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I was getting low on my pheasant loads and decided to polish up the spent hulls in my tumbler with new media, load and identify the two loads that I use.
The green dot and primer is 1 oz. of #6 NP shot and the red dot and primer represents 1 1/8 oz of #5 1/2 NP shot.
I'm sure that many of you ID your loads, care to share?

I use the proper box for hunting reloads. Very Happy

In that way, all is well

But for the most part, I have collected soooo many factory loads I shoot factory for hunting and reloads for target. Except special 2 1/2 load that I put together.

Mike

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

I also use markers to id a hull.With plastic hulls I load the same each time-- i.e Feds= 1oz 7.5's/WW comps=1 1/8 of 8's/Remmies =3/4 oz of 8,

For me purple is for 7.5, red is for 8, and blue is for 9 s. For roll crimped shells I bought the stamp kit from BP and it works nicely.

Regards, Gordon

I put round labels on the heads with load data. Takes a little more time to stick them on and peel them off, but the data seems to last longer than data written on the side of a hull.

Joined: 08 Feb 2009 Posts: 1310 Location: Western WA

Here in the rain soaked NW, paper boxes quickly turn to mush and all the shells fall to the bottom of the kit bag or boat in a jumble, so we carry the ammo to and from the field in old Herters (Waseca Minn, remember?) plastic divider boxes that we scrounged up at a garage sale. Shell types are loaded and sorted by hull color - 2 1/2, 2 3/4, no tox, target, etc., and marked with different swipes across base with a sharpie. Not terribly stylish but it's what we have to do.

Joined: 28 Aug 2014 Posts: 924 Location: Eastern Tennessee

This might sound a bit dumb to some of you, but I color code my shells:

Federal & Estate & Herters Purple = 1-1/8 oz #5 ~ 1250 FPS (Pheasant)
Remington Black = 1 oz #6 ~ 1225 FPS (Grouse)
Remington Green = 7/8 oz #7.5 ~ 1225 FPS (Quail/Private Dove)
Winchester CF Red = 1 oz #5 ~ 1225 FPS (Rabbit/Squirrel)
Cheddite Green = 1-1/4 oz #6 ~ 1,125 FPS (Turkey)
Cheddite Red = 7/8 oz #4 plated steel ~ 1,550 FPS (Public Pheasant/Small Duck)
Cheddite & Fiocchi Blue = 7/8 oz #6 plated steel ~ 1,350 FPS (Public Dove)
Rio Clear = (purchased not used yet)
RMC Brass = (purchased not used yet)

I figure Rio will take Sporting 7/8 oz #7.5 ~ 1,150 FPS once I can come up with a load.

I like your system, Charlie16ga, but I don't think I'm bright enough to remember the code. Laughing

Joined: 28 Aug 2014 Posts: 924 Location: Eastern Tennessee

I have a closet set up for loaded shells. The label in each column (think gun store), has the name of the use.

So the 1st shelf will have dividers and the first column is all purple hulled shells labeled pheasant, the second column is labeled turkey and has green hulled shells, and the third column is labeled grouse and has black hulled shells.

As a final step each box of shells has a label on them that has the load information on it.

When I get ready to go hunting, I can simply go to the closet and grab a box of shells from the column for that animal. The color code is more for a control during the reloading process.

To further show my inner nerd, I actually have reloading cards made which tell me when I need to reload some of a type and how many I need to make. For instance I will have 100 loaded purple shells in the pheasant column and when I get to the last box (25 shells), I have a reloading card that tells me it is time to reload 75 more shells. For turkey the column has a max of 10 and a reload point of 4.

This way I always have loads ready to go for any use or any pattern testing.