16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Posts: 68 Location: Festus, Missouri

So far this forum has been outstanding to my learning about the 16ga. Kudos to you fine gents.

I am thinking about buying the 16ga manual from BP, but I found the Steel manual to be very expensive for what I got out of it.

Before I purchase it, can someone give me a heads up to the valuable info in it? Is it full of pages of info on wads, etc, that I can read for free on their website, or am I going to get a lot of usable recipes?

Also..... I would like to buy the Claybuster remake of the WAA16 wad, but is there many recipes in the 16ga BP manual for them? I don't want to be stuck with 500 wads that I have no recipe for.

Last question.... I have been reading a lot about using cereal as a filler wad for better crimps. Rather than try this method, I was thinking of rolling. My question is how many rolls can you get out of a hull? Do you have to keep cutting the hull down a 1/4" after each roll?

Thanks guys!

Or …. buy both the BPI and Lyman's 5th. If I were to buy just one it would be Lyman's.

Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Posts: 68 Location: Festus, Missouri

Just purchased the Lymans. I emailed BPI for some data on the claybuster and they responded that "we don't have data for claybuster wads".

I am kind of pissed at them. They sell the wad, but only give data for theirs.

I think the original WW 16 AA wad was first introduced in the mid 1980's. Prior to that time, most of the 16 ga reloading data for Winchester hulls, the discontinued Olin spherical powders, and their Hodgdon counterparts like HS6 and HS7 called for the Remington R16 and SP16 wads or for solid wads. So any of the Lyman's handbooks from the late 1980s on will contain useful info still relevent today. All of the Alliant/Hercules complimentry reloading manuals from the same era contain much of the same data for their Dot series of powders (all of which are still available).

Older Alliant/Hercules manuals and many of the older Lyman handbooks can still be found for sale at gun shows. Alliant/Hercules manuals can still be found gathering dust on clubhouse shelves and tables. They can often be had for the asking.

Member Joined: 07 Jan 2013 Posts: 398 Location: Virginia

I'm a BPI customer and have been generally satisfied with what they sell. But even it they had data on Claybuster wads, they probably won't give it away. They have a series of two to six page information sheets on various reloading topics. They charge $1.99 for each of them. The information is useful, but it promotes what they sell - charging for it strikes me as a little chintzy, some companies would give it away or make it available for free online.

But BPI has many hard to find items and their prices and service are okay. Some of the members here don't like them, overall I'm a satisfied customer. I have the 16ga manual and feel it is worth the money. The Lyman book is good too, but it doesn't have a lot of 16ga loads.

The best source for 16ga loads for me is the free spreadsheets on the 16ga Reloader group: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0At1GjTxK0YbudHdQdEUtLWJwbVNyZVNudVF0MGk2WFE&gid=8

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1113

As long as a company doesn't lie to me, misrepresent their product or use shady tactics such as hidden fees or exorbitant shipping charges, I don't waste my time by getting angry with them. BPI is up front about their pricing on everything and although higher than some, they usually have a good selection of in stock items. I certainly don't mind dealing with a company like that.

I'd wager that someone here on the forum would be willing to send you their copy of the BPI manual for not much more than the cost of postage. If I could put my hands on the copy I bought six years ago, I would. If I remember correctly most, if not practically all, loads were for the cheddite hulls.

16ga recipes are also available in the shotshell reloading manual named 'Blanks to Supersonics' put out by Precision Reloading, Inc. My copy is their 1st edition which was printed 2003. It's now out of print but you might be able to scare up a used copy on the cheap.

Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Posts: 68 Location: Festus, Missouri

There were a ton on the google page! Thanks!

Do not waste your time or money on the BPI 16ga manual. I purchased a few years ago and not worth a plug nickle, I think I used for fire starter. I was excited about the 16ga. BPI manual after reading the description. Once it arrived and I read the Introduction, History and their comparisons to other gauges and etc,etc,etc.... then on to the meat and potatoes, I was very disappointed felt like they had a bait and switch program going on. This could not be the manual they had described on the website it was far too paltry. This is the only product I have purchased from BPI that I was unsatisfied with. The other reloading components I have purchased from them I have been very satisfied with. The manual in question is crap (IMHO), I have Lyman #2,3,5 and they are filled with useful information. The knowledge shared here on the forums is much better. Save your dollars.