is a very course grained flake powder. Then, steel shot does not like to flow through small shot drop tubes. Also it's very hard, and not very smooth, so it resists being measured by a volume type bushing in the charge bar. The term "hand load" really means something when referring to steel shot shell loading. Powder should be weighed, so should the shot. Steel type wads MUST be used.
They do make steel shot conversions for MEC's along with steel shot charge bars. I am not looking to load some stout 1800 fps load. I am happy with 1400 fps. The loads are calling for 9600 psi. Anyway thanks for the help guys.
The Sam1 wads and data I've used have used as many as 3 felt wads, two at the bottom of the shot cup in the wad, and one on top, to prevent shot adhesion to the wad and get the powder/wad column/shot the right height to get a good crimp on the Federal Gold Medal cases I used. I don't know how you'll get this right on a progressive. If you do, tell us about it.
The MEC steel shot conversion kit is nothing more than a larger shot drop tube and a different shot bottle.
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