Pellet size deviation

H

hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
well a 6 month old dog of ours got a 7 1/2 Federal shell off my night stand and chewed it open on my bed... I noted that the pellets were both dull and shiny. As I palmed them off the blanket, I also noted some looked larger than others as well as some being obviously out of round.
I measured a smaller looking one against a larger looking one and found a 15 thousandths difference:eek: That is quite a bit even for a promo load. I could understand this if they were reloads bought from a feller using screened shot from the skeet fields...
Brent
 
There will always be some variance, especially with the small target-size shot - just the nature of the beast. You can typically get one size up or down. I have found less variance with high-quality magnum shot in the few I have cut open and the bags of shot I have used for reloading.
 
Brent, were the 7 1/2s promotional loads or Champion target loads? I've seen some pretty ugly stuff loaded in the discount "Dove and Quail" loads. Calling it poorly graded and out of round would be a complement.

Cheers, Pete
 
Zip, It was cheap ammo but it the "fancy cheap" stuff with high "brass" of steel:eek::D
I don't expect perfection but I guess 7 1/2, in this case, means 7-7 1/2-8 all in one fine shell:rolleyes:
Brent
 
SAAMI tolerance spec for Game Shot is +/- .010”, or one shot size either way. (ANSI / SAAMI Publication Z299.2-1992, page 34). That means you can see a variation up to 20 thousandths of an inch between shot in a shell and still be in SAAMI tolerance. I’ve dissected a couple of Federal Game Load #6 loads that exceeded even the SAAMI tolerances.

DC
 
hogdogs said:
I don't expect perfection but I guess 7 1/2, in this case, means 7-7 1/2-8 all in one fine shell
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Sadly, based on what .45 COLT says about the standards and his experience, you're expecting too much. Your Game Load 7-1/2s may actually be 6s to 9s! Another argument for re-loading your own shells. In all honesty, the reclaimed shot from my gun club looks better than some of the stuff you'll find in promotional game loads.
 
I find the biggest variation in the "promotional priced" shells as well ...

I was curious awhile back ( so I cut open a couple of Estate (Federal cheap stuff ) and some Rio's ...... and they were both supposed to be 8's ( but there were pellets in there from 9's - 7 1/2's and some deformed as well - but nothing oxidized ...

I can't bring myself to cut open a new Rem STS shell ... it would make me cry .....

Now if you were to send me a flat, I'd be happy to cut 2 or 3 shells open and send you a note .....( I'll even testfire the other 240 or so ...) just to prove I'm a gentleman...
 
BigJimP said:
I can't bring myself to cut open a new Rem STS shell ... it would make me cry …..
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Big Jim, my friend, we don't want your tears adding to the rain. You can carefully open a STS's crimp, pour out the shot for examination, pour it back in and run the shell through the crimp station/s of your whiz-bang press. You're well aware of this, but some of the newBs might not.

If the ammo price seems too good to be true, perhaps an investigation of what they put inside couldn't hurt. Not only have I seen some disreputable looking shot in promotional loads some of the shot cups are just a little more substantial than plastic sandwich wrap.
 
If the ammo price seems too good to be true, perhaps an investigation of what they put inside couldn't hurt. Not only have I seen some disreputable looking shot in promotional loads some of the shot cups are just a little more substantial than plastic sandwich wrap.
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When they have to make ammunition to a certain price point, those promos are going to be made with whatever is the cheapest stuff available at that moment - and magnum, round shot is NOT on the short list of components, let alone well-made hulls or wads.

There's a reason those target-grade cartridges cost more - you and I know it Zippy, some of the newer folks might not be aware though.
 
I had no idea there was that the tolerance was that loose. In my feeble mind, I imagined that the shot was cold formed lead. Made from sheets run through a high speed press. After that they would go into a vibratory tumbler to remove any edges making them even more round. Then collected by diameter for loading into shells into a hopper.
 
West Coast shot still uses a shot tower and drops it - (used to live a few miles from them at one time). Sieves get gunked up, sometimes it doesn't make it right. Still work though - I shoot reclaimed shot from my gun club - it has 7-1/2's, 8, 8-1/2's and 9's; some are deformed - in short, what goes into most promo shells...:D - clays still break when I do MY part
 
West Coast is certainly a "high grade" shot ...

but I think all the "floor sweepings" end up in some of the promo shells - and they're going to recycle everything they can ( you certainly can't dispose of lead anywhere ).

Zippy, your're right - I could pry the crimp open on some factory STS hulls - and it would only cause me to whimper mildly .... and I could run them thru stations 5 and 6 to close them back up....
( chimney repairs are not going well / can't get the flue liner in - we have an obstruction 9' up in the flue above the furnace - and 15' down from the chimney ( so we will start taking bricks out of the wall in the dining room tomorrow to get at the flue tiles .....and the metre is running ...) / -od damn it ...and it screwed up my Skeet day too ....(only rained a little today )..
 
BJP, What could possibly be the material of the obstruction?
Would a heater hose "gopher hook" snag it from above?
BTW, the gopher hook is a hard stiff piece of 1/8th to 3/16th wire affixed inside the hose with the exposed end bent to form a hook. Old rednecks make these to reach into a gopher tortoise den and it then gets a little twist and tug until the bugger is snagged to drag out where it is hauled off for the stew pot. It just may be the ticket for you and save you tons o' dough... Jist tryin' to help, bud...
Okay now back to the regularly scheduled posting and heck it was just my thread I jacked anywho...:D
Brent
 
trust me, we've tried "plumbing snakes", a flue brush on a snake - even a compressed air hose ---- and nothing is breaking thru yet .... so its time for the "sawzall"...

but this has nothing to do with shotguns ...thanks anyway.
 
Zippy 13
some of the shot cups are just a little more substantial than plastic sandwich wrap.
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If you want to see some truly sorry wads, open some Federal (or Estate) hunting loads. If you look at 1, it is pretty bad (flimsy, with a post that is often off-center), then look at another one from a different weight of shot. Exact same wad, post heat-turned back on itself a different length to accomodate the different height. All shot cups are the same size, no matter the shot charge.

DC
 
The one ounce loads are fair. 1 1/8 & 1 1/4, not near as good. Even with the 1 ounce, patterns aren't consistant.

DC
 
Any load will work fine if all you want to do is shoot holes in the sky. But, if your want to maximize the game in your bag or broken clays on your score card, then you might want to pay a little more attention to your ammo selection.
 
"How do they work?"
Well I assure you the cheap promo loads sure do take the game of the "Turkey Shoot" away from the gun and shooter and make it purely a game of chance...:eek::rolleyes:
Brent
 
What's bad about the sorry wads that Federal uses is that they make an excellent wad in their 12S- series. If the production cost is too high to put in their hunting loads, they could maybe buy some from Claybuster.......:D

DC
 
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