Just wondering if there is anyone one here close to Wilson, NC area that don't mind taking the time to show me the basics of Reloading. Want to start with shotgun as I inherited my grandpa's Reloading machine. It is old and hasn't been used for a while. Then I want to move into Reloading for my rifles. Thanks for any help.
Reloading newbie
- Thread starter JoeSam1975
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Charlie R
You can't take ammo home!
A good plan, shotgun is the easiest to learn on. I did, shotgun, then pistol, then rifle.
What make reloading press did you grandfather have? Mec is pretty straight forward, so are some others, but Ponsness Warren or Spolar can get a little hairy in the set up.
As a certified instructor I'll give you a couple of pieces of advice. Stick with a published receipe when loading shotshells, do not change ANY component!!! If your Grandfather's press is a Spolar or PW sell it and buy a Mec. The Spolar/PW will frustrate the hell out of you and you'll wind up quitting the hobby.
If you have questions don't hesitate to PM me......
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Shotgun shell reloading is very easy once you have assembled the correct (CORRECT) components that match exactly what the data specify. The data should give you the specific case, specific wad, specific primer, specific amount of shot, and specific type and amount of powder. As BB said, do not vary from the specific data you choose for your load. Do not substitute components. All cases are not the same. All wads are not the same.
Once you get the components specified in the data you are using, the rest of the process is fairly simple. Getting a good crimp can be a trick. A little bit of adjustment can make a big difference. I had a friend who was plagued by bad crimps and resorted to sealing some of his cases with candle wax. I turned one adjustment screw about a half of a turn, and he never had any problems again.
Since we rarely use fiber wads anymore, we do not have to worry about how much pressure we use to seat the wads.
Loading for rifles and handguns is not more difficult but is different.
Once you get the components specified in the data you are using, the rest of the process is fairly simple. Getting a good crimp can be a trick. A little bit of adjustment can make a big difference. I had a friend who was plagued by bad crimps and resorted to sealing some of his cases with candle wax. I turned one adjustment screw about a half of a turn, and he never had any problems again.
Since we rarely use fiber wads anymore, we do not have to worry about how much pressure we use to seat the wads.
Loading for rifles and handguns is not more difficult but is different.
That is true, but the pressure applied to the modern wads is not as critical as the pressure applied to the old fiber wads. Many of the data I used back in the 1960's included a pressure to apply to the wads, and my old 600 Jr had a scale on the tube drop so that you could set it for that specified pressure. I am not sure whether my Grabbers have the same scale. The modern wads, if used in the proper cases, just need to be seated firmly down onto the powder. I may be wrong but do not recall any recent data that provide pressures for the plastic cup wads almost universally used these days.
Most all of my books give a wad pressure that has been proven to accommodate the component column. I think all presses have a wad pressure scale, that's why it's there..... If pressure wasn't important they would delete the scale wouldn't they??
I suppose I just have not seen or noticed any pressure scales or pressure data lately.
edit: I checked three on line data sets from three different powder companies and found no wad pressure data on any of them.
edit: MEC does, indeed, still put pressure scales on their presses.
edit: I checked three on line data sets from three different powder companies and found no wad pressure data on any of them.
edit: MEC does, indeed, still put pressure scales on their presses.
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OP
Thanks for all the replies. I will unpack it and see what it is and go from there.
Charlie R
You can't take ammo home!
I agree with Bailey Boat here. I adjust wad pressure to fill out the shell properly AND I use it when tuning my loads so that all (.410, 28, 20, and 12) are running between 1150 and 1200 fps. Oddly enough I have fount that adjusting wad pressure can make small differences in actual measured muzzle velocity, but it can reduce variation in mszzle velocity significantly.
Of course I don't remember the last time I saw someone on the pattern board, much less with a chronograph set up. It is really only necessary for four gun skeet shooters or other shoot multiple gauges in competition.
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I have just started reloading shot shells and have noticed differences in crimp quality using different wads. First of all I am using a new to me 12 ga. MEC 600 Jr 82-85 model. It does have a wad pressure gauge but I don't know how to read it. I am using all of the crimp settings from the previous owner. I have used two types of wads so far, the Claybuster 2100 and the Winchester AA12, both with 1 oz. shot. I use the same amount of wad pressure on both wads. The Claybuster wad holds the 1 oz. shot perfectly up to the rim of the hull, and makes a perfect crimp. The AA12 wads, which say 1 0z. - 1 1/8 oz. on the bag, are not completely filled by the shot as the Claybuster wad leaving an unfilled area at the top of the hull, and does not make a nice crimp. I think they would be described as dished in. Is this what should be expected? Could I use less wad pressure on the WAA12 wads to help the situation? I also have a bag of overshot cards on order to perhaps use with the WAA12 wads. Both bags of wads came from the previous owner, so at this point I would repurchase the Claybusters but not the AA12.
The WW wads will hold 1 1/8 oz of shot, the CB's won't. Keep the WW's to load 1 1/8 and use the claybusters for 1 oz. There is no such thing as a "universal" wad. Follow the published recipe carefully as pressures can, and will change.
Go to the MEC website and download the manual for your machine and it will explain wad pressure and how to read and set the scale on the loader.
Go to the MEC website and download the manual for your machine and it will explain wad pressure and how to read and set the scale on the loader.