Substituting loads in a shotshell

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digitalblue

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I've been shooting a lot of buckshot lately and at ~$1 a round, I figured I'd load/cast my own. I have done some reading(lyman shotshell book, load data, etc) and it's heavily emphasized that loads should be followed to a T.

However, it seems that swapping loads(emptying out birdshot and stuffing a slug in) is also a commonly accepted practice as long as the weights aren't changed. Conventional wisdom would also say the powder and wad wouldn't know the difference between 1oz of birdshot and 1oz of buckshot so pressures should still be safe...

Would I be running much of a risk by replacing 7-1/2 shot with 9 pellets of 00?
 
Many times 9-00buck will not fit well in the existing shell, or I should say not well enough to get a decent crimp, and I'm thinking that a 1 oz. shotcup prolly won't do it, you may need a 1 1/8oz shot cup(wad) to do it.
 
digitalblue said:
I've been shooting a lot of buckshot lately and at ~$1 a round, I figured I'd load/cast my own. I have done some reading(lyman shotshell book, load data, etc) and it's heavily emphasized that loads should be followed to a T.

However, it seems that swapping loads(emptying out birdshot and stuffing a slug in) is also a commonly accepted practice as long as the weights aren't changed. Conventional wisdom would also say the powder and wad wouldn't know the difference between 1oz of birdshot and 1oz of buckshot so pressures should still be safe...

Would I be running much of a risk by replacing 7-1/2 shot with 9 pellets of 00?
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Commonly accepted by who??? I have my books for reloading bird shot and different books for reloading buckshot. Have not found any that match for 1oz loads.
 
This week I took delivery of my new "Sharpshooter" mould.
http://buckshotmold.com/

Mine is in size# "F" which I chose for use on Coyotes, a nice compromise between power and pellet count. Its dead easy to use and drops twenty pellets, just make sure you have the lead and mould very hot.
An observation, 1oz of pellets in nice layers of seven will not fit inside of a one ounce wad, but fits perfectly in a 1.1/8 wad. Its all the empty space around the pellets..

Now, you mention component substitution.. No manufacturer of firearms or reloading components will ever encourage this and the outcome of handloading is entirely upon your own shoulders. To muddy the waters further, there's a black art surrounding Cast boolits, slug and buckshot.
It can be and is done very safely, provided you use common sense and heightened caution.
 
I've done it. I load my own trap shells and also load in the same weight slug and buck shot the result is a slightly slower slug and a lot less recoil. My slug loads are 1650fps my skeet loads are 1375fps for 7/8oz loads
 
digitalblue said:
Commonly accepted as perceived by me(as seen in the first two posts).

Another example: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=492143

I don't have a problem loading by the books but I'd have to fire off all my target shells in order to reload them. If swapping payloads was safe enough, I could get double the amount of lead downrange...
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Yes sir I see now where you are coming from. I see your loads have been all pressure tested and safe to fire. I wish I could show you what is left of a club members hand and his gun after playing like this because that is what it is rolling the dice and praying it is ok.I reload a ton of shotgun in all gauges and cannot even add buffer to some loads since it will put the pressures well out of the safe ranges but you are Ok to add a solid projectile to save a few bucks.Good luck my friend and I hope you still have your fingers some day to type and tell us about the one that destroys your gun. Oh it will happen just a matter of time.Shot guns are not as forgiving to pressure increases as rifles are.
Bottom line if it is not a published pressure tested load it is not safe period. Take care
 
3macs1 said:
Yes sir I see now where you are coming from. I see your loads have been all pressure tested and safe to fire. I wish I could show you what is left of a club members hand and his gun after playing like this because that is what it is rolling the dice and praying it is ok.I reload a ton of shotgun in all gauges and cannot even add buffer to some loads since it will put the pressures well out of the safe ranges but you are Ok to add a solid projectile to save a few bucks.Good luck my friend and I hope you still have your fingers some day to type and tell us about the one that destroys your gun. Oh it will happen just a matter of time.Shot guns are not as forgiving to pressure increases as rifles are.
Bottom line if it is not a published pressure tested load it is not safe period. Take care
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Any particular reason for the sarcasm and snide remarks? I obviously care enough about my safety and the safety of others to ask questions before experimenting. Have I offended you by asking questions or do you simply feel your experience/superiority warrants the animosity as displayed in your post?
 
digitalblue said:
Any particular reason for the sarcasm and snide remarks? I obviously care enough about my safety and the safety of others to ask questions before experimenting. Have I offended you by asking questions or do you simply feel your experience/superiority warrants the animosity as displayed in your post?
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Yes just worried you will get hurt and I am hoping that maybe with snide remarks and sarcasm I may save you from a undesirable incedent. It is clear you just ignore what every reloading expert and component manufactirer has said about reloading which is only reload approved published loads from reputable sources. In 43 years of reloading I have seen what playing, yes playing with home configurations has done to individuals and guns on more than one occasion.
The common one is but I have done that many times and it was never a problem before as you are wrapping up what is left of their hand to stop the bleeding and they are lucky.
I will leave you with one thing to think about. If you could just exchange 1oz of no. 7 1/2 shot for a 1 oz lead ball why would the so many published lists not indicate that is acceptable practise.
No sir they say go to ther slug data section and reload based on that info.
In the end it is your gun, face and fingers I just hope an innocent person next to you is not hurt when you push the envelope too far and you will if you keep on this path.take care
Here is a winchester x3 barrel after firing a hot winchester load. Wonder what his hand looked like. At first they tried to say plugged barrel , rag etc but in the end nope too much pressure developed
normal_blown_barrel_1.jpg
 
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1shot said:
Based only on that picture I would suspect a barrel obstruction caused the burst, as it seems to have occured forward of the tube magazine.
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Yes normally I would agree with you but not in this case. There were a few barrels blown up and it was eventually linked to a hot batch of winchester expert ammo. Winchester actually paid 1/2 of the cost to replace the barrels.Here is another one, plus one on a 1187 etc.

I was standing next to snow duster when his barrel blew up
I am 100% positive that he hAd a falure in his shot shell
which was a Winchester expert
So after the episode of the explosion (very scary)
we cut one open and that thing was filled with nothing but odds and end chunks of steel
I will never forget the sound of that barrel blowing up
I have told everyone with in shouting distance to NEVER use Winchester shells
I swear the wad or the junk shot they used in that box of shells could have killed the snow duster
if you show up At my goose camp with Winchester shells you are sent home or you start coughing up the dough for my federalsA hot barrel and the fresh smell of burnt powder


It is more common than we think
another poor reload, he lost his left hand
http://www.huntthewest.com/updates2009/IDexplode.php
 
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