Lee 00 Buck Shot and Blue Dot?

Ok, First post in this section. Been active in other parts of the forum for years.

I have a need to try some of the Lee 00 buck out and because of the shortage my options are limited. I have small amounts of HS-6 and Clays, but have a LOT of Blue Dot and Unique.

I am using Remington Nitro Hulls, 2 3/4, Win 209 Primers and I have the WAA12F114 (Equivalent) Wads.
I am hoping to use the Blue Dot, but the Unique will work as well.

I know I can use the HS-6 and the Clays, but finding any data with the other powders is tough. Any help I can get would be great, as I will admit that I am not the best at shotgun reloading. BTW, these are going to be used so for hunting, so recoil isn't an issue.

THANKS!

There's a guy on you tube that loads alot of buck shot,(bubba roundtree outdoors), if I recall he loads 32gr of blue dot in a rem premium hull with a cci 209 10 pellets OO, in a waa12r wad, anyway he is very informative so check it out, just type in 12ga buck shot loads he will pop up. Good luck. HC

I load 32.4gr of Blue Dot in my 0 and 00 buckshot loads in Federal 12S3 wads. I duplicate this load for Lyman slugs too.

HV

Thanks again!! You guys have helped me out. 32 gns will be my starter, and I will see how it does!!

Make sure to weigh your buckshot! There can be as much as 7-8 grns difference each from one batch or brand of 00 to another, depending on mold or manufacturer. My experience has been that a moderate charge patterns better than "max" loads and full choke is the way to go for best results.

I've used 22.5 grs Unique IIRC (deployed right now and no log book), 1 oz of .311 or .375 round balls (my cap and ball molds) and a WAA12 wad. I did a write up on the load with performance pictures somewhere here couple years ago.


CD

True-to-size 00 buck fits perfectly in orange wads, AA hulls, in 2x4 stacks for 8 balls per cartridge...and it weighs exactly 1 oz, and crimps like factory loads!!! Wads protect bore, and probably help retain the pattern.
So, any powder charge for a 1 oz load will work fine, mild to wild.
In cylinder bore guns it holds all eight on a 10"paper plate at 25 yards, normally in a 6-8" group.
Bad medicine for rowdy 'coons or armadillos.
Attachment 115614

In my loading experience blue dot is very temperature sensitive. gaining pressures with heat.

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Originally Posted by PAPABEAR

In my loading experience blue dot is very temperature sensitive. gaining pressures with heat.

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I found done of the same info. I ended up using 29.5 gns and found the load to be more than adequate. The lower load gives me some additional fudge factor.

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Originally Posted by pls1911

True-to-size 00 buck fits perfectly in orange wads, AA hulls, in 2x4 stacks for 8 balls per cartridge...and it weighs exactly 1 oz, and crimps like factory loads!!! Wads protect bore, and probably help retain the pattern.
So, any powder charge for a 1 oz load will work fine, mild to wild.
In cylinder bore guns it holds all eight on a 10"paper plate at 25 yards, normally in a 6-8" group.
Bad medicine for rowdy 'coons or armadillos.
Attachment 115614

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pls1911

I have used my own cast '0' buck [0.320"] 10 off in AA hulls, red WAA12R wad, win 209 & 38 grains Blue Dot. Recoil is heavy ish!!!! and pattern at 25 yards is poor, about 20" plus with some fliers. This load is from the Lyman 5th Ed but I'm not getting the results I want, would like the pattern to be in a 10" circle out to 25 - 30 yards min.
The supply of components over here in Scotland, UK is not great so I would like more information on the orange wad you use.
I just checked and 8 of my 'O' buck weigh 7/8oz. I have Titewad powder and the Lyman 5th Ed shows a trap load of 7/8oz using 17.5 grains Titewad, AA case, win 209, WAA12L wad running 1215fps at 7200psi, so I'm thinking change the WAA12L for your orange wad??? With that tested low pressure it should be ok I think. All comments appreciated.
The gun I use is a Moss 500 with cylinder choke.
Thanks for all comments.

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use that load with buckshot---margin of error is very wide, and the faster burning powders do tend to work better with lighter buckshot payloads. WT12 (orange wad) is ballistically equivalent to the white wad (WAA12), but once again I wouldn't worry about subbing for the 12L gray wad in such a low pressure load.

Blue Dot is designed for heavy loads. Your eight 00 are light, confirmed by your 7/8 oz weight. Go with a faster powder as you would with a trap load. Blue Dot will give dismal results with that light of a payload. Trust me. I tried it with 15 #1 pellets (still less than an ounce) in deep shotcup I got from Herters years ago. Herco did work OK.

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Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Charlie

Blue Dot is designed for heavy loads. Your eight 00 are light, confirmed by your 7/8 oz weight. Go with a faster powder as you would with a trap load. Blue Dot will give dismal results with that light of a payload. Trust me. I tried it with 15 #1 pellets (still less than an ounce) in deep shotcup I got from Herters years ago. Herco did work OK.

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Thanks for reply. I was planning to use Titewad powder with the 8 x 0 Buck load, like you I have tried Blue Dot with 10 x 0 Buck and result was not great. Don't have any Herco, supply in UK is not great, but thanks for info.

Sorry for the belated response... I've been away for awhile. All the above comments are spot on.
I use 19.5 to 20.0 grains of Unique with the components shown.
More powerful loadings tend to blow patterns a bit more open, while
taping the petals closed will extend the "tight group distance" considerably.
Velocities higher than 1100 fps are achievable with slower powders like Blue Dot, but I have not found them to be more effective, despite the increased recoil.

What sort of tape do you use to tape the wad petals closed, I have not done this before.

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Originally Posted by UKshooter

What sort of tape do you use to tape the wad petals closed, I have not done this before.

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Inquiring minds want to know.... and do you tape to the inside or outside?