Reloading Shotgun Shells

[DHolder]

I dont recall seeing a thread about reloading shotgun shells. I got some stuff at a yard sale this summer and I picked up a press a couple of weeks ago. I have the RCBS book, so I have some text to read.

My question for the forum would be, what shells are worth picking up, if any? Recipes are pretty specific about componets, but, info about hulls is kind of grey, and may be a bit dated.

Im looking to load for "game", not really for clays, so, a hull that can be reloaded 10 times is not really that important, but reloadable once is.

Any and all info is welcome, places to buy componets, as well as the pitfalls that go hand in hand with reloading. Thanks DHolder

 

[slimplmbr]

As far as components you can get your best prices at gun clubs like Indiana gun club in Fortville and Kingen gun club in Greenfield.

 

[Leo]

Shotgun reloading components are hull specific. As you have already figured out, the cheaper hulls do not last as long. Most popular hulls have at least 2 different shot weight choices when you buy one piece formed wads. I reload 1 oz in 12 gauge. It seems to be enough for general use. They don't always publish it, but the cheap Federal "top gun" hulls reload with the same data and wads as the Federal Gold Medals. The Cheap Remington low brass hulls like "gun clubs" reload with the same data and wads as the STS or Nitro hulls.

To keep things simple, I generally stick with one brand of hulls and just stock one wad. If I found that most friends would give me Federal hulls, I would get wads for the Federals like 12S0 or generic equivalents. If I were to get mostly Remington hulls, I would go with the TGT-12 wad or generics. If you try to reload every hull, you end up with 10 different boxes of wads and have to do too much sorting and experimenting. Reload them once, maybe twice and throw them away. SHotshell reloading can get complicated in a hurry. Good Luck

 

[Merrixs]

My favorite hull to reload is Federal’s Paper. I feel they have a substantial life and I think the paper just crimps better. I also like Federal's high brass maroon hulls and Remington's high brass green hunting hulls. I also feel 6 point is easier to get a good crimp them 8.

My advice would be to buy a box of factory loaded for the game you are hunting and after you shoot them use a recipe to reload them back to what they were unless of course you want to try to tweak it to your liking. Or if you don’t like how they are reloading try a different brand.

 

[DHolder]

Reloading for the shotgun isnt going to be quite as easy as picking up spent hulls and stuffing some lead in them. I thought I would buy a hundred hulls, of the recommended type for the specific recipe as well as the primers and powder.

The guy I got the stuff off of must have been collecting crap for years, there are at least a dozen kinds of wadding. He was using a lot of #9 shot.

This will be fun to learn. It may well be cheaper to buy ready rolled, but, making your own is still a good skill to have.

Thanks for the input, keep it comming, there may be others who are on the fence about learning.