20ga 1 ounce with WAA20

[megasupermagnum]

I'm sure some of you are wondering why I have not posted my big patterning test results, or updated my Lyman slug testing. Other than shooting, I'm also into racing. A few weeks ago I was racing an enduro, which is a dirt bike race. I've been doing such things since I was a little kid. Every time I ride, I crash. If I didn't, I wouldn't be pushing myself enough. Unfortunately my luck finally ran out, and I landed hard, at a bad angle right on my outstretched elbow. I must have caught something like a root with my elbow, and it shoved it so hard inward that it wrecked the ligaments that connect my shoulder to my clavicle. I spoke with a surgeon, who rated mine a grade 5 separation, 6 being the worst. I asked for surgery as soon as he could, which turned out to be very soon. I had surgery two weeks ago now, and everything has been great. I'll still be in a sling for another 4 weeks, but otherwise I feel normal. It will be some time before I'll be able to do normal lifting with that arm, about 2 1/2 more months. Because of that, I likely will not get that patterning test done until September. I was able to do some one-handed handgun shooting. Today I took the 20 gauge out for a quick test, I shot it off a rest, and pulled the trigger without shouldering it.


A little while back there was a discussion about loading 1 ounce loads in 20 gauge. The Waa20f1 has been gone for decades, the Federal 20s1 is recently gone, and now there is a good chance we will never see another Remington wad ever again. It is a valid question.



I have been loading 1 ounce loads with the 20s1, but now that it is gone, I've gone back to the Waa20, or more specifically the Claybuster CB1078-20. Some members pointed out possible issues with the waa20, and they are issues I've not encountered. So I asked if anyone had some old wads, and a member here donated both a handful of Waa20f1 wads, as well as Winchester AA hulls for me to test. A lot of the questions were to do with fitment, so I loaded these with 800x powder, which is the bulkiest powder I have. The exact load I chose is listed below, it is straight from the Hodgdon website. All I did was load five with the Waa20f1, and five with the CB1078-20.



20ga 2 3/4" Winchester AA

Federal 209a

14.5 gr 800x

Winchester WAA20F1

1 oz lead shot

fold crimp



1,150 fps

11,800 psi



I shot these from my NEF Tracker II 20 gauge using my Pressure Trace II. Ammo was kept indoors until time to shoot. Below are the traces I got from each. You will note they are about 1,000 psi lower than listed pressure. There are a million reasons why this could be. The Pressure Trace II is an extremely precise system, but the accuracy can be altered. This is not laboratory conditions. I shot these outdoors on a decent day, using with different lots of primers and powders than Hodgdon used, plus this is a normal shotgun, not a test barrel. The point being, don't worry about the exact numbers. This is a direct A to B test to compare what, if any, pressure difference there is between the WAA and WAA20F1.











I went ahead and averaged the pressures.



WAA20F1- 10,641 PSI

CB1078-20 10,597 PSI



You are free to draw your own conclusions, but in this test, with this load, there is no difference. There is so little physical difference between the WAA20F1, and the CB1078-20. The claybuster is a tiny bit taller, but really, it's no difference to the reloader. I loaded these all on the Lee Load All II, and other than using a little bit more wad pressure with the claybuster, they both load 1 ounce loads with no problems at all. Should you swap the WAA20F1 and WAA20 willy nilly? I'm not going to say yes, but since the F1 has been gone for so long, there is a pretty good selection of 1 ounce loads now listed with the standard WAA20 wad. They fit fine, the wad cup length difference is negligible. My own opinion is 7/8 oz loads are fine, until I step up to a 3" with 1 1/4 oz loads (which also work with the CB1078-20). But if any of you are out there wanting to load 1 ounce loads with 800x, I wouldn't fret using the CB1078-20.

[6pt-sika]

For the last two years I’ve been buying up or begging SP-20 and the WIN AA20-F1 wads specifically for ounce loads at tower shoots . I’ve also been buying up older shells in 12-16-20 for the same thing . Anyway I’ve not gotten around to the ounce loads yet , but I will at some point . Kinda the same with the 12 gauge I’ve got about 1000 of both REM and WIN wads to load 1 1/4 ounce but have enough factory on hand I’ve not needed to load any yet .

[6pt-sika]

As to 800X I acquired 32 pounds of it about two weeks ago . A powder I’ve never dealt with before but the price was very right so it came home with me .

[Petander]

Unfortunately my luck finally ran out, and I landed hard, at a bad angle right on my outstretched elbow.

OUCH!

I have ridden quite a bit of dirt but I sold my -95 Africa Twin this spring , still got a street bike ,2000 Kawi ZX-12R.

Best wishes for a fast recovery.

[megasupermagnum]

OUCH!

I have ridden quite a bit of dirt but I sold my -95 Africa Twin this spring , still got a street bike ,2000 Kawi ZX-12R.

Best wishes for a fast recovery.

The amazing thing is that it was not painful at all. Sure the impact hurt some, but after that, nothing. Not 20 minutes before this I had gone down in some rocks which hurt more than this, and that was nothing but a boo boo red spot. You get a number of those every race. I knew the injury was bad immediately though, since my arm did not work. I had a dead spot I could not move. Not long after, I found a huge bump on the top of my shoulder, and my shoulder seemed be be drooping down. Still, I was able to walk out, which luckily wasn't too far. Maybe a mile. It's too bad I hadn't made it just another couple miles, it would have been quicker for me to walk to the finish line. No pain, only uncomfortable. Really the worst part was driving home after the ER. This was 52 miles into the race, and I was plenty sore everywhere. Trying to get out of the truck when I got home, everything stiff, and an arm that didn't work was not much fun. It wasn't that bad though, I still went to work the next day. I'm just over 2 weeks since surgery now, and I'm going to work today. I feel great. I was able to put an engine together, clean the garage, and continue working on building my longrifle in my time off.