The best wads to use

hnachaj said:
:confused: There has not been brass cartridge heads in decades! They are all metal with a brass coating! That is why we use magnets to pick up the spent shells on our ranges! The Federal Gold Medal cases are the ones most highly recommended for high velocity steel shot reloads. The High Brass (sic) controls base expansion better. AAs have changed case design a few years back. So old loads are no longer valid.

Due to the less expensive shells being around, it does not pay to reload today. If you chrono your reloads, you will notice that each time you reload, the velocity drops and the standard deviation increases!

Bewst regards,
Henry;)
Click to expand...

My re-loads cost me around $4.30 a box. What are you paying for your factory loads? And what do you consider cheap?
 
I understand from a retail source that reloading may soon start to pay because of an expected increase in factory ammo, even the cheap crap!
 
I had to play around with my MEC 9000 to get the AA hulls to crimp nicely using the Jammer XL-1s. I actually use a little less than 50lbs wad pressure and my shells started to crimp well with a good close.

As for cost, well I have a good lead source so I figured ( using the reload calculator on the trapshooting site) I am now reloading for around $2.30 per box of 1oz shells, using Promo powder and Chedditte primers. It is well worht it for me as shells arounf here are a minimum $6 per box.
 
hnachaj said:
:confused: There has not been brass cartridge heads in decades! They are all metal with a brass coating! That is why we use magnets to pick up the spent shells on our ranges! The Federal Gold Medal cases are the ones most highly recommended for high velocity steel shot reloads. The High Brass (sic) controls base expansion better. AAs have changed case design a few years back. So old loads are no longer valid.

Due to the less expensive shells being around, it does not pay to reload today. If you chrono your reloads, you will notice that each time you reload, the velocity drops and the standard deviation increases!

Bewst regards,
Henry;)
Click to expand...

OK Henry! After reading your post, I began to wonder what we were all talking about here. So, I got out my magnet and started going through my shells. Grey AA's, including HS, were magnetic as were Rem Nitro, Rem Gun Club, Federal Top Gun. The Federal Gold Medals I am using are not and the AA Red cases aren't (I have some really new ones I picked up at the range the other day, but haven't tested those yet. I'm sure there are some buried in that garbage can, but its full.) I also tested a box of Imperials I had from bygone years and they had brass heads too, i.e. not magnetic. Looks like there is a change going on all right, as it appears the newer cases are all magnetic.
 
You don't suppose that it's a conspiracy between the shell manufacturers and the gun companies? They are un cahoots ya know! Pay us now for the good ammo, or pay us later when your gun wears out because you cheaped out? Either way we pay?:yingyang::bangHead:
 
Covey Ridge said:
You don't suppose that it's a conspiracy between the shell manufacturers and the gun companies? They are un cahoots ya know! Pay us now for the good ammo, or pay us later when your gun wears out because you cheaped out? Either way we pay?:yingyang::bangHead:
Click to expand...

I doubt that there is a conspiracy to destroy our guns on the part of ammunition companies Covey Ridge. I don't doubt there are interdependencies in industries though. Another thing I don't doubt is that companies would prefer to have a dependent and easily manipulated clientel. The self-reliant type that likes to do things for him or her self can be an inconvenience to those holding this perspective. I'm not convinced at this time that the steel shell heads affect our guns and I would expect some research to have been done on this prior to marketing them. On the other hand, mistakes have been made in the past. My older grey hulls turned out to be non-magnetic too, by the way. The new shiny grey ones have something magnetic in them. I suspect you can't get away from this (non?)problem and that you will get magnetic heads on the cases if you buy the pricey AA, Gold Medal and Remington Nitro factory loads too. Going to check the next time I'm around a supplier.
 
Low brass AA are brass. The old 3/4 brass Gold Medal also were brass. There were a bunch of Gold Medal that were brass coated recently as we used large magnets to clean our fields and they would pick them up. Wally Marts were still at $21.95 for a 4 pack. I only use them as spreader loads. I pay $85 tax in for AAs. In my DT10L, the AAs will pattern as a 24 inch circle with IC at 40 measured yards. The cheap stuff will not pattern to reliably put 3 pellets on an on edge clay target at the same distance! For skeet distances, anything will do. FOr some serious sporting or FITASC Parcours de Chasse, I will use only the best patterning shells available. Besides, you are only allowed to use new shells for competition. Shells in Europe are so inexpensive, that nobody reloads there. Even the French and Spaniards don't and they make Cheddite and UEE!

Best regards,
Henry;)
 
BCFred said:
So, I got out my magnet and started going through my shells. Grey AA's, including HS, were magnetic as were Rem Nitro, Rem Gun Club, Federal Top Gun.
Click to expand...
Fred, try the AAs and Remington Nitro again but pop the primer before you do. The primer is steel and the hulls may seem magnetic as a result. This is also why powerful magnets used at ranges will pick up shells with brass case heads leading to the conclusion the entire head is steel when they are brass.
 
hnachaj said:
Low brass AA are brass. The old 3/4 brass Gold Medal also were brass. There were a bunch of Gold Medal that were brass coated recently as we used large magnets to clean our fields and they would pick them up. Wally Marts were still at $21.95 for a 4 pack. I only use them as spreader loads. I pay $85 tax in for AAs. In my DT10L, the AAs will pattern as a 24 inch circle with IC at 40 measured yards. The cheap stuff will not pattern to reliably put 3 pellets on an on edge clay target at the same distance! For skeet distances, anything will do. FOr some serious sporting or FITASC Parcours de Chasse, I will use only the best patterning shells available. Besides, you are only allowed to use new shells for competition. Shells in Europe are so inexpensive, that nobody reloads there. Even the French and Spaniards don't and they make Cheddite and UEE!

Best regards,
Henry;)
Click to expand...

$85 Tax in.... :rolleyes: I will stick to my reloads, with Brass bases.
 
Claybuster said:
Fred, try the AAs and Remington Nitro again but pop the primer before you do. The primer is steel and the hulls may seem magnetic as a result. This is also why powerful magnets used at ranges will pick up shells with brass case heads leading to the conclusion the entire head is steel when they are brass.
Click to expand...

Get back to you on this :redface: I was touching the sides of the case heads, but... fred
 
Ditto for Covey Ridge...........One Time reload
I noticed that some U.S. threads claim that one could reload the Gold Medal with the same recipes as the Top Gun. I e-mailed Federal for their recipes and suggest you look at the GMs and Hunting loads that they send you in the mail. No recipe is identical.
 
With a little help from Claybuster (thank you) I finally got my act together and popped the primers from a bunch of cases then retested. The following were not magnetic; Federal Gold Medal, Remington Nitro, Winchester AA, Winchester AA HS. The following were magnetic; Federal Top Gun; Winchester Cheapies, Remington Gun Club, Kent Sporting, Rio Target, Clever Mirage 32 g Sporting and Clever Mirage 28 g new Super Trap. Real shame about the Kents and Mirage. I liked reloading them. Think I'm going to buy the good stuff from Winchester when I buy flats. If you are paying say $55 for a flat of cheapies and $75 for a flat of the good stuff, then you are paying 22 cents a shell for cheapies and 30 cents for the good stuff. You also get lots of good reloading with the good stuff. Feels like the cheap flats may be poor economy, especially if they don't pattern well.
 
Fred, I hadn't figured it out on an per shell basis but it occurs to me that once-fired premium 12 gauge hulls are selling for around 10 cents each and at 8 cents difference between the cheapies and premium you end up with good hulls to reload and unlike the ones picked up at the club you know where these ones have been.

I also don't buy the suggestion that there is velocity loss or poor patterning in properly made reloads. My own patterning and chrony testing shows that just isn't the case provided the hulls aren't loaded beyond a reasonable number of times.
 
Claybuster said:
Fred, I hadn't figured it out on an per shell basis but it occurs to me that once-fired premium 12 gauge hulls are selling for around 10 cents each and at 8 cents difference between the cheapies and premium you end up with good hulls to reload and unlike the ones picked up at the club you know where these ones have been.

I also don't buy the suggestion that there is velocity loss or poor patterning in properly made reloads. My own patterning and chrony testing shows that just isn't the case provided the hulls aren't loaded beyond a reasonable number of times.
Click to expand...

Yes, much like you suggest, the advantages of buying decent loads seems to more than outweigh the difference in price, especially if you are a reloader.
I've also done enough patterning over the past 10 months to think that poor patterning isn't a problem in hulls that I have reloaded a number of times, much like you have said. In fact, it has amazed me how good patterns have actually been with the odd chewed up hull that I have shot just for the fun of seeing what would happen. Mind you I am still working mostly from 24 yards to 36 yards, though I have done some testing at 40. Of course, there may be a whole new set of lessons further out than this. Apparently you find a lot more decent, heavy loads at the 27 yard line in trap. Fred
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom