Black powder shotgun shells

[Hells Comin]

What are u guys using on your shells so they won't stick in your doubles?

[Tyrel Cody]

Nothing, mine don’t stick. I typically use Remington STS, but Win AAs work fine too.

 

What hulls are you using? 

 

 

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

 

 

[Doc Nelson #19958]

STS hulls work very well if you keep the B.P. charge down around 30 grains by weight, I dont recall the exact amount. Federal Top Gun hulls have a higher capacity so I load them for my brother at 62 grs. by wieght, 1 oz shot and a regular plastic 1-1/8 cup wad. They work very well for him in his double. Those are my loads from memory so....

Doc Nelson

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Silicone spray 

[Don Coyote, SASS #63736]

Use STS hulls, size base before loading, and run thru a case gauge. Shake out of SG 99% of the time. 

[Hells Comin]

56 minutes ago, Tyrel Cody said:

Nothing, mine don’t stick. I typically use Remington STS, but Win AAs work fine too.

 

What hulls are you using? 

 

 

STS

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

STS or Nitro hulls that are shiny all the way to the crimp (no frosty areas).  Any shells with frosty areas get reloaded for other purposes (like WB matches).  I use Gun Clubs for local matches and practice.  Some of them stick.  I don't reload AAs for CAS.

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

STS or gold nitro, though AA's have shucked good when I used them. 

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

Just now, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

STS or Nitro hulls that are shiny all the way to the crimp (no frosty areas).  Any shells with frosty areas get reloaded for other purposes (like WB matches).  I use Gun Clubs for local matches and practice.  Some of them stick.  I don't reload AAs for CAS.

The frosty hulls still shuck okay for me.  I can get 5 BP reloads out of a nitro hull.

[Judah MacAbee SASS #64095 Life]

Why didn't you ask me yesterday? 

 

STS, Gun clubs and pre primed Fiocchi all work for me. The Rios I had yesterday do not. (Only 465 of them to go)

 

I have some STS loaded if you want to try them

[Hells Comin]

8 minutes ago, Judah MacAbee SASS #64095 Life said:

Why didn't you ask me yesterday? 

 

STS, Gun clubs and pre primed Fiocchi all work for me. The Rios I had yesterday do not. (Only 465 of them to go)

 

I have some STS loaded if you want to try them

Thanks - I'm asking for Lead finger.

[Judah MacAbee SASS #64095 Life]

I thought maybe you were coming over to the dark side with him

[Hells Comin]

8 minutes ago, Judah MacAbee SASS #64095 Life said:

 

10 minutes ago, Judah MacAbee SASS #64095 Life said:

I thought maybe you were coming over to the dark side with him

It's enough Fun just to watch you shoot and you're certainly not skimpy on the Smoke. When I go home my guns are still Clean.

 

[Griff]

Polish, and I mean mirror bright polish the chambers.  Not just smooth, but shiney, like they're polished chrome bright.  A quick jerk forward as you reach for the next pair and the hulls stay stationary, the left falls to the left of your hand & the right to the right  You have to keep the barrels horizontal.

[Jackalope]

1 hour ago, Tyrel Cody said:

Nothing, mine don’t stick. I typically use Remington STS

This.

 

Start with clean hulls...wash 'em, dry 'em, load 'em.

 

If you feel a burning desire to put something on something, put it on a swab and mop out your chambers between stages.

 

If you put some kind of goo on your hulls to make them slippery, guess what?  They'll be slippery in your hands, too.  Slippery hands = fumbling shells.  Fingers might even get gooey enough that your guns start slipping, too.

 

My loads are between 1 oz and 1 1/8 oz, a Winchester red wad (or equivalent), and 45-65 gr of Goex FFg or FFFg, all in a nice clean and dry STS hull.

 

Your mileage may vary...

 

Jackalope

[Eyesa Horg]

I wipe all my down with Armor All first. And NO they are not slippery in use ever! Then 40gr. by weight 2F real BP., pink was WAD  and a tad under an ounce of #8 shot. Never have an issue shucking out of my Stoeger.

[Eyesa Horg]

1 hour ago, Branchwater Jack SASS #88854 said:

 

 

Good to see you back BWJ

[Eyesa Horg]

2 hours ago, Hells Comin said:

What are u guys using on your shells so they won't stick in your doubles?

I wipe with ArmorAll just to get any dust off em. Never find them slippery late and no issue shucking. Also don't worry about frosty/burnt ones as my Stoeger shucks em all. I do Chuck em after BP use, so I don't use my good hulls. STS or AA.

[Warden Callaway]

Winchester AA Grey if I got them. Red sometimes.  SST and Nitro next choice.  Once fired. Cut and roll crimped.  Toss after one firing. Use a little Johnsons past wax on a rag to wipe down. 

[Erasmus]

Magtech brass hulls. Wet tumbled till shiny. If I do my part to swab the chamber every couple of stages they do their part. I tried to resize some with the RCBS cowboy dies (it base sizes) but it didn't do anything since they (apparently) weren't expanded. I'm loading pretty light using a 7/8oz shot scoop to load a square load (probably 1.5 drams) and have been reliably knocking down targets with 2F Goex or Shuetzen.

[Sedalia Dave]

What powder and how many grains is he using? 

 

If the loads are too light there will be excessive blow by and could cause hulls to stick.

[Hells Comin]

15 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

What powder and how many grains is he using? 

 

If the loads are too light there will be excessive blow by and could cause hulls to stick.

 1-1/8 oz shot sts

App 35 by volume 

[Sedalia Dave]

3 minutes ago, Hells Comin said:

 1-1/8 oz shot sts

App 35 by volume 

 

He needs at least 40 by volume. (35 by weight). Less than that and the blow by will scorch the outside if the hull.  

[Navy Davey]

5 hours ago, Hells Comin said:

Thanks - I'm asking for Lead finger.

Don't help lead finger we need to slow him down..... 

[Judah MacAbee SASS #64095 Life]

16 hours ago, Hells Comin said:

 

When I grow up I want to shoot as fast as you. 

[J-BAR #18287]

Fired hulls become difficult to eject for a variety of reasons.

 

If there is any damage to the chambers, like pitting or scratching, the hull will squeeze into those deformations and hang up.  If someone has attempted to polish the chambers and removed too much metal from the deep part of the chamber, the crimp end of the hull can actually expand to a diameter larger than the body of the hull, creating a reverse bottleneck effect, which is difficult to correct.  
 

Some crimps are more likely to cause a hangup:  my guns preferred 8 point crimps to 6 point crimps.

 

Some guns actually eject ribbed hulls easier than smooth hulls.  Think about it.  The ribs contact the metal chamber but the grooves don't: less contact = less friction.

 

You have to be judicious about applying lubes to the chambers and hulls.  The lube can mix with blackpowder fouling and can get gummy after a couple of stages.  Gummy hulls are sticky.

 

Many just wipe out the chamber between stages and try to start each stage as clean as possible.

 

What worked for me and my gun may not work for you.  This is another one of those things that you must experiment with to determine what is best for you.  The fun thing is, it's a good excuse to go shoot a lot!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Cemetery]

I use once fired hulls, typically either STS, or the red Winchester AA's.

 

Also started roll crimping since I had a hell of a time dealing with sticking shells at one State match a year ago, rarely, if ever, stick now.

 

Also mop out the chambers after each stage.

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

2 hours ago, Cemetery said:

...Also started roll crimping since I had a hell of a time dealing with sticking shells at one State match a year ago, rarely, if ever, stick now....

 

I think roll-crimping may be the BEST way to avoid sticking.  I've only done a small amount of roll-crimping since I'm not properly set up for it, but after I get done with some moving I'm in the middle of, I would like to start doing that more.

[Snakebite Dust SASS 75484]

I dont put anything on my shells, but I do swab my barrels after each stage with a swab tool that has a 16 ga brush and use a gun cleaning wipe to get the grime out. Makes a big difference for me. I also use one of the sizing tools to slightly taper the end of my shells. 

[Scarlett]

12 hours ago, Cemetery said:

I use once fired hulls, typically either STS, or the red Winchester AA's.

 

Also started roll crimping since I had a hell of a time dealing with sticking shells at one State match a year ago, rarely, if ever, stick now.

 

Also mop out the chambers after each stage.

I asked Santa for a drill press for Christmas a year ago so I could roll crimp! It’s so much fun. I use 38-40 gr APP by WEIGHT and an ounce of shot. Fiber wads - no snotty snake when cleaning. They don’t stick. Plus, you can use everyone else’s hulls and trim off the bad part. 
 

Hugs!

Scarlett

 

[Rancho Roy]

All my shotgun shells, regardless of Black Powder or Smokeless get a wipe down with Silicone spray or Armorall  on a rag. And they ALL go through a Shell Checker before they go into my belt loops.....

[I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321]

Nothing, will occasionally swab SG chamber.  

[Thunder Creek Kid]

Remington Gun Club or Federal Top Gun. 

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326]

sold the sxs and bought a '87