Reloading one buck rounds?

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Custard

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Hi all,

Please don't mock me too much for what I expect is a dumb idea.

The indoor range where I like to shoot only allows lead buckshot. This presents two problems. As goon recently pointed out buck is expensive and after two or three shots of 12 guage center mass is pretty much gone and the only way I can tell if I missed is if the hole flutters more than usual.

Which got me wondering about loading hulls with one ball of buck and a stack of wad. My gut tells me it wouldn't work but my head can't tell me why.

Has anyone tried this? Would anyone with reloading gear be interested in experimenting?

TIA,

Dan
 
My viewpoint (uneducated as it is!) would be that accuracy would be almost nonexistant. You could probably get away with something like loading up three or four pellets, along with a whole shovel-full of buffer... That would give you some kind of pattern to go with after each shot. Then, at the end of three shots, you could see (sort of, anyway) what one fully-loaded round would've done.

I still think accuracy would be out the window, though. You'd have to be in it for the bang...
 
Why would accuracy be less than a regular round? I would think it would be better since there would be less chance of shot deformation if the ball weren't bouncing up against other rounds.

I was thinking wads rather than grex since it would center the ball and there would be less mess for the range guys to deal with.

I was thinking about punching holes in a few felt wads within the column.

Someone must have tried this.

Dan
 
Methinks a stack of wads fluttering willy-nilly into the target would tear it up as bad as a full load of buckshot. Might cut down on expense, but I doubt it. Wads have to cost something, and you're still burning powder, primers and hulls pushing one measely pellet. Is it really worth it?
 
A couple layers or cardboard behind the target will protect it from most wads. At least that is what I have found.

With one pellet I would think that it would be easier to see how you are shooting.

If I see buck for less than $.50 a round I buy it. I would think a person could reload for less than that.

Dan
 
i have anidea y not jsut buy some paper targets and after acopule shots replace the paper or do liek we do we have some steel plates cut into differnt shapes and spray paint it after a shot jsut add more spary paint and it will never wear out
 
Bear with me, in that I'm the FNG to shotguns, but...

Regular shotgun shells, loaded with shot and buffer, are all loaded with some degree of uniformity. They all have similar numbers of pellets (according to shot size). As you dump a bunch of spheres into a container, these spheres settle into uniform, predictable patterns. These patterns repeat themselves over and over, naturally. This is true even more so with buck, as the shot has to be carefully placed into the wad or it may not all fit.

These repeating patterns mean that all shot will be launched down the barrel consistantly, exiting the muzzle consistantly. If you shoot 5 shells, all at a known distance, all the shot will go into a definable area. The only randomness will (or should) come from slight deviations between pellets or powder loads.

Correct?

So, if you go on and shoot 50 shells, then 500 shells, all the shot should go into the same pattern as the original 5. If everything else stays the same, anyway.

How are you going to get that repeated shot position, using only one pellet? Moreso, how are you going to ensure that one pellet leaves the barrel going the same direction as the previous shot? How are you going to make sure that your wadding doesn't get left behind while still in the barrel, causing the shot to behave like a pinball (in a very tiny-but-speedy pinball machine)? Then, how are you going to ensure that the pellet leaves the wadding cleanly as it exits the muzzle?

It sounds like a really interesting experiment, and I hope you go ahead on with it, as we want to know the real-life outcome. My prediction, though, is for less accuracy than with fully-loaded (or even partially downloaded) rounds.
 
It sounds like it could be a cool experiment but I am wondering if maybe it might just be easier to just blast away with some cheap target ammo. I can see where you are going with this as far as not destroying your target but all I really use the target for is to have something to aim at. Even if it has the center blown away, it still provides a place to aim.
One other thing that may work but that would cost a little more and take a little more effort...
Maybe a single lead 12 gauge ball. If you could cast it yourself and load your rounds up with a fairly light charge of powder and enough wadding and buffering to space things out it might be a cool load and maybe be cheap. Possibly not.
I generally just blast the cheap target ammo for practice though. It is something like $3 for 25 rounds. It does tear stuff up but it gives me practice getting back on target and working the action.
Works for me.

Maybe the S&B buckshot could be another alternative. I think it is cheaper. Might make a good practice load.
 
Heres an even better question.

why practice with 00 buck at all?

To stay familiar or get better with the gun, why not buy a longer barrel or a a gun similar to your buckshot/HD gun and shoot lots of trap with it.

This will make you good at reloads and keep you familiar with the funstion of the weapon while keeping ammo costs down.

You will need to pattern it of course.

Maybe shoot a few rounds every so often so you remember how to aim and were it patterns.

I just dont see a reason to shoot buck on a regualr basis.
 
Why shoot buck on a regular basis?
Because it is really, really cool. :D

Upon closer inspection, S&B shotgun shells are fairly inexpensive by buckshot standards. I am thinking that I should try some and see how they work out.
The Remington value pack at Walmart could be another option for some but it doesn't pattern worth a crap out of my Mossberg.
 
i have anidea y not jsut buy some paper targets and after acopule shots replace the paper or do liek we do we have some steel plates cut into differnt shapes and spray paint it after a shot jsut add more spary paint and it will never wear out
Click to expand...

Use the space bar much? :neener:
 
Custard said:
The indoor range where I like to shoot only allows lead buckshot.
Click to expand...

I shoot buck because I have to. I like to shoot after work and there are no trap ranges near me open then. Only an indoor range where they don't allow slugs because of the backdrop and don't allow birdshot because they have had splashback problems. Steel won't work either. Gotta be buck on paper.

My weekends are booked solid for the next 8 weeks but after that I will try busting clay.

I would still like to shoot after work though. Weekends are often busy.

ceetee: That is what I'm wondering about too. OTOH if you were to punch .34 inch holes in felt wads and use those to center and buffer the round wouldn't that mean that it would be more accurate? My gut says "No" but my brain can't figure out why. I'm also not sure that a single, well buffered, pellet would be less accurate. The way I see it there is a circle (pattern) where the shot should land. As long as my single round is within that pattern I would be happy. After a hundred rounds The target would show pretty well where the pattern is :)

goon: Where are you finding buck for $3 a box?

I don't have reloading equipment. Is anyone with a press interested in trying this? I'd be glad to pay for components.

Thanks all,

Dan
 
Try www.sportsmansguide.com , www.cheaperthandirt.com , and do a google search on Cabelas. They used to sell S&B shotshells in 200 round cans or something like that.
They are something like $4 for 10 rounds of buck shot. This is something I am looking into myself. I don't have a "sporting" use for a shotgun but I do like shooting them.
I can understand your situation now since you are limted to buck shot only.
Also, check out your local Walmart. Ours is selling Remington 9 pellet 00 buck for something like $6 for 15 rounds in a little bulk pack. It patterns like crap out of my Mossberg but it may be a cheap round for you to shoot.
Too bad they aren't doing something similar for Federal buckshot. My gun actually likes that stuff. :(

The shotshells that I shoot for $3 a box are cheap Reminton low brass #4 or #6. The pattern is awful but relatively similar to my chosen buckshot load.
 
I doubt that it would work but you're not the first one to think of it. Benvenuto Cellini (1500 -1571) mentioned it in his writings. He claimed to have engaged in wingshooting with such skill that he never missed a shot. He also claimed that he could load the musket with only a single pellet and hit a bird on the wing every time. This is often considered the first bovine feces in print about marksmanship.
The single pellet of buckshot might not impact the target at all unless you use the patented Hornady wads. I'm not even sure that they will work with a single buckshot.
 
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