Re-loading Questions (shotgun)

[Williemo]

My grandfather did a lot of re-loading and I've got a few boxes of 12 gauge with some handwritten info. that I need help with. Most are about 20-30 yrs old. (I think I actually reloaded the Peters and I was 14!)

 

1) Remington target loads. The shells read 3-1 1/8-9, the box is an old sears box with 3 1/4-1-8, BUT the handwritten says "20 gr. GDot, RXP wad"

 

2)Winchester AA. 3-1 1/8-8. Handwriting reads "19 gr. Gr Dot, WAA 12 wad"

 

3)Peter's Blue Magic box says 7 1/2, 3- 1 1/8, The shell actually says "heavy 7 1/2". The handwriting on box says "19 gr. Gr. dot"

 

Anyone want to take a guess what I have??

 

Im sure the answers are pretty mundane and straightforward, but I ask these questions out of curiosity and since ammo has been in short supply, I may have to use these for pheasant(preserves). One thing I noticed was that the handloaded charge always exceeds the box by a "gr." or even two. I'm sure they're safe but wanted to hear others thoughts.

 

I guess I never noticed, but is there such thing as a non-trap load and what's the difference? Can you or would you put any different sized shot in a differently marked shell? (IE. just want to make sure my 7 1/2 are not 9 or visa versa).

 

Since my deer season was a bust, I'm looking to brush up on my learnin'. Hoping some might enjoy answering my questions!

[TDaly25]

My grandfather did a lot of re-loading and I've got a few boxes of 12 gauge with some handwritten info. that I need help with. Most are about 20-30 yrs old. (I think I actually reloaded the Peters and I was 14!)

 

1) Remington target loads. The shells read 3-1 1/8-9' date=' the box is an old sears box with 3 1/4-1-8, BUT the handwritten says "20 gr. GDot, RXP wad"

 

2)Winchester AA. 3-1 1/8-8. Handwriting reads "19 gr. Gr Dot, WAA 12 wad"

 

3)Peter's Blue Magic box says 7 1/2, 3- 1 1/8, The shell actually says "heavy 7 1/2". The handwriting on box says "19 gr. Gr. dot"

 

Anyone want to take a guess what I have??

 

Im sure the answers are pretty mundane and straightforward, but I ask these questions out of curiosity and since ammo has been in short supply, I may have to use these for pheasant(preserves). One thing I noticed was that the handloaded charge always exceeds the box by a "gr." or even two. I'm sure they're safe but wanted to hear others thoughts.

 

I guess I never noticed, but is there such thing as a non-trap load and what's the difference? Can you or would you put any different sized shot in a differently marked shell? (IE. just want to make sure my 7 1/2 are not 9 or visa versa).

 

Since my deer season was a bust, I'm looking to brush up on my learnin'. Hoping some might enjoy answering my questions!

[/quote']

 

 

Willie, no problem. the GRDot is GreenDot, which is a well known powder and its relatively inexpensive. the WAA refers to Winchester AA Wads, which are quite common and the RXP refers to Remington Express Wads, which are also common and inexpensive.

 

The 7 1/2 and 8s refer to the size of the lead shot. This is all very straight forward stuff. Good luck pal!

[TDaly25]

What is important in determining safe loads of lead shot is the weight and not the pellet size. For illustrative purposes, if you are accustomed to shooting 1 ounce of 6 shot then you would be fine with 1 ounce of 9 shot as well. Obviously, the larger the number of shot the smaller the pellets. Equally obvious is that for a given weight of lead the larger the pellet the fewer of them there are.

 

Heavier pellets are going to fly further than light ones, so for long shots (for pheasant, etc) you're going to want lower number shot, like 6. For trap, where shots are generally not as far and where kinetic energy needed to break a clay is less, then more shot (smaller in size, higher in number i.e., 8 or 9) will increase your chances of scoring.

[Williemo]

You helped answer the question!

 

One more: does 2 gr. more of charge make that much of a difference??

[TDaly25]

You helped answer the question!

 

One more: does 2 gr. more of charge make that much of a difference??

 

Different combinations of hull, powder, shot weight and wad result in different levels of pressure. This is a link that takes you to different load recipes for Greendot. Check it out and see if you find a load that matches yours

 

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/powderlist.aspx?page=/reloaders/powderlist.aspx&type=2&powderid=5&gauge=12