Reloading your own cartridges.

[resnikov]

Just been given a Lee Load all so thinking of having a go at reloading my own cartridges. Some #7 shot came with it but no primers, powder or wads.

Does anyone reload their own?

Is any powder better then others?

Any thing I need to be aware of?

 

[santaman2000]

Once you've gotten a loading manual You'll be able to get the loading data from the included charts. They will specify various loads using different powders. The best powder to choose will depend on how many calibers and/or bore sizes you own and intend to reload for. For example My guns include two different center-fire rifle calibers, and five different center-fire handgun calibers. Thus I try to choose powders that are appear in the loading data of as many different calibers (that I own) as I can so that I'm able to use the same powder for multiple calibers and simplify my logistics.

I own shotguns of three different gauges (bores) but I've never reloaded for shotguns yet. That said, the same logic should apply. Hope this helps.

If British Red isn't here soon, you might want to drop him a PM.

 

[FGYT]

you need to be careful from what ive seen (going to be reloading soon ) waiting for some UK made reloading stuff of the group buy here

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121717

make sure the data you have matches the cartridge case make etc or you can get nasty pressure problems Get a Manual and make sure you can get the components it uses

i will be buying a big load at het shooting show in a couple of weeks for 10bore and .410

probably from these guys http://claygame.co.uk/ 10kg of no6 shot should give me 300 32gm loads

 

[Buckshot]

In the past I've reloaded handgun, rifle and shotgun ammo
Since you're talking of No 7 shot I assume you're talking about shotgun
Easy enough to do, a few more bits like the wad to play around with but not difficult
The only problem we had was occasionally we'd loose some of the shot where the crimping didn't quite meet properly
maybe a disc of paper will solve that

As with all reloading be very careful, don't smoke etc!
Start with a light load and work up to a working load. Don't be tempted to start off high just in case the powder gauge is wrong. Might be worth if you can double checking the scales to make sure you are loading 10 grains instead of 100 (or 1!)

Enjoy

 

[FGYT]

In the past I've reloaded handgun, rifle and shotgun ammo
Since you're talking of No 7 shot I assume you're talking about shotgun
Easy enough to do, a few more bits like the wad to play around with but not difficult
The only problem we had was occasionally we'd loose some of the shot where the crimping didn't quite meet properly
maybe a disc of paper will solve that

As with all reloading be very careful, don't smoke etc!
Start with a light load and work up to a working load. Don't be tempted to start off high just in case the powder gauge is wrong. Might be worth if you can double checking the scales to make sure you are loading 10 grains instead of 100 (or 1!)

Enjoy

the lee load all is a Shotgun press has a shot and powder bar (so no scales once set) looks and feels mickey mouse but supposed to be quite effective and only £50 ish new has multi stages


random you tube vid
[video=youtube;rgA4i9l_QCE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgA4i9l_QCE[/video]

 

[santaman2000]

You'll still want to check the weight every dozen rounds or so to be sure the set hasn't shifted.

 

[zornt]

As suggested get yourself a loading manual or two and read them like a text book not a novel.
Take a piece if chalk and write the words SAFETY and PATIENCE on the wall or a board by your loading area, and refer to them often
Donot smoke around powder, and I highly recomend that you be sober when you reload.
I have loaded around 10,000 rounds of various calibers , unfortunately quite a lot of them under the influence, and have had only 1 misfire. I consider myself very lucky that I didn't harm myself or others when I was loading STUPID!

 

[mrcharly]

I believe black powder is loaded by volume instead of by weight. Why is it that modern propellant has to be weighed? Are the Grain shapes complex so you can get settling? Or is it that the volume is so low that small variations produce large changes in amount of propellant?

 

[British Red]

You can load by volume, Lee sell scoops for the purpose. Each powder weight /volume is specific to a calibre, projectile weight and shape. Smokeless is vastly smaller in volume and much faster reacting than black powder, so small volume changes can have huge pressure implications.

 

[santaman2000]

I believe black powder is loaded by volume instead of by weight. Why is it that modern propellant has to be weighed? Are the Grain shapes complex so you can get settling? Or is it that the volume is so low that small variations produce large changes in amount of propellant?

Exatly.

You can load by volume, Lee sell scoops for the purpose. Each powder weight /volume is specific to a calibre, projectile weight and shape. Smokeless is vastly smaller in volume and much faster reacting than black powder, so small volume changes can have huge pressure implications.

It must be said that those powder measures correspond to a given weight of the listed powders (don't use them with powders not listed on the accompanying data sheets.

Likewise the charging meters used in most volume operations is set to throw a certain volume of powder with each pull of the handle. You adjust it until that volume is the weight listed in your loading manual for that powder/bullet combination. That setting can shift over time (as can you pulling technique which is why I stated that you need to recheck it after a set number of roiunds (about every dozen or so)

 

[slowworm]

I'm not sure if it worth starting a new thread but anyway, has anyone done much shotgun cartridge reloading recently? I had hoped to see some results from the slug moulds that were sold. I've purchased my own 7/8th mould and managed to sort out some reloading data and load them up. Results have been better than expected but still room for improvement so curious to see if anyone else has got them working.

 

[British Red]

I'm not sure if it worth starting a new thread but anyway, has anyone done much shotgun cartridge reloading recently? I had hoped to see some results from the slug moulds that were sold. I've purchased my own 7/8th mould and managed to sort out some reloading data and load them up. Results have been better than expected but still room for improvement so curious to see if anyone else has got them working.

I believe a huge amount of slug performance has to do with the use of quality , specifically designed wads and gas checks

 

[slowworm]

The Lee slugs are designed to sit in the shot cup of a plastic wad, so you tend to get a good seal. I've found crimping tricky as you star crimp and you need to get the powder, wad and slug at the right height. I've been experimenting with roll crimping but then you need to trim the shot cup which is a bit tedious.

 

[Robson Valley]

What can you shoot for birds? Can you still use lead or do you need non-toxic shot like steel or bismuth, etc? What did you get?

Major puzzle here the past few years has been primers. Very hard to find to buy.

I'd shoot 7.5 shot x 12 gauge/bore for both trap and upland game birds such as our various species of grouse. No birds can outfly a trap load. Migratory ducks and geese demand non-toxic shot, 1300fps loads and #4 and bigger to BB for shot.

 

[slowworm]

We can still use lead for most things but that could change soon. One of the reasons I've started loading was to sort out non-lead .410 cartridges as they are hard to come by and expensive.

With 12g it's to keep the cost down for target shooting, so loading slugs and other expensive cartridges.

Shotgun primers here are easier to get and cheaper that pistol/rifle primers.

 

[British Red]

The Lee slugs are designed to sit in the shot cup of a plastic wad, so you tend to get a good seal. I've found crimping tricky as you star crimp and you need to get the powder, wad and slug at the right height. I've been experimenting with roll crimping but then you need to trim the shot cup which is a bit tedious.

RTO is far more reliable for slug ime. I've yet to see a commercial slug with a star crimp.

 

[British Red]

What can you shoot for birds? Can you still use lead or do you need non-toxic shot like steel or bismuth, etc? What did you get?

Major puzzle here the past few years has been primers. Very hard to find to buy.

I'd shoot 7.5 shot x 12 gauge/bore for both trap and upland game birds such as our various species of grouse. No birds can outfly a trap load. Migratory ducks and geese demand non-toxic shot, 1300fps loads and #4 and bigger to BB for shot.

All wildfowl like duck & geese require non toxic now. Game and pest are still okay on lead

 

[slowworm]

RTO is far more reliable for slug ime. I've yet to see a commercial slug with a star crimp.

The Lee slugs are designed to be star crimped and as there was an old group buy for them I had hoped some people had managed to successfully load them that way, hence my question.

 

[British Red]

Interesting - I've never star crimped but I only cast 1 oz fosters.

 

[JB101]

What can you shoot for birds? Can you still use lead or do you need non-toxic shot like steel or bismuth, etc? What did you get?

Major puzzle here the past few years has been primers. Very hard to find to buy.

I'd shoot 7.5 shot x 12 gauge/bore for both trap and upland game birds such as our various species of grouse. No birds can outfly a trap load. Migratory ducks and geese demand non-toxic shot, 1300fps loads and #4 and bigger to BB for shot.

Same here in the UK, primers are in short supply and prices range from £100-200 per thousand (for CCI) .There are some other makes available and cheaper £60-90/1000.