Gray Gunz Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Howdy All, I am new to SASS and am getting ready to start competing. Due to my disability I cannot shoot factory 20 Gauge safely. I am going to reload it for my SxS, and I am wondering if you all have any recommendations on hulls, wads and primers to use. I am going to go with the lightest load I can going about 1,000fps. I would appreciate any suggestions you all have. Thanks Gunz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Welcome Gray Gunz, you've joined a great bunch of folks. Hang in for the addiction. Can't help with 20ga. Typically there is less felt recoil from a 12ga due to the additional weight. I'm sure someone will chime in to help you with your 20. Most of all, be safe and have fun! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeaconKC Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Hiya GG, no help on 20 gauge loads, but check out the Pachmayr Gelpad, it's a slip on recoil pad that really helps tame recoil. And welcome to a great place. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 If you want to stay in character, a sissy pad under a shirt. I use one with heavy rifle calibers. No point in beating yourself up. I read somewhere that the low recoil 12 ga. were much more comfortable than stock 20. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Hodgdon lists low recoil 20-gauge loads here. Regrettably they all call for International powder that is currently unavailable. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Find a local gun shop that will special order for you, or even a Big Box store that will special order for you. You want to source Fiocchi 20Ga "Trainer." Probably the lightest recoiling 20Ga ammunition I have ever fired. 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Low recoil is all about light payload, slow muzzle velocity and the weight and fit of the gun (heavier and nice fit give lowest felt recoil). That's about it. So, load light and shoot a heavy gun. Factory ammo in 20 gauge will usually not even come close, as you know. You will need to load, as you know. And very little 20 gauge cowboy light load data is available, so unless someone here has a great load, you will have to build one up yourself. You will want about 1/2 ounce of shot and 800 FPS, perhaps 900. That means a really tall (long) wad and maybe even some filler (cards, etc.). If you use a roll crimp, you can adjust the hull length to fit with minimal use of fillers. I'd suggest you get spun up on that. Powder brand will matter very little. Wad will matter little. Something in the range of Unique or Winchester WST might make a nice light load. You will not be wanting to load to even the minimum in published loads - all off the bottom of the loading book data. Be careful of squibby loads. Or, you could just learn to shoot your shotgun from the waist by "feeling" the aiming point instead of shouldering it. Then you could use light factory loads in either 12 or 20 gauge, most likely. Several shooters are real good with this approach. good luck, GJ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang Gregg Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Put a Dead Mule in your butt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bone Johnson Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Here is my wife and granddaughter load for a 20 ga. So far it has proven to be a safe and reliable load for us. AA hulls. Powder- Alliant 20/28 Primers Win. 209 7/8 claybuster wad. 20 ga ballistic products, 1/4 inch felt wad. 28 ga ballistic products, overshot card. Load notes, loaded on a 70's model texan loader using an "L" powder bushing for appx. 10 grains of 20/28 powder. Shot bushing "13X" for appx. 5/8 oz of shot. I use the felt wad in the claybuster wad under the shot column. Then the overshot card on top of the shot column, then close and crimp. Perfect stack height for perfect crimps. We developed this load through trial and error until the shooters said ""Nice, I can handle this"" Just in case I run out of 20/28 I can switch to a faster powder for a tad more recoil and not have to change bushing's. If moving to a slower powder (more grains-maybe) may have to reduce shot bushing size to keep stack height correct. For some reading this they may say just use a 3/4 wad and I tried but couldn't get the right stack. I/you can use different wads and fillers and achieve the same thing, this is just what we found worked for us. Good luck, T Bone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 7 hours ago, Mustang Gregg said: Put a Dead Mule in your butt. That sounds painful!! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearfoot Tracker Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Alliant Green Dot powder (3/4 oz. load) (#8 Shot) (CB1075-20 Wad) (Winchester AA hulls) (Cheddite 209 Primer) ….. shot from 20 gauge Stoeger Uplander Youth SxS w/ 22” barrels & cylinder choke. 14.0 Gr. / 1200 FPS (Factory Lowest Published Load Data for Win AA hulls) My testing: FPS (avg), Recoil (rated 1-4 lowest to highest), Fouling (rated 1-4 lowest to highest based on shell inspection) 12.7 Gr. 1117 FPS 4 Recoil 2 Fouling 11.6 Gr. 1051 FPS 3 Recoil 3 Fouling 10.5 Gr. 992 FPS 2 Recoil 2 Fouling 10.0 Gr. 967 FPS 1 Recoil 2 Fouling NOTES: Recoil of all were lower than the Winchester AA Target 1200 FPS factory loads, and significantly lower with the 10.0 and 10.5 grain loads. The recoil with the lower grains were about the same or slightly less than our Stoeger 12 ga. Coach gun shooting the Winchester AA feather-lite loads. Fouling was about the same on all loads, and noticeable over the factory loads mentioned above. All loads were capable of knocking over steel targets at 12 yards. We are still reloading to the 10.0 grain recipe but are reloading Remington STS hulls. We use a Cherrio to top off the load instead of a felt pad to fill in for proper crimping. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Gunz Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 Thank you all so much for the help. I appreciate it. Having reloaded metallic cartridges for so long, I had no idea how different shotgun reloading is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Spade Mikey Wilson Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 I developed a 20 ga. load that my wife used when she shot cowboy action, and that I use when my grandsons want to shoot shotgun. Quite mild on the shoulder, but will take down knock down targets. Grains MEC Oz Shot Powder Powder Bushing Wad Hull Primer 3/4 Unique 13.7 #20 CB1075-20 Rem CCI or Chedite 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearfoot Tracker Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 16 hours ago, Gray Gunz said: Howdy All, I am new to SASS and am getting ready to start competing. Due to my disability I cannot shoot factory 20 Gauge safely. I am going to reload it for my SxS, and I am wondering if you all have any recommendations on hulls, wads and primers to use. I am going to go with the lightest load I can going about 1,000fps. I would appreciate any suggestions you all have. Thanks Gunz I don't know where you are located, but this was on the "Classified" section a little while ago, and sounds like a good deal. I use the Lee Load All for reloading my wife's 20 gauge .... not the fastest but works just fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bullweed Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 I have tried a make reduced 20 Ga loads with Reddot and American Select. AS was okay. Reddot has too fast of a burn rate and was inconsistent for me. My softest 20 GA load is 35 grains of Prodex FFg (RS) under a 3/4 ounce load of shot. I use 5/8 discs, punched from a cereal box, over the shot to prevent leaking pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 I recently cut back to 10.4 grains Unique from the 12.0 grains I was using, simply as a powder conservation measure. 10.4, simply because that's what the RCBS Little Dandy rotor throws with a couple taps on the rotor to settle the powder and make a more uniform drop. I use a Claybusters Tournament wad, #WJI-20078 in either Remington STS or Winchester AA hulls, 7/8 oz shot, and any ol' 209 primer. This isn't rocket science, this is up close, point blank shotgunning. I'm sure dropping to 3/4 oz shot will be just fine, but I haven't tried it - now that I've seen the price of shot, I might give it a try. To adjust the height of the shot column and prevent the crimp from folding inward, I've always used a pinch of a foam packing peanut on top. Other folks use cards or vegetable wads, Cheerios, and other things. Whatever works. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
"Big Boston" Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 Gauge 20 ga 2 ¾ Date Loaded 2023-09-30 Hull WW CF AA, 2 ¾" Yellow Primer WW209 Shot 7 ½ Weight in Ounces 3/4 Powder WW452AA Weight in Grains 13.8 Bushing # 20 (MEC) Wad WW AA20 (plus filler card) Wad Pressure 30 Firearm SxS Stoeger Deluxe Number loaded Comments This load is from the 5th edition of Reloading For Shotgunners, page 111. Winchester CF AA hull, WW209 primer, WW452 powder, WAA20 wad, 14 gr for 1150 fps, 15 gr for 1200 fps. Note 7: Add one 410 bore, 0.135 card inside bottom of shot cup. I used a ½”, 12mm punch and Toy Story cardboard to make cards, and three stacked is 0.130”. Works best with all stacked under shot. I tried a few other combos, the shells were not as nice. This load is mild in the coach gun, and will break clay targets up to 30 yards. The Imp Cyl barrel is easier to hit with. Pattern testing with different chokes is on the to-do list. That's my go to now. when my 452 runs out I'll look for another powder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang Gregg Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 On 6/29/2024 at 8:07 AM, Eyesa Horg said: That sounds painful!! Erza, Yep, it sure can be, but unnecessary recoil can be painful too. LOLOL! We put DEAD MULES in several of our scatterguns. Check out the 100 Straight outfit. Mustang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Gunz Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 Pards, I finally got up the courage to try my hand at a load. It is totally off the books, but I am using a chedite 2 3/4 shell pre-primed, Mec 600 Jr powder bushing 14 with 11/16 charge bar with #8 shot. I could find Win Super Handicap powder, so that is what I am using. I probably will not have time to chronograph it, but we are going to shoot in a local match next Sunday. The main thing is my Son can tolerate the recoil and enjoy shooting the shotgun. We have shot 2 matches and he has just skipped the shotgun targets out an abundance of caution. He told me several times on the way home how excited he was to use the shotgun in a match. I figure he can shoot the load and if he doesn’t get a knockdown, oh well, at least he is shooting and having a ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fretless Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 How old is your son? Assuming he is a buckaroo, he only needs to hit the knockdown for it to count. Some choose to make sure it goes down. Some don't. That's up to y'all, but the rules allow for the kids to just hit a knockdown target and it counts even if it doesn't fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Gunz Posted September 6 Author Share Posted September 6 My Son is 14, but he is small for his size and due to medical issues he is extremely recoil sensitive to the point that too much could break bones. I am not concerned with his targets being scored as down, just that he can participate and be safe. As he gets older I can bump up the load, of course while maintaining safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.