Reloading Shotshells

Who on here is loading shotshells?

I thought I'd give it a go so bought Baz' Lee press off trademe. But at this stage of doing some re-reading of the ABC's of reloading book it sounds way more complicated than rifle reloading. Once I get my head around it I'll be right I suppose. But how do i find out what type of cases I've got here? I have a big bucket full of Falcon trap cases left over from a Young Farmers clay shoot.
Anyone know what type these would be?

Bound to have more questions, like powder, primers etc,

but I'll see how many others do it. Or am I the only one stupid enough......


Oh wasn't sure whether I should post this in here or under 'Shotgunning'.

Kyle

I loaded shotgun ammo. but I dont think its a safe way to do it so yeah. sorry I cant be of any help.

Falcon shotshells are constructed with Fiocchi components (that is what they say in their advertising). You need reloading components which are compatible with the shotshell cases you are going to use. Most of the stuff you can buy in NZ is focussed on Winchester AA cases (not Fiocchi). So, get hold of some Win AA cases, then Winchester wads specified for the loads you want to use. The primers vary in their strength so stick to the loads in the book (you need a reliable book of loads, e.g., the one from Lyman which will tell you everything you need about powders and other components). The book from Lyman has schematic pictures of the interiors of each type of case which will help you identify different cases if you get into the esoterics of shotshell reloading. Reloading shotshell cases is interesting but different from metallic case reloading, but probably a bit less complicated. Lots of components mouldering away in sheds around the country due to duck shooters moving to steel and a change in value of the NZ dollar vs. the US dollar, so ask around.

Cheers Rupert. Since posting I have found a little bit out.
I see Reloaders has some once fired Win AA cases for sale and some wads also, brain has stopped functioning now. It will be nice to resume normal hours and catch up with work, and then sleep.

I'll have a look around for the Lyman book

I got the Lyman box the other month as I'm about to start loading for my Mrs skeet shooting - its a really good book, has all the cases, loads, primer combos etc in it
Shotgun is a set formula - you dont work a load up or anything.
I brought 5000 once fired hulls, 10,000 wads and 575 lbs of shot in with my last order
Should keep us going for a while :)

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Originally Posted by Spanners

I got the Lyman box the other month as I'm about to start loading for my Mrs skeet shooting - its a really good book, has all the cases, loads, primer combos etc in it
Shotgun is a set formula - you dont work a load up or anything.
I brought 5000 once fired hulls, 10,000 wads and 575 lbs of shot in with my last order
Should keep us going for a while :)

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Yea I think its the set formula thing thats making me paranoid, want to make sure I get all the right items. Especially wads and cases.

Is this the right Lyman manual?

Lyman Products Your Primary Source for Reloading Equipment

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Originally Posted by Spanners

Should keep us going for a while :)

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A bit over a year if your Mrs shoots one round of Skeet a day, and you'll have 800 wads left over! I hope she's going to be pulling the handle on the reloading press :D

Ray.

I reload a lot of shotgun cartridges, all gauges, the ADI powders are fine, if you get really stuck then there is a heap of help here: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/view...bc796149391124
But here in NZ you will struggle to save money reloading 12g, sub gauges yes, especially 410, 28g . Do like Spanners buy in bulk, I guess the kids would say Uber bulk!!!!
Maybe we can get a forum buy together, I know that the gun clubs used to buy in bulk that way...............
I would be interested. AAs seem to be the way to go if you can, the Fiocchi/Euro hulls have oversized primer pockets, different from the US stuff. FYI.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bulltahr

I reload a lot of shotgun cartridges, all gauges, the ADI powders are fine, if you get really stuck then there is a heap of help here: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/view...bc796149391124
But here in NZ you will struggle to save money reloading 12g, sub gauges yes, especially 410, 28g . Do like Spanners buy in bulk, I guess the kids would say Uber bulk!!!!
Maybe we can get a forum buy together, I know that the gun clubs used to buy in bulk that way...............
I would be interested. AAs seem to be the way to go if you can, the Fiocchi/Euro hulls have oversized primer pockets, different from the US stuff. FYI.

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Thanks for that Bulltahr, I did read somewhere that some cases have bigger primer pockets but it didn't elaborate on which ones.
Might as well biff this lot then and source some AA cases.
Not really doing it to save money, more the satisfaction of making ammo then using it to get some game on the table.

Once again appreciate everyones input thus far.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by puku

Is this the right Lyman manual?

Lyman Products Your Primary Source for Reloading Equipment

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Yip - Lyman #5
I got it off Amazon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ishoot10s

A bit over a year if your Mrs shoots one round of Skeet a day, and you'll have 800 wads left over! I hope she's going to be pulling the handle on the reloading press :D

Ray.

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I'm not sure I could setup a skeet field on my section.. infact I could.. but the neighbours prob wouldnt like it much I'd say... :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bulltahr

I reload a lot of shotgun cartridges, all gauges, the ADI powders are fine, if you get really stuck then there is a heap of help here: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/view...bc796149391124
But here in NZ you will struggle to save money reloading 12g, sub gauges yes, especially 410, 28g . Do like Spanners buy in bulk, I guess the kids would say Uber bulk!!!!
Maybe we can get a forum buy together, I know that the gun clubs used to buy in bulk that way...............
I would be interested. AAs seem to be the way to go if you can, the Fiocchi/Euro hulls have oversized primer pockets, different from the US stuff. FYI.

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I'll put some thought into it once the current lot is cleared from customs then I'll have an idea on total cost - will be next week,
I can get AA once fired, shot from 4-9s and all sorts of wads at a reasonable price in the US, and have sea freight sorted - tag it into a order which is what I did with this lot - also have access to powder and primers

Yeap, It's primers where we get really screwed check out the US price for W209 and then ask Gunworks how much..............

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Originally Posted by Bulltahr

Yeap, It's primers where we get really screwed check out the US price for W209 and then ask Gunworks how much..............

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Yes but a Hazmat shipment from the US is almost $11k US in freight, let alone getting it to the port and dealing with it here.
I hope to have something alot better than RRP here, but not as good as US, avail in about 4 weeks

and shot......................

Shots an easy one - the hard part is getting it around the country at reasonable cost

Someone needs to do a roadtrip :D

Yeah the Hazmat kills it alright. Between primer cost and lead price it's impossible to reload 12g cheaper than taylor made stuff.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bulltahr

Yeah the Hazmat kills it alright. Between primer cost and lead price it's impossible to reload 12g cheaper than taylor made stuff.

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Lets try and change that :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spanners

Shots an easy one - the hard part is getting it around the country at reasonable cost

Someone needs to do a roadtrip :D

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Hmm surely there will be some rental cars or campervans that need to be swapped between places. Could fit a fair bit in one of those!

Well keep me in mind spanners if your thinking of doing another order. I might pick up some once fired Win AA cases from Reloaders to get started.
Also I read on Chuck Hawks page that Remington and Winchester cases are basically identical and could use either or. But definitely not Federal cases.

Does this sound right? He seems to know his crap

No, don't mix and match, there are plenty of proper recipes out there in cyberspace. It's very difficult to read excessive pressure with shotgun cartridges, unlike metallic. So stick to known recipes, there is no such thing as working up a load in the smoothbore world..............

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Originally Posted by Spanners

Lets try and change that :)

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Yeah baby!!!!!

Hey spanners. Now did you greet on with that order? I realise your away working at the moment

Sent from my Galaxy SIII

Quote:

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Originally Posted by puku

Hey spanners. Now did you greet on with that order? I realise your away working at the moment

Sent from my Galaxy SIII

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All landed and sorted
I loaded about 300 rds before I left for work again
The SL900 took a while to settle down - or maybe me get the feel of it.
1st batch of 100 I had prob 30 duds
2nd batch 20 odd (I ran out of powder :XD: and dumped the bin full - just saving the shot - not worth cutting the case and pressing out primers time v $ wise
3rd batch 2 or 3
Most issues were in the hull- most often catching the mouth with the wad, and a few missed primers
Getting there though - its all new to me though
One thing I did realise is I dont really like WST powder going everywhere - have a 4lb jug of it - might flick off the rest and use AS30 as load pistol with it also

Basically - could get lead shot landed for about 1/2 the price you pay for it here
I have sorted freight for ammo around NZ, just have to confirm that primers and powder can go also
Wads are cheap also - would have to check NZ prices, but I'd expect 1/2 also
Hulls - most new are preprimed and thus Hazmat and I'm not interested in dealing with it out of the US - if I can get new unprimed hulls then sweet - once fired AA are fine

The main issue is moving lead in NZ simply due to the weight.

If there are a few interested then I would look at bringing it in for you - would prob need 20 bags of lead commitment to make it worth while going through the hassle, so if 4 guys want 5 bags - that will work
Can mix and shot size etc