Reloading Shotgun Shells for Dummies

Basics supplies to reload

So what do I need to get started reloading? I can think of hulls, primers, a loading system and I would go with a MEC 600 Jr., shot, and shot cups. Do I also need a scale and what about a tumbler or is that just something for brass?

Also, in a youtube video some guy demonstrating a 600 Jr,, just a guy not doing it for any company, taps something each time to ensure that all the powder falls down. Is that necessary or is he using cheap powder. If some is left up in the thing will it end up in the next shell and will that be a hot load?
 
Yes, you need a scale ....but a balance beam is fine ...for shotshells especially.

You need Hulls...( pick one ... like Rem STS, 2 3/4" hulls 12ga )

You need "wads" ....follow a published recipe .... for 1 oz loads you need a WIN 12SL wad ...

You need 'primers" ....like Win 209 ....

You need a 25 lb bag of shot .... like 8's ...

You need powder - like Hodgdon Clays ...

( and no, you don't need to smack the feed tube every time ). If he's doing that / on powder or shot ....he probably has some static built it / and he should address that issue ( by using static free dryer sheets, etc ) not smacking the powder feed tube.

No tumbler / just wipe off your hulls if necessary ( but I do nothing to mine ). If I drop one in the mudd / or a puddle ....I dry it off / drop it into my vest.
 
You need a manual or to look at the powder maker websites to get recipes - first and foremost.

Hulls and wads are not always interchangeable (actually most times NOT). Primers are not the same either, although a few brands can be used interchangeably.

With ANY reloading, a scale to verify powder drops is something you need.
Press for the proper gauge, hulls of decent quality - stick to Remington's or Winchester in the AA. Add in the correct powder and wads and you are set to go.

MEC progressives are decent machines - as are the Hornady, RCBS, Dillon, Ponsness-Warren and Spolar - (those are listed in approximate ascending cost order).

The process is simple enough, and in some aspects, it is not as critical as metallic, but recipes are to be followed as changes in pressure can be bad if they get out of line
 
On the scale issue - the MEC loaders use "powder bushings" - where you look up your powder recipe in a book / say 17.0 grains of Hodgdon Clays for a 1 oz 12ga load ....

and you pick the powder bushing that MEC recommends that gets you the closest to 17.0 grains ...in their chart ....like a # 31 bushing probably in this case. You can fine tune a bushing / by polishing a little ...etc ...but usually you go with what it drops as close enough.

But you do need a scale to check once in a while ...as you're loading.

Now in 12ga, 1 oz, loads using REM STS hulls .... you'll find published recipes for 15.7 grains of Clays @ 1125 fps all the way up to 19.8grains of powder @ 1290 fps .....so if you're goal, on powder is to drop 17.0 grains you have a lot of leeway ...for safety. It isn't like handgun loads where your safe minimum might be 4.1 grains --and the max safe load is 4.4 grains.
 
OK. I thought I had the basic equipment down but was not sure if I needed a scale. I do. As for having to strictly follow established recipes, I picked that up from your earlier posts. There is a wholesale loading supplies company I have located that also carries used shot. Its Phillips in Covina in case anybody knows of something closer to me in Lake Forest or perhaps a better place. Hint Zippy.As I am in Ca I also need to check if I need something to store the powder in. A guy at Turners, a local chain of gun stores, said I do but the same guy said they didn't carry 25# bags of shot and I quickly found them on their reloading supplies, mainly geared for pistol and rifle cartridges, aisle.
 
I don't live in CA.....but in my state, Washington ....you can have up to 25 lbs of powder stored in a residence, with no special requirements.

From 25 - 50 lbs in a residence --- it has to be stored inside a solid 3/4" plywood box.

In Washington state - you cannot have over 50 lbs of powder stored in a residence.

Your state websites / may help you answer the question.

Note: many of us as reloaders keep up to 4 or 5 different powders in stock in our homes / and typically in 8 lb kegs ...so up to 40 lbs with no issues. For a 12ga reloader - all you need is one powder / and an 8lb keg will give you 56,000 grains ( or at 17.0 grains per shell --- about 3,200 shells or 128 boxes ....).

There will probably be limitations on primers as well in your state / in mine its 10,000 .... and I always buy primers in case lots of 5,000 ....and a couple of cases on hand is plenty...
 
Fifty pounds of smokeless powder takes up a significant amount of cabinet space. On the other hand, 10,000 primers, the old limit, don't take up very much space at all. The other day I thought I was getting low on pistol primers… I quick count showed I was just below 20,000 in about 6" of shelf space. Well above the old limit; but, since they are all labeled with DOT 1.4S, I'm legal.

TheKlawMan,
I don't have a clue where to get discount components locally in SoCal. My last bulk order was from J & S up in Jackson. The last time I was there, the had low prices on MEC, too. You might ask the shooters at Prado who's their component guy.
 
And you do not ...

You do not have to load shotshells exactly as the book may call it out.

Their recipes are not written in stone.

You can use any primer. I prefer those that are "sealed". I think it was the old 57 type that were open.

You can use almost any wad, ... as long as it will hold the amount of shot you want and give a decent crimp.

You can use any hull, high base or low base, makes no difference. But again, the wad and shot amount will be your limiting factor. I prefer hulls with 8 point crimp. AA - red or gray, RXP, STS, etc.

You will find that most loads use around 20 grains of powder.

I select loads as to the powder type and amount of shot.

This is a "ratio" you must follow.

I never EXCEED MAX powder charges.
 
BigJim and Zippy, Thanks again. So as not to possibly invalidate our fire insurance policy, I will check the storage question out with the Fire Authority. It looks as if there are no state regs, if less than 20 pounds of smokeless are stored in a residence. To be safe I will also run things past a contact in the city builidng department, if local ordiances aren't clear. Even if nothing is mandated, I will probably knock together a box out of fire treated matrerials. Off hand I don't remember but gypsum board (drywall) may be better than plywood.
 
mixing components in shotshells vs following published recipes ...is reckless in my opinion ....and to recommend the same ...in a forum, is a very bad idea.

There are some substitutions for wads allowed / and you may find 2 recipes ---one with primer X and one with primer Y ....and be just fine... but

1. all 209 shotshell primers are not even close to being the same ...and should never be substituted ...

2. 20grains of a powder, like Hodgdon Clays is a pretty heavy load / and I would never say an average load is around 20 grains ... Its just not close to that much powder on average ....

3. Interchanging wads is allowed --- if they are listed in the reloading books tables for substitution. But to just mix in anything ....no, that's not ok ...

But as an example ....A recipe calling for a WAA12SL wad has 4 or 5 allowed substitutions including the Green Duster and the CB1100-12 both of which are commonl available.

4. mixing and matching hulls ....low brass ....high brass ....is going to give you all kinds of messed up crimps.

I don't know everything about reloading shotshells....I've only been doing it for 50 yrs or so ... but "Follow Published Recipes, Please ...."...
 
Yeah, that's pretty bad advice. Just like winchester didn't screw things up with the HS hulls and not coming out with the correct wads for them. Different primers burn differently, different wads cause different pressures, There might be some variations that work and are being widely used, but try to keep the recipes and try to chrono some batches of loads to see if you are consistent.
 
TheKlawMan,
I don't have a clue where to get discount components locally in SoCal. My last bulk order was from J & S up in Jackson. The last time I was there, the had low prices on MEC, too. You might ask the shooters at Prado who's their component guy.
Click to expand...

To reiterate about J&S, they delivered to us in N NV every week - good folks, fair prices and door step delivery


You do not have to load shotshells exactly as the book may call it out.

Their recipes are not written in stone.

You can use any primer. I prefer those that are "sealed". I think it was the old 57 type that were open.

You can use almost any wad, ... as long as it will hold the amount of shot you want and give a decent crimp.

You can use any hull, high base or low base, makes no difference. But again, the wad and shot amount will be your limiting factor. I prefer hulls with 8 point crimp. AA - red or gray, RXP, STS, etc.

You will find that most loads use around 20 grains of powder.

I select loads as to the powder type and amount of shot.

This is a "ratio" you must follow.

I never EXCEED MAX powder charges.
Click to expand...

And just what insanity do you base this total BS on? But then, I forget, there are folks who never read the manual either

This is the most irresponsible BS crap ever posted about loading shotgun shells:mad::barf::rolleyes:
 
Don't worry oneounce, I learned enought abouty ordinance years back, even if I was an aviation ordinance technician, that I am following recipes. For very experienced reloaders, perhaps they might experiment with special recipes, but like are poster "Dirty" Harry Callahan famously said, a man has to know his limits. Unfortunately, someone with even less common sense and experience than myself might read how they can play around with known recipes and blow themselves up.
 
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I don't like either one of those ....and I don't know what a loaded 12ga shotshell weighs ....but you'll never have to weigh one ...

All you'll ever weigh - is the powder / not the hull and the powder.

You will zero the scale - with the pan - on the platten ....and then dump the powder into the pan and weigh just the powder. Say around 17.0 grains.

PACT, RCBS, Dillon etc all have good scales .... electronic ones, that plug into 110 and have a battery backup will cost you about $ 140 / but a good manual balance beam scale ... Dillon, OHaus, etc have them as well for about $ 55 ...

The best scale out there is accurate to 0.01 grain ....and is a Denver Instrument scale MXX-123 for around $ 300 I think ....
You can contact them at 1-800-321-1135 if you have any questions.

But don't go for a battery only scale ...a balance beam scale would be a way better option than either of those in my opinion. Remember its something you'll have forever ....
 
I prefer balance beam scales to electronic - as they tend to be finicky and battery stuff and me tend to short out early.

Ohaus makes most of the better balance beam scales for the majority of the big brands - well made and most brands will have a life-time warranty. My 5-10 has been in use for almost 30 years - it sits on a shelf ABOVE the bench so vibrations do not affect it
 
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The truth be told, I loaded shot shells for many years without a scale. My first MEC was so long ago, it was before they had interchangeable powder bushings -- the bar had two metering holes. IIRC, the bar that came with the 12-ga 650 dropped 1-1/8 oz shot and a 3 dram equivalent of RedDot. I finally bought a scale (RCBS Model 10•10) when I got into pistol reloading. Having a scale, I got an adjustable bar for the MEC and broadened my shot shell reloading horizon.
 
get the Lyman loading manual. Yes, loading shotgun shells on a single stage press is very simple. You will need different charge bars and powder bushings for different loads or you can get a universal charge bar.
 
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