Alliant Shotshell Manual Problem

[Bandits]

I have been loading rifles for over ten years now and thought I might try my hand at shotgun reloading. I got a copy of the Lyman manual and Alliant. The components I have matched the Alliant data but somehow I have shells that are under filled with shot. I got the recipe directly from Alliant (http ://www.alliantpowder.com/resources/catalog/alliantpowder-reloadersguide/2014_Alliant_Powder_Catalog.pdf), Page 51

I am using:
Federal gold medal 2 3/4" plastic hulls
Bluedot - manually measured using a scale
RP12 wads
1.25oz of #4 lead shot

Can't figure out what I have done wrong here. I even weighed the shot and confirmed it to be throwing 1.25oz. Yet somehow the shell seems to be about 0.25-0.3" shy of full. The crimp is folding the hull top completely in.

Any one have experience with this? I would greatly appreciate any ideas or suggestions!

 

[Maritime Storm]

Not all published recipes in loading fit all hulls properly. A 20ga card wad or a cheerio under the shot sharge may be in order to fill the space adequately.

 

[bertn]

Wad seater adjusted properly so you are not collaping the wad legs?

 

[Bandits]

Wad seater adjusted properly so you are not collaping the wad legs?

Don't think so. After a little more digging, it seems that Alliant has since pulled the recipe. Seems they now only recommend it for 1 3/8 oz and 1 1/2 oz loads

 

[Bandits]

Not all published recipes in loading fit all hulls properly. A 20ga card wad or a cheerio under the shot sharge may be in order to fill the space adequately.

I heard about that but didn't have any cheerio's, so I used some oatmeal. Seemed to do the trick for the moment. Might just need to get a new charge bar

 

[digitalblue]

What you’re describing is commonly known as a “dished crimp”, which indicates that the component stackup is a bit short. This doesn’t normally affect performance unless you get pellets leaking through the hole in the crimp. I just use a thin piece of cardstock overtop the shot to raise the crimp up; doesn’t need to be a perfectly round piece of cardstock either.

 

[Bandits]

What you’re describing is commonly known as a “dished crimp”, which indicates that the component stackup is a bit short. This doesn’t normally affect performance unless you get pellets leaking through the hole in the crimp. I just use a thin piece of cardstock overtop the shot to raise the crimp up; doesn’t need to be a perfectly round piece of cardstock either.

Thanks for the terminology and tips. It is all new to me. The crimp ended up being so dished that it left a 0.25" opening for the shot to pour out of.

 

[legi0n]

you can always trim the hulls a bit.