Shotshell Bulges

skeet · #1 03-18-2010, 10:58 AM

Are not bad cases. The 12 ga case that loads longer than any other even when Win AAs were the originals are the 12 ga Federal Gold Medal.. Top Guns are of course different. I load many of them...or did and never really had any problems. They usually take a different crimp but they work just fine when you get it set for them.. The crimp will look a bit different than on all plastic shells. STS is a good shell to load but will take a differnt load altogether. I have a few thousand Top guns here(bought 'em at a yard sale for 5 bucks). What is your load for them. I'll check 'em in my loader.. I really do think it is the loader's crimp adjustment..

dovehunter · #2 03-19-2010, 11:37 AM

I was talking about the Federal promo shells like the "game loads", etc. that have that huge fiber base wad. I have not had problems with the one piece Federal hulls like the Gold Medal, etc. Even the cheapo Winchester and Reminton shells though that I have cut apart appear to have the same one-piece, solid plastic construction as their AA and STS shells respectively. My personal favorites are the Remingon STS. They can be reloaded until you shoot off the crimp or you get cracks in the body where the crimp folds over. I don't keep track of the number of times I can reload shotshells but I know I have loaded some of my Remington STS shells 6-8 times or more. Also my favorite gunshop sells once-fired STS hulls in bags of 100 for about 3-4 bucks.

I am not anti-Federal. I have had good luck with their metallic cartridge cases and think they hold up just as well as their Remington and Winchester counterparts. I guess most everyone sticks with what works best (or lasts the longest) for them and for me, where shotshell hulls are concerned, that has definitely been Remington.

skeet · #3 03-19-2010, 12:06 PM

Wayyy back yonder when Winchester designed the original AA case it surely was one piece. Remington tried for years to make a case as good as the AA. RXP..Blue magic..Green Premier and Finally..they pretty much gotrdone with the STS. Even though they started(for all intents and purposes) the plastic shell revolution most of 'em sucked. Now that the AA is no longer compression formed(bean counters ya know) but made in 3 pieces..they kinda suck and the Remington is king of the heap. Gold Medals have lasted up to(and more) 25 loads but they were definitely ugly. The 20 ga that lasted the longest for me was the older RXP 20 with the light ribs. I have actually gotten as many as 20 loads from them. Not pretty ya understand cause they turned black but every time I tried to throw one away it kind stuck to my fingers..just couldn't let 'em go. After 5 loads they were used ONLY for practice loads. I still have some of them from the late 80's I guess. All my serious competition loads were in 1-4 times fired. and any messed up crimps went into the practic bucket. I don't box shells. Too much work. I put 'em in 5 gal buckets and get a pouch full when I'm gonna shoot 'em. A 5 gal bucket of 410s is an impressive sight..especially after you shot 'em all..and only missed twice(yeah, right!). Love to shoot the 410... 28's and 410s only last about 4 or 5 loadins before they are done. The old AAs in 410 were strange. Some would last 10 loadings while others from the same box would only go one or 2 before splitting. 28's were terrible. The STS 28 is pretty good for 4 loads..sometimes 5. 410 Remingtons about 3 or 4. I never really worry about 12 ga much anymore. I load 'em and let 'em fly so have a tendency to shoot the cheapies cause I only load 'em once.. I can get 'em for nothing anyway. BTW how much is shot running in your areas? Like to find out from all over the country.

BTW one time quite a few years ago I loaded 2 mixed boxes of 12 ga shells. All kinds of shells from cheap to expensive hulls. Left 'em outside in the open, although in boxes, for over 2 yrs. Same load in all of 'em with the wad that fit. Went out there one day and got 'em. Took 'em to the skeet club and shot 'em. Ran 50 straight without even one off sounding shell. Speaks volumes for the plastic shells we have today

dovehunter · #4 03-20-2010, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skeet

...BTW how much is shot running in your areas? Like to find out from all over the country...

I was at the gunshop yesterday and, though I wasn't looking for shot, I did sort of look down out the corner of my eye. If my memory serves me I think the whole rack was marked $39.95. Seems like the last bag I bought, which was some time last year, was $19.95. Wow that's a 100% price increase in less than a year. Of course I was finding the same thing with commercial cast lead bullets - usually more than a 100% price increase. This was in the Richmond, Va. area.