Go West Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 After a lull, I've decided to reload shotgun shells again. Looking for an economical powder (loads per pound) and a recommended load. Used to use American Select. I'm getting a new press and will need to select charge bar and bushings. Remington or AA hulls, grey wad, 7/8 oz shot will be the common denominators. Mec Sizemaster on the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Clays Superlite shotshell: Worked this out with a Hodgdon's tech on the phone. AA or Remington Hull Win 209 Primer 13.9 grains Hodgdon Clays (MEC #25) grey wad 7/8 ounce shot Lighter than a featherlite shell Knocks 'em down every time --Dawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 14.7 Red Dot, 7/8 oz, gray cb wad in STS hulls, win 209, very mild Imis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackalope Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 My wife is pretty happy with 12 grains of American Select and not quite an ounce of shot. Recoil is really reduced compared to the 17 grain load she had been using and it still has plenty of power for knock down targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 For the wife I load Remington STS or Nitro Hull Federal or Winchester primer CB0175-12 Wad 13.2 grains of 700X 3/4 ounce shot Less felt recoil than any AA LNLR featherlight and knocks them down every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusta B. Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646 said: 14.7 Red Dot, 7/8 oz, gray cb wad in STS hulls, win 209, very mild Imis This load - or reduce to 12 gr. (#21 bushing). What I load for daughter. Also - Alliant Promo is the cheapest powder I have found & may be used instead of Red Dot (same bushing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 I use the first load on the following chart. It patterns well enough to break clays and is reliable in cold weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Chance Morgun Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 I use Prairie Dawg's load. Only I use ClayDot. Weight of powder is the same, but bushing is different. I use a MEC Sizemaster press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Be cautious with Promo. Alliant manufactures it so that the SAME WEIGHT of powder is equivalent to a loading of Red Dot. The density of the powder, and thus the bushing size you need, has to be checked with each new lot # you buy. Read the instructions right on the bottle. Shotgun loaders who load a lot (and thus break into a new 8# jug fairly often) report having to jump up a bushing (or two) or drop to smaller size bushings very often. WEIGH THE CHARGE that your measure drops, when loading Promo. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 7/8 oz. Shot over 12g. Hodgdon's Extra Lite with pink cb wad in green STS hulls. A lot of CAS folks use this load. Light recoil, but fully adequate for knockdown targets and clay birds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakebite Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 I also use 12 grains of Extra Lite, and prefer Remington hulls. Either STS or Gun Club both work well. However, I normally use a Grey Clay Buster's wad. Both wads work well. I use an adjustable bar in my Mec 9000, and just adjust the shot to give me a good crimp. Overall wad height is the same. Snakebite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusta B. Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 4 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said: Be cautious with Promo. Alliant manufacturers it so that the SAME WEIGHT of powder is equivalent to a loading of Red Dot. The density of the powder, and thus the bushing size you need, has to be checked with each new lot # you buy. Read the instructions right on the bottle. Shotgun loaders who load a lot (and thus break into a new 8# jug fairly often) report having to jump up a bushing (or two) or drop to smaller size bushings very often. WEIGH THE CHARGE that your measure drops, when loading Promo. Good luck, GJ Very true ^^^^ With my Mec#21 bushing I got the following: 10 charges Red Dot -- 119.10 gr 10 " Promo - 110.46 gr Difference of 8.64/10 = 0.86 gr per charge. Allowing for actual variations between charges this is acceptable to me as < 7% variance. I believe that Promo will vary more lot to lot than most any other powder, therefore this kind of comparison should be made to verify if the difference is acceptable to you at the level you are using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largo casey #19191 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 I use 12 gr of X-tra lite 0175 wad with filler & 5/8 oz of shot .Takes em down every time.STS hulls. Largo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 13 grains of Titewad under a gray Claybuster 7/8 ounce wad. Nice soft load that still works well on knockdowns. And when I bought the jug of Titewad it was way cheaper for 8 pounds than either Clays or Red Dot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgavin Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 23 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said: For the wife I load Remington STS or Nitro Hull Federal or Winchester primer CB0175-12 Wad 13.2 grains of 700X 3/4 ounce shot Less felt recoil than any AA LNLR featherlight and knocks them down every time. S.D. how is the 700x in this load for dirty or incomplete burn? I went the same specs, but Clays instead of 700x. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 I started with 700x and now use Clay-Dot in the Praire Dawg load. I don't see any difference and neither doe the wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blast Masterson Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Alliant Extra Lite was designed for the exact load your looking for... https://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/Powder.aspx?powderid=28 One of the cheapest powders by Alliant @ $22/lb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blast Masterson Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 hour ago, bgavin said: S.D. how is the 700x in this load for dirty or incomplete burn? I went the same specs, but Clays instead of 700x. I changed to Ultra-Lite from using 700X. At lite loading 700x was filthy and actually caught a hull on fire (on the range)! I posted this incident elsewhere here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baltimore Ed Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 My current 12 ga load is 3/4 oz of #9 shot in a Clay Buster hot pink wad with a #408 powder bushing worth of Clay Dot. In w-w AA shells. I upped the amount of powder last year from the #398 bushing to help my Winchester M12 trench gun. It felt like I needed a little more juice. A very comfortable load. My 2 inch 12 ga loads are 7/8 oz of #9 shot in a CB1138-12 wad with a #408 worth of Clay Dot in cut down ww AA shells. I can get 7 rds in my 6 rd modded Marlin, 97 and M12 shotguns. These actually have more ump than my regular loads. You do need to lean the gun slightly to help feeding but they do run fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Moderator: Please make this thread a “sticky’ at the top of the page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escopeta Jake Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 These are not bad. https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/81024 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Payne Posted December 1, 2019 Share Posted December 1, 2019 Alliant American Select – 26 Bushing – 15.3 Grn, Claybuster Pink Wads, 1 1/8 shot, 956 fps STS Green or Gold Hulls. Winchester hulls work fine also. Alliant American Select - 23 Bushing – 13.8 American Select, same wads, shot & hulls - 902fps I like American Select & shot 8 pounds of it before I couldn't find it. I had about 12 pounds of Clays, so I switched. When I shoot that up, I may go back to American Select, although no problem with the Clays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 When listing wads pleas list the actual P/N and not color. For example Claybuster makes 17 different 12 ga wads yet they are not 17 different colors. All 17 could be described using only 6 colors. (red, pink, gray, green, blue, or white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 When listing wads pleas list the actual P/N and not color. For example Claybuster makes 17 different 12 ga wads yet they are not 17 different colors. All 17 could be described using only 6 colors. (red, pink, gray, green, blue, or white. Sorry, I would have but they're out in my shop and there's about a foot of snow between me and them and I'm in my jammies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roscoe Regulator Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 I use Extra-Lite and found that it requires a #25 bushing to yield 12.8 gr, Alliant's load of 13.4 less 10%. I use #8 chilled shot, and WinAA12L grey wad (or equivalent). Hulls are WinAA, 8 point. I also load Fiocchi 6-point hulls with a Lightning wad, same powder and shot measures. This same #25 bushing will yield the Clay's load. I would note that new Win AA is marked 26 grams while a MEC 7/8 charge bar yields more than 26 Grams (.91 ounce rather than .875). I see shooters doing fine with what they say is 3/4, which may actually be more than .75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Payne Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Alliant American Select – 26 Bushing – 15.3 Grn, Claybuster Pink Wads, 1 1/8 shot, 956 fps STS Green or Gold Hulls. Winchester hulls work fine also. Alliant American Select - 23 Bushing – 13.8 American Select, same wads, shot & hulls - 902fps I like American Select & shot 8 pounds of it before I couldn't find it. I had about 12 pounds of Clays, so I switched. When I shoot that up, I may go back to American Select, although no problem with the Clays. Claybuster Pink CB 1100's for above loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgavin Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Noob question: does a MEC Sizemaster care if the hull is 6 or 8 point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roscoe Regulator Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 From SIzemaster parts listing 65A Spindex Star Crimp - 12 Gauge ( 6 Point) 1008439126 65B Spindex Star Crimp - 12 Gauge ( 8 Point) 1008439128 Same site has the user manual, which makes only vague references to alternate crimp. My 600 came with both types of crimp starters. They just snap on and off. You should use the same number of points as the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgavin Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Thanks! Perfect answer. I'm shooting Gun Club at my weekly trap get-together to build up a stock of hulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Mo Dern Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Hi G.W., If you use a MEC Sizemaster, make sure the charge bar says 78 on it if you're using 7/8 ounce of #8 shot. 7/8 oz. has 78 on the charge bar. 1 1/8 oz. has 118 on the charge bar etc. I have been using the Prairie Dawg Lite Load for years and it works wonderfully. All the best, Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 An adjustable charge bar for you MEC is one of the best things you can buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 An adjustable charge bar for you MEC is one of the best things you can buy. +100 to this. I've been using one for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Have been curious about the velocity of factory AA Low Recoil/Low Noise Target Loads Shotshells ... 980 fps https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/winchester-aa-low-recoil-low-noise-target-loads-shotshells If you want to calculate your reloads ...Recoil Energy Calculator ... http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 AA hulls are a PITA and I toss'em. For a 'lite' 12ga load, try 17.0gn of Unique with 3/4 to 1oz of shot. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusta B. Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 AA hulls are a PITA and I toss'em. I didn't know any better so I reloaded them for about 15 years .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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