Reloading Estate shotgun hulls

[Maddawg2020]

Anyone on here have any experience reloading Estate shotgun hulls? I came across several thousand of them and thought I would try them out.
Thanks

 

[Grumulkin]

The above shells which included Estate hulls, were loaded with the same primer, powder charge, wad and shot charge. It wasn't an aggressive load; I didn't use the hottest primer, the shot charge was probably slightly under what the manual called for, etc. They all powdered clays just fine.

Now some will tell you that it's necessary to use different wads for tapered shells, etc. They'll also tell you to NEVER substitute components when reloading shotgun shells. Now if they were to follow the advice in the manuals on metallic reloading, they would also NEVER substitute components there either but, oh well, what's a little hypocrisy.

 

[springer99]

I've loaded Estate hulls a few times, just used Fed. GM load data and they worked fine for me at trap. Don't bother with them anymore, only because Rem. GunClubs(which I prefer) are all over the place for free at the clubs I frequent. That way I don't have to keep different wads in my stock.

 

[Steve51]

I tried reloading them one time - they did not crimp well. I just reload Remington STS and Winchester AA hulls now.

 

[oneounceload]

just used Fed. GM load data

Yep, if you use data for tapered walled hulls like Remington or Winchester AA, the loads WILL suck.

Estates use Euro hull data and are good for 1-2 reloads before you toss them. If you are getting them for free, that is one thing; otherwise, buying a few flats of Gun Clubs will be a better deal in the long run.

 

[oldreloader]

I load them with GM data and they work fine. Also Claybuster has some wads and data specifically for Euro hulls.

 

[Shootshellz]

I consider them dumpster fodder. And don't switch components when reloading shotshells. Follow reloading data EXACTLY and make sure you weigh your throws from your powder bushings on a reloading scale. The listed throw weights are a general guide. What 'powders clays just fine' one day can blow up your shotgun/bodily parts the next day.

 

[gamestalker]

I've been criticized to death for my strict policy of loading shotgun according to published recipes.

Just because the wrong wad will work ok 1k times, doesn't mean it's a safe option. Those who take shot shell loading with a grain of salt, are just asking for a lesson in physics. And just because it will go bang, doesn't mean pressures aren't going sky high on some. Reading pressures on a shotgun shell is about like trying to check the tire pressure on a big rig by pressing your finger into it, in other words, it just doesn't work.

And just because Mec says a #32 powder bushing will drop X number of grains of a specific powder, does not mean it is. To date, I've never had one single powder bushing that was dropping even close to the recipe charge. So IMHO, it's absolutely, positively necessary to check all bushings against a scale to make sure they are throwing a charge within reasonable weight variations.

GS

 

[Maddawg2020]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have found some load data and will load up a couple of boxes and try them. out.

 

[oneounceload]

And just because Mec says a #32 powder bushing will drop X number of grains of a specific powder, does not mean it is. To date, I've never had one single powder bushing that was dropping even close to the recipe charge.

Exactly, and just like metallic, you NEED to use a scale. MEC bushings are noted as being incorrect. Similar in scope to using dippers - you still need to use a scale for accuracy.

There ARE acceptable substitutions as far as some hulls, some wads and some primers are concerned, but that is another thread.

Making it simple, there are basically two types of hulls - tapered and straight walled. Remington, Winchester AA are examples of tapered. Federal, Estate, and Euro hulls are examples of straight-walled hulls. Both can use the same primers and powder and shot, but wads are the critical difference here.

 

[Muddydogs]

I've loaded a few thousand Estate hulls as well as the Fed hulls with the paper base wad. They load fine just like any other hull. What I did find was that after 4 reloads I started to get loose primer pockets and would find loose primers in my shell bag so I relegated the Estate and Fed hulls to the load once and toss kind of hull. I don't have room or time to keep hulls sorted by number of times shot and when I can pick up truck loads of these hulls there's really no point. At the present time I have 15000 fed and Estate hulls waiting to be reloaded and a few 1000 loaded.

I use the Gun Clubs, Rem STS and Rem Nitro's for my bigger loads and use the Fed and Estate hulls for light trap and sporting clay loads. It's kind of nice when walking around a sporting clays course not to be packing a bunch of empty hulls around.

 

[oneounceload]

One thing to remember when reloading Euro hulls (and some of the Estates fall into this category) is that they use a metric-sized primer that is just a smidge larger than the US sized ones. This results in stretching the primer pocket ever so slightly so that if you use a Euro hull and replace the primer with a US-sized primer, it might be just loose enough that it could fall out.