Shotgun Shell Reloading- new to this

[evan price]

I was given a Mec Sizemaster press, a bucket full of charge bars, bushings, powder/shot bottles, and bits, 3 bags of #8 shot, 4 pounds of Solo-1000, & a brick of Winchester 209's for $50.

I did not get there in time to prevent a trash bag full of used Rem STS hulls and new wads from going in the dumpster.

I reload everything centerfire metallic; is there any tricks I need to know about shotshell?

I have access to all the free hulls I will ever need, but they are all cheap hulls like Federal Top Guns, Winchester Universals, and etc. I know to look out for Rem STS & WIN AA hulls. I plan on saving all of my Remington Gun Club hulls- I have 5-6 flats of them bought on sale years back- because I have heard they can be reloaded with STS data.

I plan on loading 1 oz target loads, and also would like to load the Lee 1-oz slug.
What wad should I get? I've been told the WAA12SL or the Windjammer purple are great for what I am considering.

I keep Titegroup and Red Dot/Promo powder for pistol and I know these are shotshell powders.

Any assistance or advice appreciated.

 

[cfullgraf]

Shot shell loading is not difficult, just different from metallic.

The main difference is the need to follow the recipes in the load data guide exactly. The hull, primer, powder type and charge, wad and shot weight will be prescribed by the data.

Virtually all hulls are reloadable although the quality hulls such as Win AA or Rem STS will last longer. Some of the inexpensive hulls may be hard to find data for.

There are companies that manufacture wads that are exact replacements for Winchester or Remington wads. Read the labels carefully though to make sure you are getting the correct wad. Claybuster and Windjammer wads is two such companies.

Get one or more shot shell reloading manuals. Besides the data, they have information on shot shell loading.

I find with my MEC loaders, I rarely use the exact bushing number as recommended by the chart to get the desired charge weight. So a scale is a must to verify the charge weight just a you would with metallic cartridges.

Hope this helps. I am sure others will chime in with more hints and tips.

 

[gamestalker]

cfullgraf pretty much covered it all. Shot shell loading is really fun and easy, especially with a good set up like that Mec, what a great deal you got.
Have fun with your new toys!
GS

 

[witchhunter]

These members nailed it. You got a screamin deal on this setup... Just follow a solid recipe for the hulls that you want to load and enjoy. Shot around here is 45.00/ bag....Try claybuster wads, they work and are cheaper. I shoot Winchester AA duplicate loads except for the claybuster wads.

 

[Longhorn 76]

What they said. Find recipe and follow it. Do not substitute components.

 

[HOWARD J]

Get one of these adjustable charge bars & make life easy on yourself

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/24...rogressive-shotshell-loaders-650-grabber-9000

 

[Blackrock]

I use Claybuster CB100-12 wads and Remington STS or Gun Club hulls for my 1oz target loads. Been using Red Dot powder also as I have a lot of it right now.

 

[cfullgraf]

Get one of these adjustable charge bars & make life easy on yourself

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/24...rogressive-shotshell-loaders-650-grabber-9000

The adjustable charge bars have their advantages but I prefered to use the fixed MEC charge bar. Mostly a personnel thing.

I do use an adjustable charge bar with my .410 loader as I could not find a fixed bushing that threw the correct powder charge.

I do have a second adjustable charge bar that I can put in my 12, 20, or 28 gauge loaders if the need arises.

So, if the OP has a bunch of charge bars and bushings, he might wait to see if he really needs the adjustible charge bar. Unless, of course he wants all bases covered.

 

[rbernie]

To add to the above:

Choose your hulls based on expected shot payload. Straight internal wall hulls like Federals don't work well with wads made for small/light payloads.

Remington hulls all use the STS hull loading data.

All primers are not 'close enough' to each other to freely substitute one for the other.

Speed is NOT king; it kills patterns. Keep things around 1200 FPS for most purposes and life will be good.

The cheap Winchester hulls won't reliably hold a crimp. The cheap Federal hulls crack at the mouth after one reloading. The cheap Remington hulls last a bit better than the others but still - in general, reload cheap hulls once and throw them away. There is a reason that the expensive hulls are more expensive - they last a lot longer.

Repeatable high quality crimps are key to performance; consistent ignition and burn very much depends on getting some initial resistance to the hull popping open in the chamber. This is where cheap hulls will let you down....

BUY THE LYMAN SHOTSHELL RELOADING BOOK. It's worth every penny.