Reloading Brass Shotshells Pt 2.Pdf

R.H. VanDenburg, Jr. Continued from Handloader No. 266 ext is the loading proce- ELOADING dure. One of the things un- R covered in all this is that Nbrass shells can generate higher velocities than paper or plastic, all other things being equal. So 1 if you plan to create a 3-dram, 1 ⁄8- ounce, 12-gauge load of 1,200 fps, for example, Brass you might not need any- where near the called for amount of powder. 38 www.handloadermagazine.com Handloader 267 PART II: Technical Tips Shotshells A lot of things factor into such events, such as barrel length and diameter, chamber length, atmos- pheric conditions, powder brand and grade, wad column and so forth. Waterfowlers might rejoice, but if you are competing in a timed event where re- covery between shots is important, this is a good thing to know. Typically, this occurs in the CBC shell only with black powder. With smokeless powder, performance is degraded. In the RMC shell, higher velocity occurs with both types of powder. The actual loading of brass shotshells differs from that which we are accustomed to with either metallic cartridges or modern shotshells. We have the luxury of loading one shell at a time as we typically load shotshells on a single-stage press or batch pro- cessing, i.e., completing one step on all the shells to be loaded before beginning the next step, as we usually load metallic cartridges. Either way the first aid we should obtain is a loading block. It is indis- pensable. We’ve already reviewed the complexities of the priming and depriming process. Charging with smokeless powder can be done by weighing each charge or setting up the powder measure or dispenser to drop the required charge. We also can use a regular shotshell reloader for this purpose if we wish. Black powder can be weighed, dispensed by a measure specifically designed for black powder or even dipped with a suitable dipper of the correct size and proper technique. Plastic wads (in the RMC shells) can be seated with a standard shotshell loader or by hand with a dowel. Wad pressure is not an issue, as it will be re- leased when we relax the seating effort, but wads must be fully seated on the powder. Brass shotshells are most at home in double Card wads, in either shell, must be securely seated barrel guns, such as this W & C Scott. with up to 100 pounds of pressure. This can be done on a shotshell loader or by hand with a dowel August-September 2010 www.handloadermagazine.com 39 Reloading Right the two brass shells available are the Brass Shotshells RMC shell (left) and the CBC. of the appropriate size. If a dowel is used, a cap of some sort on the dowel will be helpful. A bath- room scale will help in consis- tently seating wads to the same pressure. The old Lee Loader hand tool for shotshells is an ex- cellent tool for loading brass shotshells. It can decap the RMC shells, assist in seating primers in both shells and has its own seating ram. They haven’t been Left, the RMC shell can be made in years but are frequently loaded with mod- found at gun shows. Card wads ern components, are seated one at a time: the over- such as the BPI powder wad or wads, each filler Obturator (left wad and finally, the over-shot center) or one- wad or wads. piece plastic Shot is weighed or dipped or wads. Paper dispensed from a shotshell re- over-shot wads loader. Any protective shot are still required. sleeve is inserted into the shell around the edge of the wad and over-shot wads can be 11 or 10 on top of the last filler wad and seating it on top of the shot with gauge. The 11-gauge wads must before dropping the shot. moderate force. The second is be epoxied; the 10-gauge wads Over-shot wads allow for some similarly seated on the first. In should be. The latter do not make flexibility. My preference is to RMC shells, wads must be of the quite so neat an appearance. use two, .025-inch wads. The first proper size. With the CBC shell, When using two-part epoxy that is epoxied by running a bead in the 12 gauge, for example, the dries in five minutes, only five or six shells can be completed before the epoxy sets up. This is assuming that all the loading except for the over-shot wad is completed on all the shells and the wads are all laid out. With 30- minute epoxy, a full box of 25 shells could be completed assuming the same conditions, but it’s best to work in small batches at first. Other adhesives will require similar techniques and planning. The over-shot wad also is useful for identification. Especially if several different component mixes are being tried, a simple lettering system can prevent un- wanted mix-ups. In the loads that follow, the typical built-up, card wad column 1 consists of a ⁄8-inch over-powder 1 wad, a ⁄2-inch filler wad and two .025-inch over-shot wads. When 40 www.handloadermagazine.com Handloader 267 Left, mid-twentieth century Remington components included brass shotshells with large pistol primers for all gauges. The .410 bore used small pistol primers. Right, the primer pocket in the CBC shell (left) protrudes into the shell interior. The RMC shell (right) has a solid head. using black powder, pressure is no laboratory-tested pressure sufficiently low to allow for con- data available, as all modern labs siderable experimentation. Two are set up for paper or plastic tic wad and dropping it in a brass over-powder wads, or a thin card shells. That said, there are sev- shell with a built-up card wad wad under and over the filler eral smokeless powder loads in- column will produce conflicting wad or even two filler wads are cluded herein. results. The brass shell will result all options. Some shooters put a Generally speaking, assuming in higher pressure and velocity; Tyvek® disk under the shot to the same shot weight, selecting a the card wad system will result in prevent any pellets from being powder charge published for a less. The net result may be a imbedded in the filler wad upon plastic shell and one-piece plas- wash, but not necessarily. In the firing. The filler wads employed here are fiber. Felt wads are con- sidered best but are very hard to find. Cork wads are also available and perhaps should be sandwiched between two card SHOOTINGSHOOTING CHRONYCHRONY wads of moderate thickness. The TheThe GreatestGreatest BangBang forfor YourYour Buck!Buck! choice is yours and should be •• For For PrecisePrecise AmmoAmmo dictated by need – either to im- Velocity Measurement prove patterns or shot-to-shot Velocity Measurement consistency. Because we are not •• For For Rifles,Rifles, Handguns,Handguns, crimping the shell, wad column Archery,Archery, Shotguns,Shotguns, height is generally not important. AirgunsAirguns && PaintballsPaintballs •• Choose Choose fromfrom 1010 ModelsModels If it In the process of developing If it •• MSPR: MSPR: $89.95$89.95 toto $205.95$205.95 this piece, I asked Steve Coach of doesn’t RCBS’s engineering department unfold ... •• We We Accept Accept Trade-insTrade-ins it’s not a what the company’s response it’s not a Chrony! was to those who asked about shooting smokeless powder in these (CBC) shells. He responded that no one had ever asked the question. This says that most of us interested in loading brass shotshells view them as a black- powder component only, although this is not historically correct. Have a Indeed, there is nothing inher - look at our ent in the design of either shell that would preclude the use of Shooting Chrony SHOOTING CHRONY, INC. smokeless powder, assuming the Ballistics Program 1-800-385-3161 gun the shells were to be fired in on our Web Page: 3840 E. Robinson Rd. PMB #298 on our Web Page: Amherst, NY 14228 was proofed for smokeless pow- www.shootingchrony.com e-mail: [email protected] der. The only problem is there is August-September 2010 www.handloadermagazine.com 41 Reloading Brass Shotshells A typical black-powder load includes (from left): a primed shell, powder, CBC shells, the smokeless pow- over-powder wad, filler wad, shot and der charges produce considerably two over-shot wads epoxied in place. reduced performance because, in effect, we’re dumping a 12-gauge powder charge in an 11-gauge Over-shot wads allow for some flexibility. shell. The increased volume as the wad column moves forward keeps pressure and velocity low. Black powder, on the other hand, companied by higher pressures, cept for the over-shot wads. Here with its greater volume of gases reloaders must be prepared to pressure certainly would be simply overcomes the shell vol- make adjustments in the powder higher than experienced with a ume, and velocities tend to be charge based on velocities ob- plastic shell, and powder charges higher. In the RMC shell, being of tained, making allowances for would have to be cut accordingly. barrel length, etc. the same interior volume as If we are shooting brass shells in paper and straight-walled plastic If we are using the RMC shell, guns with chambers longer than 1 5 hulls, both smokeless and black of course, we could even use one- the shells – 2 ⁄2- or 2 ⁄8-inch shells powder produce higher veloci- piece plastic wads, duplicating in 3-inch chambers, for example – ties.

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