What factory shotgun shells have worked best for you?

[Ol Salty Sailor]

I have a couple of Stoeger Coach Guns, one 12 ga and one in 20 ga.  Some shotgun shell hulls extract better than others, Today I tried a box of Winchester reduced recoil target loads and I had to pry each and every hull out of the 12 gauge.

 

What factory shotgun shell have you used that worked great for you?

[Major Crimes]

Maybe the shotgun is the issue?

Are the chambers polished.

I use these and have no problems.

[Eyesa Horg]

Avoid the cheap Winchester with silver (steel) heads. Go with the LNLR Winchester as above↑↑.

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

6 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Avoid the cheap Winchester with silver (steel) heads.

Agree. I find the hulls with the brass heads shuck a lot easier then the silver steel head hulls. Someone told me once that brass, whether used for cartridges or shotgun hull heads, expand when fired but then shrinks back a bit. Steel on the other hand expands but doesn't shrink back making extraction a litter more involved. I guess that's one of the reasons why you don't see steel brass being reloaded.

[Irish Pat]

I spray the whole box with  a small shot  of WD-40 while it is on my gun cart and it makes them a slicker. If I have time I put a little spray in the chambers between stages

[Boggus Deal #64218]

It’s well known that Winchester AA quality has dropped considerably. And they don’t always work in every gun well. @Scarlett

I've found Remington STS or Nitro to be better. Federal Metros were even better, in my opinion, but haven’t seen them since the china flu. 

[Eyesa Horg]

Make your own with STS hulls. Way more betterer!

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

Scarlett Darling had a full-length shot sizer on display at EOT.  I tried a box of low recoil low noise AAs after she resized them and they worked well.  My preference for factory shells are Remington STS.  However, I mostly shoot a variety of reloaded Remington hulls.

Edited March 16 by Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971
spelling

[Griff]

You need to polish your chambers and remove any burrs on the mouth of the shotgun before ANY shell will eject with just a quick jerk backwards.  Done correctly, with the right technique, you don't need to oil the shells, don't need fancy sizers, just a little polish and practice.  

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

BIG PLUS ONE for Griff you betcha

[Boggus Deal #64218]

15 minutes ago, Griff said:

You need to polish your chambers and remove any burrs on the mouth of the shotgun before ANY shell will eject with just a quick jerk backwards.  Done correctly, with the right technique, you don't need to oil the shells, don't need fancy sizers, just a little polish and practice.  

I beg to differ. When 60-70% of factory AAs won’t chamber, no amount of polish or practice will make a difference. At EOT, Scarlett opened a brand new case of AAs and were crap! One box had 24 brass heads and one steel head. It was right on top. @Scarlett has pictures.

[Rye Miles #13621]

5 hours ago, Major Crimes said:

Maybe the shotgun is the issue?

Are the chambers polished.

I use these and have no problems.

THIS ^^^^^^^

[Captain Bill Burt]

In order of preference:

1. Remington Gun Club

2. Remington STS

3. Winchester AA LRLN

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Yes, Winchester quality control while making shotshells has gone in the toilet over last 10 years. 

 

Yes, most shotguns are not well made enough to shuck shells the way that SASS rules allows ("manual ejection" from double guns).

 

Yes, most factory loads are hotter than needed to knock down our targets at 6 to 10 yards.  Hot loads stick in chambers worse.

 

So, fix all three.   Tune the shotgun to be slick around the chamber and extractor.   Run good quality Remington brass head cover hulls (STS or Nitro 27).  Load your own lower velocity lower recoil shells (7/8 ounce at 900 FPS is PLENTY).  

 

NO factory load right now is optimal for most shooters in SASS.

 

good luck, GJ

Edited March 16 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

[Eyesa Horg]

30 minutes ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I beg to differ. When 60-70% of factory AAs won’t chamber, no amount of polish or practice will make a difference. At EOT, Scarlett opened a brand new case of AAs and were crap! One box had 24 brass heads and one steel head. It was right on top. @Scarlett has pictures.

I won a box in a raffle and not even one passed my gauge! That tapering tool that mounts on a MEC for $80 fixed them just fine though. Some even had a little ring bump where the wad seats. A shame for a name brand.

[Griff]

59 minutes ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I beg to differ. When 60-70% of factory AAs won’t chamber, no amount of polish or practice will make a difference. At EOT, Scarlett opened a brand new case of AAs and were crap! One box had 24 brass heads and one steel head. It was right on top. @Scarlett has pictures.

All I can say is that in 30+ years of using 'em... I've never gotten a bad case.  My last case was bought late last year.  Still no bad hulls half way thru.  Plus, they're my prefered hull for reloading for my BP rounds.  I'm not about to use my Blue Magic hulls for SASS!  

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

I have to admit surprise at the problems with AAs.  When I still shot Smokeless, My/The go-to were Winchester Featherlights (Now called LNLR).  However, I haven't shot a plastic hull in about 8 - 10 years.  My 12Ga is all loaded in MagTech All Brass Hulls.

[Boggus Deal #64218]

6 hours ago, Griff said:

All I can say is that in 30+ years of using 'em... I've never gotten a bad case.  My last case was bought late last year.  Still no bad hulls half way thru.  Plus, they're my prefered hull for reloading for my BP rounds.  I'm not about to use my Blue Magic hulls for SASS!  

The reason I developed my original shotshell gauge 15 plus years ago was the bad lots of AAs I was getting at the time. Ask @Scarlett about the case she had at EOT. I quit buying them years ago.

Edited March 16 by Boggus Deal #64218
Doggone autocorrect!

[Rusty D Bushwhacker]

I just got into SASS last year and I purchased a Stoeger Coach.  I tried almost every brand of shells available around here.  NONE of them slid out of the chambers.  Some locked up in the chambers and made opening the gun almost impossible.  The Federal Top Gun shells worked the "best" for me so I started tuning my gun to those shells.  I literally had to take a Dremel with a cylinder shaped stone to the chambers and open up the chambers.  I went about a 1/8 of an inch deeper than the length of the brass on the shells.  Once I could get the shells (Empties - Already Fired)to drop out on their own, I started polishing the chambers.  Took it to the range to test and had to message one of the chambers a little more.

 

After five rounds of competition, I have not had a single shell hang in the chamber. 

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

10 hours ago, Ol Salty Sailor said:

I have a couple of Stoeger Coach Guns, one 12 ga and one in 20 ga.  Some shotgun shell hulls extract better than others, Today I tried a box of Winchester reduced recoil target loads and I had to pry each and every hull out of the 12 gauge.

 

What factory shotgun shell have you used that worked great for you?

You need to get a shell checker and a resizer, I have not found any factory shells that consistently check good by Remington STS are the best and shuck in more shotguns than any I’ve tried. 
 

https://www.badmanbullets.com/OnlineStore/proddetail.php?prod=SliX-Shotshell-Checker-Sizer-Combo

 

Randy

Edited March 16 by Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903
Added link

[Assassin]

2 hours ago, Griff said:

All I can say is that in 30+ years of using 'em... I've never gotten a bad case.  My last case was bought late last year.  Still no bad hulls half way thru.  Plus, they're my prefered hull for reloading for my BP rounds.  I'm not about to use my Blue Magic hulls for SASS!  

I purchased two case of AA's last spring.

Just assumed they'd be good.

I looked like a bumbling idiot trying to get them to load and shuck. My old STS reloads were fine out the same gun. Yes, there is a problem. I might try to run them through my press in order to resize them.

[Irish Dan O'Shootem]

I like the Remington STS,  works in all of my TTN shotguns

[Griff]

2 hours ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

The reason I developed my original shotshell gauge 15 plus years ago was the bad lots of AAs I was getting at the time. Ask @Scarlett about the safe she had at EOT. I quit buying them years ago.

Well... if you can't be good, it's good to be lucky... I'll take lucky.  That definitely shows a lack of QC.  

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

6 hours ago, Irish Pat said:

I spray the whole box with  a small shot  of WD-40 while it is on my gun cart and it makes them a slicker. If I have time I put a little spray in the chambers between stages

Use silicone spray instead 

[Scarlett]

Because I sell the Slixprings Gauge and the Ryder Sizer, I took a new case of AA to EOT - plus, in case some folks forgot them. It was before the main match started… I checked 4 boxes. 100 shells. 66 did NOT gauge. After I ran them through the Ryder sizer, they all gauged. 
These are just a few of those…. It makes for good show and tell. And, if they went in, they rarely would fall out. I want them to drop in/out without any effort. Hugs! 
Scarlett

[Warden Callaway]

I shoot black powder loads but Sawmill Mary shoots Fiocchi low recoil in a stock Stoeger Uplander with unmodified chambers.  Shouldn't work with ribbed shells but it does.  She doesn't shuck but tips and dumps.

 

 

[Peddler Parsons SASS # 31281]

I use the old Active hulls for my black powder loads most of the time they last a lot longer than anything else and the slicker they get thin the STS and Nitro

[Sheriff Dill]

12 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Make your own with STS hulls. Way more betterer!

Is that a word in the east side of VT dictionary lol?

[watab kid]

my own work best but i have used some factory B&P Competition one in a light 7.8oz load 

[Dapper Dave]

Forgive me, very newbie here.

My Stoeger Coach Gun was the first shotgun I purchased in many years. I had read about rough chambers and rough finishing online, so when I bought it I knew I was in for some polishing. It shot and sometimes shucked Remington Gun Club #8s well, but anything heavier and it locked up. I use guns for many different purposes, don't have dedicated SASS only guns, so I wanted it to work with whatever I use. So, I polished with Mother Mag polish on a mop chucked in my drill in the chambers, and 600 grit with oil on the bearing surfaces. After much ado, it fires and shucks anything I use, so far. I will say I've only shot two matches, both with Remington Gun Club ammo, and it worked perfectly. 
The last time I bought Winchester shotgun shells was probably 15 years ago, don't remember any issues back then, but memory fades with age. 

I will say shooting and shucking with Magtech all brass works great!

 

Edited March 24 by Dapper Dave
Horrible spelling

[Tall John]

While I haven’t experienced any of the manufacturing defects with factory ammo, my first double was a Stoeger supreme and after polishing the chambers, it shucked everything well.  Stoeger’s quality control leaves alot to be desired.   But they can be tweaked to be really good shotguns.  
 

Amazon sells Flex Hones for shotguns and revolvers that are real easy to use with a cordless drill to polish your chambers and cylinders. There is also a good YouTube on the topic.

 

https://a.co/d/iQ2NoQc

 

 

Edited March 17 by Tall John
Grammar and removed photos

[Anvil Al #59168]

Remington STS or Remington Gun Club is all I will buy new.

And the only ones I will reload are the STS hulls. 

 

Use to like the AA. But won't use them anymore.

I won't even take them if someone gives them to me. 

[El Chapo]

I have had nothing but problems with Winchesters, even the low recoil/low noise that I waited for a year or more until they were in stock and then bought a few cases of.  They just won't come out of the gun.

 

At the suggestion of Captain Clark, I switched to Remingtons.  I scored a bunch of used gun club hulls out of the trash and they fall right out of my shotgun without any issues.

 

As such, I'm a convert.  I will probably just burn up the Winchesters in my Model 12 for Wild Bunch

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

I've had good luck with Gun Clubs too.  I don't reload them too many times since they have a steel base.  There's an endless supply of them at the clays ranges I frequent.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

Rooster's workbench made to order every time 🤫