Reloading for trap

[mikey_10]

Ok, I am considering reloading for target shooting. I have never talked to anyone about it before. From what I have read, you should keep your spent shells after use to reload them (as opposed to the expensive alternative of repeatedly purchasing new hulls), but does this mean you have to pick them up off the ground? Is that not a "no-no" at most clubs?
So my question is, how do you keep the hulls?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[Claybuster]

It depends on the club. Where I shoot the club asks you to pick up your hulls. If someone leaves an AA or STS hull on the ground it usually gets scooped up (sometimes by me).

At other clubs the rule is that any hull that hits the ground is automatically considered the property of the club. This rule was put in place to prevent delays or interference with squads as they wait for shooters to pick up their empties and to dissuade hull vultures who will pounce on once-fired hulls.

You don't see to many hull vultures any more with availability of low cost 12 gauge shells. But they will make an appearance if someone is shooting factory Winchester or Remington 28 gauge or .410 and not picking up their hulls.

 

[hr]

at my club it depends,
-some guys that shoot O/U, put their hands over the ejectors to catch the hulls and put it in their pockets to take home to reload
-some guys that shoot semi/pump put a catch by the ejection port to 'catch' the hulls, and puts them in their pockets to take home to reload...
-at the end of the day we go around to clean up the stations and put all the collected hulls in a big garbage can, in there its a free for all, take what you like, as its going into the garbage anyways....

 

[mikey_10]

thanks guys!
what's the average useful life of a hull?

 

[Claybuster]

Not all hulls are alike and reloading longevity isn't consistent and depends on the hull, gauge and load. I generally reload Winchester AA hulls (old style) 5 or 6 times, Remington STS will go about 10. I have also reloaded Challenger (Cheddite) hulls but only 2 or 3 times because of the two-piece construction. Any hull that shows splits or cracks also gets tossed.

But I've seen guys load hulls until they were practically falling apart.

 

[bmcrae]

But I've seen guys load hulls until they were practically falling apart.

I shoot old style 20ga AAs (for skeet) until the crimp blows off. I can crimp them good enough with my 9000 to get sufficient pressure 98 out of 100 times. Good enough for practice, but not competition.

If you just lose 'a leaf' out of the crimp, you can still load it, but the chances of spilling lead (and causing a mess and time dealy) increases significantly.

Brad.

 

[the rifleman]

I.ve never shot at a club yet that won't let you pick through the hulls at the end of the day, or even in some cases, after a round of trap has been shot. In the big competitions, usually the next squad is ready to come up and shoot, so you best wait till the shootings done for the day. At the practise traps, I can pick up as many as I can manage before the next shooters go up. Thankfully the remingtons are the only green hulls on the market, so they are easy to spot..

 

[dirtytwo]

Reloading can be a rewarding experience and can pass the time on a rainy day or in the dead of winter when the club is closed. But you won't save much money doing it, actually probably none as you'll just end up shooting more for the same money. But do your research, get an experienced (and safe) reloader to show you their set-up and to give you advice when you're starting because reloading can also be dangerous. I've been reloading on a Dillon SL900 for a few years and even with such an advanced machine you can sometimes still make mistakes!

As for picking-up hulls at the club, remember that not all hulls are the same quality, I only reload AA or STS (haven't tried Federal GMs), because they have ample published reloading data, and I only reload those hulls that I've personnaly fired! This is important because what may appear to you as being a once-fired shell on the ground may have already been reloaded a few too many times (I've had to tell people picking up my AAs off the ground that I've left them there for a reason such as stress lines on the hull from the reloader or that the primer pocket has become too loose). Many cheaper factory promo loads use hulls that are not recommended for reloading and it's also hard finding published data on these "mystery" hulls given their unpublished case capacities.

My $0.02

 

[mikey_10]

thanks dirty!

 

[Simple Simon]

I used to reload all my trap loads on a lee load all 2..... sure it was a time consuming task but it was nothing to load 1000 rnds over a two week period.

If I remember correctly, I used pink winchester wads, 1oz of shot, and reddot powder (17 or 18 grains) and winchester 209 primers.

usually when I got home from shooting I would size and deprime everything and wipe clean any that where excessivly dirty, throw them in a bucket and wait till I had 250 to reload so I could do a case at a time....

then it is simple to prime, charge, shotcup, shot and crimp.... you really learn how to care for your loads loading like that and you visually inspect every round.

word to the wise though is leave the primer feed in the box, I would just set a box of primers on the desk so I just push the shotshell onto to them to semi seat the primer and then finish seating it in the press.

 

[beretta boy]

Most start out with the tried & true MEC 600 Jr. - generally, no problem at all to load 200 rounds an hour if you pay attention to the loading, and not to everything on your bench, your coffee, your cell phone or any other distractions !!!

Used one (a fore-runner) in 12ga. and another in 20 ga. for years. I bought them brand new for $55 bucks apiece ... ( I did say years ! ) but upgraded in time to the newer models. You can add a few accessories like the bigger shot & powder bottles and auto-primer feed to speed things up a little. A powder baffle also helps to give more consistant powder charges.

In time, I moved up to a MEC 9000G progressive press when I was shooting a lot of .410. Considerable quicker as this machine self-indexes the shell to the next station, and after about 6 pulls of the handle, a finished reload then drops down the eject tray every time you pull the handle ( besides pulling the handle, one needs insert an empty and a wad each pull of the handle ).

The next upgrade was to a Ponsness-Warren ( or P-W ) 950 Elite Grand. Always liked the looks of these presses since I first saw an older version c.1968 or so, so I thought, WHY NOT !. Great piece of equipment. Well made, well-machined and turns out 500 - 12 ga. rounds an hour easily, with no problems at all in the 6 or 7 years I've had it. Biggest challenge seems to be able to keep up to the primer, powder & shot feed requirements !!!
It holds 300 primers, a full bag of shot and easily a pound of powder ... but at the rate you can load, it doesn't take long to run out. Generally, by the time you get down to about 50 primers ( the tray's empty, but not the track ) it's time to replenish everything anyway.

Save money ??? Maybe a little, but you get to shoot a lot more. Only takes a half-hour or so before you go to the Club to load up all the shells you need. If it's a little more than 3 or 4 rounds, sit down for an hour and you can crank out a couple of flats in a hurry.

Highly recommended as part of the shooting experience, unless you make so much an hour you can not afford the time to reload. In that case, send someone out to buy your shells for you 40 or 60 flats at a time !

 

[North of 58]

North of 58

Our club has cases of once fired AA and Remington Gun Club hulls. Nobody reloads so we just gather them up and store them. The empty boxes and cases too. If anyone is interested PM me and I'll find out what the club wants for them.

 

['Boo]

As for picking-up hulls at the club, remember that not all hulls are the same quality, I only reload AA or STS (haven't tried Federal GMs), because they have ample published reloading data,

The Federal Gold medal is a very good hull for reloading. I use the Winchester pink wad and 1 oz of shot over 700X powder. A nice mild load with low recoil. These hulls seem to last forever.