[prof_fate]

Loaded lots of pistol and some rifle. Simple..well, once you get the hang of it.

Now I'm into cowboy action shooting and want to reload 12 ga shells. Not a lot of savings, but I enjoy reloading.

Crap...it's way more complex than reloading brass.

You must stick with exact formulas..most say even down to the primer used.

What case you have is where to start, I guess. But the mix of powder and shot load determine what wad you need so it fills the case and will crimp properly.

And unlike pistol seems every shotgun load is after the same FPS. I want a light load...not sure if I can reduce the load or not.

Now the issue I'm stuck at is - with so many exact components needed and the difficulty in getting stuff these days, how they hell are you supposed to pick a load?

I got AA shells. fine. I want 3/4 or 7/8 (or worst case 1oz) load of 7 to 9 shot. Shot I can get locally, no problem.

Powder..what they have today they may not have tomorrow. Primers? Only thing local is some brand I've never heard of. Hmm...may not be a big issue.
Wads have to match the powder and load...so do I order them first, last, base my load on what i can find...

Just a bit overwhelmed to start.
And I only have one book (of 5) that lists any shotgun loads at all.
Then when I get this figgered out I have to order the bar and bushing for the mec 600.

 

[Knightslugger]

lol i've never really paid much attention to the wad. i just bought a bunch of Winchester yellows and whites and use blue dot or unique or hell just about any pistol powder, and use it. don't even care much about speed. i figure the speed is what it is, and relate it to shelf loads. if it feels close in recoil, probably close in velocity. i shoot in a rifle rated for 3 1/2" mags so there's a reason i don't really care.

 

[rayikeo2]

lol i've never really paid much attention to the wad. i just bought a bunch of Winchester yellows and whites and use blue dot or unique or hell just about any pistol powder, and use it. don't even care much about speed. i figure the speed is what it is, and relate it to shelf loads. if it feels close in recoil, probably close in velocity. i shoot in a rifle rated for 3 1/2" mags so there's a reason i don't really care.

Don't listen to this guy if you like having your right hand and shooting eye.....

First before buying any components at all, buy a shotshell reloading book that has loads listed for all the main shotshell brands/cases. Find load data for AA cases (or whatever case you now have) read down to the lead weight you want to load. ie 1 oz or 1 1/8 oz then see recommended list of powders and wads for that load in that case. Go buy only those listed. Match wad, powder and primer. Take them home and load up 2 or 3 to see how tight/well the finished crimp is. If the finished product looks like factory and is exactly to the specs in the book, then test fire those to see how they shoot and pattern. If you like the results, load up more, if not, select another load.

I have a load all kinds of hunting loads in all brands of cases for 30 years. Target loads are just as easy, but you have to go by the book, on all components.

 

[prof_fate]

Sounds good..but getting the specific mix of components has me concerned.

The few loads I've looked at, since I have a speicifc use and load I'd like to duplicate, and it's not trap or skeet, I'm fearin' I'm gonna have a hell of a time getting what I need.

How much diff are primers, for shotgun use? I know there are differences in pistol, but at light loads (not max) it's not an issue to be concerened with. Around here winchester primers (for pistol/rifle) are what you see 90% of the time. I got some CCI when win's were scarce and I've never even seen federals.

My fav pistol powder is MIA so I'm converting to BE..fine for 38 but not ideal for 9. But not a big sacrifice.

 

[Knightslugger]

Don't listen to this guy if you like having your right hand and shooting eye.....

true story. seriously, I am chalk full of bad advice.

Drive across the country in the back of your dad's truck. feel the breeze, forget the seatbelts.
Consume large quantities of energy drinks.
trust a fart, especially when you're older.
never gamble with someone else's money. always use your own.

 

[rayikeo2]

Good powder for shotgun loads is Longshor or Unique, but the book will give you a list of powders for your case. Try to find 1 of those. The wad determined the final crimp and can't be changed by new reloaders. Everything fits togather for a reason.

 

[ironmike1378]

true story. seriously, I am chalk full of bad advice.

Drive across the country in the back of your dad's truck. feel the breeze, forget the seatbelts.
Consume large quantities of energy drinks.
trust a fart, especially when you're older.
never gamble with someone else's money. always use your own.

HA...thats great advice!:lol:

 

[M1A4ME]

Get another reloading manual, or two, with shotgun loads in them.

One of the reasons the shotgun stuff seems more complicated is that the inside of the casings can be different. Some have a higher internal "base" than others. This reduces the internal volume and requires different shot cups/wads. Some are longer (for cases with a low internal base) and some are shorter (for cases with higher internal bases).

There used to be a couple different sized primers because some cases had smaller, or larger, diameter holes in the base. I have no clue why but I know some Remington cases used different sized primers from other Remington cases.

My dad started reloading shotgun shells back in 1972 and shot reloads for the rest of his life (as did the rest of us). His powder stores consisted of Red Dot, Blue Dot, Herco, Green Dot and a couple IMR powders with 4 digit numbers behind the IMR (but he didn't use much of the IMR powders).

You can find a lot of data on the internet. Alliant and Hogden/Winchester/IMR both have websites that list all kinds of loads for their powders. Check them out.

If you're going to buy a reloading manual, look at a Lyman manual. My (really old) Lyman manual has more info in it than any of my other manuals.

I've not looked at the MEC web site (I need to as my dad gave me a complete MEC reloading set up and I need to go through the stuff to see how many bushings/bars, etc. are in the foot locker) to see what, if any pieces I need. That website may list bushings/bars, etc. and the amounts of shot/powder each dispenses when the bar is moved back and forth. I know dad had a folded chart with such a list/chart on it that showed which bushing to use to get a certain "dram equivalent" of different powders.