Shotgun Loads?

[Shepherd Book]

Whatcha'll runnin' for 12 ga shotgun loads?  I currently have a borrowed 1897 and access to a sxs.  Going to be reloading for the wife, Armay Bratt also.  Thanks!  SB

 

Anyone using Clean Shot?  I seem to be able to get that...

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

14 minutes ago, Shepherd Book said:

Whatcha'll runnin' for 12 ga shotgun loads?  I currently have a borrowed 1897 and access to a sxs.  Going to be reloading for the wife, Armay Bratt also.  Thanks!  SB

In factory loads (if you can find them) most like the Winchester Feather lites (now known as Low Noise Low Recoil)

If rolling your own there are tons of formulas, most seem to be about 3/4 to 7/8 oz of # 7 - 7.5 shot and 13-15 grains of appropriate powder (I use 14.5 grains of Clays with 3/4 oz shot for my wife) my long time load is 15.5 grains of Clays with 1 oz of shot. I use STS or Nitro hulls for both along with the appropriate wad for the shot weight.

YMMV

Regards

   

Gateway Kid

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

I have never been failed by a 7/8 oz load. The load we have worked up was very comfortable to shoot for the entire family.

[Eyesa Horg]

14gr. Clays, grey wad, 7/8oz. #8 shot, any primer. Very comparable to Win. Feather lite. Ellie has no issue in her 97 with no butt pad.

[John E. Law]

I've been loading 14.5gns of clays and 7/8oz for years but since powder and shot have been so hard to get ive been experimenting. I've been loading a shell for practice that is 13gns of clays and 5/8oz of shot with a 1/8" cork spacer wad in a 3/4oz claybuster shot wad. It feels very similar to my match load but is saving a bit. 

[Deadwood Miner, SASS # 45575]

My favorite is 3/4 oz #8 shot and Cleanshot powder #22 MEC bushing and Cheddite Primer and pink  claybuster wad.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

When available, I prefer to run Winchester AA Low Noise, Low Recoil in my 97's.

 

..........Widder

 

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

Shot a match today.  My wife shot factory Winchester AA low noise, low recoil shells.  I shot reloaded STS hulls with 7/8 oz shot and the minimum published load of Alliant Extra-Lite.  (Neither the AAs or Extra-Lite is available right now.)

[DeaconKC]

10 minutes ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

Shot a match today.  My wife shot factory Winchester AA low noise, low recoil shells.  I shot reloaded STS hulls with 7/8 oz shot and the minimum published load of Alliant Extra-Lite.  (Neither the AAs or Extra-Lite is available right now.)

So how did the different shells perform?

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

4 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

So how did the different shells perform?

They went bang and the targets fell.  Recoil on the reloads was acceptable.  The AAs have less recoil.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

JUST how much FUN you wanna have???  Maximum FUN referenced here.  Get yer Max FUN here!!!

 

Magtech All Brass Hulls

 

40Gr 2f or 3f APP

 

Ballistic Products Spitfire Wad

 

One Ounce Pay Load

 

Cap it all off wid a couple over shot cards and BANG AWAY!!!

 

(Nice Mild Load) 

 

 

[Marauder SASS #13056]

21 hours ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

Shot a match today.  My wife shot factory Winchester AA low noise, low recoil shells.  I shot reloaded STS hulls with 7/8 oz shot and the minimum published load of Alliant Extra-Lite.  (Neither the AAs or Extra-Lite is available right now.)

 

You can drop the powder charge by 0.5 gain and probably like it better.  You can also try a few at 1.0 grain less and find it works pretty well.

Extra-Lite is good stuff, about like AA.

[Hoss]

14 grns red dog and 7/8 oz works for me 

[Slapshot]

On 5/14/2022 at 6:33 PM, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

JUST how much FUN you wanna have???  Maximum FUN referenced here.  Get yer Max FUN here!!!

 

Magtech All Brass Hulls

 

40Gr 2f or 3f APP

 

Ballistic Products Spitfire Wad

 

One Ounce Pay Load

 

Cap it all off wid a couple over shot cards and BANG AWAY!!!

 

(Nice Mild Load) 

 

 

Do you seal the over shot cards with something? Glue, silicone?

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

Slapshot

 

Nope.  It's a very tight "friction fit" and the Over Shot stay put in the box and in my belt.  I use TWO over shot cards each round.

[Slapshot]

53 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Slapshot

 

Nope.  It's a very tight "friction fit" and the Over Shot stay put in the box and in my belt.  I use TWO over shot cards each round.

OK thanks I am very new to shotgun reloading but have been doing rifle and pistol for sometime now. I am seriously thinking of getting brass hulls. The Magtech says to use 10 gauge overshot and 11 gauge over powder/felt. I have some WAA12 wads but was thinking of getting the 3/4 ou ones. 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

I run 10 grains of Red Dot in AA hulls trimmed to 2.5" or in Magtech all brass shells.   Very mild load that still knocks down the targets.  Of course, finding Red Dot is not easy these days.   I use about 1-1/8 oz of shot.   This actually a load I reduced from my Dad's trap load recipe that used 16.4 grains of Red Dot.   Decided I didn't need that much power for CAS.

[Snakebite Dust SASS 75484]

I load on a mec 600

#27 bushing with clays

grey clsybuster wad and 7/8 ounces of 7-1/2 shot

[Buckshot Sheridan]

Magtec all brass

90gr of Fg or FFg black

fiber and card wads

1 1/4 oz of 4s or 5s

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Am I the only one who uses smokeless in the Magtechs?   

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

Rem or AA hulls, 14.8 gr. Extra Lite Powder (#25 MEC bushing), 3/4 oz. shot with Clay Buster CB0178-12 wads & Winchester or CCI primer. 

[John E. Law]

19 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

  I use about 1-1/8 oz of shot.   Decided I didn't need that much power for CAS. 

This made me laugh. Due to having multiple shooters and shot being so difficult to get I've knocked my shot load down to 5/8oz. In order for you to do that you'd need like a 3/4" thick cork spacer wad shoved in there to get it down that low. 

 

Very cool that you're using the Brass hulls though!

 

JEL

[Snakebite]

37 minutes ago, High Spade Mikey Wilson said:

Rem or AA hulls, 14.8 gr. Extra Lite Powder (#25 MEC bushing), 3/4 oz. shot with Clay Buster CB0178-12 wads & Winchester or CCI primer. 

I don't get it. I use #27 bushing and throw about the same same charge of Extra Lite. I'm going go recheck things. Hummm? Maybe my Grey cells are fading.

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

I thought it said 25. Whatever number the MEC chart has close to 14.8 gr of it. These old eyes don't see so good anymore in those little numbers. 

[Snakebite]

3 hours ago, High Spade Mikey Wilson said:

Rem or AA hulls, 14.8 gr. Extra Lite Powder (#25 MEC bushing), 3/4 oz. shot with Clay Buster CB0178-12 wads & Winchester or CCI primer. 

OK, I rechecked. My MEC 9000, using a #27 Bushing throws 14.6 gn of Alliant Extra Lite. Average of 10 throws. I looked up charts, and they vary, but Indicate that a #27 Bushing throws 15.7 gn of Alliant Extra Lite. At this point I was really perplexed so I went to the Trap Shooters Web site.... several listed a #30 Bushing throwing  15.6 gn of Alliant Extra lite!!!!!!!!! Some on that site said that in general: "single stage loaders tend to drop heavier than listed, while progressive loaders tend to drop lighter than listed". I have no idea why that would be the case. Bottom line is that I don't know why things vary so much but am not too concerned about it. For many years I have found that using a Grey 7/8 oz wad in a STS hull with any Fast Powder that brings the wad up to the proper spot for a good crimp, regardless of the weight, seems to work just fine. I've never noticed any High pressure signs. There is no doubt that it is always much safer to use published and proven Recipes and I am not suggesting anyone follow what I do. My experience in this is not scientific at all. It's just the way I load Lite 12 ga shot shells for this game. I sure would not take that approach if I were working at the other end of the scale. 

 

Snakebite

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

I double checked and I am using a #25 MEC bushing.

[Paulo Pistolero]

I worked up a load recently for International Clays. Used 1oz 7 1/2 shot. Used a 17 bushing to get approximately 11.7 grains of powder. Used Gray Winchester AA HS hulls. The wad was Claybusters for 1 oz shot. Gave out some rounds to some pards at the last shoot and they loved them. Said it was a lite recoil load and knocked down the target with authority.  Used International clays because that was ALL I COULD GET!!! lol Oh and the chronometer test varied from 875-900 fps.  Press was a MEC 600.

[Diamond Jake]

When I first started to shoot SASS I didn't have a press or any supplies for loading shotshells, so I followed Duelist 1954 video for loading black powder shot shells with a dowel and nail.  I used about 50 grs of powder and 1 oz shot, and varied the thickness of the fiber wad for column height.  Eventually I found a MEC 600 jr press for $30 at an estate sale and started loading smokeless.  The only plastic wads I could find were for 1 oz shot, and I had a bunch of Cleanshot powder for my rifle/pistol loads, so I used 16 g of Clean shot and 1 ox 7.5 shot and it works well.  One of these days (probably this coming winter) I'll get some smaller wads and try for a lighter load.  Maybe with a different powder, though I have no complaints with Cleanshot.

[Paulo Pistolero]

Yes I have clean shot as well and it works fine. It was International Clays that I was able to get first so I will keep my Clean shot for back up.

[watab kid]

i know this has been covered in the past extensively , ive contributed , ill add my 3/4oz with 14 grains of clays has always worked for me well but submit that i also load reclaimed because its cheaper and works just fine at our close targets , for me it has been very easy decision as i got a bunch when the local range harvested