Too small of a charge in SG loading

[Margarita Villain]

Ok, I see all the posts about trying to find a light load for SG.

I understand what could happen with too small of a charge in a rifle or pistol (ie. squib/obstruction).

I have seen others who for some reason had trouble loading, not get any powder or shot in the shell, the primer was still enough to send the wad to the target empty or not.

 

So what problems could happen with too light of a powder charge.

So far, the only one I have found is if all powder did not burn, there might be residue in barrel that could build and or ignite from a later round.

Also the shells might not have expanded to chamber to seal, and still have some sooty blow back.

 

If we are using doubles and pump actions, we are not woried about a semi auto trying to cycle, so what are some things that could happen?

MV

[Trueno del Diablo, SASS#22364L]

I have seen others who for some reason had trouble loading, not get any powder or shot in the shell, the primer was still enough to send the wad to the target empty or not.

 

Don't count on it. I've seen plenty of wads stuck in a barrel on the skeet range. Most were no powder situations, some were very low powder charges that just didn't burn right. And that's the primary danger. Stuck wad = bore obstruction.

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

A fellow shooter loads Clays in shells well below the minimum values Hodgdon publishes. One January morning in 20 degree F weather I watched him engage three targets with six shells. Three ignited so poorly that the shot and wad landed on the ground in front of the target. Later in the day when the temperature increased his shells became reliable. Unreliable performance in cold weather is one reason I avoid loading below published values.

[Outlaw Gambler]

I'm not recommending it, I am just saying, don't most primers have enough pressure to blow the wad out the end of the barrel? I know when I was loading some light loads I had one or two that had no powder at all and the primer detonated and the wad went out the end. You could tell by the lack of "boom" that there was no powder and many on the posse seen the wads go down range, although not too far.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Nope, about 1/3 of times I've seen trap shooters have a primer-only load, the wad stuck in the barrel. I cite trap shooting as there it is more obvious that the shooter had a squib, you get to watch 4 other shooters and yourself, you can almost always see the wad fly, and things are slow enough paced that you can see the shooter check the bore and clear a wad. Pushing an ounce or ounce and 1/8 of shot up the barrel is hard work for just a primer. And the barrel is thin - shoot through a wad, and you have a great chance blowing the barrel.

 

Good luck, GJ

[Gold Canyon Kid #43974]

Nope, about 1/3 of times I've seen trap shooters have a primer-only load, the wad stuck in the barrel. I cite trap shooting as there it is more obvious that the shooter had a squib, you get to watch 4 other shooters and yourself, you can almost always see the wad fly, and things are slow enough paced that you can see the shooter check the bore and clear a wad. Pushing an ounce or ounce and 1/8 of shot up the barrel is hard work for just a primer. And the barrel is thin - shoot through a wad, and you have a great chance blowing the barrel.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

Many of our CAS shotguns have cut off barrels and no chokes. Would that make a difference on whether the wad leaves the barrel with a primer only firing?

[Grizzly Adams 3674]

One thing that can happen with some SXS shotguns is difficulty in opening. If a load is too soft, the firing pins will stick, and the gun will be hard to open. I have a shotgun that works like a champ with STS, but the firing pins will stick when I use Win Feather lites. At one of our monthly matches, I noted a lady having a great deal of trouble getting her SXS open. On a hunch, I asked her what shells she was using, and she told me her husband loaded her shot shells on the mild side. I gave her a handful of STS and her problem disappeared!

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Sure - 14.37% less restriction

...I would bet there would be less restriction and fewer wads stuck. How many? Who really knows? Who really wants to bet that the shot and wad cleared the barrel and fire another, especially on a Win 97?

 

Good luck, GJ

Many of our CAS shotguns have cut off barrels and no chokes. Would that make a difference on whether the wad leaves the barrel with a primer only firing?

[Trueno del Diablo, SASS#22364L]

Sure - 14.37% less restriction

...I would bet there would be less restriction and fewer wads stuck. How many? Who really knows? Who really wants to bet that the shot and wad cleared the barrel and fire another, especially on a Win 97?

 

Good luck, GJ

 

Can't ever recall seeing a wad getting stuck in the choke area or even very far up the barrel. Most seem to stop within a few inches of the forcing cone.

[Awful Close]

While "experimenting" with light loads, I used Clays with a 410 quantity of powder and shot in a 12 ga. shelll.

Pulled the trigger, bang from primer only, pulled the 97's slide back and BIG BOOM from a HANGFIRE.

Scared S*** out of me, jammed the shotgun.

 

Never again.

 

If you want a light load, use SR7625 with one ounce shot per the factory recommendations, it's light on the shoulder and takes out knockdowns every time.

(AND IT"S SAFE)

[Doc Windshadow]

I recall a fellow with shoulder problems the was using light reloads at the skeet range he had frequent blooper loads in cold weather and had a polished brass rod about 5/8 dia and 6 o7 inches long in his pocket that he used to clear the wads when it happened I would expect his over and under gun was bored Cyl and perhaps impCyl As I doubt the gun was old enough to have old fashioned skeet 1 and skeet 2 borings

About 1/3 the time when he got a blooper he also had a stuck wad. This was back in the early 70s when I was into skeet.

Cheers

Windy

[Rio Brazos Kid]

Unlike metalic rifle reloading, there is no danger of pressure excursions eminating from reduced loads with shotgun reloading. However, going too low with powder charges can result in blooper loads, and there-in lies the problem.

 

When a blooper load occurs and the wad is left in the barrel, that amounts to an obstruction. Another shell fired into an obstructed barrel can be disasterous. The result can be as little as a bulged barrel, or can be a blown up gun, with very possible injury to the shooter or bystanders.

 

It's very reasonable to reduce SOME loads a bit less than those listed in a data book. THat's because they don't list loads that are below reasonable performing velocities for targtet shooting and/or hunting purposes. (The Winchester FeatherLites are an exception). However, for our purposes in SASS/CAS shooting, it doesn't require the higher velocities needed for hunting or target shooting.

 

That being said, what constitutes a reasonable reduction? Generally speaking, a reduction that results in a velocity of anything over 1050 FPS, will perform fine in CAS, even in cooler weather. Since we cannot discuss specifics on reloading here, I cannot elaborate on this, but if you want more information, you can send me a private message with your E-Mail, and I can assist you.

 

RBK

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Many of our CAS shotguns have cut off barrels and no chokes. Would that make a difference on whether the wad leaves the barrel with a primer only firing?

 

Howdy

 

I had a squib load last year while shooting trap. First time I have ever had one and I have been shooting Trap for many years. Just the primer went off. The lead exited the barrel, the wad did not. The wad stuck just a few inches down the barrel.

 

The scary thing was, I had no idea the primer had gone off. With my earplugs in place, I did not hear the primer fire. Only heard the internal hammer fall. Did not hear the pop at all. I ejected the round without seeing it. I was going to put another round in and the guys next to me started to cringe. They had heard the primer pop. So I peeked down the bore, and sure enough the wad was still in there. It was scary.