Another .577 plastic hulls thread

migrant hunter

migrant hunter

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Read a few threads and don't see the answer. If I go hillbilly with 24 gauge plastic hulls and BP, can I reload them oevr again? I have loaded BP in 12 gauge shells before, but I always threw them away after one shot and just picked up more at the range. I thought plastic shells could'nt be fired more than once with black, is that an old wives tale?
 
It depends on the condition of your guns chamber. I've re-used them in the past, however I have also shot them from Sniders which had sloppy chambers and it bulged the base, rendering them as garbage.....
 
I have reloaded plastic 12 guage shells with black powder a moderate amount. The outside of my shells have a tendency to get a rough partially melted surface but neither stick in the chamber nor coat the chamber. I would think you could reload plastic shells several times without problems. There are significant differences between different brands and the plastic they use; you would have to try reloading and see how yours work. Your concern should be whether there are signs of the base wad coming loose or the brass outer portion separating from the plastic. Cosmetic issues with the outside of the shell are unimportant. Paper shells by the way are much less durable and after about 2 or 3 shots, the powder granules starting coming through the paper and the head begins separating.

cheers mooncoon
 
This summer I shot my Snider a lot.

I used plastic shot hulls with 2f black powder and loaded them with between 60 and 70 grains. I only had 24 of the hulls so I kept reloading 10 of them again and again. I did so partly because I wanted to play with the old girl but mainly I wanted to see with my own eyes how long they would last.

I've reloaded them (have to check my notes) at least 10 times and I've yet to have one fail while fired. But that being said my gun has a tight chamber so they really don't buldge. You have to insert them with a good push and extraction is done with care so the claw doesnt skip over the rim. There has been 2 that I've thrown out because the primer pocket was starting to get sloppy so I figured better safe then sorry. I threw one out because it looked like the plastic may have been starting to separate from the base.

The main thing I figured out during the experiment was that after that many firings there becomes a distinct extractor bulge on the base of the cartridge so they will only chamber if you index them properly. I couldn't figure it out tip one day I got one to chamber after fussing with it. I then realized that there was a buldge and it I lined it up correctly it would insert into the chamber enough to close the breach.

It's been my experience that plastic hulls can be reloaded many times but only if you clean and inspect them with great care. If fir any reason you think one may fail, toss it out. Better safe then sorry!!
 
the down side of plastic cases is they are thick and in turn you can really fit anything bigger then .580" in them and with the sinder liking bullets anywhere from .585" to .600"(.590" being most common) it leaves room for improvement. best is to get the dies form some brass fire form them make a indexing mark and forget
 
Antiqueguy,

I've been shooting round balls patched up to .580" with the plastic hulls. The largest bullet I've ever shot out of my 3 band was .592"

But that being said I don't think my gun would chamber a .600" round ball as the chamber is way too tight.

I'll have to get some and try.
 
Tinman204 said:
Antiqueguy,

I've been shooting round balls patched up to .580" with the plastic hulls. The largest bullet I've ever shot out of my 3 band was .592"

But that being said I don't think my gun would chamber a .600" round ball as the chamber is way too tight.

I'll have to get some and try.
Click to expand...

some can some can't I've found a .590" cast in pure lead works well in my cadet in that im using magtech 24ga cases fire formed the are thin and can handle a bigger bullet .600" is pushing it in most sniders but it works for some now that said these are pure lead round balls conical bullets .585"-.595" are what most are using
 
In my limited experience , what I have found , is that Goex 1F powder burns pinholes through the sides of the plastic cases.
The holes are always in a straight line , on the bottom of the chamber where the larger granules settle + smolder.
About 75% of my plastic cases had pin holes after their first firing with 1F .
I then tryed Goex 2F , and all 20 plastic cases tested were fine , with no holes after one firing.
The smaller granulation size seemed to make the difference , and worked better for me with the plastic hulls.
I just cut down a bunch of 24 gauge plastic hulls last night . Trimmed to length for the snider.
Looking forward to the spring and the smell of black powder.
 
antiqueguy said:
some can some can't I've found a .590" cast in pure lead works well in my cadet in that im using magtech 24ga cases fire formed the are thin and can handle a bigger bullet .600" is pushing it in most sniders but it works for some now that said these are pure lead round balls conical bullets .585"-.595" are what most are using
Click to expand...

My Snider shot a 0.590" Mini-Ball well, but I found that a 0.600" Round Ball shot just as well. I had to cut the length of the Magtech 24 ga brass or Fiocchi 24 ga plastic back for it to chamber. Just press the ball in place and dab Alox on the exposed surface. No need to ever re-size the brass and I could even reload at the range with pre-lubed balls and a Lee Loaded type of decapper.
 
I'm curious: for these shells, what case length is being used? In my 1969 edition of COW there is 1 7/8", and 2". I realize this is not that much of a difference.
Is it just a question of what fits any particular rifle?
 
most trim to 1.90"- 2" I think the 1 7/8" is a .57 snider and the .577 snider is going to be around 2" plenty of old cases to base your length on but no trimmers in sight for something that big. I use a piece of hardened 413 tubing and a file to get my final length and a pipe cutter to trim the bulk this is on 24ga magtech brass I have some old stuff along with new soild head cases from cut down .577 nitro
 
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