New to shotshell loading - need help

[JIMinPHX]

Hi guys,
I've been loading rifle & pistol rounds for many years, but I never really got around to doing much with shotshells, except for a dozen or so .410 shells that I did as an experiment once on homemade equipment. Basically, I know almost nothing about shotshell loading.

I have a 20ga Lee Loader now & I just found a bunch of Remington 20-gage "sport load" 2-3/4" hulls out in the dessert a few weeks ago (8-point). I was hoping that someone might be able to help me out with a recipe for loading these things up. I have Unique powder kicking around, but I don't mind buying something else if I need to. I've seen CCI primers in stock locally lately. Other brands are hard for me to get at the moment. I've seen Claybuster & Winchester brand wads in stock at a local store. I have lots of recovered shot laying around that I would like to try, or I have a little bit of #9 that is brand new, I could also use. I don't need a high tec skeet load. I just need something that would be safe to fire. I just want to load up one or two boxes to sort of get my feet wet & get the hang of it.

Can anyone help me out with a little basic info?

Thanks,
Jim

[Johnch]

Pulled from Remington's website

Sport Loads

Available in both 12- and 20-gauge Remington Sport Loads are an economical, multi-purpose utility load for a variety of shotgunning needs. Loaded with our premium Power Piston wads, No. 8 shot, and plastic Unibody hulls, these shells perform effectively for skeet, trap and sporting clays, as well as quail, doves, and woodcock.

I see Alliant droped the data for that hull off their online load data
Go to Alliants website
http://www.alliantpowder.com/questions/default.aspx

Fill out the form and ask then

John

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

follow manuals to a "t". it is not like metallic. No experimenting should be done. You must have the right hull, wad, powder, primer combo. Claybuster wads are knockoffs of the more expensive factory wads....and shoot the EXACT same. Try the Lyman manual, 5th edition....it is a great manual. also look on powder manufacturers websites for even more load data not in the manual. The lyman manual is great for beginners. Good luck!

[woody1]

Unique is dandy for the 20 ga. in 3/4 to 7/8 oz. loads. I routinely use 16 gr. Unique for most any 7/8 oz. load in Remington unibody or rxp hulls and either WAA20 or Rem RXP wads or generic equivalents. Depending on primer used this could be kicked up a half grain but I don't. Comes right down to it, given proper fit of the combo, you could prob'ly put 16 gr. Unique behind most any wad in most any modern plastic hull and most any primer and be safe with 7/8 oz. loads. Regards, Woody

[JIMinPHX]

Thank you for replying guys!

I sent the e-mail to Alliant yesterday, like Johnch suggested. We'll see how that pans out.

It appears to me that ICH & Woody have a difference of opinion. ICH is saying the same thing that a guy at a local shop said to me, that you have to follow a recipe EXACTLY, with zero deviation. Woody is telling me more of what I had wanted to hear, that 7/8 shot with a random wad, random primer & 16 grains of Unique is OK. Can I get opinions from anyone else about which of these perspectives is more likely correct? Or better yet, back to my original question, Does anyone have any recipes for the sport load hulls?

Thanks,
Jim

[Firebricker]

Jim, After you get going you might want to get some better hulls. The economy loads from
all the big names you see at wally world the hulls are pretty cheap. They'll work but don't last
long. They don't use brass and metal they use does'nt size well. Lymans shotshell manual should have all the info you need. FB

[woody1]

Sportload Hulls being Unibodies......From AlliantReloaders Guide 1995 edition:
7/8 oz. 1200 fps Primer Rem 209, Wad rem. RXP or WAA20 16.5 gr. Unique
Fed 209 primer, Wad Rem. RXP20 16.0 gr. Unique
CCI 209M primer, Rem RXP20 wad, 16.5 gr. Unique
Book answer is to follow the recipes.
Regards, Woody

[JIMinPHX]

Thanks again Woody,
I'll find a combination of components that falls into one of those those parameter sets.

Firebricker,
I'm not planning on using these things a bunch of times. I just found a bunch of hulls for free out in the dessert & thought that I would take a crack at seeing if I could figure out how to work this old antique Lee loader that I got. I'll probably only use the hulls once, or maybe twice maximum. I almost feel bad dirtying up this little Lee Loader. It's pristine in the box right now & it's an old timer. The box says Lee Custom Engineering, not Lee Precision. Its from back when Lee loaders & lee molds were less than $11 each.

[Firebricker]

I've never tried a Lee loader before. Let us know how it works out. My first reloader was a
Lee load all. FB

[woody1]

The Lee Loader is what I started with - in 20 ga. You'll prob'ly not like it for plastic unless you've got a crimp starter. It does (did) very well with paper. Not so well with plastic although they shoot. I think e-gunparts still has the crimp starters if you don't have one. Regards, Woody

[Storydude]

Thanks again Woody,
I'll find a combination of components that falls into one of those those parameter sets.

Firebricker,
I'm not planning on using these things a bunch of times. I just found a bunch of hulls for free out in the dessert & thought that I would take a crack at seeing if I could figure out how to work this old antique Lee loader that I got. I'll probably only use the hulls once, or maybe twice maximum. I almost feel bad dirtying up this little Lee Loader. It's pristine in the box right now & it's an old timer. The box says Lee Custom Engineering, not Lee Precision. Its from back when Lee loaders & lee molds were less than $11 each.

I'll bet you could trade that straight off for a MEC 600Jr without much issue.

If the lee is in good condition, it's worth more a sa collectors item than a working reloader.

[JIMinPHX]

The Lee Loader is what I started with - in 20 ga. You'll prob'ly not like it for plastic unless you've got a crimp starter. It does (did) very well with paper. Not so well with plastic although they shoot. I think e-gunparts still has the crimp starters if you don't have one. Regards, Woody

The one I have is the deluxe version that has 6 & 8 point crimp starters.

[JIMinPHX]

I'll bet you could trade that straight off for a MEC 600Jr without much issue.

If the lee is in good condition, it's worth more a sa collectors item than a working reloader.

Is that an offer? I'd happily take a load all in 20 ga or any small 410 press that works in trade. a 410 press would actually be preferred.

[Storydude]

Nothing for the peanut gauges. Sorry.


You might be surprised what that'll bring on fLeabay.

[JIMinPHX]

Stuff fleabay. If somebody here wants it, they are welcome to it. The fleabay vultures can go scratch. Thank you for the suggestion though.

[briang]

...snip... Claybuster wads are knockoffs of the more expensive factory wads....and shoot the EXACT same. ...snip...

This is not true, at least in the case of the WAA12 wad and the lee 1oz slug. The Claybuster wad has ridges inside the shot cup portion of the wad, the Winchester's don't. These ridges cause the slug and wad to be tighter down the bore, which then destroys the wad and cause very poor accuracy. I've shot buckshot with tighter patterns than that group.

[jsizemore]

Jim,
Please read this;

www.armbrust.acf2.org/primersubs.htm

The other articles are worth reading. Good luck. Jim in NC

[Storydude]

Stuff fleabay. If somebody here wants it, they are welcome to it. The fleabay vultures can go scratch. Thank you for the suggestion though.

Try for a trade in Swapping and selling. I've seen those sets go for about 30% OVER what a used MEC goes for. You have the more desirable one too. the Delux set has all the goodies.

I hear ya on Fleaybay. BUT, sometimes that extra fundage is a nice thing.

[JIMinPHX]

Go to Alliants website
http://www.alliantpowder.com/questions/default.aspx
Fill out the form and ask

Thanks for the suggestion.

The answer from Alliant -

"I recommend that you use the Rem Premier data in your hull. Thanks for your note.

Ben"