Wanted: 12ga reduced recoil 00 and slug data

[G.Mitchell]

So you guys were right. After only a month of modifying shells I picked up a reloading press.

I picked up an MEC Sizemaster.

I am currently casting my own soft 1oz Lee slugs and will be casting my own buckshot from wheel weights.

I hope to have as few components on hand as possible, I have a few questions:

1) Is there a cup/wad that can be used for both Lee 1oz slugs and buckshot?

2) I have read about using slightly undersized OO buck in a standard cup, which Lee mold would that be?

3) I want to load reduced recoil loads for both slug and buck, where can I find data on reduced recoil loads?

Here is where things get a little trickier.

I have on hand material for slugs/buck

Locally the only range pickup hull I can find worth reloading are Remington Gun Clubs.

Locally the powder carried is Alliant and locally primers are CCI 209 shotgun

Wads/Cups are pretty much just Winchester with a few Remington

I have searched online and in a few manuals but I can't find reduced recoil published data.

Can you guys help me find published data and let me know which Lee mold I need for Buckshot so it fits in a standard cup/wad that can also be used with Lee 1oz slugs

Thanks

Any you all were right... Was only time until I got a press. I think I held out a full month almost.

 

[R&R Rancher]

I'll start by saying that I've never reloaded slugs or buckshot. I have reloaded a lot of target and hunting loads. With those it is an accepted practice to reduce the powder charge on a given load to reduce muzzle velocity and therefore recoil. Reducing the powder charge lowers chamber pressure so this is a safe thing to do. Just remember that it is not a linear relationship.

Look through all the data you can. If you don't have it, get a hold of a copy of the Lyman's 5th shotshell reloading book. There is a subforum on shotgunworld dedicated to shooting slugs, check it out. From what I've been told Alliant's help line is superb, so you may want to give them a call

If you still haven't found a load you are happy with then try this. Pick a load with your components, preferably one with a HIGH chamber pressure. Now reduce that charge by 1 or 2 grains and load a few samples. See what your recoil is like. How dirty is the barrel? If you want, reduce your charge again and try more samples. Powder needs pressure to burn clean and not give bloopers. If you started with a low pressure load you may cross that line before you are happy with your results.

HTH

 

[G.Mitchell]

Anyone here reloading reduced recoil loads?

Anyone?

 

[hk33ka1]

I have just loaded normal loads the same or similar to those in manual. I haven't seen any reduced ones in my data, but then again I didn't look for those or experiment on my own with any.

 

[Spawn-Inc]

load using 9 pellet recipes and use 8 + some buffer, i use cream of wheat. stack them in 2's and they will fit nicely in the wads.

here are 2 recipes i used and the hs-6 i believe was pretty soft out of my 12" coach gun.

700-x 2 3/4" - 16 gr - 8 pellet

HS-6 2 3/4" - 33 gr - 8 pellet

i used federal hulls (from the 175 ammo cans as they are high brass, 1 piece) and winchester WAA12 wads

 

[LUTNIT]

I can never find the exact components that reloading manuals call for so I just develop my own shotgun loads based on what I can find locally.

For hulls I use Federal high brass, Winchester AA, and Remington Gun Club interchangeably with no noticeable differences.
For wads I use orange and red Winchester (1-1/8oz and 1-3/4oz I believe but am not 100% sure - Winchester red are hard to find but Claybusters makes a good substitute).
For primers I prefer CCI 209M but have used Cheddite 209's without noticeable difference.
For powders I use Alliant Bluedot, Unique, and Reddot.

Winchester factory 1oz slugs advertised as 1600fps only chrony 1450fps out of my Rem 870 (18" barrel). The slug-barrel contact also causes quite a bit of leading in even a smooth bore with the factory rifled slugs.
The buckshot can only be stacked in layers of 2 inside the shotcup (for a total of 8 pellets). There is no Lee mould for undersized 00 buck pellets. Factory 00 buck ammo is often actually in between 0 and 00 in size; not something easily found. You could try 0 buck but Lee doesn't make a mould for it (only 4, 00, and 000).

My old go-to Bluedot load was 40gr, orange wad, Lee 1oz slug. It only shoots about 1350fps but leaves a lot of carbon fouling. Since testing Reddot and Unique loads I can get cleaner results with similar, or higher, velocities.
One light load I use is 20gr of Reddot, orange wad, 1oz Lee slug. This chronies about 1200fps. The Reddot can be swapped with 25gr of Unique and has pretty much the same velocity but leaves a lot more carbon fouling.
My usual slugs are the same components but 25gr of Reddot or 30gr of Unique which yields about 1400fps. They have noticeably less recoil than Winchester factory slugs but not by much.
My full power slug loads use 30gr of Reddot or 40gr of Unique and the orange wad swapped for a red so there is more room for the powder. This delivers 1550fps out of the same barrel. This load may not be safe in all shotguns, I claim no liability.

For 8 pellet 00 buckshot (Lee mould) I use 40gr of Bluedot, red wad, and cream of wheat buffer. This yields somewhere around 1500fps and patterns about 3/4" per yard (unbuffered it's about 1" per yard).
A reduced recoil 8 pellet 00 buckshot load I use is 25gr of Unique, orange wad, and cream of wheat buffer. This chronies around 1200fps.

Claybuster orange wad (clone of the Winchester orange):

Claybuster red wad (again, clone):

I have never gotten Lee cast slugs in wads to group anything except horrible in a rifled barrel. With the pedals cut off it's even worse. In a smooth bore they are about on par with factory rifled slugs (3-4" at 50 yards off hand with only a front bead).

Bluedot, being a slow magnum shotgun powder, is much safer to experiment with really large loads than Reddot or Unique. I have loaded up to something like almost 80gr of Bluedot under a slug. The recoil was punishing, there was a huge fireball out of the muzzle, the accuracy was garbage, but there was no pressure signs at all. I didn't just jump to 80gr but worked up in 5gr increments from my old standard load of 40. I stopped at 80gr because the shortest wads I had (WAA12R, red Winchester) would barely crimp. My most recent horribly failed test load was 60gr of Bluedot under a 2oz wax slug (the data was from a loading manual but for a 3-1/2" hull and no wax; with the wax slug and no crimp it fits in a 3" hull.) I'm 6'3" and 260lbs and well braced for heavy recoil when testing; I was still knocked back a step and had a bruised shoulder. The wax failed at whatever velocity it was and the payload came out as a mix of birdshot and shredded wax. Again though, no pressures signs (no popped primer, not a hard extract, no torn hull; it was as if I had fired a factory buckshot or slug shell.)