Newbie needs help....

[waco]

I have been casting and reloading (metalics) for almost 20 years. I have never reloaded for shotguns.
I need to buy a good manual. Can you suggest a good one?
The hull/wad combinations seem endless. I assume the manual will give me this info.
Am I correct in thinking you just can't cram any 'ol 12ga wad in any 'ol 12ga hull?
Sorry if this had been gone over before. My search function skills are lacking at best.
Walter

[waco]

P.S.
I bought a used older Lee Load All in 20ga off the S&S page years ago. Just have not done anything with it yet. Buckshot and slugs would probably be the most use.
And a 12ga conversion for sure.

[swamp]

The Lyman Shotshell Reloading Handbook is what I use. BPI also has manuals for buckshot and slugs. The Lyman has a wealth of info on the different gauges and lengths of shells. You are right, on the any wad in any hull. The Lyman handbook is worth the cost to me.
swamp

[Moonie]

I have a BP one for buckshot and I have the lyman shotshell manual. It is VERY important to use a recipe from a book and do not deviate from it in any component as there just isn't the safety margin with shotshell reloading as there is in metallic reloading. With a 357 load around 32Kpsi you can change out components that might change the psi by a few thousand, do that with a shotgun and you blow something up. Most of the powder manufacturers have shotgun load data, hodgdon has good data as do some of the others. Even changing a primer from what is specified in the load can cause pressure changes enough to cause issues.

[Hogtamer]

http://www.tsn.biella.it/armi/ManualiRicarica/Hodgdon%20Basic%20Manual.pdf
https://krets.jagareforbundet.se/hylte_unnaryd/files/2011/09/2004AlliantPowderSM.pdf
http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/FIREARMS/imr_reloading.pdf
https://www.federalpremium.com/downloads/reloading/FP294_ShotshellReloadingData.pdf
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
This ought to keep you busy for a while...

[waco]

Good info. Thanks guys. I'll do my research....

[GhostHawk]

I spent the money for the Advantages manual from BPI when I got into shotgun reloading.
25$ did not seem like that high a price to pay. It was pretty comprehensive, had a lot of good information and helpful hints.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Advantages-Manual-10th-ed/productinfo/00MADV/

However much of my data has come straight from BPI. Some of their wads in the past had load data for them available as a pdf.

213412

Makes it dead easy IMO.



Specifically I have been using the PT wads from BPI and several of those have load data with a lot of recipes available.

[Minerat]

In my opinion the Lyman Shotshell Reloading Handbook is just a valuable as the Lyman Casting handbook is. It will explain why ya can't just stuff any old wad in a shot shell and make it work. My suggestion is to find a case, and load that will do what you want and stick with it till you have some experience. Doing it like metallic where you can vary the powder weight will only get you in trouble. The shotshell handbook will keep you out of trouble.

[Hogtamer]

One bit of advice....good used hulls are cheap so I'd start with only one hull for which there's tons of data. The Remington gun clubs from member beezapilot are excellent. The new federals available from BPI are a good choice for loads you wish to roll crimp but they also make perfect 6 pt. crimps with the Load-all. Until you get your feet wet you'll do well and save money with this minamlist approach.

[waco]

One bit of advice....good used hulls are cheap so I'd start with only one hull for which there's tons of data. The Remington gun clubs from member beezapilot are excellent. The new federals available from BPI are a good choice for loads you wish to roll crimp but they also make perfect 6 pt. crimps with the Load-all. Until you get your feet wet you'll do well and save money with this minamlist approach.
Taken under advisement!:razz:

[longbow]

Another reloading manual I like is Reloading For Shotgunners available from BPI. Unlike most manuals I've seen it tends to list multiple loads for a given set of components with powder charges from mild to heavy and with pressures listed. The slug section is not terribly extensive but birdshot loads and information are plentiful. A good manual in my opinion.

+1 on Hogtamer's advice... pick a good hull that is useful for your application and that has lots of load data for it because if you can't find the components you can't meet the recipe. Some minor substitutions are fine but some are not and it isn't always obvious. A simple primer brand substitution can affect pressure by up to 3000 PSI which is HUGE! All 209 primers are not the same!

Longbow