Buying hulls- Fiocchi or Cheddite?

[fatelk]

I think we're going to order some hulls for loading some .410 shells, since once-fired empties seem to be impossible to find.

I really don't know much about the different brands; what's best or how they compare. I'm cheap so spending a bunch is really out of the question right now.

Some helpful folks have given me links to what look like fair prices on Fiocchi and Cheddite hulls. Since I don't know anything about either; any advice?

 

[Old Guard Dog]

Ballistic Products

 

[oneounceload]

What do you have recipes and components for? They're different hulls requiring different things. Personally, I shoot Fiocchi's on occasion, and have reloaded some of their 28 gauge hulls. I had to really tweak my recipe that I use for STS and AA hulls.

You might be better off buying a few flats of factory AA or STS, shoot and then reload those.....YMMV

 

[fatelk]

I don't have any recipes or components. They will just be for informal clay shooting, probably 1/2oz of #8 or something.

Mostly I'm just too cheap to pay $10 per box for loaded ammo, thought it might be better to buy components for a few hundred rounds.

 

[oneounceload]

Components' savings usually come when you buy things in bulk - 5000 primers, 5000 wads, 8# jugs of powder, shot in huge quantities. If that's too much for you, get together with folks who use the same items and share. If you're only doing informal, one flat of shells for about $100 or so will give you 250 hulls you can reload many times (not including the initial factory loads).

When I start to get low on 28 hulls, I'll cringe and buy another flat, knowing I'll get about 10 reloads out of them on average - THAT makes the ordeal very plausible

 

[ArmedBear]

Note that some European primers are slightly different in diameter than US-made primers. This can be a real problem if your primers are loose.

Cheddite primers are known for perforating more easily than others. This matters none on some guns, but can be a serious problem with others. Depends on the firing pin. You don't, however, want a hot gas jet spewing into your action through the firing pin hole, though.

Personally, I'd just bite the bullet (pellets?) and get some STS or AA ammo, enjoy shooting it, and reload the hulls using standard components. Easy to find valid recipes for any wads you get, and standard Remchesteral primers work great.

Unless you're willing to dink around a bit before buying a ton of components, European stuff can cost more than you save. OTOH if you are willing to experiment, you might find a good, cheap load that doesn't trash your gun with primer problems.

 

[fatelk]

There seems to be something of a consensus here, and I'm starting to think that I'd better listen to the voices of experience and hold off on buying hulls right now. I'll buy a couple boxes of loaded ammo, some components, and go from there.

Thanks everyone!