Whats the differance in Winchester hulls ?

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Hi all. I am looking at getting into shotgun reloading( have reloaded over 10 rifle calibers for 20+ years). What is the difference between Winchester AA hulls , Super X hulls and the Universal ones. With several 5 gal pails of Universal hulls and Challenger hulls(all 2 3/4"),would like to know if the AA wads will work. Only place online I have found that sells the wads is Bass Pro.

Thanks for any info.
 
AA hulls are tapered and use different wads than straight walled hulls like Challenger. AA wads can be used in Universal hulls, but Universal hulls are not really designed to be reloaded.
Premium hulls like Winchester AA, Remington STS or Federal Gold Medal are the hulls of choice for reloading.
As a start, buy yourself the latest Lyman Shotshell Reloading Manual.
Lawry's and Hummason in Ontario sell almost all the wads you could ever want, at good prices. You can also find some wads at Gun Shows.
It is not economic to load target loads as the shot and components cost more than target loads on sale. Reloading premium plated shot hunting loads, black powder loads, small bore like 28 gauge, .410 and specialty loads like Bismuth shot are well worth the it economically.
 
In a nutshell there are straight walled hulls (Challenger) and tapered hulls (Winchester, STS). Recipes and wads are different- look at the claybuster wads website to get some ideas. Another ok resource is the hornady reloading website. I have found the Winchester super x and AA load with the same settings on my MEC, but the super x hulls do not reload nicely as the plastic is flimsy. It can be done but I'd strongly advise using the premium hulls and Lawry's or Hummason's for components.

Get a book- reloading shells is somewhat similar to brass cartridges but there are a lot more factors as you need to worry about such as stackups and crimps.
 
Dumpster dive at your local shotgun club and get you self some remington gun club hulls .they are the best of the cheaper promo hulls . And use the same data as the remington sts or nitro 27 hulls .the cheddite (challanger) and winchester universal hulls are not worth the trouble .
 
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Let's not forget the new Win HS hulls that need a totally different wad than the old AA's.............Harold
 
mbogo3 said:
Let's not forget the new Win HS hulls that need a totally different wad than the old AA's.............Harold
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The only AA hs hull that require a special wad is the 28ga and 410 . The 12 and 20 ga hs hull have the same capacity as the orginial cf AA hulls .
 
rembolt said:
The only AA hs hull that require a special wad is the 28ga and 410 . The 12 and 20 ga hs hull have the same capacity as the orginial cf AA hulls .
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They claim they have the same capacity, but anyone who has tried HS and CF hulls knows it isn't true. The HS hulls have slightly less capacity than the CF, some loads fit, some don't. The HS hulls are also shorter and require crimp adjustments to get a good crimp, or there could be holes in the crimp. Speaking to 12 and 20 gauge here, I have yet to load any others to compare.
 
I have loader thousands of both in 12 and 20 ga with out a problem . 1oz in 12 and 7/8oz in 20 . But I will agree that the cf 12 AA hulls do have a better crimp .
 
I load 12,20,28 +.410 so have a lifetime supply of of old AA hulls and wads for the first two and need to use HS for the smaller pair............Harold
 
mbogo3 said:
I load 12,20,28 +.410 so have a lifetime supply of of old AA hulls and wads for the first two and need to use HS for the smaller pair............Harold
Click to expand...

The prices for the old AA in 410 and 28ga have sure taken a jump when you can find them
For once in my life I was smart and when the HS talk started bought every old style aa and wad I could find in 410 and 28ga
Landed a nice load also to do me until I die when Irv's shooting closed out took all he had. I have guys now offering 50 cents a hull for the old style in 410
Cheers
 
Straight walled hulls have a separate base wad (plastic or paper) and are generally rather flimsy and can crumple when reloading.
Compression Formed hulls do not have a separate base wad and are tapered and stronger and do not crumple easily when reloading.
 
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