Just started loading buckshot, any input?

[7.62smith 1]

I just got my Lee Loadall 2 set up and running. The first loads I made were:

 

Remington STS light target hulls, CCI 209 primers, .141 (15.8) grains of Clays, Windjammer wad, and 8 00 buckshot pellets.

 

These rounds came out ok, but the crimps seemed bulged upwards without much of a lip. The next batch were the same as above, only using the .155 bushing (17.4 grains). Same deal here with the crimp.

 

Finally I decided to try the WAA12F114 wads as they had a bit more depth, I loaded these up over the .155 bushing and the crimp came out gorgeous. As a note, all 8 pellets in the shot cup comes out to .9 ounce so I think I'm pretty close on these loads with the .141 being pretty mild (at least I hope I'm on point here I haven't fired them yet).

 

The only other thing I've done so far was to load up some Federal hulls with .141 of Clays and about 24 .12 grain airsoft pellets. These are neat as heck, but dirty as can be. I tried the .095 bushing but they had no velocity, they wouldn't make it 15 yards out. I also tried some much longer 3in wads in the 2 3/4 case but they don't pattern worth a crap set up like this.

 

I also purposely double powdered a hull using the .155 bushing. If you do this you will not be able to crimp the case, it sat the wad up far past the lip into the actual crimp section of the case, I was really relieved to see this because I was really paranoid of doubling up a hull.

Edited October 7, 2009 by 7.62smith

[7.62smith 1]

34 reads and not one reply? Figured I would update this actually the wads I'm using are the older WAA12F114s. I used these to make a few airsoft loads today and they seem to work better than the windjammers with a louder report. I still haven't got to shoot the buckshot reloads but I plan to do that soon and will post back with the results. I'm really kind of paranoid to up the ante to the larger bushing because it seems like the CCI primers are really hot, they produce more pressure for the velocity than Winchesters etc.

[Bvamp 604]

why 8 pellet and not 9?

 

if you are looking for a non lethal "neighbor's dog pain in the ass" round, you could try melting the crimp shut with a hot nail, to help give it a little more charge ignition-time with your airsoft pellets. loading a little table salt into those might help as well, from the added weight. I would test it on a WET phonebook, though, as you bring the pressures up. Obviously you need to scrub your bore out when you are done shooting these (and the gas tube if you are using a saiga)

 

 

load as light as you can, and work the loads up, unless you have EXACT data and trust it COMPLETELY, is my advice.

 

as you work your way up to a MAX load, you might want to compare it to other commercial rounds that are labeled as MAX.

 

Due to the powder charge sizes, it is kinda hard to double drop a charge in a lee load all, but I have done it before with hotter powder and 7/8 oz shot loads. Watch it with your light buckshot loads.

 

I keep saying Im going to start doing it again, but I really gotta get back to reloading my own shells again. It was a lot of fun, gave me something to do, and I found some really interesting loads along the way, to say the least.....hell, i have a contractor bag full of empties I been toting around for a while now, with that intention in mind.

[turbo1889 1]

As far as a load using 6mm air-shot plastic pellets, copied and pasted from an old thread of mine on another forum:

 

I have developed the following load which seems to be working very well:

 

........... Hull ---- 2 3/4" Remington Sport Load Hull

........... Primer -- CCI 209 Magnum Primer

........... Charge -- 15 grains Bullseye Powder

........... Wad ----- WAA-12 with core cut out (see below)

........... Load ---- 45 Soft Air Pellets and a 2.8cc

....................... Lee powder dipper of Cream of

....................... Wheat as a buffer.

................. (or)

....................... 41 rubber pellets for kids toy guns

....................... "Supper Shot" brand (see below)

....................... with no buffer material.

........... Crimp --- A good solid 8 point trap load crimp

 

 

This load performs very well with no sign of "blooper loads." At 15 to 20 yards penetration is the same as S&B commercial rubber buck shot loads (1/4 inch). S&B cautions that their loads is still leathal at short range which is apparently less than 15-20 yards that I tested at. The same precaution would logically apply to these loads.

The main problem with this load is that you have to use a razzor knife to cut out the core of a WAA-12 wad so that only the bottom gas seal "piston" and top shot cup remain in order to get enough shot into the hull for the load to work correctly. This process is not difficult but is time consuming -- I do it as a seperate process entirely and do up a batch of 100 wads while listening to the radio then go load my shells.

 

Both the Soft Air Pellets and the Rubber Ammo for the kids toy guns work very well as low density projectiles for this load. The Soft Air Pellets are as cheep if not cheeper than lead shot for trap loads and are easy to find (Walmart $15 for a tub of 10,000). The rubber toy gun ammo, however, is a little more difficult to find and more expensive. The brand I used is known as "Supper Shot" and says right on the front of the package that it is for use in "Zebra" and "All Super Shot Brand" toy guns there are 200 pellets in a $1.50 package. The easiest way to get the correct shot charge is to count out the correct number of pellets and insurt them into one end of a long drinking soda straw (easily obtainable at any fast food joint) and then snip of the end of the excess straw length. From then on the only thing that is required is that you place your finger over the bottom end of the straw and fill it up full to get the correct number of pellets -- no loosing count !!!!

 

That load was developed a few years ago, I have since made some improvements, changes, and generalizations to the load. Load I use as of right now:

 

........... Hull ---- 3" Fiocchi, Cheddite, Federal or Remington

..................... Hull with seperate 7mm thick plastic base-wad

..................... (All four companies make such hulls which can

..................... be interchanged freely for this load)

........... Primer -- FED-209-A (or) CCI-209-M Magnum Primer

........... Charge -- 15 grains Bullseye Powder

........... Wad ----- Precision Reloading's 12ga. 3" (or) SAM-I 12ga.

..................... 3" Steel Shot Wad

........... Load ---- As many 6mm Soft Air Pellets as will fit (keep

......................consistent number within each batch of loads)

..................... Cream of Wheat as a buffer measured with Lee

..................... dippers for consistency within each batch.

........... Crimp -- Fold Crimp

[7.62smith 1]

The 8 buckshot is so I can fit even stacks of 2 inside the shell. This way I don't have to do any mods to the wad cups, and I've heard they will pattern better this way. On the airsoft rounds they are dirty little buggers but they work really well, I'll try and post up some videos of me shooting some soda bottles with them or something. I highly doubt I would ever shoot at anything living with these, it was mostly a "this'll be neat for the back yard" type of thing.

[7.62smith 1]

I tested out the buckshot loads yesterday. The .144 loads with the windjammers were pussy cats and the odd crimps made them inconsistent. They did pattern very well out at 15 yards. The .155 loadings with the windjammers were still inconsistent but had a lot more power. Finally the .155 bushings with the WAA12F114 wads shot very well. They didn't pattern quite as well because they wanted to stack 2 pellets very close at 30 yards, but the patterns were all about a foot across at 30 yards, the recoil was very tolerable, and with the good crimp they were consistent. I still may swap over to Winchester primers and step up to the .168 bushing, but for now I'm sticking with the .155's and the Waa12 wads.

[Twinsen 86]

I've adjusted my press down to one hull and three powder drops. I have three droppers and the press is just set at that one crimp height. All my loads come out the same and recoil very similarly. My crimps are often ugly, but they're always tight and the same height.

[IndyArms 10,186]

Windjammers are what I would call "spreader wads" with their 8 petal shot cup, they are made to drop away VERY quickly from the shot after leaving the muzzle. This will allow the pattern to open up as fast as possible... These wads are often used on the trap line when shooters want the pattern at a certain width at a certain distance...

 

The F114's with a 4 petal wad will drop away a little bit slower, and give better patterns... you want to get a TIGHT pattern .... way out there?? put a single wrap of scotch tape around the petals of the shotcup...

 

You can buy UN-SLIT wads from Ballistic products and slit them yourself, and that will truly control the amount of spread on a pattern at a tested distance... with some trial and error, you could literally FINE TUNE your buckshot loads to open up to exactly the right width at precisely the range you want!