reloading walmart win hulls

bruno

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can the cheap shells from walmart be reloaded? Just curious as i'd like to try these first before i go and reload 3" shells. also, is there a press out there to reload 3.5" shells with steel? Which manual would be the best to start with?
 
It's a good idea not to reload steel bases as they will split and crack before brass thins and stretches.

That being said I have reloaded cheap steel based trap shells and haven't had any problems. I only reloaded them once with a reasonable trap load and checked them for stress fractures in advance.
 
I reloaded those Win hulls for a while, but I found they kept wanting to crush along the shell body. Too much of a pain to bother. I use Federal hulls now, more rigid case body.
 
Maybe they crush because they don't have the vertical ridges like the Federal shells.

As for manuals I just look at the online Powder companies info, it's free and gives you some good ideas.
 
Those cheap hulls aren't any good for first fire let alone reloads. Stick to brass based hulls like Federal or Remington.
 
Maybe they crush because they don't have the vertical ridges like the Federal shells.

As for manuals I just look at the online Powder companies info, it's free and gives you some good ideas.

Yeah, that's what I figured, plus the plastic is more flexible.
I'm using a Lyman manual, but can't remember the book number....
 
A lot of those "brass based" shells are actually just brass plated steel. Just food for thought...
The bases of Winchester AA, Remington STS and Federal Gold Medal are brass. Pop the primer and check them with a magnet to confirm.
 
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I have four reloads on the case of hulls I bought last year from wallyworld. It looks like the crimps might crack off before the steel bases fail, so I might start roll crimping them with pumpkin slugs.

They're very mild steel bases, and quite soft and pliable. I do have to size them every time, unlike my brass based hulls, where I don't bother.

I've heard alot of moaning about different hulls, but I'm not seeing alot of difference myself, when patterning. What I'm seeing on the paper (free at my club, thank god), is that wad selection, and a good consistent crimp seems to be the two keys to getting good patterns*.

*except for my buckshot loads, where using ground plastic buffer made all the difference in the world; even as close as 20 yards which was a surprise. I have also found that using the buffer has reduced leading that I get when using the softer alloys that I'm getting now from the cable sheathing and roofing flashing. That's a very good thing for me as I cast my own buckshot and buying hardening alloys from rotometals adds up pretty quickly on a students budget.
 
I have four reloads on the case of hulls I bought last year from wallyworld. It looks like the crimps might crack off before the steel bases fail, so I might start roll crimping them with pumpkin slugs....

so to speak, isn't it better to use fired 3.5" to reload as 3" or 2 3/4" to avoid crimping at the same place?
 
Pumpkin slugs are just a .690 pure lead roundball over a fiber wad, or a plastic wad with the petals cut off. They're really short, about 2 inches and a bit or so depending on what you use.

I use a 2 3/4 " shell with the crimps and a bit extra snipped off and a plastic shotcup with the petals clipped off. If I could find a reliable source of short fiber wads in canada, I could probably make up 1 3/4 inchers.I've also given some thought to a steel shotcup which might work well too.

The shorties feed just fine in win 1300's which is what I have but I've heard they don't always do so well in 870's and mossy's.
 
bobby,

A while back I got a bunch of felt wads from trackofthewolf com... Not sure if they still ship to Canada.

wads_1.jpg



** EDIT **
Just called them... they ship to Canada no problem :)
 
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