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arcticbreeze
12-11-2008, 06:02 PM
Hello everyone. I have been casting and loading for a while for pistol and rifle but pretty new to shotshell. I just want to see what you guys think before I start assemble them.

3 Round balls cast from ww with a Lee .600 roundball mould.
CHED HULL 12ga 3" 25mm PRIMED
28gr Blue Dot
TUPRW123, 12 GA ORANGE 3” wads
BPI Shot Buffer #47
Roll crimp
Don't know what to use if any over shot wad. Any suggestions welcome.

ihunts2much
12-11-2008, 06:45 PM
James from Dixie has posted his recipe here elsewhere if you search.

arcticbreeze
12-11-2008, 07:04 PM
I did search and followed the recipe but the 3" hulls are available in two sizes, 18mm and 25mm. and it does not say what type of over shot wad

Dixie Slugs
12-11-2008, 07:05 PM
Your load looks good, except Dixie quit using the BPI buffer because it packs. A better choice is the Precision Reloading PRPSB22.
After vibrating the buffer in, use a wood dowel and tap the top of the balls with a rubber mallet....to be sure the balls have not come up from the bottom of the wad. If they do....they will blow the wad. Circle Fly has a thin white overshot wad...we use it. Check your finsihed loads and be sure to keep them at 2.71" or shorter. Your loads within the specs for 12 ga 3" Mag.
Regards, James

Dixie Slugs
12-11-2008, 07:09 PM
And...The Cheddite hull...the 16mm and the 26mm are the exact same, except the height of the brass....James

arcticbreeze
12-11-2008, 07:22 PM
Thank you so much for the clarification.

BABore
12-12-2008, 09:08 AM
Hey, I resemble that. I just loaded a couple rounds late last night using the same exact recipe with the exception of the buffer and crimp. I used the PSB filler that James mentioned. I missed the part about the ball pounding (cring at the thought). I need to do this as I had a hard time getting the folded crimp to stay down tight even after standing on them for 30 seconds. I might try roll crimping them instead.

Dixie Slugs
12-12-2008, 10:48 AM
I did not say pound the balls! Tap them just enough to know they are in the bottom of the wad tight....very important! if there is a space...the wad will blow.
There's just not enough room to fold crimp. The buffer should just civer the top ball. Even with a rolled crimp itis hard to get the 2.71" overall length. Some actions like the Remington 870 will feed with longer OAL lengths. Set the OAL length that will feed in your gun and forget the rest. Since all matter of guns will use our ammo....we have to watch the OAL length close. Some times buffer will get under the bottom ball if it is not tight down in the wad. This is way I say tap the balls...so the radius of the bottom ball is thight in the radius in the bottem of the wad.
There has been a great deal of work with chokes done by our Board of Advisors. RMC has found certain chokes give the best uniform patterns indeed. He has written his results up on the Dixie Forum.
I am happy to share all of our recipes here on Cast Boolits. Nost reloaders do not buy factory ammo.....and I try to support Cast Boolits. If you follow our recipe, your loads will shoot just like our ammo.
Regards, James

BABore
12-12-2008, 10:56 AM
I wasn't referring to the pounding of the lead ball's. :bigsmyl2:

Dixie Slugs
12-12-2008, 11:05 AM
Righto! I am a little slow this time of morning!....Regards, James

arcticbreeze
12-12-2008, 12:42 PM
Thanks again James, I took your advice and ordered some of the PRPSB22 along with some other goodies I needed. Spoke to Mary there, Real nice lady. Can't wait to load some and get to the range to see how they work in my 870.

Marc

Dixie Slugs
12-12-2008, 01:16 PM
You are quite welocome indeed! When you get your loads set up, try then first is a standard full choke. With the new orange wad, you do not need to go down as tight as was needed with the older white wad.
Also, to start with be sure your barrel is ultra clean....even if you have to wrap some copper Chore Boy pure copper mesh around an old brush. After that, the barrel needs no preparation, unless you use some soft shot. A little acetone on a tight patch also cuts out any plastic residue that might be in the barrrel.
There is one more thing that Dixie does...we put the orange wad in a can with a littlel Motor Mica and dust thewads. This helps on patterns and stops any plastic residue buidup.
Regards, James

yondering
12-12-2008, 05:34 PM
I've also been messing with these Tri-Ball loads. One thing I've learned, is that Jame's recommendation to cast the balls hard is VERY important. I learned this by using water quenched ww balls, but not waiting long enough for them to harden. I fired them within a few days of casting, rather than waiting several weeks, and found that the bottom balls were squished and obturated large enough to raise pressures. Out of 3 rounds, one shot resulted in sticky extraction.

James, what are your feelings on using cream of wheat for filler in these loads? Dangerous?

Dixie Slugs
12-12-2008, 06:13 PM
Let's talk about buffers for a minute. All the way back to W.W.Greener's day, buffers have been in specialized loads. The best back then was bone dust ans Eley made some "Concentrator" shotgun loads. Then for a period, buffer knowledge seemed to be lost in most cases. As time went by, the factories used softer and softer shot....and here came buffer again.
Then everyone was trying about everything, including white flour...bad! The factories many times used re-grind made from plastic scrap that develops around shotshell loading....and premixed buffer and shot.
To be a good buffer.....it must not be too fine and pack...or the coarse and not fill around the pellets.....it can turn into a Catch 22.
Dixie has tried all matter of buffer. The best of the best is the Percision Reloading PRPSB22. Using the microscope, you can see it is tiny teflon balls and flows under pressure, not pack. It is the packing that causes shot/balls to become a plug...ergo high pressure.
So...to answer your question about Cream of Wheat, White Flour, or whatever...do not play around with it. The same thing can happen with balls as big a .600"....if the buffer you are using packs, you will either blow a wad or run the presssure up to high. With the Dixie Tri-Ball or a Clone...you are pushing around 945 grs (2.16 ounces) and that's heavy for a 12 ga 3" load. that has to stay inside of 11, 000 psi. To be on the safe side, follow Dixie's recipe exact. I do not mind sharing recipes that we have had pressure tested, but will have no part of any load that does not follow our exact recipe. I think you can understand why.
Now friends, I am not being a hard ****...most ammo makers will not let their recipes out the door for the very reason that someone will alter it, get into trouble, and blame the ammo maker.
Regards, James

Dixie Slugs
12-12-2008, 06:22 PM
Also, let's discuss your balls......or it takes hard balls to make Tri-Ball loads! That should get a chuckle out of you indeed! You might want to add a little tin to your WW mix. It also helps the reloader to drop the balls out of your mold into a bucket of water.
And....don't start trying to get more velocity by adding powder! You are up on the top of specs now. Do it right, and when we finish the revised 20 ga 3" Tri-Ball, I will pass on the recipe.....OK?
Regards, James