minimalistic reloading 12g

Evil_Edie

Evil_Edie

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Hi so i've recently decided that i would try reloading shells for my 12g. Not just that i wanted to try doing it in the most minimalistic manner possible. I have taken on the Nail and Dowel method as a base and know generally the steps to get it done. what i'm more concerned with is materials and safety.

my setup assumes that i have absolutely nothing pre-made except the following:
- powder (smokeless)
- primers
- empty shell
- some implement by which to safely measure a charge

what can or should i use to make my wad? how should i or should i compress the powder? How would you do it?
 
thanks blue steel, his video is where i got the idea to try it. but if i recall in his video he has mostly premade commercial materials. I'm looking to try and reload from the stand point that ever gun store is now nothing but a crater, i'm the last man on earth, and all i have is my spent shells, some primers and a can of powder.

thing said:
You want one of these; http://www.ebay.ca/itm/VINTAGE-12-G...372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cce820984

I have one in 16ga, it's slow as all hell but it works great.
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i've looked at those too, and will probably try and get my hands on one. however that still begs the question of materials. Tools aren't a problem as i've already gathered the things i'll need as per the nail and dowel method.
 
I think your first step would be to purchase or make a wad punch, which you will need for cushion wads and over shot wads. If you are loading with black powder, then, yes, compress your powder a bit. If smokeless, don't worry about it. I would also look at making shot and powder measures. This would be easiest done by cutting off old shotshells and playing with volume, cutting down until you achieve the desired volumes. With black, and only with black, remember that best patterns seem to run along the lines of equal volume of powder and shot. Hand roll crimping is the easiest and best, but if you are trying to stay away from man-made gadgets, you could keep the hulls straight and pour some sort of glue over the top wad to seal it in. Passable swan shot could be made as well by pouring molten lead through a sieve into diesel fuel, allowing a decent drop height.
 
gabrielguitars said:
I think your first step would be to purchase or make a wad punch, which you will need for cushion wads and over shot wads. If you are loading with black powder, then, yes, compress your powder a bit. If smokeless, don't worry about it. I would also look at making shot and powder measures. This would be easiest done by cutting off old shotshells and playing with volume, cutting down until you achieve the desired volumes. With black, and only with black, remember that best patterns seem to run along the lines of equal volume of powder and shot. Hand roll crimping is the easiest and best, but if you are trying to stay away from man-made gadgets, you could keep the hulls straight and pour some sort of glue over the top wad to seal it in. Passable swan shot could be made as well by pouring molten lead through a sieve into diesel fuel, allowing a decent drop height.
Click to expand...

interesting, what materials would you suggest making the wads out of, in particular the cushion wad? as per the swan shot, interesting proposal but i'm gonna go ahead and avoid dropping molten metals into flammable liquids. it may be safe with diesel but it just seems like a bad habit to get into.
 
Evil_Edie said:
interesting, what materials would you suggest making the wads out of, in particular the cushion wad? as per the swan shot, interesting proposal but i'm gonna go ahead and avoid dropping molten metals into flammable liquids. it may be safe with diesel but it just seems like a bad habit to get into.
Click to expand...

Almost anything will work for wads that'll fit down the shell, felt is best, but you have to make sure it's pure wool felt which is hard to find and usually expensive. You don't want any fabric with artificial fibers in as they will melt and gum up your barrel something fierce.

Easiest and cheapest way is to buy proper black powder wads, I get mine here: http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=22_99_316&osCsid=6ro00prf3qqlrrf0pbhg5vg2e4

The standard load is powder, nitro card, cushion wad, shot, overshot card. You can play around with these some, my 16ga doesn't like the nitro card so I omit it.

If you want to avoid the hassle of crimping you can just push down your overshot card and glue it in with some contact cement. That's how I seal my brass shells.

More info on how to load; http://www.tbullock.com/bpsg.html
 
I have reloaded black powder 12ga by sizing and priming using my Lee Load All II, then cutting the end of the hull of with scizzors charging with black powder, cutting carboard wads from pizza box or MRE box charging shot with a Lee shot scoop. then another cardboard wad and some melted wax and or slight crimp start from Lee Load All.
 
so the key is to avoid materials which melt at lower temperatures. So it sounds to me like the only thing i need now is a wad punch and if i can find one a crimp starter.

thanks for all the info Thing

silly question but what kind of primers will i need to buy? do they have a particular name or numbering?
 
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