Steel shot load questions-No ranting please

[gonzo]

OK, first up, I'm not looking for any discussion about the recent lead shot ban/voluntary giving up etc...
But I'd been thinking about having a play with steel shot loading for a little while anyway.

I've been reloading centrefire rifle/pistol and gunsmithing for almost 30yrs. But my experience with shotshells and shotguns is pretty minimal, other than as a user.

I am looking at having a play with reloading 12bore with steel shot, using fibre wads. This is for clay shooting, on a range where plastic is not permitted, unless you go and pick them all up.
I will probably have a go with no protection, ie. shot in contact with the barrel. Using a disposable gun and normal proof loadings, to see if there is any notable damage. (And recently saw that TGS had done just this on their YT channel).

But, also thinking of adding various types of card tube around the shot column, but with a fibre wad behind it. So making a two piece shot cup.
I am thinking that recovering the card tube could give some interesting info on the forces that the shot is subject to, against the barrel.

Anyone tried anything similar? What were the results?
Are the forces high enough to cause the shot to pierce the cup? Does the cup stay in place around the shot?

I know there are probably other more appropriate forums for this. But I'm not on them.

 

[Muir]

I don't shoot shotgun much, and I don't reload for them, but the ONE thing I know about loading for shotgun is that you never vary from the prescribed load data with regards to wads and buffers and such, unless there is a listed equivalent. If you haven't loaded shotgun you'd best stick to (somebody's) established data. JMHO, at least. Hopefully there is someone out there who can give you a better, more relevant answer.~Muir

 

[enfieldspares]

MUIR got there before I did. The margin of safety in a shotgun is narrow compared to that with a handgun or a rifle. I've reloaded since 1976 for rifle and handgun (before 1996 Tory Government pistol ban) and I have never felt confident to reload shotgun cartridges. Please let others experiment GONZO or just buy "off the shelf" ready rolled cartridges. The setting up cost alone doesn't justify the savings.

 

[paul o']

I used to use it at a club that only allowed steel , it worked but did't seem to hold a pattern on the longer clays , so I started to change to full ex full to hold it together ,norm i'd used in comps was 1/2 N ' 3/4 . think it was called steel comp 7,1/2's stuff was at best no better than hawk best crap ? back in the day I used a Jr mec press for all my shooing inc steel shot with lamb fat felt drive wads and card packers , the cases I used were AA win or blue lights as they re crimped the best and at that time you just looked in the bins at the clay shoots lol ,for fowling loads the best place to get your info and load data is in the USA off the wonder web , but when good steel carts for fowling came out in the UK I sold it off and saved a world of faffing around .

 

[gonzo]

I think I have all the reloading kit and components (with the possible exeption of wads in that gauge). And had intended to do some shotshell reloading anyway.
But safety warnings accepted. Thanks.

 

[markyw]

Reading a lot of late, there seems to be a bias towards plastic for steel shot as it protects the barrels. This is to the extent that there is development work going on in fast biodegradable plastics that would dissolve overnight if wet. There is work being done on fibre wads, but that doesn't seem to get as much of a mention. There was also talk of not choking too tight when using steel. I think there are "normal" loads and enhanced loads and definitely no tight choke on the excitable loads was the recommendation until they are developed more fully.

Just my observations, from all the recent news and all.

Regards

Mark

 

[User00040]

A few things from someone who has done some load development for 12G steel loads.

1. READ MANUALS AND TREAT ALL SHOTGUN LOAD DATA AS A MAX LOAD! - As per Muir and enfieldspares, shotgun reloading in the US is not as big as centerfire reloading (more often than not it is more expensive to load your own).

2. Gun choice- Most would think that a cheap single shot or O/U or SBS shotgun would be ideal for load development. I would prefer to use a pump action or even better a semi-auto as it will give you an idea as to the next step.

3. Load potency- Alliant Powder manuals are good, I use Blue Dot for my steel loads. Follow their recommended shot weight relative to powder charge, and use the correct wad!
I prefer using a semi auto as it will give me a *rough* idea of generated pressures in the gun (whether it cycles or not).

4. Crimp- The be all and end all of a good shell. If you have a poor crimp your load will not produce enough pressure, but if you somehow compress your loading of powder, wad and shot (called a stack or column) too much then form a crimp you will have a blown shell that can't be re-crimped. Also, a roll crimping tool will need to be used if you plan to shoot from a semi (forms the nice lip you get on factory loaded shells).

5. Priming- Most shells bought for loading accept European Primers, but the CCI 209 Primers are American sized. You will need to buy a primer uniforming tool so that US primers fit Euro shells, not cheap and a little tedious.

6. Get an idea of the loading process first before experimenting, shotgun performance depends very much on the wad. Don't be surprised if loads perform poorly if you use a wad that is not designed for that loading of shot at that weight.

More importantly, steel loads will have a greater number of pellets in them when at the same weight as lead, hence you will need to take this into account (shot shell length and wad choice matter, as you are trying to form a column at the right height for crimping.)

Last of all, I would say use a proper, pellet containing type wad, not a simple disc type to start off. They are a vast improvement in terms of performance and take out a lot of guesswork when it comes to column compression.

 

[GWP]

All good info alliant steel powder is a vast improvent over bluedot but please stick to published loads

 

[Bavarianbrit]

What if the bore was chrome lined? Will that obviate the rubbing of the steel shot on the barrel? Baikals were chromed.