Shotgun Ammo Velocity Limits

[Mountain Wolf]

I usually use Winchester AA low noise/low recoil or Remington STS for matches. Now with shortages they are hard to find. I have found other Winchester AA in light target, light handicap and sporting clays. The fps on these run from 1140 to 1300 fps. My question is what would be the common upper limit at most matches? I am trying to save my lownoise/low recoil and sts's for bigger matches.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

There is no quantitative limit for shotgun shells.  Just the guide that no "magnum" shells are allowed.  So, any of the target or upland game loads that you are finding with suitable lead shot size would be allowed. 

 

A few folks may rib you about 1300 FPS loads against their steel targets, but they ARE SASS legal.

 

good luck, GJ

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

There ain't any for SG

OLG  

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

Of the the Winchester shells you mentioned, light target is the best choice.  Light handicapped probably exceeds the velocity of ordinary target loads and Sporting Clays even more so.

[doc roy l. pain]

MW

like Garrison Joe said about the rules. The best deals around here right now have been Remington gun club in 1145-1200fps. Finding them at Academy Sports for $8.99 per box. Sometimes the shelf is full and sometimes just a few boxes, but still the cheapest price on factory ammo I can find. 

[Tex Jones, SASS 2263]

Winchester, Federal and Remington, being the most available brands, all have shells with a velocity of 1145 fps.   The 900-980 fps shells are very hard to come by. 

[Mountain Wolf]

With the prices and availability of shotgun ammo I am seriously looking at starting to reload shotgun ammo. Haven't really set down and figured out the cost benefit ratio.

[John Kloehr]

19 minutes ago, Mountain Wolf said:

With the prices and availability of shotgun ammo I am seriously looking at starting to reload shotgun ammo. Haven't really set down and figured out the cost benefit ratio.

Cost maybe not worth it, certainly based on prices before these wonky times.

 

At least some shotgun ammo is available now, even if it is not the "right" ammo.

 

But finding primers... Should you find good primers, get some. I would not start preparation without primers. Then go for powders (difficult), shot (easy), shells (easy), and tools (long lead times but available). The benefit will likely be in tuning the loads for your purposes. Still not sure there is a cost savings in the future.

 

You can get reasonable shotgun ammo. You can build better. That is the benefit I see.

 

I do plan to load black powder in brass shot shells. More for fun than any cost savings. I have almost everything I need to do so as I bought over time before total wonkiness. I have not planned on loading smokeless shells.

 

When the wonkiness started, I also bought a couple cases of good (IMO) Winchester light shells. I have been seeing these available recently but have not compared the price I paid to what they are available for now.  Could not find the better (IMO) low-recoil and low-noise version.

 

Could not get then -- and still can not get now -- the better shells.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

3 hours ago, Mountain Wolf said:

With the prices and availability of shotgun ammo I am seriously looking at starting to reload shotgun ammo. Haven't really set down and figured out the cost benefit ratio.

 

Howdy

 

As a long time trap shooter, I can tell you that years ago it was not worth loading your own shotgun shells. Unlike loading metallic (rifle and pistol) ammo, the savings was just not there for loading your own shotgun ammo. Just the way pricing was. The only value in loading your own, was tailoring your loads to exactly what you wanted, which might not have been easily available in loaded commercial shot gun ammo.

 

Of course, when I first started shooting Trap a box of Winchester AA trap loads cost about $4/box. A few years ago, before the pandemic and the attending shortage of ammo, I considered anything under $65 a case (ten boxes) to be a good price, and I bought cases whenever I found them for those prices.

 

These days things are different. I was lucky enough to have put in a good supply of Trap loads just before the Pandemic hit, and am still working my way through them. Not that I had a vision of what was going to happen, just dumb luck.

 

Anyway, these days some of my trapshooting friends are paying up to $120 for a case, when they can find them.

 

If you are thinking of starting to reload your own shotgun ammo, you will run into the same problems that others are running into regarding loading their own ammo. Since the ammo shortage, lots of shooters have wanted to try loading their own ammo, which has resulted in a shortage of components; hulls, wads, and more specifically, powder, shot, and primers.

 

This is not the first time this has happened, it has happened before.

 

Eventually, this too shall pass.

[McCandless]

Federal and Cheddite primers are out there.  I picked up a case from Ballistic Products a month or so back.  Natchez and Midway had Federal shotshell primers the last time I looked.  If they are out now, just be patient.  They'll be available again soon.

Almost any fast burning powder can be used for shotshells.  Clays is what I've been using.  Red Dot does nicely also.

An inexpensive loading press like the Lee Load All 2 or a MEC 600 jr will do the job just fine.

The advantage of loading your own is loading them how you want them.  You want 900-1000fps, no problem.

And, if you're like me and need BP shotshells, it's the only way that's cost effective.