Bob B
Well-known member
I had a mentor when I was young who was very very into shotguns. My friends dad had a used cable reel in the back yard with a hole shot out from patterning his work. He did choke honing and very nice stock work as well. I remember him sitting in a chair in the living room with a riffler cutting checkering on a new stock.
It was this kind of influence that led me to try reloading when I started shooting a lot more in my mid twenties. We were hunting a lot then and the Winchester Drylocks just did not pattern well in the 2's that all my partners used.
At that time there was a local supplier of components and data right in CT and it was just up the road from my college classes.
I got good info and help from them. I collected quite a bit of shot, wads and other items as the years passed. The Alliant Steel Powder was a big help.
Now I hunt mostly on Saturdays only and am not shooting near as much as in those days. But I still like making a box or two of shells when needed in the pellet sizes I like.
Here are a few pictures of 50 shells I put together this Sunday while my newest duck hunter took her afternoon nap. If my local stores had the shot size I like in the Estate 2 3\4 inch shells this would not happen much any more. But I have the supplies and I like shooting the patterns to see how the gun is working. I know if the bird flies off, I just plain missed.
I deprime and prime on my single stage press. 50 at a time. Any press works for this.
Here is the basic set of things I use after that. I hand dip all powder drops using a lee dipper and a scale to check. The loading block makes an easy final check by looking in each shell. Any double drop is easily visible with the bulkiness of the powder used.
The wads then are seated over the powder, either by hand or with the press.
Each wad gets a Tyvek patch in the bottom of the shot cup to prevent pellet set in.
Shot is hand dipped and weighed as well.
The lee dipper for shot works but I like a cut down shotgun hull better.
25 ready for final crimp.
These get a sharpie number on the brass head to indicate the shot size. I use different hulls for different loads so I have two ways to quick ID what I want out of the shooting box. Goose, and duck ready to hunt.
It was this kind of influence that led me to try reloading when I started shooting a lot more in my mid twenties. We were hunting a lot then and the Winchester Drylocks just did not pattern well in the 2's that all my partners used.
At that time there was a local supplier of components and data right in CT and it was just up the road from my college classes.
I got good info and help from them. I collected quite a bit of shot, wads and other items as the years passed. The Alliant Steel Powder was a big help.
Now I hunt mostly on Saturdays only and am not shooting near as much as in those days. But I still like making a box or two of shells when needed in the pellet sizes I like.
Here are a few pictures of 50 shells I put together this Sunday while my newest duck hunter took her afternoon nap. If my local stores had the shot size I like in the Estate 2 3\4 inch shells this would not happen much any more. But I have the supplies and I like shooting the patterns to see how the gun is working. I know if the bird flies off, I just plain missed.
I deprime and prime on my single stage press. 50 at a time. Any press works for this.
Here is the basic set of things I use after that. I hand dip all powder drops using a lee dipper and a scale to check. The loading block makes an easy final check by looking in each shell. Any double drop is easily visible with the bulkiness of the powder used.
The wads then are seated over the powder, either by hand or with the press.
Each wad gets a Tyvek patch in the bottom of the shot cup to prevent pellet set in.
Shot is hand dipped and weighed as well.
The lee dipper for shot works but I like a cut down shotgun hull better.
25 ready for final crimp.
These get a sharpie number on the brass head to indicate the shot size. I use different hulls for different loads so I have two ways to quick ID what I want out of the shooting box. Goose, and duck ready to hunt.
